The TR-85 M1 tank from Romania has a crew of four. It’s armed with a rifled 100mm cannon that has a maximum rate of fire of four to seven rounds per minute. The coaxial machine gun is a 7.62x54R caliber PKT machine gun tucked in next to the main barrel. An anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the top is a 12.7x108mm DShKM, left-hand standard fed. It can be remotely fired or use an operator. One side has seven cans for ammunition and the other side has eight cans, so the battle load available to the operator is 750 rounds of 12.7x108mm. The 7.62mm machine gun has 5,000 rounds of linked ammunition available, and the 100mm main gun has 41 rounds, (one in the chamber), for carry. Maximum speed is 60 kilometers per hour. Thickness of the armor is 320 mm plus 20 mm auxiliary up on turret. The chassis is 200 mm stratified. The aiming system has day and night fire control system and is integrated with a laser range finder. The loaded range of action is 400 kilometers. Transmission is hydromechanical. There are 20 smoke grenade generators that are also on the tank.

The sixth edition of Expomil Romania was held in the Romexpo Exhibition Center at the Bucharest International Fair in Romania.  This Expo was a one-building show with several levels around the promenade with larger exhibitors in the center.  It was a bit of a time getting close to the main building due to construction in the area, but that should be resolved by the 2011 Expomil show.

The majority of the exhibits were Romanian companies, but there were a number of other displays from the region.  SADJ interviewed several companies from the UK for their input on showing in Bucharest.

Phillip Mouser, sales manager from Manroy Engineering Limited out of East Suffolk, England, was manning the booth at Expomil.  Manroy does a lot of the work on refurbishment and supply of new M2 heavy barrel and GPMG machine guns in 7.62x51mm to NATO groups and the British military.  They’ve been working in Estonia and Lithuania, and they were in Romania because they want to start moving their focus a little further south into the former Soviet bloc areas, partly because Romania several years ago joined NATO, and they’re going to have to be changing off of their DShKs to have NATO caliber compliance.

CAE in the United Kingdom has approximately 40 countries that they have brought in various aspects of their military simulation and training groups.  Their United Kingdom website is at www.cae.com.  They specialize in larger group trainers, but have done some small arms training simulators as well, and see the market in the Balkans as a good showcase for their wares.

There was a strong international attendance as well, with many uniformed officers from China and other Asian countries in attendance for the event.  Management of the show certainly brought in the visitors for this show, and any company planning on working in the region, or making contact with the Romanian manufacturing base, should consider attending this show.

The SAUR 1 from Romarm SA Uzina Automecanica Moreni is an 8x8 armored personnel carrier. It’s a wheeled amphibious vehicle with four run-flat tires on each side that has a 12 member crew, including the driver, a commander and a gunner. Maximum speed on-road is 100 kilometers per hour; in water, 10 kilometers per hour. Range on the road with a full load is 700 kilometers. The main weapon on top is a PKML 7.62x54R machine gun, remotely operated with day and night vision and internal controls. This PKML has the ability to be fired freehand as grips are included on the weapon system; it is not just a PKMT.

The SAUR 2 armored 8x8 personnel carrier has eight run-flat tires, a crew of 11 members, including driver, commander and gunner. Protection level goes to Stanag 4569, the armored hull at Levels 2, 2a and 2b, and can be optionally upgrade to three. Maximum speed is 100 kilometers per hour on road and on water 10 kilometers per hour. The SAUR body can be used as a carrier or an ambulance, but in this particular case it’s being used as a host for the remotely operated 25mm automatic gun - type KBA B07AA. The co-producer is Arsenal-Resita and Rheinmetall Italia SPA. The 25mm is an Oerlikon Contraves automatic gun, a multiple weapon designed for the main application of gun turrets for armament on wheeled or tracked light vehicles. Muzzle velocity is 1,100 meters per second with a nominal rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. Electric supply needed is 24-volt DC with a 15-amp current for the firing solenoid. Ammunition used is any Oerlikon 25mm; Target practice or TP, TP-T HEI, HEI-T, SAPHEI, SAPHEI-T, APS-T, APFSDS-T, FAPDS-T, TPDS-T, and SRDS-T.

The DMT-85 M1 system is a mine-clearing machine with a 6.5 ton crane. It has a 860 horsepower diesel engine with a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour without the plough, which has replaceable blades. When the plough is added, it slows it down significantly. The mine-clearing system can clear a lane width of 3,900 mm, with a minimum depth of 250 mm. Mine-clearing speed is 12 kilometers per hour. There is an added electromagnetic mine-clearing system available. There are marking signs on the side and it has a launching system for a pyrotechnic cartridge. The weapon system on top is a remotely operated PKML machine gun, in 7.62x54R caliber.

Mija is a branch of Uzina Mecanica and representing them is Romarm. (www.ummija.ro) Mija presented a number of grenades. Shown are the RPG launched PG-7V and PG-7VM. The primary difference between the two is a little bit of a difference in length of the grenade, but the initial velocity, the maximum velocity that the grenade travels at is 300 meters per second for the PG-7V, initially leaving the RPG-7 with 120 meters per second from the expeller cartridge. On the PG-7VM the grenade leaves at 140 meters per second, utilizing a different expeller cartridge and has a maximum speed of 350 meters per second. Most other characteristics are similar, except piercing capacity on a PG-7V is 260 mm of rolled homogenous armor, and the piercing capacity on a PG-7VM is 300 mm of RHA. Both have a self-destruct fuze that activates between four and six seconds after the initial firing. The PG-7V has a grenade diameter of 85 mm and the PG-7VM is 70 mm. Both have a 40 mm caliber expeller. The PG9-V, utilized for the SPG-9 recoilless rifle has a 73 mm expeller diameter, and the expected accurate range is 800 meters, with a zero-degree change in accuracy. The PG9-V also has a self-destruct fuze, but it operates in a different manner. Within four to six seconds of either striking the target and not having the original fuze go off, or coming to ground somewhere else, the self-destruct is timed four to six seconds after. Piercing capacity is 300 mm of RHA.

The offensive and defensive hand grenade offerings from Mija included the RG-42, which is a green, canister-shaped round and has a 4 to 4.5-second time on the standard fuze that’s used; standard range of 35-45 meters, safety distance of 35 meters to the operator. Length of the grenade with fuze is 106 mm and the length of the grenade body itself is 86 mm. The M-529 grenade is an egg-shaped grenade, which is used in the offensive role and weighs .255 kilograms. Length of the grenade is 86 mm and the length of the grenade with fuze is 122 mm and has a 3-4.5-second delay time on the fuze. Distance of 35-45 meters with the minimum safety distance of 25 meters. The F1 grenade is a defensive hand grenade that has the appearance of the old pineapple grenade. Weight of the grenade with fuze is .566 kilograms. Length of the grenade body is 80 mm and the length of the grenade with fuze 100 mm. Delay time on the fuze is 4-5.5 seconds. Hand-throwing 35-45 meters with a minimum safety distance of 35 meters. The multi-functional grenade is green and is used to eliminate personnel from a fight and can punch light armor and destroy light construction.

Mirsand Brasov-Romania, (www.mirsand.rdsbv.ro), was offering two interesting 60mm mortar rounds, one an illumination round that was programmable to set up the characteristics of flight. The illuminating round is 400 mm long, and weighs 2,100 grams. It has a parachute and a flare, 280 grams. Muzzle velocity when it leaves the bore is 210 meters per second. The operator uses a fuze programmer - a small computer that programs range for height and parachute deployment, using standard incremental charges and standard aiming method. Communication is via a small cable to each round. Operating range is 300 to 2,200 meters. Intensity of illumination is 180,000-250,000 candle power; descent velocity three to five meters per second after deployment of the parachute. Illumination time 18-25 seconds. Mirsand has a “printed material” delivery 60mm round using a straight timing system on it for setting the fuze. This uses standard incremental charges. The length is 380 mm. Overall weight is 1,800 grams and the printed material cargo it can carry is 180 grams, plus two charges. It has a pyrotechnic fuze setting with an operating height of 300 to 1,500-meters. This is for delivering a cargo of printed material to scatter over an area.

SADJ spent a lot of time at Carfil (www.carfil.ro), all contact needs to go through Romarm, of course. The SPG-9 sight is made by IOR, with the model given is the AG-9M or an AG-9MD. It could also have a wheeled mount (not shown).

The SPG-9 has several standard rounds available, but the round that’s made for Carfil is the 73mm high-explosive steel cast iron bomb with the appearance of an 82mm mortar with an expeller cartridge. The expeller cartridge section and mortar round resemble the old B-10 82mm.

IOR, the optics group from Bucharest, was presenting night vision and other optic groups that they had. They have two products that they featured: first, a 3.5-18x50 with bullet drop compensator and sighting on it. The second one is a 6-24x56 bullet drop compensated set. Either one will withstand .338 or larger calibers. (www.ior.ro).