Two-link "Armata" will become the Russian tank of the "third millennium"

August 27 2020 14

The concept of the Russian “tank of the third millennium” was shown at the Army-2020 forum in the capital region. At the same time, one of the leading NATO members, Great Britain, intends to reduce the number of armored vehicles available to it, and then completely abandon tanks. Who is right in this correspondence dispute, and is there a future for the "armored kulaks" in our age of advanced of technologies?

To begin with, it should be said that the British can hardly be a great authority in this matter. Firstly, tanks are not so necessary to protect the island state. It is not entirely clear who, these days, might even dream of landing amphibious assault forces in Great Britain. Secondly, for potential hostilities on the "eastern front", the armed forces of young NATO members will most likely be involved, and the Germans, French, Americans and British, if anything, mostly stand behind them for moral support. Third, it is simply expensive and ineffective to modernize and maintain the aging fleet of Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, since there is no real work for them and is not expected.

In other words, London is acting in a very practical way, abandoning "armored fists" in favor of shock drones and delegating the functions of "cannon fodder" to the Young Europeans. Also, the British intend to save money by changing the format of their military contribution to the common cause of the North Atlantic Alliance.

Other continental countries simply cannot afford this. Tanks have been and remain the most important offensive and at the same time defensive weapon. They are able to support their infantry in motion with fire, they can serve as a real armored bunker. The United States transferred an armored brigade and an armored brigade group equipped with the famous Abrams to Poland. Despite their venerable age, these tanks will serve the Americans at least until 2030. Russia responded by deploying two tank armies westward. France and Germany intend to jointly develop a new generation tank, which should be the answer to the domestic "Armata". China has created a very decent ZIZ-96B. The Israelis are working on the fifth generation of the Merkava. And for some reason, no one considers tanks to be some kind of anachronism.

Russia got from the USSR a huge fleet of these armored vehicles, of which there are almost 22 thousand. True, the overwhelming majority of them are in storage and require deep modernization. You can actually take into account about 5 thousand tanks. These are machines of the T-90, T-90A, T-90M, T-80 series, which they began to actively modernize, as well as various modifications of the T-72. The most modern T-14 "Armata" is both a pride and a headache for the RF Ministry of Defense. This is a technically very advanced tank that still has no analogues in the world. Its big drawback is its high cost, but this problem can be solved by releasing a large series, which will be exported, which will make the armored vehicle cheaper. It was reported that an export technical passport is being prepared for "Armata", and there are potential foreign customers for the T-14.

But the "Armata" can only be a transitional link to a real "tank of the future". At the ongoing military forum, a very interesting concept was presented, within the framework of which the combat vehicle will have a two-link articulated structure. This will reduce the pressure of the mass on the ground, and the gas turbine engine with a capacity of 3 thousand horsepower will give the tank even greater speed and maneuverability. The crew of three will be in an armored capsule in the first link, the power plant and drones will be located in the second, which will provide the combat vehicle with increased survivability. The uninhabited tower (the legacy of the "Armata") will contain an electrothermochemical cannon with an automatic loader; weapons will also include vertical-launch homing missiles, an active protection complex, a laser blinding installation and an electromagnetic pulse generator.

Of course, while all this is "on paper", and the appropriate technologies have yet to be created, but I am glad that domestic tank builders are already looking into the future.

Sergey Marzhetsky

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beeper

-1

27 August 2020 14: 40

In developing this forward-looking concept, I would think in advance about three-link tank - maneuverability and benefits from such an arrangement are even higher!
And about whether tanks will be in demand in the future, do not even doubt - tanks will always be! Although their appearance will be even more different from the first "Mark I"!
1. Vladimir Tuzakov
  
  0
  
  27 August 2020 16: 18
  
  With modern anti-tank weapons, tanks in mass use against a strong enemy lost their importance at the end of the last century. We even observe in Syria against weakly armed militants, where tanks are used more as a mobile firing point and do not go into open attacks anymore, because too many Javelins and others have been divorced ... Therefore, OB tanks are applicable as armored mobile weapons. especially promising in the unmanned version ... This is how a two-tier tank is possible, that is, one firing link on batteries, the second transport-charging one and brings the combat module to the positions, then the firing link performs combat missions on battery power and, if necessary, interacts with a transport-charging module located in the shelter or in the rear ... Such detachable modularity allows solving problems even with the loss of individual modules, etc.
  1. Sergey Tokarev
    
    -1
    
    27 August 2020 20: 22
    
    And what is the use of this trolleybus in urban conditions when the enemy has EW assets?
2. The comment was deleted.
3. Bitter
  
  +1
  
  30 August 2020 01: 41
  
  The version is eligible for development.
  Why not make a four or even six-link "armored train"? In the last link, you can charge "calibers", in the penultimate, for example, "shell" and between them a link with combat and target-pointing quadcopters. There will be an echeloned tank.
  1. beeper
    
    +2
    
    30 August 2020 08: 47
    
    No, Gleb, four links, if in series, then bust is too cumbersome and vulnerable, and the fourth link does not bring an advantage in maneuverability!
    But if in pairs - "square", then yes, there may be an interesting layout combination for an unmanned armored vehicle, since it can be made much lower in silhouette, but the cannon removed from the top will still provide the optimal height of the line of fire.
    But the three-link system, observing the principle of reasonable sufficiency, in addition to reducing the total specific pressure on the ground, will allow (even in comparison with the two-link one) to achieve super-maneuverability and super-cross-country ability over previously inaccessible terrain, to ensure super-survivability of the tank without increasing the total weight of the structure and to vary the height of the gun's line of fire more widely "!
    The advantages of the modular three-tier scheme will be especially evident in UAV tanks!
    We are not yet talking about truly "storey" modular layouts, which becomes possible in drone tanks!
    All this will happen either evolutionarily or in leaps and bounds - it depends on the inertia of thinking of designers and the military, the ability to go beyond the usual notions (this inability is visible, alas, and our readers, for some reason, at the word "tank" hypnotized by the picture of extremely monstrous giants, without even bothering to get out of the "tunnel" of mental stereotypes )!
    I would very much like Russian designers to always “see the forest” “behind the trees”, and, being carried away by routine, do not find themselves in the back rows!
    So that their compatriots are pleasantly surprised, and the enemies of the Russian World are always upset, giving the Russian military advanced models of technology, which really have no analogues in the world!
    I wrote above that future tanks will differ even more than the current ones from the very first English "Mark I"!
    1. Bitter
      
      +2
      
      30 August 2020 15: 12
      
      the fourth link does not have an advantage in maneuverability!
      
      As well as the first, but then there are "Calibers", "Hurricanes", "Sun" or something else, and this is wow - the enemy must tremble. The advantages in maneuverability of a heavy vehicle are not needed, it is an autonomous mobile complex fortified firing point
      
      there may be an interesting layout combination for an unmanned armored vehicle.
      
      It has some prospects in chasing the natives, in a collision with a more or less technically advanced enemy, the chances of losing first communication, and then the car are quite high.
      
      providing the Russian military with advanced models of equipment that really have no analogues in the world yet!
      
      All these tankettes are analogs of that same English "Mark", if, of course, it is possible to make a fundamentally new concept of a combat vehicle, for example, without goose legs and wheels, then yes. In the meantime, we "copy" and improve the existing analogues of partners and our own.
      1. beeper
        
        +1
        
        30 August 2020 17: 18
        
        Advantages in the maneuverability of a heavy vehicle are not needed; it is an autonomous mobile complex fortified firing point.
        
        ????? I put pluses for the answers, just out of politeness, like my counterpart, but NOT in agreement with what you said, Gleb!
        After all, there is a vivid misunderstanding by you of the purpose and role of tanks!
        And yet, not only in terms of the concept of application, but also in design, do you clearly think in stereotypes, do not try to look a little further into the future ?!
        Why do you forget about the inevitable development of AI and the concept of "drone swarms" ?!
        And I didn’t write anything about the principles of the movement of promising units in "tank trains", so as not to limit your imagination!
        IMHO
        
        Bitter
        
        +2
        
        1 September 2020 00: 26
        
        the concept of "swarm of drones" ?!
        
        I already imagined how a super-maneuverable object weighing 47-60 tons, gracefully dodging a swarm of AI drones, flies into the attack, barely touching the ground. The main thing is that you do not collide with the helicopter on the turn, when the "tail" slightly skips.
        
        on the principles of movement of promising units in "tank trains" ..
        
        Well, yes, only one, or rather two, power plants must be arranged so that one in which case could not only drag the other, but also move autonomously.
        In some special forces, intelligence or airborne forces, it is permissible to create such expensive special vehicles. But en masse in the line troops? Although, if only to ride once a year past the mausoleum sealed with plywood, then yes. Benefits on the face.
        In general, I wrote ironically, without delving into the principles, concepts of the future and the possibility of using AI in promising BTT models.
        
        beeper
        
        +1
        
        1 September 2020 00: 51
        
        Well, you, Gleb, "again money for the fish" - are also hypnotized by the monstrous association with the word "tank" or, promised by the future unmanned version, the huge "Armata" had that effect ?!
        Why would a drone tank (already originally created by a drone!) Have such huge dimensions and carry so much armor on itself - this time!
        And secondly, in the very near future, completely different means of attack and defense of tanks will prevail, and they themselves, like the concepts of their use, may not be like yours. traditional ideas about this type of weapon!
        
        Consider, everything that a person is able to mentally imagine (even in the wildest fantasies!) Is potentially feasible, at the proper scientific and technical level!
        
        IMHO
Sergey Latyshev

+1

27 August 2020 23: 18

In fact, "The two-link" Armata "will become the Russian saw of the" third millennium "- if they do not forget, like a super-supersonic helicopter a year ago.
In fantastic cartoons, dashing 2-3 link tanks have been driving for a long time, but they modestly do not talk about their cost and efficiency ...
Binder

+1

28 August 2020 05: 05

Not being an expert in the field of advanced armored vehicles, I can only express my doubt that this tram will ever enter service with the Russian Armed Forces. The times of tank wedges and the battles of Prokhorovka have long become history, so all the leading armor manufacturers in the world are moving away from traditional concepts, looking for new solutions that meet modern needs and are designed for new methods of warfare.
The article says, in particular, that in Israel, allegedly, the development of "Merkava-5" is underway. This is not true, work is underway to create a fundamentally new project "Carmel", which is an alternative to the "Merkava". How you can deal with enemy armored vehicles was clearly demonstrated by the Turks in Syria a few months ago, and Turkey is by no means a leader in terms of the production and use of UAVs, modern capabilities in this segment of weapons are much higher. Therefore, the Armata tank is outdated even at the design stage - the future belongs to light mobile robotic vehicles, heavy armored monsters will soon be seen only in museums, as today we see the armor of medieval knights - this is a weapon of the outgoing era. And in the section of curiosities, a ridiculous coupling, an armored tram, will take place.
shinobi

0

30 August 2020 08: 48

There will be no such tanks. Never. The more moving elements in the structure, the higher the probability of breakdowns. It's not worth the price at all. As an SPG, maybe. SAM? Has already. But not a tank.
Netyn

0

17 September 2020 08: 37

Quote: pishchak
Developing this promising concept, I would have thought about a three-link tank in advance - the maneuverability and benefits of such an arrangement are even higher!

Give me a land multi-link tank armored train !!!
Netyn

0

17 September 2020 08: 42

Quote: Bitter
As well as the first, but then there are "Calibers", "Hurricanes", "Sun" or something else, and this is wow - the enemy must tremble.

A couple of links or floors need to be added with the strategic nuclear weapons