Main battle tank T-72B4
Imagine that you are a fan of cars brand Mersedes-Benz. And here comes a new model that you would like to purchase. Smooth polished sides. Powerful engine. 20-inch "rollers". Brilliant grille with a three-beam star. And now you are already looking at this “unit” with lust, at the same time wondering where to take the missing amount. But then suddenly the company decides that the car is prohibitively expensive, and begin actions to reduce the cost of cars. Without bumpers this car will go? And what - go. We remove. Without mirrors this car will go? Will go. We remove. And why do we need 20-inch wheels with 225 rubber? We remove and put stamped R13 with narrow and high-profile rubber "Taganka". Will go? Will go. Lights - also a luxury. Remove and replace plugs. In the end, these "improvements" you look dumbfounded at the resulting pepelats, and your mind is overwhelmed by conflicting feelings.
About the same feelings you feel when you look at the newest domestic serial copy of MBT called T-72B3. Moreover, neither aggressive propaganda, nor statements in the spirit of “not inferior to T-90” do not relieve you of the underlying feeling that somewhere there is something wrong with it. Here is this tank:
This unit is an upgrade of the well-known tank T-72B model 1985. The purpose of this modernization was to bring the fighting qualities of the T-72B tank to the level of the T-90A tank at the lowest possible cost. This is done in approximately this way. The old T-72B is brought to the factory and disassembled to the screw. Bad parts are replaced with new ones, and good ones are simply cleaned and sorted out. The hull, tower and other body parts are sandblasted, primed and repainted. Then they install a new 125-mm gun 2A46M5 and a new automatic loader, adapted for use with the latest BOPs of the latest generation “Lead-2”. The gunner receives an automated LMS as part of the new 4-channel SOSNA-U sight and new input information sensors. The commander receives a new VHF radio station of the R-168-25U-2 “Aqueduct” range. A new fire protection system (PPO) is installed. The observation complex of the TKN-3M commander is slightly improved. It turns out the so-called “Double” mode and is designated as TKN-3MK. Instead of the Kontakt-1 KNDZ, which well protected the old T-72B, several Kontakt-5 KVDZ blocks are mounted on the hull and turret of the tank, similar to the 72-80 T-1985BM and T-87U installed on the tank. Some changes are made to the chassis. Everything else remains unchanged. Including the engine. Pleasure is estimated at a modest 52 million rubles. The price of the new T-000A is approximately 000 million rubles, which is two and a half times more.
At the moment, contrary to the requirements of tankers, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation refused to purchase new T-90 tanks and completely switched to recruiting an army with T-72B3 tanks. Let's try to evaluate this model impartially. So let's start with firepower. The penetration power of the new projectiles increased by about 20% compared to those used by conventional T-72B. Accuracy increased in 1,7 times. The effective range of the day increased by about 1 km compared to the T-72B, and the effective range of night shooting increased about three times. At the same time, search capabilities have grown very slightly - and then only at the expense of the gunner’s equipment. Hello commander TKN-3MK. Due to the introduction of the “Double” mode, the reaction time to the target detected by the commander has somewhat decreased. Also, the commander from his position got the opportunity to see what the gunner sees, as he was placed on a separate monitor from the gunner’s OMS. The commander, contrary to popular opinion, cannot shoot a cannon from its place. When you click on a button, the tower simply turns around where the commander's device is looking, and the target comes into the view of the gunner. We had such a system still on the X-Numx X-model of the X-Numx heavy tank.
Tank security and increased, and weakened at the same time. On the one hand, Kontakt-5 KVDZ is a more serious defense than the old Kontakt Kontakt-1 T-72B. On the other hand, it is installed on the tower in chunks and sections, and on the side screens it is not at all. Mobility characteristics have not changed, since the engine and transmission remained the same.
In general, the design of the T-72B3 tank gives the impression of temporary hack, and unfinished. Especially this impression reinforces the new multichannel sight "Pine-U" installed so that osteochondrosis of the neck to the gunner is provided. Outside, the sight head is closed with a bolted cap. Open or close it, while under the protection of armor, it is absolutely impossible. In general, the T-72B3 is still significantly inferior to the well-developed T-90A tank. In addition, in some ways it is even inferior to its predecessor T-72B! In general, in this case we are again dealing with an obvious hack and will try to understand why.
To begin with, it’s worth explaining to the reader on the fingers how the tank’s appearance and its price is shaped. Option one. The customer, represented by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, draws up a so-called technical task (TZ), in which it forms all the requirements for a new tank. If a particular military man who does this is friends with his head, then the terms of reference will be correct. If he is at odds with the mind, then the TK may resemble the notes of a madman. In our case, the events seem to have evolved closer to the second option.
The next step is the contractor’s organization. Its representatives form the so-called commercial offer. This commercial offer contains a list of all new equipment with their TX, its cost and the cost of all related operations. After that, between the customer and the contractor, the final price is negotiated.
Option two. The customer represented by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation simply sets the price that the new tank is willing to pay, and the contractor, on the basis of this price, already forms a commercial proposal, based on his own ideas about what this new T-72 should look like.
With any of these options, both parties are responsible for the final appearance of the tank. If the customer wrote nonsense in the TK, and the contractor strictly recreated this nonsense in metal, then there are only three options:
• Customer idiot and contractor idiot.
• The customer is the injurer, and the contractor is an idiot.
• The customer is an idiot, and the contractor is a corrupter.
If the customer did not make up the TZ, but approved the nonsense proposed by the contractor, the scheme is the same. The stumbling block in this case, of course, is the price. The price is formed from:
1. Works on the bulkhead and repair of the base tank.
2. The cost of new equipment.
3. Cost of delivery of new equipment.
4. Works on installation and installation of new equipment.
5. Commissioning work.
6. Fees to various participants in this process (both from the contractor and the customer. As a rule, included in the price of equipment).
If the final price of the customer is not satisfied, and the contractor faces the problem of tightening up in price, then you need to know the following: under the conditions of current realities, the fees are unlikely to be too heavy. Rather, this savings will affect the new equipment.
Judging by the T-72B3, both sides of this project do not seem to care what the final product will look like.
Well, what can we, ordinary tankmen, do in this case? Silently accept and master the "new" tank? Let's say a decisive "no" to such an arrogant and devil-may-care attitude towards our lives and the defenses of our Motherland. It is clear that it is almost useless to talk constructively with brainless kids in uniform, but the workers of the wonderful factory in the Urals, by which first-class Russian motorcycles are named, should know something.
Of course, this is a business and “nothing personal”, but to take on such a project is simply to create an anti-advertisement for ourselves. Do you want the whole world to laugh at you later? And first of all, the Chinese, who from the same T-72 made a first-class main battle tank Type-99A2. (And even if a lot of things in it are not as perfect as ours.) What is it about the appearance that says that the Chinese have carefully approached the design of this tank.
TK on T-72B4 from tank crews.
Take T-72B3 modernized by serdyukovskim specialists and:
1. Add KVDZ "Contact-5" or "Relic" blocks to the tower so that they very tightly, without gaps, cover the entire frontal and upper projection of the tower. It is necessary to protect the cannon mask with a block like “pig snout” or “Wedge”. All this is very inexpensive.
2. Change the flimsy rubber-fabric side skirts for normal armor screens of armor 10-15 mm thick. Folding sections. From below, it is necessary to provide stops for them. How to do this, look at the type of tank "Centurion".
3. New screens are completely covered with elements of KNDZ "Contact-1", remaining in the bulkhead of the old T-72B. Up to the stern.
4. The same elements of KNDZ "Kontakt-1" attach to the stern sheet of the hull and wrap them with the top and sides of the tower, not covered with boxes. It will not cost anything, because elements KNDZ "Contact-1" go along with the old tank.
5. Did you think that equipping a new CIU tank is "inappropriate"? Well, put at least just GPS / GLONASS. Automobile widescreen navigator is mounted next to the commander's OMS monitor and costs about 30 000 rubles. Antenna is external.
6. Did you think that the tank commander, unlike the gunner, can do as old as a mammoth with the TKN-3 device? And what a cool system from the T-90A to put on a tank is too expensive? Good. On the roof of the tower mounted dome-controlled video camera with a smooth adjustment of the optical zoom in 1-30. The protective glass of this camera is replaced by armored or at least vandal resistant. From below, under the handles of TKN-3М, we are looking for a place for the PTZ block and the ZOOM camera control. For example, the same KDM-6658, but preferably with a joystick. At TKN-3MK itself, it is necessary to mount a huge widescreen monitor with an azimuth pointer to which the image of the low-level dome camera will be displayed. TKN-3MK itself remains as a backup. The cost of all this equipment will not exceed 150 000 - 200 000 rubles. It is nothing compared to the price for the whole tank.
7. The most important thing. Remove from the tank all non-mechanized ammunition. Due to this, the volume of internal fuel tanks increases. They must be made of thin armor 5 mm thick. The AZ itself (attention!) Is covered with a round upturned armored "glass" with armor thickness 50-100 mm. The hole for collecting trays with shots in this glass should be equipped with automatic shutters, which open only for the time of passage of the tray and close instantly after the projectile and charge is withdrawn from AZ. On both sides of the armored capsule AZ two holes should be made to which the venting channels should be fixed. Venting channels should go out at an angle from the back side in the roof of the hull at the corners of the tower and be supplied with special flaps. In this case, the survivability and security of the T-72B4 will be better than that of any existing tank today. Ammunition is located at the bottom in the most protected place. And if by some miracle it is possible to hit him, then from both sides at the rear corners of the tower two giant pillars of flame will rise into the sky, but the tankers inside will sweat a little. The case will end in the best case, the replacement of AZ and brewing holes. Offensive nickname T-72 "fried ass" will finally become the property stories.
8. Feed box zip to develop in size. To he stood for the tower on the 1,5 meter. In this box to make fixtures so that there can be transported as additional ammunition, and any other things. Attach a steel strip to three zabechenny zip drawers, from which metal chains with rubber balls at the ends should hang down with 5-7 steps. The balls should be dragged along the roof of the hull.
9. Mount the Sosna-U multichannel sight in place of the TPD-K1 sight and provide it with a cover that is controlled from the inside.
We want to see and master such a tank - instead of the unsuccessful product of PTUshnikov called T-72B3. The cost of alteration in T-72B4 ordinary T-72B order 60 000 000 rubles. The cost of bringing the T-72B3 to the standard T-72B4 is not more than 8 000 000 rubles. At the same time on the security and survivability of the T-72B4 will be the best tank in the world with a huge margin from the nearest competitor. On firepower, he will not yield T-90A. And on security even surpass it.
Information