The Snezka full-tracked reconnaissance system has been developed by the Military Institute for Weapon and Ammunition Technology to meet the operational requirements of the Czech Army and, following trials with two prototype systems, a production order has been placed. The stretched chassis is manufactured by the VOP 026 facility.

The main role of the Snezka reconnaissance vehicle is to provide a real-time target acquisition capability for self-propelied artillery units including the following:

(1) Detection, recognition and tracking of stationary and moving targets and groups of targets

(2) Observation of fall of shot of artillery projectiles

(3) Measuring co-ordinates of above targets, processing target information and passing this onto the next chain of command so that the targets can be engaged.

Snezka is based on a stretched and modified BMP-1 full-tracked infantry fighting vehicle chassis which has a total of seven roadwheels either side and a raised superstructure towards the rear.

The hull of the vehicle is of all-welded steel armour which provides protection from small arms fire and shell splinters. The driver is seated at the front left with the engine compartment to his right.

The engine air inlet and outlet louvres are in the roof of the engine compartment with the shrouded exhaust outlet on the right side of the hull. The vehicle can lay its own smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust outlet.

The driver has a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the right and to the front of this and to the immediate left is a total of four periscopes, one of which can be replaced by a passive periscope for driving at night.

To the rear of the driver is another crew position which is provided with a single-piece hatch cover and three periscopes for forward observation. In addition, there is another vision device located in the actual hatch cover.

The raised superstructure has two hatches with the one on the left side being provided with a circular cupola which can be traversed through a full 360° and is armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun which can be used for surface/surface and surface/air roles. The hatch on the right opens to the right and is not provided with any observation devices.

Normal means of entry and exit is via two doors in the hull rear with the left door having a single firing port. Mounted on either side of the hull is a bank of three electrically operated smoke grenade launchers which fire to the front of the vehicle.

The suspension is of the torsion bar type with either side having seven single rubber-tyred roadwheels with the drive sprocket at the front, idler at the rear and track-return rollers. The upper part of the suspension is covered by a light steel skirt and shock-absorbers are fitted on the first two and last two roadwheel stations.

The Snezka system is fully amphibious being propelled in the water by its tracks. Before entering the water the trim vane is erected at the front of the vehicle and the bilge pumps are switched on. Standard equipment includes an NBC system and passive night vision devices.

A laser detector system is fitted as standard with the detector heads being fitted either side of the hull towards the front. A fire detection and suppression system is fitted as standard as are crew compartment heaters. To provide additional power for the wide range of electronic devices installed on the Snezka, a portable generator is carried as part of its standard equipment. Mounted on the roof is a hydraulically operated arm on the top of which is the sensor package.

To enable the system to carry out its battlefield mission, the following equipment has been installed on the mast: battlefield radar whose antenna can be traversed through 360°, day/night TV system, thermal camera, laser range-finder and wind velocity measuring unit.

The radar can detect a person at a range of 9,000 m and a tank at a range of 33,000 m with radar range for an artillery explosion being 15,000 m. It can measure artillery explosions with an accuracy of 20 m.

The radar is provided by HTT-Tesla, is designated the BR2140E and operates in the l/J band. This is essentially the Belgian/Israeli EL/M-2140 radar.

The electro-optical module incorporates a laser range-finder, thermal camera and three charge-coupled device TV cameras for day and night operation.

The latter includes a JPJ-ll-200 night camera with a second-generation image intensification tube which can detect a tank at a range of 1.6 km. The near infrared cameras include a JPJ-S-300 unit with a 10 km tank detection range and a JPJ-0-78 unit with a 5 km tank detection range.

The laser range-finder has a maximum range of 30,000 m. Internal functions such as aiming marks, electronic bore sighting and focus adjustment are controlled by an RS-485 serial link.

When fully raised, the mast is 14 m above the ground surface and can be traversed 190° left and right with the sensor head capable of being depressed from -30 to +60°. The mast takes 90 seconds to raise and 60 seconds to return to the travelling position.

The mast is referred to as the Manipulator of Position (MP) on which the pedestal of the Sensors System Manipulator (SSM) is mounted. The SSM contains the sensor head together with the reconnaissance sensors and the control and propulsion modules.

Internally the Snezka is provided with positions for vehicle commander who is provided with a PC, radar system operator and the operator of all the other surveillance systems.

Internally, the vehicle is fitted with a land navigation system and additional communications equipment which allows target information to be sent to a fire-control unit up to 14,000 m away.

Development complete. In production for the Czech Republic.