OJSC “Arzamas Engineering Plant” (AMZ) occupies a unique position among all enterprises of the country's defense sector. This is the only large-scale production of wheeled armored personnel carriers of all stripes in the Russian Federation. In its workshops, the legendary BTR-80/82, which is the shield and sword of motorized rifle units, and ultramodern armored SUVs of the Tiger class are also produced. In general, the lineup includes dozens of modifications of the most diverse military and fire fighting vehicles.
The beginning of the way
The Arzamas Engineering Plant, the photo of the products of which will not impress fans of military equipment and history, was founded in 1972. At that time, Arzamas (not to be confused with Arzamas-16) was a backward provincial town, where there was almost no street lighting.
After the establishment of the enterprise, specialists from all over the USSR rushed here, and jointly with the townspeople ennobled the "Nizhny Novgorod suburb." Over the past decades, Arzamas has grown in breadth and height and today is a hundred-thousandth city, convenient for life.
Through hardship to the stars
The formation of the Arzamas Engineering Plant was not easy. The military department did not consider the enterprise as a priority. As a result, the administration regularly faced a lack of funding, a lack of equipment, and qualified personnel. In the 70s, shock absorbers for armored vehicles assembled at the Gorky Automobile Plant were produced here.
Initially, AMZ products were criticized due to the low quality of manufacture. In order to improve the situation and increase the responsibility of workers, in the mid-70s, at the request of the first director V. A. Shilov, a military quality control system was introduced at the plant - the so-called “military acceptance”.
The main page in the history of the Arzamas Engineering Plant was opened in 1980. The government made a decision in principle to place a trial military order for the production of armored personnel carriers first, and later transfer the production of armored personnel carriers from the GAZ automobile plant in Nizhny Novgorod to Arzamas.
Paradigm breakdown
Until the 90s, the Arzamas Engineering Plant (AMZ) was heavily loaded with work. Unpretentious and reliable BTR-80 of various modifications, special vehicles were massively produced here. In parallel, social and cultural projects were carried out, new microdistricts were built.
However, life in the early 90s amended its long-term plans for the plant. In the wake of the ideas of Perestroika, a large-scale conversion program was adopted, which intended to reduce the production of weapons, partially replacing it with "consumer goods." By the end of 1991, the volume of military products at the AMZ was about 70%, a year later - less than 40%.
Decision time
However, the leadership had the will and endurance to withstand the unexpected economic realities. While production facilities were freed up for consumer goods, the engineers of the Arzamas Engineering Plant, together with GAZ specialists, developed with a reserve for the future a whole family of promising wheeled all-terrain vehicles of general purpose. These are cars with independent wheel suspension, which are not afraid of off-road, thickets, pits, potholes and even fallen trees. This technique is in demand in mining companies, among geologists, forestry workers, extreme travelers. Separate logging equipment equipped with a manipulator is designed for logging.
Despite the efforts of the administration, the main production activity - the production of armored personnel carriers - was actually curtailed. The peak of the fall occurred in 1995, when the manufacture of armored vehicles decreased by 6 times relative to the "fat" 80s. The existence of the Arzamas Engineering Plant became meaningless. By some miracle, Director V.I. Tyurin managed to convince the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to allow the sale of armored vehicles for export. This saved the enterprise.
Today
We can’t say that the plant at the moment has passed underwater reefs. However, being the largest manufacturer of wheeled armored vehicles, AMZ is more confident about the future. The events of recent years have shown the importance of lightly armored highly maneuverable equipment in regional conflicts. And here the Arzamas machine factory has something to offer.
First, the old man BTR-80 underwent radical modifications. Based on it, the model number 82 was created, devoid of many of the shortcomings of the previous generation car. The armored personnel carrier increased crew protection, improved ergonomics, installed new equipment. Increased (and significantly) firepower due to the use of a 30-mm high-gun.
Secondly, the Russian army received the much-anticipated armored SUV of the Tiger series, which is a good analogue of the famous Hammers. Naturally, when designing it, the shortcomings of the American model were taken into account, which made it possible to produce excellent equipment.
Products
OJSC “Arzamas Engineering Plant”, acting as the flagship manufacturer of mobile armored vehicles, is capable of producing a wide range of special, civil and mobile equipment. Over the past years mastered the release of:
- Armored wheeled conveyors of the BTR-80 / 80A / 82 / 82A / 90 series (including modifications).
- Repair and recovery (BREM-K), medical floating armored vehicles (BMM).
- Highly mobile vehicles (Tiger, Vodnik), armored and unarmored.
- Fire engines.
- General-purpose cross-country vehicles and all-terrain vehicles of the GAZ-5903 series.
- Unified chassis for the installation of special equipment.
At the moment, the main capacities are directed to the production of Tiger and BTR-82A models.