For many years, Russian tank crews pinned their hopes for rearmament with Object-195, which was widely advertised, and specialists from the Ural Design Bureau of Transport Engineering (OJSC UKBTM) were close to implementing the project and putting it into production. But in 2010, financing of work on the "Object-195" project was frozen, and already this year, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the termination of further work on the creation of the so-expected project. There were two reasons why the work was completely stopped - the inconsistency with modern requirements for tanks, and the high final price. As an alternative, work has begun on the Armata project - a tank that will be the best in the world, as they say in the Ministry of Defense. But is this so, and what are the true reasons for refusing further work on the practically finished project "Object-195"?
As you know, work on the creation of the T-95 tank ("Object-195") was started at the Uralvagonzavod design bureau shortly before the collapse of the USSR. According to the plans, this was to be a completely new tank, which combined a high degree of crew protection and completely new means of firing. As the main protection of the crew, a sealed capsule was to be used, which separated the area where people were located from the area for storing ammunition and weapons.
For a long time, all work on the creation of the T-95 was strictly classified, and only after the construction of the first test prototypes about the tank became known to a wide circle. This year, the first photographs of one of the prototypes were published. The combat vehicle turned out to be extremely unusual. The tank visually looks taller and larger than the T-90A. The first thing that catches your eye is its excellent security. Among themselves, the testers called the T-95 "Iron Kaput", many who saw the pictures for the first time were really surprised by the unusualness of the new tank.
The T-95 tank has a unique layout - the crew is housed in a separate armored capsule. Armament and full ammunition - in a separate fully automated fighting compartment. The engine compartment is also located in the perfectly protected stern. The tank is protected in frontal projection, reinforced protection is also on the sides and on top. The tower is uninhabited, with this in mind it is made in a rather narrow form. The main armament (smooth-bore 152-mm cannon, capable of firing guided missiles) is located in the turret and is located quite high, which is also an advantage. When firing from behind obstacles, it is enough to extend the barrel and observation devices, while the entire tank is in a protected area.
The machine is equipped with a powerful (1600 hp) diesel engine and hydromechanical automatic transmission. Taking into account the external overall dimensions, the weight of the tank is relatively small - 55 tons, which makes it possible to speak of its excellent maneuverability.
The power of the sub-caliber projectile fired from the T-95 cannon makes it possible to penetrate the protection of absolutely any NATO tank at all points of the frontal projection and to destroy the enemy's armored vehicles in fact with one aimed shot. The crew receives all information about the situation on the battlefield from thermal imaging, television and laser sensors directly on the monitor screen. Current operational information about interaction with other tanks, as well as tactical tasks of the command are also displayed on the screen, which allows the crew to constantly monitor the situation.
But, despite the excellent performance, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation decided to abandon further work on the creation of the T-95. The main reason is the high price, according to unofficial information - the tank does not meet the requirements for modern weapons. This became clear from the unflattering review of the commander of the Ground Forces, Postnikov, who called the T-95 just another modification of the T-72 and nothing more.
A hypothetical image of the Armata tank. The tank was named by the author as "T-99" Priority.”The drawing was created on the basis of images of a promising modification of the T-90 tank, by Aaron Sheps based on information from Gur Khan, https://otvaga2004.mybb.ru, https:// alternathistory. org.ua, 2011)
Along with the message about the termination of work on the "Object-195" from the Ministry of Defense came a message about the start of work on the creation of a tank codenamed "Armata", which should become the main tank of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The designers have been given a specific task - by 2015, the tank should be on the production line. The Ministry of Defense has supported its tasks with rather generous funding, which allows us to speak of a serious approach to the implementation of the program.
At the same time, experts are confident that it will not be possible to create a fundamentally new machine in such a short time, and, obviously, the Armata will be a modified and modified Object-195, but somewhat cheaper, which means it is easier in terms of protection. and the firing system.
As the former first deputy chief of the armored directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant-General Y. Kovalenko, said, "in the future, the new Armata tank should become the main combat unit of the Russian Ground Forces."
The automatic loader of the new tank will contain 32 different-purpose ammunition, and the combat vehicle itself will be able to fire while moving. According to Kovalenko, "Armata" will use the design developments of the MBT of several other projects, including the "Black Eagle" project. Kovalenko did not specify other tactical and technical details of the promising tank, but you can try to imagine its appearance. Undoubtedly, the Armata tank will weigh less than the Object-195, within 50 tons. The chassis will be a traditional for Russian tanks system with six, and not a family, as on "Object-195", pairs of road wheels. In order to reduce the final price, as well as simplify production, it is possible that designers will abandon the use of titanium armored alloys.
It is assumed that the "Armata" will be armed with a proven 152-mm smooth-bore cannon. The same gun is used on the new version of the T-90AM. The capabilities of this gun are sufficient to destroy any NATO tank.
Based on the above information, we can conclude that the "Armata" really has every chance of becoming the main tank of the Russian Armed Forces, the only thing that can interfere with the implementation of the project is the unpredictability of officials from the Ministry of Defense, who can stop work at any time. Unfortunately, there are examples of this.
