As part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front defence initiative, Metinvest Group has manufactured and assembled armoured protection for the control module of the MIM-104 Patriot system, which safeguards Ukraine’s skies from enemy attacks. Engineers from Metinvest have already mounted the first armour on an operational air defence control module.
Metinvest continues to actively expand the range of protective products it makes for Ukraine’s army, enhancing safety and protecting military equipment and the lives of defenders. The Group has mastered the production of steel screens for the main domestic T-64 and T-72 tanks, American M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and is preparing to integrate them into various Leopard 2 modifications. To date, more than 300 screens have been delivered to the military.
Oleksandr MYRONENKO, Chief Operating Officer of Metinvest Group and the head of the Group’s dedicated steel production for the needs of the Ukrainian army, said: “The defenders of the sky also need reliable protection. Since this is one of the key areas of the Steel Front initiative, where we have extensive experience, it is no surprise that we were entrusted with such a responsible mission. We developed the project from scratch in a month a half, and, following the blueprints, manufactured a shield for the crews of the Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) system using Metinvest’s Ukrainian armour steel. This shield guarantees protection against fragmentation damage for both the defenders and the air defence control system. Our experienced engineers also supervised the assembly of the armour.”
Metinvest’s engineers have mastered the production of a unique armoured shield for the command centre of the Patriot SAM, which manages this air defence system. The protection for the crew against fragmentation damage is made of 30KhN2MA grade steel, which inherently possesses enhanced properties of wear resistance, strength, toughness and resistance to mechanical stress.
The shield consists of nearly 200 elements – armoured steel plates with a thickness of up to 8 mm, which protect the air defence control centre. The total weight of the armour exceeds 2.6 tonnes but does not affect the system’s functionality or mobility. A team of project engineers worked on the development of the Patriot’s shield, overseeing the work of turners, mechanical assembly fitters and electric and gas welders.
In the face of the full-scale invasion, Metinvest’s priority, in addition to the survival of its business and the safety of its employees, has been to strengthen the defence capability of Ukraine’s army. To this end, as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front defence initiative, the Group has allocated UAH4.4 billion to support the needs of the country’s defenders.
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The Patriot system is a surface-to-air missile system. Its core component is the AN/MPQ-53 Patriot radar, which gives the system its name. This is a multi-purpose radar station with a passive phased array antenna (PESA) operating in G or H bands. The Patriot utilises advanced airborne interceptor missiles and highly efficient radar systems. The maximum range for detecting aerial targets is 170 km.
