The promising T-14 tank on the Armata platform provides for the installation of a 152-mm gun, but at the moment this tank has an upgraded 125-mm gun. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation still deliberately put a 152-mm gun on a limited number of T-14 tanks.
Attempts to introduce a 152 mm cannon on domestic tanks
The first tank with a 152-mm LP-83 cannon was the "Object 292" of the Leningrad Kirov Plant and the All-Russian Research Institute "Transmash", created on the basis of the T-80BV tank. Due to financial difficulties in the late 1980s and early 1990s, only a single prototype tank was created in the fall of 1990. In 1991, tests began with test firing, during which a significant superiority of the 152-mm gun was revealed in comparison with the main tank gun with a caliber of 125 mm 2A46. In particular, this concerned a 1.5 times larger shot impulse with an approximately equal recoil of the gun, which made it possible to install the gun on T-80BV tanks without significant modifications, significantly increasing their firepower.
However, in the 1990s, due to underfunding of the armed forces, the "Object 292" did not pass all the tests. In the future, the 152 mm cannon LP-83 was to be used on the "Object 477" "Hammer", and its analogue, the 152-mm cannon 2A83, on the "Object 195" "Black Eagle".
"Object 477" "Hammer" because of the unfortunate location of the ammunition did not receive development and was soon closed.
For the "Object 195" "Black Eagle" at the Yekaterinburg plant No. 9, a new cannon 2A83 with a caliber of 152 mm was created, which is a modification of the 2A65 gun of the Msta-S self-propelled artillery unit (ACS). The first tests of the 2A83 gun took place on the B-4 tracked platform, where it showed the same high results as the LP-83. The direct firing range was 5100 m, armor penetration - 1024 mm of homogeneous steel, which exceeded the 2A46 indicators. However, in 2010, work on the "Object 195" "Black Eagle" was stopped in favor of the new universal armored platform "Armata".
Comparison of guns 125 mm and 152 mm
At the moment, the T-14 Armata tanks have a modernized 125-mm cannon 2A82-1M, developed by the plant # 9 in Yekaterinburg.
Cannon type - smooth-bore with a chrome-plated barrel;
Weight - 2700 kg;
Barrel length - 7000 mm;
The initial speed of the projectile is 2050 m / s;
Effective firing range:
- shells - 4700 m;
- guided missile (URS) 3UBK21 "Sprinter" - 8000 m;
- anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) "Reflex-M" - 5500 m;
Rate of fire - 10–12 rounds per minute;
Muzzle energy of a shot - 15-24 MJ;
Armor penetration:
- armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile (BPS) - 850-1000 mm;
- ATGM - 950 mm;
Gun barrel resource - 800-900 rounds;
Ammunition - 45 shells;
Automatic loader - 32 rounds.
As a 152-mm gun for the T-14 tank, the 2A83 cannon, the modernized Msta-S 2A65 self-propelled gun, developed by the same Yekaterinburg plant No. 9, is considered.
Cannon type - smooth-bore with a chrome-plated barrel;
Weight - more than 5000 kg;
Barrel length - 7200 mm;
The initial speed of the projectile is 1980 m / s;
Effective firing range:
- shells - 5100 m;
- URS Krasnopol 2K25 - 20,000 m;
- URS Krasnopol ZOF38 - 12,000 m;
Rate of fire - 10-15 rounds per minute;
Muzzle energy of a shot - 20-25 MJ;
Armor penetration:
- BPS - 1024 mm;
- ATGM - 1200-1400 m;
Gun barrel resource - 280 rounds;
Ammunition - 40 shells;
Automatic loader - 24 rounds.
As can be seen from the characteristics of the guns, in comparison with the 2A82-1M cannon, the 2A83 cannon has a significant superiority in almost all parameters. It is also distinguished by the ability to fire ammunition up to 1 meter long, such as the Krasnopol, - before that they were used in the Msta-S self-propelled guns.
But this gun also has a number of critical drawbacks, the main of which is the significantly large "parasitic mass" of the gun: even with the use of composite materials, the weight of the 2A83 is almost twice the weight of the 2A82-1M. This gives rise to a second disadvantage - a significant reduction in the tank's ammunition load. The third drawback of this weapon should be considered more than three times less resource of the gun barrel.
What competitors have
The main competitors of the Russian 2A83 cannon are the German 130-mm Rheinmetall L55 gun. and the 140-mm American XM291 cannon.
German gun L55. caliber 130 mm was created on the basis of the 120-mm predecessor. While its exact characteristics are not known, in addition to the fact that the gun has a barrel length of 51 caliber (6630 mm), it will have 50% more power compared to the 120-mm version, and the weight of the gun is 3000 kg. For firing a 130-mm cannon, it is planned to use two types of promising unitary projectiles - an armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile (APFSDS) with an elongated tungsten core, a partially combustible sleeve using a new type of propellant charge; and a multipurpose high-explosive fragmentation projectile with programmable air detonation, developed on the basis of the DM11 projectile. Serial production of the gun is planned to be launched by 2025.
The American XM291 140 mm cannon is the result of work on the ATAC (Advanced Tank Cannon) project. According to the developers, this gun is twice as powerful as the analogous 120mm M-256 gun mounted on the M1A2 Abrams tanks. The gun has a removable barrel, the breech design allows replacing the 140-mm barrel with a 120-mm one, thereby allowing the use of both new types of ammunition and old ones. The gun has an automatic loader, during the tests the gun showed a rate of fire similar to that of the 2A83 - 12 rounds per minute. The ammunition capacity is 22 rounds of 140 mm caliber or 32–33 rounds of 120 mm caliber. The main disadvantage of this weapon is the very high recoil energy.
The gun has been in development since 1985 and has not yet been tested, to this day it is at the stage of an experimental prototype.
Prospects for the introduction and options for using the 2A83 gun on the T-14 tank
It can be quite confidently asserted that a variant of the T-14 tank with a 152-mm cannon will be created. Back in February 2016, the procedure for military acceptance of the T-14 began, including a version with a 152-mm gun. Specialists of Rosatom are already working on the creation of super-powerful explosive sabot projectiles of 152 mm caliber from depleted uranium.
The problem of a small amount of ammunition in the 152-mm version of the tank can be solved by placing additional shells in the turret niche.
Since the T-14 has its own radar station (radar), the 152-mm version of the tank offers the use of guided missiles of the Krasnopol type. In this situation, the T-14 already looks more like an SPG than a tank, so it is possible that the 152-mm version of the T-14 in the documentation will have the abbreviation "combat artillery vehicle" (BAM).
From all of the above, we can conclude that the main weapon for the T-14 tank will remain the 125-mm 2A82-1M cannon. With a 152 mm 2A83 cannon, a limited series of tanks will be produced to perform narrower tasks as part of a tank group. The scenario of using 152-mm guided projectiles is possible when destroying enemy fortifications, delivering high-precision strikes against enemy armored vehicles or air defense systems at a distance of 20 km or more (the Krasnopol 2K25 projectile allows this to be done). Therefore, the T-14 tank with a 152-mm cannon will not be the main version of the tank on the Armata platform, but will serve as a highly specialized fire support vehicle.
