When developing tanks, the main attention was always paid to its creation as an independent combat unit, and practically nothing was laid for the interaction of a tank as part of a unit, except for a radio station.
This issue began to be given more serious attention with the advent of the global navigation system GPS. So, in the article "The United States found the weak point of Russian tanks", it is reported that the American "Abrams" are already equipped with a system that displays the location of their tanks on the commander's map, and on Russian tanks something similar is only on the command tanks T-90AK …
How much this corresponds to reality is difficult to say, except for articles, there is no reliable information that Abrams is equipped with such a system. Information about the equipment of Russian tanks is also contradictory. According to some sources, individual elements of such a system are implemented in the "Constellation" tactical echelon control system. At what stage, development or mass production, is it? There is no complete information.
An attempt to implement a system of interaction between a tank as part of a subunit was undertaken back in the 80s when the Soviet tank "Boxer" was developed, which was supposed to be equipped with modern means of battle control as part of a tank subunit. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, this work was not completed. According to the developers of the Armata tank, such a system has been implemented in this tank.
The tank's interaction system was considered as one of the tasks solved by the crew. When performing their functions, the crew with the help of technical means solves four tasks: control of movement, fire, protection and interaction of the tank. The implementation of these tasks was carried out using a tank information and control system, which includes four autonomous systems that exchange information with each other through an on-board computer complex.
The interaction system includes a navigation system (global and inertial), an information exchange channel between tanks and higher-ranking commanders, and a commander's monitor to display the map and the location of the tank. Each tank is equipped with a receiver for signals from global satellite navigation systems - Russian GLONASS and American GPS. The receiver provides reception of signals from a "constellation" of three satellites "hovering" in geostationary orbits in a given area. Based on these signals, the computer calculates the coordinates of the tank, transmits them to the information display system to the tank commander, which on the commander's monitor displays a map of the area and the point where the tank is located on it.
The tank can also have an autonomous inertial navigation system that includes gyroscopic devices (mechanical or laser) that determine the position of the tank in space. The coordinates of the tank can be obtained automatically from the global navigation system or set by the tank commander on the map when the system is turned on.
In the process of movement, the system receives information from the tank's motion sensor and gyroscopic devices and calculates its location coordinates, the direction of movement and the position of the tank in space, which is fundamentally important for target designation and target distribution. Global and inertial navigation systems can work together and correct their data to calculate the coordinates of the location of the tank.
The coordinates of the tank are transmitted to higher-ranking commanders via the communication channel, automatically or upon request, and their monitors display the location on the map of the subordinate tanks.
The transfer of information between tanks and higher commanders can be carried out via an information exchange channel using both the tank's radio communication equipment with data transmission equipment, and the creation of a special communication channel. Communication channels must have high cryptographic stability of the transmitted information and good noise immunity of the channel.
Crypto resistance is necessary to prevent the enemy from intercepting the transmitted coordinates of the tank, since in this case he will have information about the exact position of the tank and can easily hit it. To ensure the specified cryptographic strength, the information exchange channel must be equipped with classified equipment. The channel must also have high noise immunity, since in the area where tanks are used, the enemy can use an electronic countermeasure system and prevent the stable operation of the communication channel.
On the battlefield, there may be their own tanks that are not equipped with an interaction system. They will not be displayed on the monitor of commanders of different levels and will be perceived as enemy tanks. To exclude such situations and prevent the destruction of their tanks by airplanes and helicopters of fire support within the framework of the "Boxer" tank project, the developers of the "friend or foe" aviation systems developed a similar system for tanks, which was to be installed on all tanks. With the collapse of the Union, these developments were also discontinued.
The interaction system can be both autonomous and part of the tank information and control system. Any tanks at the stage of production or modernization can be equipped with an autonomous system. The installation of a full-size TIUS requires a serious revision of the tank's movement and fire control systems, equipping the tank with new fire control devices and is possible only when new tanks are produced.
In the variant of equipping the TIUS tank, it is possible to transmit information about the presence of ammunition and fuel and lubricants on board the tank, as well as target designation and target distribution to subordinate tanks.
The introduction of a tank interaction control system gives a fundamentally new quality in the control of a tank unit and the possibility of creating a network-centric tank, which will be one of the interconnected elements of battle control, acting in concert with other military equipment when performing the assigned task. Equipping tanks with an interaction system requires a target program with the connection of specialized enterprises - developers of the system's components and the organization of their serial production.
