Closed and forgotten projects of military equipment can be remembered for various reasons. One of them is the longing for bygone times and the desire to return to its former power. Moreover, such memories often resemble the most ordinary dreams, divorced from life. This is what the current discussions about the resumption of the development of the promising Object 477A1 tank look like. This project was abandoned many years ago, but there are still people who want to continue development and even bring the promising car to the series and the army.
This time, the Ukrainian specialist in armored vehicles Serhiy Zgurets recalled the rather old project "Object 477A1", also known by the cipher "Nota". Not so long ago, he published his thoughts on the further development of the Ukrainian armored program. In his opinion, having completed the production of the main tanks "Oplot-T" for Thailand, the industry must master the assembly of completely new equipment. S. Zgurets proposes to produce not only "Oplot-M" vehicles for his own army, but also promising models with improved characteristics.
The alleged appearance of the tank "477A" mod. 1993 year
The Ukrainian author proposes to recall the project "Object 477A1" / "Nota", the work on which was completed many years ago. He points out that this machine could become a real revolution in tank building. The tank with high performance is proposed to be rebuilt in accordance with the current requirements and technological capabilities. So, the 152-mm gun should be replaced with a 140 mm caliber system developed in NATO countries. The onboard equipment must be rebuilt using a modern element base.
S. Zgurets claims that one of the mock-ups of the MBT "Nota" built in the past was planned to be shown last year at the Kiev parade dedicated to the Independence Day. This event, he believes, would have caused "a much greater sensation than showing the Russian" Armata "on Red Square." However, the public demonstration of the layout was abandoned. Nevertheless, the expert believes that the "Object 477A1" should be updated and put into production. The implementation of such plans will have the most positive effect on the state of Ukrainian tank building.
The proposals of the Ukrainian armored vehicle specialist look curious and, from certain points of view, very interesting. Nevertheless, the real state of affairs is very difficult, and therefore "Object 477A1" has no chance of getting out of the stage of development work. However, this does not interfere with considering one of the most interesting projects of recent decades, as well as evaluating the latest proposals for its completion.
The history of the project with the code "Nota" goes back to the first half of the eighties. At that time, all Soviet tank-building enterprises were working on the appearance of a promising new generation combat vehicle. Since 1984, the Kharkov Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering has been developing a project called "Object 477". Initially, he had an additional name "Boxer", which was later replaced by "Hammer". As the project developed, the letter "A" was added to the numbers in the designation.
The development of the 477A / Hammer tank continued until the early nineties. In the near future, it was planned to assemble an experimental batch of several dozen armored vehicles and conduct state tests. Nevertheless, the difficult situation in the country and the subsequent disintegration of the USSR did not allow the fulfillment of all existing plans. Lack of sufficient funding led to the fact that all the few "Hammers" went into storage. In fact, this technique was left without a future.
However, just a few years later, the military departments and defense enterprises of the independent states were able to resume cooperation, thanks to which the development of the Kharkov projects continued. The existing "Object 477A" was proposed to be modified using certain systems. In this form, the tank received the designation "477A1" and the name "Nota". Despite a sharp decline in pace, work continued.
The customer for the new project was the Russian Ministry of Defense. The main developer was KMDB; several more enterprises were hired to work as suppliers of individual systems and components. It should be noted that such international cooperation in the future became one of the prerequisites for the closure of the project.
The proposed layout of the MBT "Object 477A1"
The Nota project, being a further development of the Boxer / Hammer, retained a number of fundamentally new ideas and solutions for tank building. So, the hull was proposed to be built according to the traditional scheme, but with the placement of the entire crew under the protection of the sides and roof. Accordingly, a tower was used with maximum automation of control processes and preparation for a shot. The frontal part of the hull received modular booking with a total thickness of about 1 m. The sides were protected by a complex of five different means. Provided for the use of dynamic and active protection.
It should be noted that obtaining the highest technical and combat characteristics led to an excessive increase in mass. To keep this parameter at an acceptable level, some of the steel parts had to be replaced with titanium - lightweight but expensive. And even after that, "Hammer" and "Nota" barely fit into the mass requirements.
Directly behind the frontal obstacle inside the hull were located the control compartment (at the left side) and one of the fuel tanks (on the right). The central compartment of the hull was given over to the fighting compartment, which accommodated two crew members and automatic loading. The feed was traditionally given for power units.
Prospective tanks of the "477" family were proposed to be equipped with 1500 hp engines. Most of the prototypes used diesel engines, while some were experimentally equipped with gas turbines. Next to the engine was a transmission connected to the rear drive wheels. A characteristic feature of the Note and its predecessors was an elongated seven-wheel chassis. On each side there were seven road wheels with individual torsion bar suspension and hydraulic shock absorbers. The presence of the seventh pair of rollers made it possible to compensate for the increase in the size of the hull.
The most important feature of the Object 477A1 tank was the semi-remote placement of the gun. Instead of the traditional turret, a reduced-size dome with a large central unit was placed on the pursuit of the hull, inside which there were a cannon breech and automatic loaders. At the same time, we were not talking about direct borrowing of all units from the base "Object 477A". Changes in armament requirements led to a redesign of the fighting compartment systems.
The customer decided to keep the 152 mm 2A73 gun. At the same time, it was proposed to use new shots. Products with a length of about 1, 8 required to redesign the existing design of the automatic loader. For storage and supply of ammunition, three drum magazines were used. In the center of the fighting compartment there was a 10-round consumable drum. Two more were placed at the sides, each for 12 shells. There were also means for reloading ammunition from the replenishment drums into the consumable one, as well as for sending shots to the gun chamber. The proposed design of the automatic loader had certain drawbacks, but it was distinguished by its simplicity, and also made it possible to make the first shot in just 4 seconds.
In the Nota project, a unique weapons control complex was proposed, which included many different devices. Complete analogues of such a system have appeared only in recent years. The complex included sights with different optical and thermal channels, a developed on-board computer, a satellite navigation system, means of state target identification, etc. A new target tracking machine was developed, and the possibility of supplementing optical devices with a radar station was studied. Finally, the plans of the KMDB designers were to create radio control equipment for the tank.
One of the built layouts "Notes"
A crew of three was supposed to drive the combat vehicle. The driver was located in the front of the hull. In the fighting compartment, next to the automatic loader, there were the gunner and the commander. All crew members had their own hatches in the roof of the hull and the dome of the tower, equipped with observation devices.
All tanks of the "477" family were distinguished by their large dimensions, and the "Object 477A1" should not have been an exception. The length of the vehicle with the cannon in front exceeded 10.5 m, the height was about 2.5 m. The width was limited by the requirements of railway transport. For comparison, the main tanks of the previous generation had a length of less than 9.5 m with a height of up to 2.3 m. The mass of the armored vehicle came close to the maximum permissible 50 tons.
According to various sources, within the framework of the Nota project, about a dozen prototypes were assembled, differing in the configuration and various design features. Most of these tanks remained in Kharkov, while several were transferred to Russia for study at their own training grounds. Also in the past, a certain groundwork was mentioned for the construction of serial equipment.
Work on the Object 477A1 tank continued until the beginning of the 2000s. Then Russia decided to abandon this project and stopped funding the work. Probably, this decision was due to the desire to concentrate all efforts on the development of their own enterprises, such as "Object 195" or "Object 640". The refusal of the Russian side actually put an end to the history of a promising project. Ukraine could not continue work on its own, and therefore the project had to be frozen.
According to some reports, a few years after the work was stopped, Ukrainian tank builders tried to find new customers. "Note" was offered to representatives of various foreign armies, but they did not show interest in it and did not agree to pay for the continuation of development and order serial equipment in the future.
For many years, at least some of the 477A1 prototypes were idle at Ukrainian and Russian sites. Despite the secrecy of the project, images of these machines appeared in the public domain several times. However, now such secrecy did not make much sense, although the machines still had to be protected from industrial espionage.
A few days ago, Ukraine again remembered a project that was once considered promising and promising. At the same time, it was immediately proposed not only to launch "Note" into series, but to upgrade it first. First of all, it was proposed to replace the 152-mm cannon with a foreign system with a caliber of 140 mm, and update the electronics with the use of modern devices. As expected, a great future is predicted for such a tank.
View from a different angle
However, considering the proposed modernization option for Object 477A1, one should recall the fate of the original project. Having lost Russian support, he stopped. Ukraine could not independently continue work for financial and production reasons, which led to the actual termination of work. So why should we now expect that the neighboring state will be able to independently carry out all the necessary work, modernize and fine-tune the tank, and then set up its serial production?
As far as we know, at the time of the termination of work, "Object 477A1" was still not ready to undergo full-fledged tests, not to mention service in the troops. Thus, its completion requires a certain time, as well as appropriate funding. Whether Ukraine will be able to find the money it needs is a big question with a predictable answer.
For political reasons, Kiev broke off military-technical cooperation with our country several years ago. As a result, now he will not be able to restore the cooperation that worked on the Nota project. The possibility of creating new ties with enterprises of other countries, in turn, raises the most serious doubts. And without foreign components, both modernization and simple completion of the development of the original project are impossible.
Ukraine cannot produce its own 152 mm cannons. Replacing such a gun with a 140-mm one also does not solve current problems. S. Zgurets proposes to use a foreign-made cannon, but all foreign projects of this kind have already been discontinued. Moreover, it is unlikely that foreign countries will share their advanced developments with Ukrainian tank builders. However, the project "Nota" could use its own Ukrainian gun "Bagheera". But even this project has not been able to leave the category of experimental development for many years.
The situation is similar with many other components of a promising tank. The machine may need modern control electronics, optoelectronic systems, protective equipment, etc. Where to get them in the current situation is a question without an acceptable answer. The Ukrainian industry is able to provide some of the required components, but they may have to be modified in accordance with the requirements of Nota. In addition, the tank itself may need to be altered.
The project of a promising tank "Object 477" / "Hammer" has become an important page in the history of Soviet tank building. Its further development under the name "Object 477A1" / "Nota" remained in history as an interesting example of maintaining industrial ties and developing new technology by the forces of several states, formerly one country. Everything suggests that this will be the main achievement of the "Nota" theme. Despite many discussions and the most daring proposals, this project has been stopped, and there are no chances for its renewal. Nothing prevents you from dreaming about the resumption of a closed project, but reality has already said its weighty word.
