Tank PT-91 "Twards"

Between the two world wars, Poland developed its own tank building industry. State factories supplied the army with armored vehicles, wedges and light tanks. However, after the Second World War, being part of the Warsaw Pact, the Polish military industry was obliged to produce only tanks designed and adopted by the USSR. Their main producer was the Bumar Labandy machine-building plant, and the last Soviet tanks manufactured before 1993 were the T-72, of which 1610 were produced by the Poles. However, one should not assume that the Poles simply replicated the Soviet construction and nothing more. In Poland, there are two fairly strong research organizations - the Military Institute of Arms and Technology and the Center for the Study and Design of Mechanisms. They not only created their own, different from Soviet, designs of the VZT-3 tank tractor, training tank and T-72M1K control tank, but also undertook a deep modernization of the T-72, as a result of which a model of a new main battle tank, called RT -91 "Twards." In 1992, a pilot batch of these machines was built for comprehensive testing. Tank Twards differs from its prototype in the first place by the new SKO-1M Drava fire control system, designed and manufactured in Poland.

Another new element is the active armor of the type "Erawa-1" (single-layer) and "Erawa-2" (double-layer). Similar protection against cumulative projectiles for the T-72 was once developed by Soviet designers, but the Erawa is located differently and protects a large surface. In addition, "Tvardy" is equipped with a coating that absorbs radiation, the Obra-4 system, which warns that a tank is irradiated with a laser, the 12-barreled 81-mm Tucha smoke grenades launch system and the single-barrel 80-mm anti-laser grenades launch system Tellurium ". Anti-aircraft armament of model ZU-72 is installed on the tower. The driver has a passive night vision device "Radomka". The bottom under the driver’s seat is reinforced with additional armor. At the end of 1994, with the start of mass production, the French fire control system "Savan-91T" began to be installed on the PT-15. The main armament, transmission and undercarriage are preserved from the T-72, but a new Polish 12-cylinder turbo diesel S12U with 625 kW of power (2300 rpm) is installed, with which the tank reaches a speed of up to 70 km / h, and in the future it is planned to use more powerful , 735-kilowatt (i.e., 1000-strong) unit. The mileage of a tank with one refueling reaches 650 km. RT-91 is intended primarily for the Polish army; however, if they wish, they can buy this tank for about 2 million dollars. The Poles are aware that the “Tvardy” is the last opportunity to at least to some extent adapt the design adopted by 1972 to today's requirements. But Poland needs a new generation tank, and work on it was started in 1995 in the hope of In the middle of 1998, make running tests of the prototype, conventionally called "Gorilla".

Unlike RT-91, Gorilla will have a western-type tower with almost vertical walls, ceramic armor plates and active armor protecting from sub-caliber and cumulative projectiles as well as a special layer to absorb electromagnetic radiation must cover the top. Engine - diesel power about 1000 kW. The main armament is Russian: two machine guns, 125-mm smooth-bore gun with automatic loading (which can also serve to launch 9М 119 Svir ATGM), hitting targets at a distance of 5000 m and piercing armor up to 700 mm. Fire control systems and the power unit, coupled with the transmission, developed specifically for the "Gorilla" should be computerized. The Poles are looking for cooperation in the creation of this 55-ton tank with the military industry of France, Israel and South Africa. It is difficult to say whether the outdated RT-91 “Gorillas” will be replaced in the future, because the cost of developing a new vehicle is commensurate with the cost of creating the best Western European tank Leopard. But to buy a lot of modern tanks - even in the West, even in the East - is no cheaper, and in the latter case, own industry suffers.