The newest tanks of Russia - a revolution in the construction of armored vehicles

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

For six decades, Russian tank building has been based on the experience of the Great Patriotic War. The T-60, T-72, T-72 and other formidable armored vehicles borrowed the most important technical solutions from their predecessor, the T-54, to a greater or lesser extent. The changed tactics of warfare and the emergence of modern means of destruction have led to the abandonment of classical schemes in many countries. The survival of the crew in the event of armor-piercing shells and missiles hitting the hull became an urgent problem.

Fundamentally new solutions were required, and they appeared. In the USA, Germany, Israel and other countries that produce powerful armored vehicles, they took a completely logical path of increasing armor protection and enlargement of gun calibers. The line of thought is generally correct, but dead-end: the weight of the machine, its dimensions are growing, the possibilities of transporting equipment are decreasing, speed and maneuverability are deteriorating.

The latest Russian tanks combine the advantages of Western models with the advantages of domestic technology. The development of the "object 195" began in the late eighties. The main difference of this mysterious model, even the appearance of which was kept secret for a long time, is that its tower is unusually small. The commander's seat has been moved to the armored hull, or rather, to the armored capsule, which reliably protects the crew from enemy fire weapons. Thanks to this solution, the newest Russian tanks have a relatively low weight (up to 50 tons), which allows them to be equipped with powerful weapons while maintaining the ability to reach high speeds (up to 65 km/h).

During the design and development work, there have been revolutionary changes in the element base of electronic equipment. Such fire control systems became possible, which the engineers of the 80s and 90s could not even dream of. The latest Russian tanks are equipped with active means of protection against missiles and even projectiles that pose a threat to them. It became possible to reduce the number of crew members and significantly lighten the on-board equipment.

The result of the improvements was Russia's new tank "Armata", combining the best technical solutions developed during the design of the "object 105" and completely new ideas. It is also important that the production of this type of weapons will cost much less.

Uninhabited tower lowers the silhouette, which is very important in modern combat. The newest Russian tanks will be equipped with a unique external orientation system, which will increase visibility, the lack of which all combat vehicles previously produced in the world suffered from. Achieved itdue to special fiber-optic information interfaces and TV cameras that provide the effect of "seeing through the armor".

According to experts familiar with the prototypes, the newest Russian tanks are ahead of time by a good decade, during which none of the countries producing armored vehicles will be able to develop something like this. The specialists of Uralvagonzavod, where the production of the miracle machine is planned, modestly specify that they simply completed the technical order. True, completely and honestly.