Armoured personnel carriers

To minimise dependence on such equipment, collective protection is a prerequisite. Toxic-free areas can be established by means of a filtered air supply and the maintenance of internal over-pressure in all enclosures, whether buildings in fixed installations like command posts and air bases, or in military vehicles including tanks and armoured personnel carriers, or in modern naval vessels by internal citadels or in improvised field shelters. Decontamination of personnel and equipment will provide further relief from the dangers of chemical agents. It is a labour-intensive process, involving a copious supply of water, the... 

Soviet Ground Forces have even more significant compensations. All their modern tanks and armoured personnel carriers have protective seal-out liners and positive-pressure filtered air systems. These features enable their crews to operate in a shirt sleeve environment at periods when NATO forces would require full individual protection. Soviet armour is fully capable of riding over and across contaminated ground and, after rapid decontamination, is able to resume the advance. Other fighting vehicles, including support vehicles, missile transporters, and command vehicles possess either air filtration systems (in the more modern models) or individual protective equipment for their crews. Collective protection facilities, like the PP-2, are also a prominent part of the Soviet inventory. Once erected in the field, these centres enable work to be undertaken without protective clothing or allow soldiers to eat, rest, and complete other bodily functions. They may serve various purposes, for example, as centres for command and communication and as medical aid posts. ... 

Soviet collective protection is aimed at providing an environment in which troops can safely operate without having to wear their personal kit, and can so escape the reduction in efficiency that personal protection entails. Headquarters vehicles, logistics vehicles, medical facilities, tanks, and some armoured personnel carriers are fitted with filtration systems and internal over-pressure to give... 

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