The newest tanks of Russia - a revolution in the construction of armored vehicles

For six decades, Russian tank-building relied on the experience of the Great Patriotic War. T-60, T-72, T-72 and other examples of formidable armored vehicles, to a greater or lesser extent, borrowed the most important technical solutions from their predecessor, the T-54. The changed battle tactics and the emergence of modern weapons of mass destruction have led to the abandonment of classical schemes in many countries. An urgent problem was the survival of the crew in case of penetration of armor-piercing shells and missiles.

Substantially new solutions were required, and they appeared. In the United States, Germany, Israel and other countries that produce powerful armored vehicles, they followed a completely logical way of increasing armor protection and enlarging the gun calibers. The course of thought as a whole is correct, but dead-end: the weight of the car, its dimensions, the possibilities of transporting machinery, the speed and maneuverability are deteriorating.

The newest tanks of Russia combine the advantages of Western models with the advantages of domestic technology. The development of the "object 195" began back in the late eighties. The main difference of this mysterious sample, even the appearance of which was for a long time kept secret, is that its tower is unusually small. The command post has been transferred to the armored corps, or more precisely, to the armored capsule, which reliably protects the crew from the enemy's fire weapons. Thanks to this decision, the newest tanks of Russia have a relatively low weight (up to 50 tons), which allows them to equip them with powerful weapons, while retaining the opportunity to develop high speed (up to 65 km / h).

During the design work, there were revolutionary changes in the elemental base of electronic equipment. Such fire control systems became possible, which engineers of the 80s and 90s could not even dream of. The newest tanks of Russia are equipped with active means of protection against missiles and even shells, which pose a threat to them. There was an opportunity to reduce the number of crew members and greatly facilitate on-board equipment.

The result of the improvements was the new Russian tank "Armata", combining the best technical solutions developed during the design of the "object 105", and completely new ideas. It is also important that the production of this weapon is much cheaper.

The uninhabited tower lowers the silhouette, which is very important in the conditions of modern combat. The newest tanks of Russia will be equipped with a unique system of external orientation, which will increase visibility, from the lack of which so suffered all previously produced in the world of military vehicles. This was achieved through special fiber-optic information interfaces and television cameras, providing the effect of "seeing through the armor."

According to experts familiar with the prototypes, the newest tanks of Russia are ahead of time for a good decade, during which none of the countries producing armored vehicles can develop something like that. Specialists of "Uralvagonzavod", where the production of a miracle machine is planned, modestly specify that they just completed the technical order. True, completely and on conscience.