Fire power for all occasions. Overview of combat modules and towers for cars of light and medium weight categories (4 part from 5)
Video presentation of a remote-controlled battle module Battleguard from the company Raytheon with my subtitles
FNSS Company
For some time, the Turkish car manufacturer had in its portfolio a single tower Sharpshooter, originally developed in 80's by FMC (now BAE Systems Land and Armaments); FNSS itself is a joint venture between Nurol Holdings and BAE Systems. This 1,7 tower of tons of weight is armed with an 25-mm ATK M242 dual-feed automatic cannon, located to the right of the center line, paired with a 7,62-mm MAG58 or M240 machine gun mounted to the left. Machine gun ammunition is 600 ammunition ready for firing and over 1600 ammunition is packed in the machine.
Eight smoke grenade launchers are placed on the sides and rear of the turret for setting the curtain in the frontal sector. The shooter in the tower is protected from 14,5-mm armor-piercing bullets. The arrow has three periscopes for frontal and lateral vision. A fully electrically stabilized turret installed in Malaysia on roughly ACN-60 tracked vehicles on 300. It was also installed on a prototype of the AV8 8 × 8 BMP, developed by FNSS, based on the Pars 8x8, designed for the Malaysian army.
The single FNSS Sharpshooter tower can be armed with various 25-mm cannons. A large number of them are on the machines of the Malaysian army.
The remotely controlled and fully stabilized Claw module was developed by the Turkish company FNSS for installation on its machines and platforms of other manufacturers.
In 2011, FNSS showed a fully stabilized remote controlled tower called the Claw. It is armed with a dual-serve 25-mm Rheinmetall KBA cannon with 210 ready shots and a paired 7,62-mm MG3 or M240 machine gun with 600 ammunition on the right side. Two groups of four 76-mm smoke grenade rigs in the back cover the front sector. To the left of the gun, protected by the turret, a stable independent day / night sight with an azimuth of ± 7 ° and elevation angles –10 ° / + 50 ° is installed. The range of elevation angles is the same as that of the main cannon. An independent sight of the commander, also an anti-tank guided missile, can be installed; additional booking increases the level of protection from 2 to 3. The gun mounted on the prototype is simply an example of possible applications; The Claw tower can also accept the 30-mm cannon. Claw's combat weight is 1700 kg; its silhouette is reduced due to the height limitation 590 mm.
Mizrak 30 tower on the new ARMA 8х8 BTR
OTOKAR company
The uninhabited Mizrak tower was shown by Otokar as a functional layout in the middle of 2011, and the current model two years later on the prototype BMP Tulpar of the same company. Conceptually, nothing has changed, but the whole tower has been redone in detail.
The combat weight of the system is 2671 kg without ammunition. Mizrak is suitable both for tracked infantry fighting vehicles and for 8x8 wheeled vehicles, for example Arma Otokar. The tower from Otokar can be equipped with various weapon systems of caliber from 25 to 40 mm. Usually, the Tulpar tower is armed with an ATK Mk30 Bushmaster II 44-gun with dual power, because it was tested and qualified for this type of gun. Two ribbons each with 104 30-mm shells of different types are fed into the gun by an electromechanical feeder. Air detonation munitions with a programmable fuse can be used.
Paired 7,62-mm machine gun mounted to the left of the gun with 500 ammunition ammunition. The aiming block stabilized along two axes is mounted on the left and includes a highly efficient cooled thermal imager, a CCD camera and a laser range finder. The machine gun and cannon have the same azimuth angles ± 10 ° and elevation angles –10 ° / + 60 °. Panoramic sight of the commander is identical to the arrow sight except for the possibility of rotation on 360 °. It is installed on the roof of the turret behind the gunner. The open-air architecture (vehicle electronics) with an open architecture allows easy integration of auxiliary subsystems, for example, a laser receiver, search and impact functions, BIUSov, etc. Anti-tank missiles can also be added, the most likely option is a national development in the form of Rocketsan L-Umtas missiles. All work in the field of mechanics, electronic equipment, software and optronics was carried out in the country. The basic design has a level of protection 2, which is considered sufficient for an uninhabited tower. However, the company Otokar has at the design stage several options with different guns, some of them inhabited. In this case, increasing the level of protection to 5 with a set of additional reservations may be a reasonable decision. Tests of the final prototypes began at the beginning of 2012, the final operational tests were completed at the beginning of 2013, and the Mizrak 30 tower is currently ready for mass production.
The Mizrak 30 tower was shown by Otokar on 2011. It is currently installed on the Tulpar machine, offered to the Turkish army as a promising infantry fighting vehicle.
At IDEF 2013, Otokar showed the second medium-caliber tower, the Bozok 25 MTK. This new product is a single tower with a basket, armed with an ATK M242 cannon with a small recoil. The gun is fully stabilized and installed in the right half of the turret; the dual feed mechanism consists of two 105 shots of shots each. Paired 7,62-mm machine gun mounted to the right of the gun and has an 500 ammunition ready for firing ammunition. On the left is an opto-electronic unit, mechanically connected to a stabilized gun and including a daytime CCD camera, a cooled thermal imager, a laser range finder and an automatic target tracking device. All this optronics developed in Turkey. A backup telescopic sight is also integrated into the turret in case of power supply problems. Full circular situational awareness is provided by additional 4 periscopes. A hatchback allows the shooter to have a direct view of the surrounding terrain. Sitting in the turret of the shooter is provided with circular protection of the 3 Level due to the steel turret and additional armor with bolts. With ammunition, the Bozok 25 tower weighs 1570 kg and therefore can be mounted on wheeled vehicles in the 6x6 configuration. The Bozok 25 firing tests were completed right before the IDEF 2013 exhibition, and the tower is currently ready for production. Bozok is a cheaper system compared to Mizrak and Otokar hopes that this model will find its many customers.
The single tower Bozok 25 MKT is the latest development of Otokar in the field of systems of the middle category
The Samson Mk I RCWS is an unusual system because it can be removed to reduce the machine profile.
New Spike missiles, designed by Rafael, can be installed on the mid-caliber Samson MkII turret
Company RAFAEL
The classic Samsun MkI ABS from Israeli Rafael has stabilized main armament in the center, an opto-electronic kit in an armored container on the right side and a PUTR container on the left side. The customer can choose from three options: 25-mm ATK M242, 30-mm ATK Mk44 and 30-mm 2A42 of Russian origin. Usually, Spike LR / ER missiles are manufactured by the Rafael itself, although other ATGM models can also be installed. 7,62-mm machine gun or 40-mm AG can be installed as auxiliary weapons, while optionally available up to 8 smoke grenade installations. The shooter has at its disposal an optical-electronic day / night sight, while the commander can conduct independent observation thanks to the panoramic sight mounted on the mast. OCBM can interact with any BIUS and is equipped with an automatic target tracking system capable of capturing fast-moving targets. A feature of the Rafael module is that it can retract and reduce the silhouette of the car when it is not necessary, and rise during the fighting. Samson MkI Blvd. was bought by the Czech Army and installed on more than 100 Pandur 8x8 machines, some of which were deployed in Afghanistan.
Drawing on its experience with the MkI option, Rafael developed the Samson MkII module. Strictly speaking, this is no longer quite the OAK, since the armament is fully enclosed in a low-profile tower. With a basic level of protection. The 1 level in accordance with Stanag, MkII weighs about 1500 kg, which is 100 kg less than MkI. At the same time, its maximum elevation angle increased from + 60 ° to + 70 °, a useful feature when operating in the city or mountains.
Another feature of the MkII module is the fact that the crew can reload the ammunition under the protection of armor; It is located in a two-row ring store inside the tower. For the commander in the tower there is a seat that allows him to observe the situation, with his head stuck through a special hatch. The two missiles are located on the left, but here they are installed in a row in the new retractable launcher, which can accept the MR, LR and ER variants of the Spike missile. The MkII model can be equipped with the same weapons as the MkI, it retains the same search and shock capabilities. Tower defense can be increased to 4 Level due to additional booking. Rafael has made two prototypes of Samson MkII. The testing phase was completed in the summer of 2013, and a new uninhabited tower is ready for production.
The Elbit UT30, also available with a 25 mm caliber gun, will be installed on the new Guarani 6x6 Brazilian army vehicles in a combat vehicle configuration
ELBIT SYSTEMS
The new uninhabited mid-caliber UT30 tower from Elbit Systems can accept either 30 mm or 25-mm cannon (it is possible to shoot air explosions with ammunition). The gun in the system is placed in the center, a paired machine gun with the opto-electronic unit on the left. The gun and a two-axis stabilized sight provide the ability to fire in motion; The composition of the opto-electronic kit is determined on the basis of customer requirements, including automatic tracking of targets. The design of the UT30 turret allows the modular protection of the 2-4 Level to be adopted for weapons and sights; smoke grenades and warning system sensors are available as an option. Two single Spike installations are installed to the right of the weapon. If the Portuguese army decided for their Steyr Pandur II machines to stop at the 25-mm cannon, for example, Belgium and Slovenia chose the 30-mm cannon. This caliber was also chosen by Brazil, where the Elbit tower, but manufactured by the local AEL Sistemas SA division of Elbit Systems, will also be installed on the Guarani fighting vehicles.
The Belgian Cockerill Maintenance et Ingegnerie (CMI) offers the CPWS (Cockerill Protected Weapon Station) tower family. In the photo, the tower of this company is installed on the prototype Crab Panhard.
CMI DEFENSE
The main player in the field of mid-caliber towers is the Belgian company CMI Defense. The company’s portfolio includes CT-CV and LCTS90 twin towers, which have fully stabilized weapons and sights, an OMS, a digital electronic architecture, independent commander’s stabilized periscopes and ballistic protection up to the 5 level. The standard maximum vertical angle is + 60 °, which is a boon for urban and mountainous conditions. The company CMI Defence integrates different types of weapons by the customer, most often it is ATK M242 Bushmaster and Rheinmetall Switzerland KBA caliber 25 mm, ATK Mk44 and Rheinmetall Mk30-2 caliber 30 mm, ATK Bushmaster III and Rheinmetall Switzerland KD caliber 35 mm, ATK Bushmaster IV , Bofors L70 and CTAI 40 40 caliber mm. The towers can also take anti-tank missiles.
For lighter cars the company CMI Defence developed a family of modular remote-controlled towers CPWS (Cockerill Protected Weapon Station - protected Cockerill weapons station), in which can be installed gun Nexter M261 and Rheinmetall KAA caliber 20 mm, ATK M242 Bushmaster and Rheinmetall Switzerland KBA caliber 25 mm , ATK M230, ATK M230LF, 2A42 and 2A72 caliber 30 mm. A twin 7,62-mm machine gun with vertical pointing angles + 45 ° / -10 ° is mounted to the left of the gun. The fully enclosed turret has a dual-mode stabilized aiming system, which allows an independent all-round view to 360 ° without rotating the turret (alignment with the sighting line of the gun in the aiming mode and connecting to a ballistic computer). CMI Defense does not disclose the mass of its towers, but the CPWS family is suitable for machines with a minimum total mass of 7 tons.
Company OTO MELARA
The twin Hitfist tower from Oto Melara with the 25-mm cannon stands on the Dardo tracked BMP and the Freccia wheeled BMP of the Italian army and with the 30-mm cannon on Polish Rosomak machines. The tower is constantly being finalized based on the experience gained in theaters. On the third party Freccia machines will be installed the latest version of the Hitfist with a large internal volume. At the same time, thanks to layout solutions, the appearance of the tower has not changed. The tower will have wider hatches, which will allow the crew to feel more comfortable in body armor. All towers will be equipped with a Selex ES Janus FF (Full Format) periscope sight. This request came directly from the troops, where only some of the vehicles had an original Janus sight. Satellite communication will also be added.
In the photos, the Hitfist Plus tower with the 25-mm cannon is mounted on the Italian Freccia BMP. The same tower, but with the 30-mm gun, is installed on the Polish Rosomaks machines.
From this tower, Oto Melara has created its own Hitfist OWS tower. The acronym OWS is misleading here, because it’s not a combat module, but an uninhabited tower (although the difference now is a subject for discussion). The tower was successfully tested in Russia on the machine Freccia. The second prototype was installed on the VBA floating machine of the Italian combined landing forces. The configuration is now finally adopted, including the commander's hatch and access to the tower from the inside, the product has been worked out and is ready for production. The Hitfist OWS tower is being promoted in many countries, and the adopted design solutions simplify and facilitate its installation on existing machines, although in some countries doctrinal problems remain regarding uninhabited mid-caliber towers.
To solve this problem (namely, weight reduction with the stated increase in internal volume), Oto Melara is working on a hybrid concept that will add a rotating basket to the OWS tower. This solution will also improve the existing OWS towers. In this case, the crew of two people would be oriented in the same direction as the gun and would remain under the protection of the hull armor.
According to unconfirmed data, the Nexter ARX20 turret is installed on a part of the Aravis 4x4 armored vehicles of the Saudi Arabian army
NEXTER Company
In 2010, the remote-controlled Nexter ARX20 turret, designed for the installation of the 20-mm M621 gun, was shown. The fully gyrostabilized ARX20 turret has 100 ammunition of ready-to-fire projectiles and a total combat weight of 270 kg. The opto-electronic kit is located to the right of the gun and consists of an uncooled thermal imager, a day camera and a laser rangefinder. Optionally, a cooled thermal imager can be installed. 7,62-mm coaxial machine gun can be installed on the roof of the tower just to the right of the center line. Smoke grenades can be added, and the ammunition increased to 200 shots. It is assumed that Saudi Arabia was the first customer to install this turret on 40 armored vehicles Aravis 4x4 (also from Nexter), although the French company does not confirm this information.
At Eurosatory 2012, Nexter presented a conceptual demonstrator for the larger T40 tower. T40 was developed with the assistance of LIVe’s own laboratory for the integration of LIVe wind vectors (Laboratoire d'Integration Vetronique) and the virtual 3D lab, which made it possible to test the human-machine interfaces before the prototype production. In accordance with the requirements of the French army for the EBRC reconnaissance vehicle, the T-40 tower was designed in a double-seat layout, the commander sits on the left and the arrow on the right. But the electronic architecture makes it easy to convert this habitable tower into a remotely controlled tower (based on digital modular wind technology running on an Ethernet architecture).
The CTAI 40 telescopic ammunition system remains the main weapon and offers numerous advantages, such as a small introduction of the turret into the hull, a smooth loading cycle and the ability to fire single projectiles or at any rate of fire up to 50 shots / min (an armor-piercing projectile is able to penetrate 140 mm rolled homogeneous armor) . The tower is primarily designed for the EBRC machine, which will operate in urban and mountainous areas, and therefore the vertical guidance cannon angles are 45 ° (but angles up to + 60 ° are possible). The tower is distinguished by the all-view protection of the 4 Level (5 Level optional); The 360 ° circular view allows you to have a multi-level installation concept for devices optimized for distances from 0 to 4000 meters. As for the installed weapons systems, a multi-level concept is also used here that guarantees mortality at different distances, as well as non-lethality at short distances.
One of the newest incarnations of the Nexter T40, armed with a CTAI 40 telescopic ammunition cannon and mainly intended for the French EBRC program
Long distances provide a day / night sight arrow, which guarantees positive identification at a distance of 3500-4000 meters, while the commander’s panoramic periscope guarantees hemispherical coverage with the same positive identification. These sensors provide guidance and search and shock capabilities for two medium-range MMP anti-tank missiles and an 40-mm gun. The missiles are being developed by MBDA (to be ready in about 2017) and the launcher will be installed on the left side of the tower. A SDM sight with an 7,62-mm machine gun gives a range of sight up to 600 m; This module is installed at the top of the T40 tower, based on the concept of "tower on the tower". Observation from 50 to 300 meters in the T40 tower is provided by direct-view episcopes and an all-view situational awareness system consisting of three CCD cameras that enhance the brightness of an 40-coated image. Thus, round-the-clock coverage is provided.
The T40 turret is equipped with a shot detection system and laser warning and rocket attack warning receivers installed at the four corners of the tower. To protect against laser-guided missiles on each side of the gun, two Galix grenade launchers were installed. Two more Galix installations provide lethal self-defense in a frontal arc, and in the rear arc protection is provided by an anti-theft gun with a 7,62-mm machine gun with a vertical angle greater than 80 °. In the right side of the tower, seven 56-mm installations are installed, which are capable of firing volleys of non-lethal tear-gas cartridges and stun grenades at a distance of 200, 100 and 50 meters.
As it was planned, with the exception of the gun and the sight of the shooter, most of the other elements are installed according to the modular principle and thus can be easily removed and installed depending on the situation. An anti-aircraft gun on a turret, for example, can be replaced with a machine gun on a turret mount.
As already noted, this tower is primarily intended for installation on the EBRC; However, in the company Nexter are considering other options.
In the current configuration, having 4 Level protection, the T40 tower weighs 4,2 tons, but its design allows for a maximum of seven tons. As for prospects, the mentioned modularity principle will enable Nexter to easily integrate any type of sensors and subsystems in the future, which will allow the T40 tower and the machines on which it will be installed to remain with the enemy on the same technical level.
KMW Company
The experience gained with the FLW100 / 200 combat modules allowed KMW to consider installing the 2011-mm Rh20 cannon with a larger camera for 202 x 20 mm shells (already in the Bundeswehr) with the upgraded version of the FLW139 mm at the end of 200. The task was to install on the Boxer or Fuchs machines a combat module with more powerful weapons.
Basically, being the successor of FLW200, the new system received the designation FLW200Plus. Since many Fuchs and Boxer machines were already equipped with the FLW200 module, KMW paid special attention to the preservation of mechanical and electrical interfaces so that the FLW200Plus installation took a minimum of time and effort. Also, the operator console inside the machine almost remained unchanged. The new installation has a superstructure mass 475 kg, including weapons and 100 shots. The Rh202 cannon has a dual feed system, and the magazine allows you to fit 100 shots of one type and 30 of a different type.
The range of vertical guidance angles has expanded to -15 ° / + 50 °. A standard optoelectronic kit includes a x10 optical zoom camera and a 640x480 dual-field cooled thermal imager with an identification range in excess of 2000 meters. FLW200Plus is currently in the final qualification stage.
KMW also developed a mid-caliber tower for the Puma BMP. It was created taking into account the requirements of the Bundeswehr and can hardly be considered an end product for other markets. The intention to develop a new medium-caliber uninhabited tower became apparent in 2010, when the Munich company introduced Boxer with a prototype uninhabited tower. The development was carried out under the veil of secrecy and at AUSA 2013, KMW finally showed the Independent Weapon Station IWS35 (Independent Weapon Station 35). It contains some of the elements of the tower for Puma, for example, an optical day panoramic sight, which provides better visibility compared to the camera. This greatly influenced the layout of the tower, since the periscope must be installed in the center of the tower, and the armament must therefore be shifted to the right. The prototype shown was armed with an ATK Bushmaster III 35 35 cannon, making IWS35 the first uninhabited tower with an 35 mm cannon. An additional weapon is the 12,7-mm machine gun with a chain drive, located to the right of the gun. One servomotor provides vertical movement of both types. weapons; since the gun has a maximum vertical angle of 35 °, and potential customers wanted a larger angle for auxiliary weapons, KMW connected two types of weapons through a gearbox. With a total maximum angle of inclination of -10 °, two weapons are aligned with one line of sight and as the elevation angle increases, the angle of the 12,7-mm machine gun grows at a higher angular speed, reaching a maximum of 65 °.
The KMW FLW200Plus module, which is a further development of FLW200, is armed with the Rh20 202-mm cannon and can easily be installed on machines already equipped with a lighter DBMS
At AUSA 2013, KMW showed its IWS35 (Independent Weapon Station) turret, armed with an 35-mm cannon and an 12,7-mm machine gun from ATK
The KMW IWS35 module has the same Cassidian optical periscope as the German Puma BMP, which means the inevitable installation of the gun is not on the center line of the tower
Two types of weapons are fully stabilized and when choosing a weapon, the JMA automatically takes them into account in the ballistic equation, ensuring its accurate vertical guidance. The stabilization is provided by systems from Moog and guarantees the angular velocity of the 45 ° / s transfer and the acceleration 100 m / s2. In order to avoid problems with the cartridge belt, KMW chose the legless version of the Meggitt automatic loader, which rises with the gun and accommodates 65 main type shots and additional type 11 shots. The current configuration does not allow reloading from under the armor. However, the solution to this problem is already known and determined in case the customer requests these opportunities.
The number of shots for the gun was determined in view of the much greater impact of 35-mm ammunition compared to 30-mm. The ATN 12,7-mm machine gun also has a dual-feed system with a total 250 ammunition ammunition. Without ammunition, the tower with the 2 protection level weighs about three tons, the ammunition from 35-mm shots and 12,7-mm cartridges adds another half-ton. The high proportion of American subsystems, such as weapons, the loading mechanism and the stabilization system, as well as the fact that the show was held at the exhibition in Washington without too much hype, clearly demonstrates KMW’s interest in this market. Thus, IWS35 can be considered as a possible candidate for some US programs, such as the Ground Combat Vehicle ground combat vehicle for the army and the Amphibious Combat Vehicle ground combat vehicle for the Marine Corps. At the same time, the IWS35 turret can be equipped with other cannons, for example, cannons manufactured by Rheinmetall or a CTAI 40 telescopic ammunition system chosen by Great Britain and France for their prospective combat and reconnaissance vehicles. IWS35 has already passed fire tests in Germany and major integration work will be carried out in 2014.
- Alex Alexeev
- Fire power for all occasions. Overview of combat modules and towers for cars of light and medium weight categories (1 part from 5)
Fire power for all occasions. Overview of combat modules and towers for cars of light and medium weight categories (2 part from 5)
Fire power for all occasions. Overview of combat modules and towers for cars of light and medium weight categories (3 part from 5)
Fire power for all occasions. Overview of combat modules and towers for cars of light and medium weight categories (4 part from 5)
Fire power for all occasions. Overview of combat modules and towers for cars of light and medium weight categories (5 part from 5)
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