On the same day that Vladimir Putin has expanded the nuclear doctrine of Kremlinhe Ministry of Emergency Situations Russia announced that it was beginning mass production of mobile air raid shelters that protect against a variety of threats, including shock waves and radiation from a nuclear explosion.
The shelters KUB-Mwhich designed and produces the All-Russian Research Institute for Civil Defense and Emergency Situationsare available in Russia from 2017but until now scaling production had not been considered. Each of them has an approximate cost of 360,000 euros and is composed of 2 standard intermodal containers 12 meters long: one with space to house, supposedly, 54 people in only 27.95 m²and the second is a technical unit which contains bathrooms, filtration units and a diesel power generator that gives it an autonomy of 48 hours. Both containers are airtight.
‘KUB-M provides 48-hour protection against the air shock wave and light radiation of a nuclear explosion; the penetration of radiation and radioactive contamination of the area; the high explosive and fragmentation effects of conventional weapons; falling debris from building structures; hazardous chemicals; fires,’ the institute noted in a press release last year about the shelter.
Each shelter has a manufacturing period 3 monthscan be transported by road or rail, and its capacity can be expanded adding new modules.
To provide protection against the shock waves and radiation of a nuclear explosion, the KUB-M must protect yourself with 400 x 600 mm concrete blockswith a 10 cm space filled with sand.
In photos published by Russian media, you can see KUB-M shelters, theoretically completed, but only partially covered by the concrete blocks. This could be so that the container can be seen in the images, but the entrance door cannot be blocked with concrete for obvious reasons,raising questions about its effectiveness in stopping the effects of a nuclear explosion.
Curiously, the KUB-M have not been able to obtain the legal consideration of shelters until May of this year. Until then, Russian legislation only recognized as refuges stationary objectsbut the Ministry of Emergency Situations promoted legislative changes to also include these modular structures.