The 7th international exhibition of land and naval weapons called DEFEXPO 2012 has opened in India. The exhibition will run in the capital of India from March 29 to April 2. Russian defense enterprises will present more than 150 samples of military products at the exhibition. The main Russian brand of this international exhibition of the Asia-Pacific region will be the T-90S, or rather a deeply modernized version of this main battle tank. This presentation will be of a landmark nature, since it is India that is the main foreign customer of the T-90S. This tank makes up to a quarter of the entire tank fleet of the Indian army, which is represented mainly by Soviet and Russian-made vehicles.
In the course of the upcoming negotiations within the framework of the exhibition, the Russian delegation is going to discuss the comprehensive modernization of the T-72 and T-90S tanks previously supplied to India. The corresponding statement on the eve of the opening of the DEFEXPO 2012 exhibition was made by the head of the delegation at the exhibition, Deputy General Director of OJSC Rosoboronexport Viktor Komardin. In 2001, Russia sold India a license to manufacture 1,000 T-90S tanks. But the licensed production of these tanks, which in India received the name "Bhishma", at the local tank plant in Avadi managed to establish only in 2009. Prior to that, a large batch of Russian-made T-90S tanks (310 units) was delivered to the country in 2002. The second contract provided for the supply of 124 ready-made tanks and 223 vehicle kits for assembly, this contract was implemented in 2008-2011. Currently, the Indian army is armed with about 640 T-90S tanks, up to 2000 T-72M1 and about 800 obsolete T-54 / T-55 tanks. The number of Arjun's own development tanks is approximately 120 units. Indian development is inferior to Russian tanks in a number of parameters.
India has been the main buyer of Russian weapons for many years. According to estimates by the Center for the Analysis of World Arms Trade (TsAMTO) in 2008-2011, Russia retained its first place in the Indian arms market, having supplied the country with military equipment worth $ 7.16 billion, or 51.6% of the total import volume. … According to forecasts of TsAMTO, the volume of Russian arms exports to India in 2012-2015 will more than double, reaching $ 14.6 billion. That is why Russia pays special attention to this exhibition. The developer of the T-90S tank NPK Uralvagonzavod prepared a separate stand at the exhibition, which housed a full-scale model of the tank presented in a desert landscape.
T-90 Indian Army
Despite retaining the name, the T-90S appears to be practically a new machine. It could well be called T-2011 or T-92. Although the designers themselves, it seems, have not yet fully decided on the name and the name T-90AM has appeared in the press for a long time. It is assumed that the confusion could have arisen due to problems with the declassification of the machine. One way or another, at "Uralvagonzavod" they did not really invent something and called the new car the modernization of the T-90S.
The main difference between the new tank is in its turret, although it is no longer called a turret in the usual sense of the word, rather it is a module. This module is equipped with a large number of innovative combat control systems. The vehicle commander now has the ability to autonomously destroy enemy personnel located at a close distance from the MBT. Now the commander can get a picture of a circular view, thanks to prism devices and a panoramic sight. The new turret has an advanced control system, a more accurate and reliable 125 mm cannon and a 7.62 mm remote-controlled machine gun. Due to the installation of a multi-channel gunner's sight, a stabilized panoramic sight of the commander and a circular video surveillance system, the automated fire control system of the tank ensures the detection, recognition and destruction of targets from a place and in motion at any time of the day or night.
If we talk directly about the gun itself, then this is the 125-mm 2A46M-5 cannon. The gun's ammunition consists of 40 rounds, 22 of which are already ready for direct use and are in the automatic loader. Thanks to the use of a chrome-plated barrel coating, its resource was raised by 70%. This can be considered a real success for the designers, since with intensive firing, tanks of previous generations could reduce their combat effectiveness due to a violation of the accuracy of the gun.
T-90S modernized
The tank has excellent protection. According to the developers, none of the modern anti-tank missiles can hit it in a frontal projection. The developers managed to achieve such reliability through the use of innovative approaches in solving this problem. The tank uses a new generation of dynamic protection - "Relic". The tank is reliably protected not only from missiles, but also from sub-caliber shells, the protection system simply breaks the cores of this type of ammunition, preventing them from inflicting damage on the vehicle. In addition, the tank is equipped with protection against shrapnel variants of hitting the hull. This protection is based on high-strength, high-strength shields that are resistant to mechanical stress. The armor protection of the MBT side projections allows the crew to feel safe, even when they are sideways to the enemy.
The placement of the vehicle's ammunition in a separate module, and not inside the hull, as was the case on previous vehicles, is also aimed at increasing the survivability of the tank. This approach to the placement of ammunition is able to significantly increase the survivability of the vehicle, preventing the detonation of ammunition when an enemy projectile enters the hull.
Another innovation was an additional diesel generator set, which serves to power the tank while it is parked. Its use not only reduces fuel consumption, but also significantly reduces the visibility of the tank in infrared radiation. Previously, in this state, the tank was an ideal target for the enemy. At the same time, no disguise could save him. Now the tank and its crew are reliably protected even while the tank is in a state of activity.
Changes have also been made to the internal component of the tank. The car is equipped with a modern air conditioner, which in Indian conditions is an indispensable thing. Also, for the first time in the history of Russian main tanks, the vehicle is controlled not with the help of levers, but with the help of the steering wheel. Also, the tank is equipped with an automatic transmission with the ability to switch to manual control. All this has a positive effect on the handling of the tank, and on the comfort and efficiency of the driver.
T-90S modernized at the exhibition in Nizhny Tagil
The upgraded version of the T-90S tank has a more powerful 1130 hp diesel engine. Despite the fact that the tank became heavier up to 48 tons (the mass increased by 1.5 tons), the speed indicators of the vehicle remained at the same level. The tank is able to accelerate on a flat surface up to 60 km / h. Although it is inferior in speed to the American "Abrams" A2SEP and the German "Leopard 2A6", its level of pressure per unit area is 10% lower than that of foreign analogues, which has a positive effect on its cross-country ability. At the same time, the power density of the T-90S tank is in no way inferior to the power density of the M1A2SEP tank and is 24 hp. per ton.
The vehicle is controlled by a crew of 3 people, two of whom (the gunner and the tank commander) are located in the turret compartment. The tank's crew can participate in the development of tactical plans directly in conditions of combat contact with the enemy, thanks to the Kalina FCS installed on the vehicle with an integrated combat information and control system of the tactical echelon. Communication with the command is carried out via a special digital channel. Inside the tank, the crew speaks using the intra-facility communication system based on the allocated frequency range.
The upgraded T-90S tank uses 2 navigation systems: inertial and satellite. This combination of systems will allow the crew to track the coordinates of the tank even in terrain with limited capabilities for the functioning of communication channels. The latest military conflicts with the use of American tanks against the Taliban forces in Afghanistan have shown that even GPS navigation is not always effective, while the inertial system in this case can provide real help to tankers.
