Foreign tank builders demonstrated their latest achievements
The world's largest exhibition of ground weapons Eurosatory-2010, held in mid-June near Paris, turned out to be rich in novelties in the field of armored vehicles as never before. The main stars of the show were two new projects of the German companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall - Leopard 2A7 + and MBT Revolution, as well as the most modern Israeli tank Merkava Mk4, which was demonstrated abroad for the first time. In some Russian media outlets about this, a uniform lament broke out over the innocent T-95 killed by the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense. However, the conceptual approach demonstrated by the German and Israeli tank builders rather testifies to the correctness of the decision to stop work on the "object 195".
Marketers of the German firms Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall did their best in preparation for Eurosatory-2010, presenting upgrade packages for previously released MBT models as a kind of revolution in the field of armored vehicles. However, in fact, the Leopard 2A7 +, which is declared by the developers as a new generation combat vehicle, equally adapted for operations in large-scale conflicts and peacekeeping operations, primarily in urban areas, is a somewhat modernized version of the Leopard PSO (Peace Support Operations) … It was first shown on Eurosatory back in 2006. MBT Revolution is a package of modular solutions, the implementation of which can bring tanks of early modifications to a completely modern level. There is nothing revolutionary in both projects; such modernization options are being worked out in many countries, including Russia. The only thing that is somewhat unusual is the amount of changes offered by one package. At the same time, apparently, a complete re-equipment of one of the versions of Leopard 2 according to the Revolution project will cost the customer very, very expensive.
PLUS URBAN "SUIT"
Leopard 2A7 + has modular additional protection, improved avionics, improved mobility. According to the developers, it is equally well suited for duel tank battles in a "big war" and for counter-terrorist operations, including in urban settings. To do this, the Leopard 2A7 + has increased resistance to detonation on anti-tank mines and homemade landmines, and also has a two-level modular armor protection reinforcement kit. Victory in duel fights should be facilitated by strengthening the frontal projection of the hull and turret, which increases the armor's resistance to defeat by feathered armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles and cluster munitions. To counteract the latter, however, it is necessary to strengthen the protection of the upper part of the turret and the hull, but for some reason the official materials of Rheinmetall do not say this.
The invulnerability of the tank during hostilities on city streets is designed to provide all-aspect protection against shots from hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers.
The Leopard 2A7 + ammunition load includes a new high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a remote detonator DM 11, which can detonate over a target, in front of it or inside it: for example, breaking through a building wall. The ammunition is designed to defeat infantry located behind natural or artificial shelters, as well as light armored vehicles.
The fire control system (FCS) includes the commander's and gunner's sights with third-generation thermal imagers. Installed day and night vision systems, including for the driver.
Note that the equipment of the tank includes an auxiliary power unit, the climate system has been improved - this will improve the vehicle's habitability in hot climates.
The tower is equipped with a remotely controlled combat module FLW 200, designed to accommodate various types of weapons: 40-mm automatic grenade launcher, 7, 62-mm or 12, 7-mm machine gun.
In order to increase the mobility of the tank, the designers equipped the Leopard 2A7 + with new final drives, new tracks, torsion bars, and improved the braking system. A blade can be mounted on the front of the machine body.
As you can see, there is nothing supernaturally new in the next modification of the "Leopard". And the statement that a new generation tank was shown at Eurosatory-2010 is nothing more than a publicity stunt. Nothing is known about the export prospects of the Leopard 2A7 +, but the Bundeswehr has already announced its intentions to upgrade to the level of 2A7 + 150 Leopards of earlier modifications (possibly 2A5).
REVOLUTION OR EVOLUTION?
Much more interesting is the second project of German tank builders, positioned as a revolution in the field of MBT modernization. Showcased at the Paris show, the MBT Revolution was a deeply redesigned Leopard 2A4. The main directions of improvements designed to turn the tank produced in 1985-1992 into a modern combat vehicle capable of withstanding virtually all existing challenges are as follows:
- cardinal improvement of protection, overhead elements covering the entire tower and the frontal part of the hull, as well as two-thirds of the side (that is, the fighting compartment), must protect the tank from shots of all types of grenade launchers, and above all RPG-7, from mines, homemade land mines that strike elements of cluster munitions, OBPS, anti-tank missiles with optoelectronic, infrared and laser guidance systems;
- implementation of the "digital tower" technology, that is, the introduction of modern display facilities, network solutions and components into the OMS, which allow tracking the movements of friendly and enemy forces in real time, all-day surveillance and aiming equipment, providing the crew with a virtually all-round view from under armor: all this will allow tankers to reduce the reaction time to a particular threat;
- improving the characteristics of the FCS, so that the tank can hit targets with the first shot, especially on the move;
- the introduction of a "commander" brake into the design of the machine, which allows the senior crew member to personally stop the tank from his workplace if necessary: this function is positioned as very useful when moving a multi-ton mastodon along city streets, largely depriving him of the known awkwardness of an elephant trapped in china shop;
- introduction of modern shells into the tank ammunition;
- equipping the machine with a modern stabilized remotely controlled combat module of auxiliary weapons;
- the use of a communication system that allows the crew to exchange information with the infantry surrounding the tank;
- the introduction of an auxiliary power unit into the design, which supplies electricity to numerous electronic systems without the need to turn on the main engine: thereby not only saving the motor resource, but also reducing the thermal and acoustic signature of the machine;
- installation of equipment designed to include each main battle tank in a single automated logistic support system: this greatly simplifies and speeds up the process of providing tank units with ammunition, fuel and other logistic equipment.
The set of proposed changes is more interesting than in the case of the Leopard 2A7 +. True, here one cannot fail to note two features that can be considered as disadvantages: obviously, the high cost of alterations and a significant increase in the mass of the tank, which crawls out beyond sixty tons. That is why you should consider the individual elements of the MBT Revolution upgrade in more detail.
One of the most important factors in enhancing the security of the machine is the ROSY smoke screen system developed by Rheinmetall. It not only forms a multispectral smoke cloud in the detected direction of irradiation in less than 0.6 seconds, but also forms a dynamic smoke "wall" that allows the tank to quickly evade destruction in the event of a massive approach of anti-tank missiles.
The onboard equipment of the tank includes an optoelectronic detection system stabilized in two planes. It includes a thermal imager, a day camera and a laser rangefinder. The data necessary for the commander and gunner to assess the situation - the target, the distance to it, the type of ammunition, the state of the system itself - are displayed in the fighting compartment. It can display both a circular panorama of the battlefield and its fragment visible through a conventional sight.
Constant all-round observation of the battlefield, which reduces the load on the commander and gunner, is provided by the information system (SAS). Its functions include automatic detection and tracking of potential targets. SAS consists of four optical modules (although only two of them can be installed to reduce the cost of modification) at the corners of the tower, each of which has three lenses with a 60-degree field of view, as well as a high-resolution color camera and night vision components. To reduce the response time of the crew to the threat, information about the detected SAS target can be immediately transmitted to the OMS, primarily to the new generation Qimek remote weapon station located on the roof of the tower.
It is proposed to include new types of ammunition in the ammunition of the upgraded tank. In addition to the already mentioned high-explosive fragmentation projectile DM 11, this is a feathered sub-caliber projectile with a detachable pallet DM-53 (LKE II) 570 mm long, equipped with a tungsten alloy core (adopted in 1997), its modification DM-53A1 and further development DM 63. The last two ammunition are positioned as the world's first OPBS that retain constant ballistic characteristics regardless of the ambient temperature. According to the developer, the projectiles are optimized specifically for penetrating "double" reactive armor and are capable of striking all types of modern tanks head-on. This armor-piercing ammunition can be fired from 120-mm smooth-bore Rheinmetall guns with a barrel length of both 44 and 55 calibers.
The tank's onboard equipment complex is integrated into the tactical control system INIOCHOS, developed by the same Rheinmetall company and allowing information to be disseminated from a brigade commander to an individual soldier or combat vehicle. This system is used in the armed forces of Greece, Spain, Sweden and Hungary. All of them, with the exception of the latter aircraft, have various modifications of the Leopard 2 in their arsenals.
Thus, the modernization of the tank, carried out according to the MBT Revolution project, makes it possible to turn an armored monster, the ideology of the creation of which provided for the conduct of tank battles in the image and likeness of the battles of World War II, into a modern vehicle, equally well prepared for battles with enemy tanks and with partisan formations with only mobile anti-tank weapons. The latest developments in the field of electronics, optics, communications give the crew, instead of fragmentary "pictures" in periscopes and sights, which are very limited in terms of angle of view and range, a full panorama of the surrounding space, showing the location of the enemy and the maneuvers of their unit. The digital tower concept actually helps the crew see through the armor. But it is precisely this property that is one of the most important when creating a new generation tank with an uninhabited turret and an armored capsule for the crew, which was conceived by the domestic T-95. That is, if there is an opportunity to work out the most important technologies of the future on previously built machines, there is no need to rush to develop a fundamentally new MBT concept, because the modernization potential of the third post-war generation tanks has not yet been exhausted.
This does not mean at all that Russia should completely abandon the creation of a new generation tank, moreover, such work must be carried out at an accelerated pace. However, priority attention now needs to be paid not to the caliber of the gun, the layout and the armor protection scheme, but to the technologies that the Germans are proposing to implement today on third-generation tanks. Moreover, it is here that the weakest link in the Russian defense industry is located.
TROPHY FOR "MERKAVA"
Leopard 2 is considered to be the best western tank. This is confirmed by the extensive export deliveries of the machine. Today, in addition to the Bundeswehr, it is in service with the armies of 15 states in Europe, America and Asia. Moreover, the good export potential of the car is still preserved. Unlike him, another Eurosatory-2010 debutant, the Israeli Merkava Mk.4, has no such potential.
There are several reasons for this. This is the high cost of the tank, estimated from $ 5 to $ 6 million per unit (for comparison: the Leopard 2A6 costs about 4.5 million), and the large mass - about 65 tons, and the design, largely focused on a single theater of war. - The Middle East, and Israel's limited ability to mass-produce tanks of its own design. At the same time, the demonstration of the Merkava Mk.4 in Paris attracted the attention of specialists, including, according to eyewitnesses, and the chief of armaments of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Popovkin. The reason is clear - all the same modern technologies embodied by Israeli tank builders in the design of this MBT.
Of interest to foreign military personnel (including, as it turned out, Russian ones) are the MSA, which allows the tank, according to the developers, to confidently hit attack helicopters, a combat automated control system that receives information from other vehicles and UAVs, forms a picture of the battlefield and exchanges it with tanks of the unit, as well as an active protection system. Currently, the Merkava Mk.4 MBT is being equipped with the Trophy system, designed to counter ATGM and RPG shots. This is the first serially adopted system of this type. It consists of four tower-mounted radars that detect ATGMs and grenades flying up to the tank, and two rotating launchers located on the right and left sides of the tower, which fire small anti-missiles in a threatened direction. The cost of one Trophy system is about 200 thousand dollars.
It is known that the world's first system of this type, the Arena active protection complex, was developed in the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980s. However, the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent period of systemic crisis prevented the adoption of "Arena" into service and introduction into the troops. According to domestic experts, the combat capabilities of the Arena are higher than those of the Israeli counterpart. Whether this is really so or not is difficult to say, especially since other specialists representing the rival camp of the creators of offensive weapons believe that the Trophy, like any complex of this type, is not an insurmountable obstacle for modern rocket-propelled anti-tank grenade launchers and ATGMs. But, apparently, KAZ "Arena" still retains its combat potential, which makes it possible to strengthen the protection of domestic tanks and raise their attractiveness in the eyes of foreign buyers.
When analyzing the results of the last Eurosatory-2010 show in the field of armored vehicles, it should be emphasized that Russian MBTs have not yet shown a catastrophic lag behind foreign models. Moreover, in some areas, in particular in the field of active protection systems, a certain priority still remains. But here it should be noted that the volume of work on the development of modern technologies in the field of visualization, automated command and control of troops and weapons, communications is very large and requires urgent cardinal decisions related, possibly, to the import of the most critical technologies.
