Russia showed its railway ‘armored fortress’ Baikal in the war zone
Along with all the military platforms that are engaged in the war in Ukraine, Baikal remains little in countries. But he continues to work in the war zone, says the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
The department released a video showing the operation of the Russian Baikal armored train. The Russians call it an armored fortress. The train is equipped with various weaponry such as drones, anti-aircraft missile systems, and mobile vehicles in its freight cars.
What does Baikal do?
The video shows the different work that Baikal performs by moving the railway tracks. The anti-aircraft missile system [according to sources there are two/three of them] is located in an open carriage. Its function is to monitor what is happening in the air. The anti-aircraft gun operator says they had a tough time on the train, including dealing with enemy artillery fire.
Russian soldiers stationed on the train are also seen using drones. No word on whether they have kamikaze drones in the wagons, but they do have reconnaissance mini quadcopters. The video footage shows the train stopping and the drone starting up. The type controlling the drones performs periodic reconnaissance in the area where the train is moving.
Also, teams from the train are involved in demining the railway tracks. The video shows how the entire Baikal train set stopped. Mine action teams search and find an explosion near the railway. They decided that rather than risk being defused, the blast should be detonated deliberately but in a controlled manner. And that’s exactly what they’re doing.
“The special train is armed with the necessary means to combat sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy, as well as anti-aircraft guns to destroy unmanned aerial vehicles,” the Russian ministry said.
About Baikal
Baikal participated in the war from its very beginning. Western media reported as early as last March about the train’s involvement in Russian military operations. It was first spotted on March 9, 2022, 25 km north of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol.
According to various information gathered, the train has two diesel locomotives and eight motor trains. Two armored cars are always next to the locomotives. The open carriages immediately behind them are equipped with two ZU-23 twin-barreled 23 mm automatic guns.
The train also has a passenger and command car. They are all armored. There is a flatbed car that is trailing at the end of the train set. However, the central part of the whole composition is hidden. There is no information on what exactly is there. It may have a long-range anti-aircraft missile system or an anti-aircraft defense system. Let’s not forget that Russia has a special train adapted to transport and launch ballistic missiles.
The use of Baikal also has another purpose: the protection of military supplies for the Russian army in the region of the war zone. This shows concern and suggests that Ukraine could still attack these supplies precisely deep behind the Russian military, through the use of sabotage groups. Just as is the case with the shown controlled detonation of the blast next to the railroad that I mentioned earlier.
Baikal is not the only military armored train. In late 2022, the other armored fortress Amur was spotted checking dangerous roads and cargo en route to the war zone in Ukraine. Apparently, the time of these trains has not yet passed when they are used in the war in 2023.
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