T-95 and 640 Object
In September 1997, the first public demonstration of the main combat took place in Omsk tank the new generation of the Black Eagle (Object 640). A tank with a tower, carefully covered with a shaggy camouflage net, was shown by a guest at a distance of 150 meters and from strictly defined angles. According to the developers of the “Black Eagle”, in terms of its combat qualities, it surpasses the best Western vehicles - M1A2 “Abrams”, “Leclerc”, “Leopard-2”, “Challenger-2” - and today it is the strongest tank in the world. It has a higher combat survivability, better crew protection, more powerful weapons, and a modern information complex.
Externally, the tank hull differs little from the hull of the serial T-80U: the same location of the rollers, the driver's hatch, and the active protection modules. The use of the seven-base base indicates the relationship of the “Black Eagle” with the tanks of the previous generation, and this will greatly facilitate its mass production and simplify operation in the troops.
The most significant difference from the T-80 is a welded turret of a fundamentally new type (a full-size model with a “standard” product configuration was demonstrated on the tank), which has a high level of protection. In its size and configuration, it resembles the towers of the western tanks of the last generation. Automated ammunition is separated from the combat compartment by an armored partition, which significantly increases the security of the crew. Earlier, in the Russian tanks, the drum of the automatic loader was located under the lightweight polycom of the combat compartment, therefore the explosion of the ammunition set led to the inevitable death of the crew, which was confirmed by the sad experience of the war in Chechnya. The adopted layout decision made it possible to reduce the height of the “Black Eagle” in comparison with the T-80 on the 400 mm, thus making it the lowest tank in its class.
The horizontal position of the ammunition in the stern of the turret allows the use of longer, and hence more powerful armor-piercing sub-caliber ammunition, and also simplifies the process of automatic loading and increases the rate of fire. Large angles of inclination of the frontal sheets of the tower provide more reliable protection when firing a tank with armor-piercing sub-caliber shells. It is assumed that the installation of the 152-mm gun is possible on the Black Eagle, but according to Western experts, the gun mounted on the tower’s mock-up has a caliber of the order of 135 — 140 mm.
The on-board information system of the Black Eagle provides control over all the main systems of the vehicle, as well as automated information exchange with other tanks and higher-level commanders.
The tank is equipped with a new gas turbine engine with more than 1500 hp. and has a combat weight of about 50 t. As a result, the power density exceeds 30 hp / t, which is a record figure. As a consequence of this, the dynamic characteristics of the Black Eagle should be significantly superior to those of third-generation Western tanks with a specific power 20 — 25 hp / t.
The design bureau of transport engineering (KBTM) patented the Black Eagle tank in the Eurasian Patent Office, which was shown for the first and last time on HTTV-1997 wrapped in a camouflage net. Then the show was unauthorized, now the armored vehicle is disclosed for any request to the patent office.
T-95 Tank
One of the options for the layout of a promising tank
All the technical characteristics, appearance and features of the layout of the "95 object" still remain secret. However, some experts, especially foreign ones, already have a certain idea of the new car. The mass of the T-95 is about 50 tons, the length and width, apparently, will be about the same as that of the T-72, T-80 and T-90 in service. Experts believe that to achieve the necessary mobility in modern combat, the tank must be equipped with a gas turbine engine with a capacity of more than 1250 horsepower, which is being developed by the serial GTE-1250. There is no finished diesel engine of comparable power in Russia. The tank, apparently, will receive a new suspension, providing greater smoothness.
However, the main "highlight" of the new machine is a completely new layout of the combat compartment. The gun on the "95 object" is located in a small uninhabited tower. Traditional for Russian tanks of the last thirty-plus years, the automatic loader of a new design is located under the turret. The jobs of the crew of three - the driver, the gunner operator and the commander - are placed in a special armored capsule, fenced off by an armored bulkhead from the automatic loader and the turret. This solution allows not only to reduce the silhouette of the tank, i.e. make it less noticeable on the battlefield, but also significantly protect the crew.
The new layout allows us to overcome the main contradiction of modern tank building - the need to combine reliable protection with mobility and transportability. In the West, the dilemma could not be overcome, therefore modern NATO’s MBT - MHNUMXA1 Abrams, Leopard-2, Leclerc - weigh over 2 tons. With such a mass, it is sometimes impossible to use them outside the area prepared for engineering. Significantly difficult and the transfer of these monsters through the air. Russia went a different way, donating the thickness of armor while simultaneously installing on the T-60 and T-80 systems of optical-electronic suppression of anti-tank weapons. However, such a decision, given the increase in the effectiveness of anti-tank weapons, sooner or later had to lead tank construction to a dead end.
To solve the problem, it was necessary to radically change the layout of the tank, as experts have been talking about for twenty years. However, in the West the matter did not move further than conversations and conceptual designs, and Russian designers made the first revolution in tank design. A sharp reduction (primarily due to the withdrawal of the crew from the tower) of the internal space, which must be reliably booked, allows us to ensure a previously unattainable level of security without going beyond the weight limitations associated with the carrying capacity of bridges, wheeled transporters and airplanes.
Judging by expert reports, the second most serious problem of modern tank building was solved within the framework of the “95 object”, due to the fact that the power reserves of existing tank guns with a caliber 125 mm (in Russia) and 120 mm (in the West) are completely exhausted. In particular, the domestic 2А46, mounted on T-72 and T-80, fully justifies itself in the conduct of hostilities in Chechnya, but it does not have enough muzzle energy to confidently destroy promising foreign tanks. Possible caliber T-95 guns - 135 mm. This is a completely new artillery system. Apparently, it will remain smooth-bore. Abroad, in particular, in Israel, the possibility of equipping the next generation tanks with 140 mm guns is being studied.
The hull of the car and the tower will be made of composite armor, also covered with active third generation armor. It is possible that the T-95 will be equipped with an active protection system created on the basis of the existing Arena.
Experts believe that the tank will receive a new fire control system (FCS). Information about the target will be received via optical, thermal imaging, infrared channels, it will include a laser rangefinder and, possibly, a radar station. It should be noted that the new layout makes very stringent requirements for the SLA, since the crew is deprived of the opportunity to use traditional optical instruments. Western projects of tanks with an uninhabited turret provide that information about the situation on the battlefield will be displayed on screens that will create for the crew the effect of seeing through armor in any direction. It is not yet clear how this problem will be solved in new Russian tanks, since Russia traditionally lags behind in the modern means of integrating and displaying information.
An analysis of open information indicates that T-95 is substantially superior (at least in some aspects) to everything that has been created or will be created in the next few years in the West.
Information