For a long period of time, Soviet military developments in the 1980s in the field of tank building remained a secret behind seven seals. Only in our days, already in the XXI century, this veil of secrecy is gradually disappearing, and we begin to learn about what amazing projects of combat vehicles were developed already in those years. One of these unusual combat vehicles, which was not destined to get to the stage of mass production, was the main battle tank "Object 490", developed in the second half of the 1980s at the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau.
A fairly detailed description of the tank "Object 490" was published on the website btvt.info in the material "Object 490." A promising tank of the 21st century ", this site belongs to the well-known blogger andrei_bt, specializing in tank technology, mainly from the Kharkov school. It is curious that in this combat vehicle, the designers expected to implement a number of very bold ideas and innovations. For example, the crew had to consist of only two people and be housed in a separate capsule compartment, the tank's undercarriage was four-tracked, and the powerful 152-mm tank gun was housed in an uninhabited turret.
In October 1984, the leadership of the GBTU and GRAU arrived in Kharkov, headed by Generals Potapov and Bazhenov, in order to familiarize themselves with the development process of a promising tank on the spot. At that time, a 125-mm cannon was installed on Object 490A (a variant of a 130-mm gun was being worked out), but talk about increasing the caliber of tank guns had been heard for a long time. The controversy was mainly about the calibers 140 mm and 152 mm. General Litvinenko, the head of the NKT GRAU (Scientific Committee of the Main Artillery and Missile Directorate), managed to prove the effectiveness of the 152-mm cannon for the tank. From that moment on, the 152 mm caliber was approved for promising tanks of the future.
Wooden model of the first version of the new layout of the tank "Object 490"
It is worth noting that in the USSR, large-caliber guns on tanks and self-propelled anti-tank artillery were abandoned after the end of World War II, leaving it for self-propelled guns and towed artillery. But by the 1980s, the topic of using large-caliber tank guns was again on the agenda, this was directly related to the strengthening of tank armor and the emergence of new protection systems for armored vehicles. In this regard, the 152-mm caliber looked preferable to the 130 and 140 mm guns, taking into account the already developed technologies and the large arsenal of ammunition available in this caliber. The use of such weapons on the tank made it possible to use powerful ammunition from the artillery arsenal: high-explosive fragmentation, thermobaric, corrected Krasnopol artillery shells and even tactical nuclear ammunition.
The flight speed of armor-piercing subcaliber shells fired from such guns was also outstanding. For example, the 2A83 cannon created in Yekaterinburg at the plant No. 9 provided the projectile with an initial velocity of 1980 m / s, while at a distance of 2000 meters it decreased by only 80 m / s. In this regard, the engineers came close to the 2000 m / s line, which, according to the designer Joseph Yakovlevich Kotin, was the "ceiling" for gunpowder artillery. The armor penetration of such a gun reaches 1000 mm when using armor-piercing feathered subcaliber projectiles. At the same time, as experts note, for 152-mm shells, armor penetration in the classical sense is often not required, since the kinetic energy of such ammunition is so great that it can, with a direct hit, disrupt the tower of an enemy tank from the shoulder strap, even without breaking through the armor.
The transition to the 152-mm caliber demanded from the Kharkov designers a complete re-arrangement of the future promising battle tank. The new version of the tank received the designation "Object 490" and was specially redesigned to equip the 152-mm 2A73 tank gun. Work on this combat vehicle resulted in the creation of one of the most unusual and fundamentally new projects in the history of not only domestic, but also world tank building. The Object 490 was supposed to be distinguished from the existing counterparts by high firepower, excellent mobility and an unparalleled level of crew protection.
Placement of compartments of the tank "Object 490" early version: 1 - fuel compartment; 2 - compartment of engine and power plant systems; 3 - main armament compartment; 4 - compartment of the automatic loader; 5 - crew compartment
The main principle, which was implemented in the promising Object 490 tank, was the division of the combat vehicle into five compartments isolated from each other with their location along the longitudinal axis of the tank from bow to stern in a sequence that corresponded to their contribution to the combat effectiveness of the tank. So the first was the fuel compartment, which was distinguished by the presence of the minimum admissible armor protection from the most common means of destruction (700 mm and 1000 mm from the BPS and KS). Damage to the fuel compartment, separated by longitudinal partitions, and partial loss of fuel during hostilities did not lead to the loss of the tank's combat effectiveness.
Directly behind the fuel compartment in the hull was the compartment for the engine and power plant systems, and above it was the compartment for the main armament of the tank with a 152-mm gun. These compartments had a higher level of protection, since the failure of the gun or engines significantly reduced the combat capabilities of the vehicle. The fuel compartment located in the bow of the tank hull served as a screen for the power plant and significantly increased its survivability during shell fire. The power plant of "Object 490" was supposed to include two identical engines (the 5TDF engine on the mockup, in the future it was planned to install two - 4TD). The transmission of the tank with a hydrostatic transmission made it possible to adjust the amount of power transmitted to each tracked bypass.
The solution chosen by the Kharkov designers made it possible to:
- to use engines of moderate power (two 800-1000 hp each) with a high power of the power plant as a whole;
- continue to move and fight in case of combat damage or breakdown of one of the engines;
- to reduce travel fuel costs by using only one engine or two, depending on road conditions;
- travel speed forward and backward was the same and amounted to at least 75 km / h, this should have significantly increased the survival of the tank in combat conditions.
Full-size model of the promising Soviet tank "Object 490" final version
Behind the fuel compartment and the engine and power systems compartment there was an automatic loader (AZ) compartment with ammunition. It was distinguished by a higher level of protection and was shielded from frontal fire by the previous compartments, and in the upper plane it was covered by the main armament compartment of the tank. The defeat of this compartment, in addition to the loss of the vehicle's firepower, could lead to fatal consequences in the form of detonation of ammunition. To neutralize the high pressures that inevitably arise in the event of detonation of shells, special "kick plates" were provided in the bottom of the AZ compartment (in the first version, they were located in the roof). "Knock-out plates" served as a safety valve. The length of the compartment of the automatic loader provided for the possibility of placing unitary tank ammunition in it up to 1400 mm long, allowing to simplify the kinematics of feeding and discharging ammunition into the chamber of a 152-mm gun. In the first version of the tank layout, the shots in the AZ were located in conveyors in a vertical position (32 shots), entering the consumable mechanism located in the center, designed for 4 shots. In the final version of Object 490, the shots were already placed horizontally.
The last in the stern of the tank hull was the crew compartment. The tankers were located in a comfortable position - sitting with all the necessary ergonomic requirements (bathroom, air conditioning, heating, cooking). On the roof of this compartment in the second tower were located a control complex for the main and additional weapons and electro-optical means of searching for targets. The presented layout of the tank provided differentiation of the level of protection and survivability of individual components of the combat vehicle in accordance with their importance. Naturally, this was true for the frontal plane, from the stern the tank's crew was much more vulnerable.
The second version of the experimental tank "Object 490" differed from the original model in solutions for the armor protection scheme, an automatic loader and a tracked propeller (4 + 2 rollers instead of 3 + 3 for the first sample). Otherwise, the tank continued to follow the previously selected layout with five separated compartments. An interesting feature of the tank layout was the possibility of using the gun barrel as an OPVT air intake pipe (equipment for underwater driving of tanks). The lifting height of the gun barrel was 4.6 meters with a maximum elevation aft of up to 30 degrees.
Placement of compartments of the tank "Object 490" final version: 1 - fuel compartment; 2 - compartment of engine and power plant systems; 3 - main armament compartment; 4 - compartment of the automatic loader; 5 - crew compartment
The main firepower of the final version of "Object 490" was provided by the 152-mm 2A73 tank gun with fully automated ammunition, consisting of 32 unitary rounds placed in two conveyors. Each of the conveyors had its own system of shooting a shot. Although the turret of the tank provided circular rotation, the elevation / declination angles of the 152-mm gun relative to the horizon ranged from -5 ° to + 10 ° only in the range of directional angles ± 45 °. This disadvantage was compensated for by the presence of a controlled hydropneumatic suspension on the tank, which, by changing the trim of the combat vehicle, made it possible to increase the gun pointing angles in the vertical plane. The main task of the tank and its 152-mm cannon, of course, was the fight against heavily armored enemy vehicles.
At the same time, the role of manpower grew significantly on the battlefield, which was saturated with an abundance of weapons dangerous for tanks, for example, hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers - RPGs, as well as ATGMs. They tried to pay enough attention to the fight against tank-hazardous infantry in Kharkov. Additional armament of "Object 490" consisted of two, located on both sides of the rear of the armament unit, double-barreled 7, 62-mm course machine guns TKB-666 with independent vertical guidance. The elevation angles of machine guns reached +45 degrees, which made it possible to use them to destroy targets located in mountainous or hilly terrain or on the upper floors of buildings. Ammunition for each 7, 62-mm machine gun consisted of 1,500 rounds. On the rear turret, which was located above the capsule of the tank's crew, a 30-mm automatic grenade launcher was also installed with guidance angles along the horizon 360 degrees, vertically from -10 to +45 degrees.
The OMS of the experimental tank was very succinctly implemented. The sighting systems of the combat vehicle were built in the form of a separate thermal imaging module and a laser rangefinder located on the right side (in the direction of the tank's movement) in an armored mask. The television module and the guided missile guidance channel were on the left side. A panoramic sight with a visual channel was located on the rear turret, the image was transmitted to both the commander-gunner of the tank and the mechanic. Day-night TV panorama was located on the machine of an automatic grenade launcher on the rear turret.
Full-size mock-up of the promising Soviet tank "Object 490", final version
The modular installation of television and thermal imaging sights in an armored mask made it possible to freely install devices developed and mass-produced in the 1980s, for example, 1PN71 1PN126 "Argus" and others that had large overall dimensions, while azimuth and elevation drives were not required, since the sights were stabilized with the gun. Additional firing accuracy was provided thanks to the "active" suspension of the tank, which reduced the load on the weapon stabilizer. The search for targets (when adjusted to the angle and loading position) could be carried out by an independent daytime panoramic sight and a day / night panorama mounted on the armament unit of the second turret.
A circular view from the tank for the crew members was planned to be carried out with the help of forward-looking TV cameras located on the upper frontal part of the bow assembly of the tank hull and on the fenders, as well as a rear-view TV camera located in the center of the stern of the tank hull. In addition, the crew members of the tank had prism observation devices with an image display above the eyepieces of the panoramic sight. In the aft part of the crew compartment there were two hatches for embarkation and disembarkation of tankers. At the same time, in the hatch of the mechanic drive, which was specially equipped for driving in a stowed way (stern forward), there was a porthole. The driver's seat inside the capsule was also made swivel.
The protection scheme of "Object 490" included a layer of active protection elements with a combined scheme with longitudinal compression of the filler (steel + EDZ + filler). This increased the protection of the combat vehicle by about 40 percent. At the same time, the design provided protection not only from ammunition attacking the tank horizontally, but also protection from ammunition that could attack the tank from the upper hemisphere. Along the perimeter of the tank, as well as in the mines between the sides of the crew compartment, there were 26 Shtandart KAZ mortars, which provided protection against all types of anti-tank weapons (ATGM, BPS, KS and RPGs), including those attacking the tank from above.
The compartments of "Object 490" were isolated from each other, they were separated by 20 mm thick partitions - between the fuel compartment and the engine systems compartment; there was also a 20-mm partition between the first and second engines. A 50 mm thick partition was located in front of the tank's ammunition compartment and the crew capsule. At the bottom of the crew capsule there was an evacuation hatch from the tank, it also served as a sanitary unit. The armor of the tank hull bottom was differentiated - 20, 50 and 100 mm (combined) in the fuel and engine compartment zones; ammunition compartment and, accordingly, the crew capsule.
Full-size mock-up of the promising Soviet tank "Object 490", final version
The four-track undercarriage of the "Object 490", due to the chosen layout, significantly increased the survivability of the tank in combat conditions. For example, when an anti-tank mine was blown up and one of the tracks was lost, the tank did not lose its mobility. The presence of two engines and the separate execution of the systems serving them also played to increase the survivability of the tank.
The unprecedented level of protection of the main battle tank, high maneuverability and powerful armament turned the "Object 490" into an almost invulnerable combat vehicle, at least in the frontal projection. Despite this, things never went beyond creating a full-size layout. Experts note that this was due not only to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The development itself was highly ambitious and costly. In addition, the expensive combat vehicle was extremely difficult to operate, which would have cost only the maintenance of two engines and gearboxes located practically under an uninhabited tower. The reduction of the crew to two people and the introduction of a large number of technical innovations and modern equipment would most likely lead to a significant increase in the requirements for crew members, which excluded the use of conscripts; contract soldiers would be required to operate the tank.
Considering the fact how painfully the process of introducing promising main battle tanks into the troops is going on 30 years later, it can be said that the "Object 490", with all its innovation and interesting design solutions, was already practically doomed to be content with only the role of a full-size model or a demonstrator technologies. The cost comes out on top even today, when the Russian military openly say that they are not ready to massively purchase a new generation T-14 tank on the Armata heavy tracked platform due to its high cost, preferring to modernize the already adopted T-72 tanks, T-80 and T-90. Experts also note that the "Armata" is not yet massively purchased due to the incomplete technical readiness of the tank. At the same time, it may take years to solve all the technical problems characteristic of any large-scale project of new generation military equipment. The Object 490, developed in the late 1980s, simply did not have these years in stock.
