Kalashnikov Concern showed off its new military assault boats for the first time at the International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS 2015) in St. Petersburg, giving attendees the chance to come aboard and check out the new vessels.
Visitors were able to see a BK-10 assault landing boat, a BK-9 assault support boat and a BK-16 multipurpose amphibious boat up close.
Kalashnikov staff even gave some visitors the opportunity to handle the new machine guns installed aboard the crafts.
What is central to the new vessels is that they are all equipped with drones capable of taking off directly from the boats.
The IMDS show is taking place July 1-5, where more than 30 Russian military vessels are being presented to the public.
“For the first time [Kalashnikov] is presenting a single battle group of multipurpose landing crafts with modern weapon systems, as well as the latest developments in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which have the ability to launch from the deck of the boat,” the company said in a statement.
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Kalashnikov Concern demonstrated the BK-16, which is a multipurpose amphibious landing boat with a remote-controlled combat module and light reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on board. It has been designed for coastal landing operations or assault support.
The BK-10 assault landing boat was designed to carry squads of up to 10 soldiers and can conduct coastal landing operations and provide fire support.
The final BK-9 craft is a smaller assault support boat that is equipped with additional armor plates for more protection while landing a squad.
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All three crafts can reach speeds of up to 40 knots (about 46 mph or 74 kph) and cruise at speeds of 20 knots (about 23 mph or 37 kph).
In May, Kalashnikov Concern presented its new unmanned aerial vehicles and landing boats at the Integrated Safety & Security Exhibition (ISSE-2015) in Moscow. The show came after an announcement in February that the company had bought a controlling share (51 percent) in the ZALA Aero Group, an air drone maker; and Rybinsk Shipyard, a shipbuilding company.
The arms manufacturer has plans to invest 700-800 million rubles ($14-16 mn) into the two enterprises and expects to recover the investment within three years’ time.