Metinvest launches production of protective shells for Patriot air defense systems
The Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, as part of Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front military initiative, has mastered the production of armored protection for the control module of the MIM-104 Patriot system, which protects the Ukrainian sky from enemy attacks.
According to the group's press release on Friday, Metinvest engineers have already mounted the first armor on the operating control module of the air defense system.
It is also noted that Metinvest continues to actively expand the range of protective products for the Ukrainian army, which increases the level of security and protects the lives of defenders and military equipment. The company has mastered the production of steel screens for the main domestic tanks T-64 and T-72, American tanks M1 Abrams and IFV Bradley, and is preparing to integrate them into various modifications of Leopard 2. The soldiers have already received more than 300 screens.
The head of the steel production department of Metinvest for the needs of the Ukrainian army, the group's operational director Oleksandr Myronenko emphasized that the defenders of the sky also need reliable protection.
"Since this is one of the main areas of the Steel Front initiative, in which we have extensive experience, it is not surprising that we were entrusted with such an important mission. In a month and a half, we created a project from scratch and, according to the drawings, manufactured a shield for the crew of the Patriot air defense system from Ukrainian armor steel from Metinvest, which guarantees protection from shrapnel damage to both the defenders and the air defense system control system. Our experienced engineers also supervised the installation of the armor," Myronenko explained.
The company specified that Metinvest engineers have established production of a unique armored shell for the Patriot system's brain center, which controls this air defense system. The crew's protection from shrapnel damage is made of 30KhN2МА steel, which has improved wear resistance, strength, toughness and resistance to mechanical stress.
The shell consists of almost 200 elements - armored steel plates up to 8 mm thick, which protect the air defense system's control center. The total weight of the shell exceeds 2.6 tonnes, but this does not affect the functionality or mobility of the system. A team of design engineers worked on creating the shell for the Patriot system, supervising the work of turners, mechanics, mechanical assemblers and electric and gas welders.