Ukrainian SSR vs independent Ukraine
The military-industrial complex of modern Ukraine and the military-industrial complex of the Ukrainian SSR have important similarities. Both republics had (and Ukraine continues to have) the ability to build main battle tanks. However, this is where the commonality ends. During the Cold War, the Malyshev Kharkov Plant produced up to 8 thousand T-64 tanks. This machine, of course, can be treated in different ways, but for its time the tank was quite breakthrough. As for the plant itself, even in the 90s it could boast of ambitious plans and, at the very least, produced MBT. In 1996, the Ukrainians signed an agreement with Pakistan, providing for the supply of 320 T-80UD tanks in the amount of $ 550 million. The first batch was shipped the following year, and the entire contract was fulfilled in 1999. With a rate of up to 110 tanks built per year.
The modern Malyshev plant does not even dream of this. The situation steadily worsened in the 2000s, and the conflict in Donbass, in fact, only revealed the problems that had been accumulating at the enterprise for years. Several dozen BM "Oplot" tanks, produced with great difficulty in the interests of Thailand, are the best confirmation of this. In such conditions, an attempt to develop and launch into series a fundamentally new tank is a desperate escapism. On the other hand, the Ukrainian military-industrial complex does not lose faith in the "economic miracle", even in ten or fifteen years.
Hammer and Futurized Main Battle Tank
A bit of history. Back in the Soviet years, specialists from the Kharkov Machine-Building Design Bureau began developing Object 477, also known as the "Hammer". It was supposed to be a mighty "colossus" with a smooth-bore 152-mm gun LP-83. The tank received a "carriage" layout, and the crew was below the turret ring. The much-loved analogy with the modern T-14 based on the "Armata" is not entirely true: Object 477 can only partly be considered a tank with an uninhabited turret. The difference with other tanks is that the entire crew of three in this case is located no higher than the roof of the hull. Through the hatch in the turret, it was possible to get in and out of the tank. Above the hull was a cannon with an automatic loader, sighting systems and a number of other systems and units that ensure the combat effectiveness of the tank.
The fate of the tank can be compared with the fate of the Russian Object 195. Partially lost Soviet technologies, lack of necessary funding and misunderstanding of the general concept of using tanks in the 21st century led to the abandonment of the project. The Hammer project was abandoned in the 2000s, and a number of developments were used in the design of the aforementioned BM Oplot tank. Potentially good, but representing a typical example of the Soviet school of tank building, with all its advantages and disadvantages.
"Hammer" can be considered the last real attempt of Ukrainian designers (albeit with the participation of the Russian side) to build a new tank, which would not become the next version of the T-64 or T-80. What appeared after him can be included in the category of fantasies. Positioned as a new generation tank, the Futurized Main Battle Tank was just a bold concept from the start. It should be reminded that it was presented by Ukroboronprom and Spetstechnoexport at the DEFEXPO India 2014 exhibition. By that time, the country could no longer independently mass-produce such complex equipment.
It was assumed that the tank will receive a 6TD-4 engine with a capacity of 1500 hp. or 6TD-5 with a capacity of 1800 hp. They wanted to place the motor in the front of the hull, and immediately behind it, the engineers placed the habitable module. As in the case of the Russian T-14, they wanted to equip the new tank with an uninhabited remote-controlled turret, and the crew would be in a specially isolated armored capsule. The main caliber was the 125-mm Vityaz cannon or the 140-mm promising Bagira.
Another popular nowadays "novelty" is the active protection complex (KAZ). In the case of FMBT, it was supposed to be Zaslon. By the way, the attitude of experts to this system is ambiguous. Some say that it has no fundamental differences from the outdated active defense systems of the Soviet period, such as the Drozd, and is unable to protect a tank from anti-tank weapons. On the other hand, in April of this year, the Turks began to equip the modernized M60 with Zaslon-L. And it's hard to believe that the modern Ukrainian military-industrial complex could offer something fundamentally better for the Futurized Main Battle Tank project. The only real alternative could have been the Israeli Trophy, which is already being installed not only on Merkavas, but also on American Abrams. And who, according to rumors, showed himself well.
"Tirex": the ghost of the T-64
After the somewhat strange presentation of the Futurized Main Battle Tank, very strange things began to happen. In 2016, the Azov engineering group, which had previously made itself known as the Azovets tank support combat vehicle, came up with a concept with the proud name Tirex. The analogy with the T-14 arose almost immediately. There is an uninhabited tower and three crew members sitting in a row in front of the MBT. Armament is standard: 125-mm cannon (probably), machine guns. Dynamic protection was offered in the face of the Knife and Duplet blocks. They did not dare to supply the concept with a complex of active protection. Apparently, because of the price, although there could be reasons for a purely technological plan. But an ambitious idea appeared to integrate the machine into a modern unified information and command network, thus giving it superiority over Oplot and Bulat.
Finally, the most interesting thing: they wanted to do it all on the basis of … T-64. And put it into a conditional series. The main thing is not clear - why would the Ukrainian fighters, who have worn out with the T-64BM "Bulat", need new problems in the face of an undeveloped raw tank, made on an outdated basis. The developers positioned the Tirex as a "transitional tank". However, in fact, both "Bulat" and BM "Oplot" are such. In any case, they are far from the most powerful tanks in the world and can (in the form in which they are) be considered only as a temporary solution.
The development obviously has no future. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense seems to have expressed its readiness to cooperate and purchase these tanks, but one should hardly expect something like this. Now Ukraine is exploiting several different Soviet MBTs and their modifications at once, which, of course, runs counter to any concept of unification. The appearance of a new "guest" with dubious characteristics will not please anyone in this regard.
The most recent statement by the Ukrainian side about the "new generation tank" appeared on the website of the Ukrainian state concern "Ukroboronprom" in May 2018. It was about the development by the forces of the Kharkov Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau named after A. A. Morozov infantry fighting vehicle and tank. It was reported that automation will reduce the number of crews to two, and the engine power will be approximately 1,500 liters. with. This information was limited, which is generally logical. The problem is that main battle tanks are not the most important thing for the Ukrainian army. Modern armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, anti-tank systems and communications are much more important. We are no longer talking about the state of combat aviation and air defense, as well as possible purchases of new aircraft. Because of this, we repeat, the likelihood of a new "national" development in Ukraine is extremely small. And in the future, it is likely that Ukrainian specialists will consider replacing the T-64 with some version of the Leopard (if there is money) or the Chinese VT-4 (if not).
