T-14 Armata

T-14 Armata[1]

Type Main battle tank
Place of origin Russia
Service history
Used by Russian Ground Forces
Production history
Designer Ural Design Bureau of Transport Machine-Building, Uralvagonzavod[2]
Manufacturer Uralvagonzavod[2]
Unit cost T-14: $6.2 - 12.4 million(depending on modification)[3][4]
Produced 2015-present[5]
Number built 100+estimate(actual figure unknown)[5]
Specifications
Weight

50 - 86 t(depending on modification) [2][6]

49 t (with Urban Warfare Package)[2]
Length 11 m (36 ft)
Width 3.63 m (11.9 ft)
Height 3.3 m (10.8 ft)
Crew 3[2][5]
Armor

44S-sv-Sh[2][7]

1,000–1,100 mm vs APFSDS and 1,200–1,400 mm vs HEAT[8]
Main
armament
 125 mm (4.92 in) smoothbore 2A82-1M tank cannon[5] with 45 rounds (32 of them in the autoloader)
Secondary
armament
 12.7 mm (0.50 in) Kord machine gun (6P49), 7.62 mm (0.30 in) PKTM machine gun (6P7К)
Engine diesel
1,500 hp[9]–2,000 hp[9]
Power/weight 31hp/t
Transmission 12-speed automatic gearbox
Operational
range
 min[9] 500 kilometres (310 mi)
Speed 80 km/h (50 mph)-95 km/h (59 mph) (estimated)[9]

The T-14 Armata (Russian: Т-14 «Армата»; industrial designation "Object 148") is a new Russian main battle tank based on the Armata Universal Combat Platform. It is the world's first series-produced fifth generation tank.[10] The Russian Army plans to acquire 2,300 T-14s in the period 2015-2020.[11][12] It commenced testing in 2016 and production soon afterwards.[13]

Design

Featuring a number of innovative characteristics, the T-14 represents a new generation of Russian main battle tanks. The most significant new feature is the use of an unmanned turret, with the crew of three seated in an armored capsule in the front of the hull.

The development of the tank took five years[14] and was initiated after the earlier, incrementally innovative T-95 (object 195) project was cancelled, after protracted development, with authorities citing excessive weight, complexity, and cost.

Armament

The main armament of the T-14 is the 2A82-1M 125 mm (4.92 in) smoothbore cannon,[5][15] a replacement for the 2A46 of previous Russian and Soviet tanks. Features include an absence of a fume extractor (due to the unmanned turret), a firing rate of 10–12 rounds per minute, and a maximum effective-penetration range of 8 km with ATGMs. The detection range of the tank's optical sensors is more than 5 km[9] for tank-sized targets in daylight, and at least 3.5 km at night through the thermal imaging channel. The gunner sight's optical channel is equipped with 4x and 12x optical zoom.[2] The laser rangefinder has a theoretical maximum range of 7.5 km.[9] These systems are duplicated; in addition there is a weaker third system that can fire on the move. The crew uses a high-definition camera with a 360 degrees field.[16] According to published information, the 2A82 gun's muzzle power is some 20% higher than that of the Rheinmetall 120 mm L/55.[17]

The Vacuum-1 sabot round, developed for the 2A82-1M gun, has a penetrator that is 900 mm long,[2] and is capable of penetrating 1,000 mm of RHA equivalent at a distance of 2,000 meters.[18][19][20] The new controlled-detonation Telnik HE-Frag shell is also available and has entered service.[21][22] The gun is also capable of firing guided missiles,[23] a feature first implemented on 1960s Soviet tanks, with a new 3UBK21 Sprinter ATGM developed specifically for it. These missiles can be used for air defense.[9]

The secondary armament consists of a 12.7 mm Kord (GRAU index 6P49) machine gun with 300 rounds (not observed during the 2015 parade) and a 7.62 mm PKTM (6P7К) machine gun with 1,000 rounds.[2][23][24] All guns are remotely controlled.[23] In addition, another 1,000 rounds can be stored separately.[14] A 12.7 mm machine gun is installed above the turret roof-mounted commander's sight, which avoids visual obstructions, while the turret front has a peculiar slit that is speculated to be intended for the coaxial 7.62 mm machinegun.

In the future, the T-14 may use the 2A83 152 mm gun instead of its current 2A82 125 mm gun.[23][25][26][27] This gun, created around 2000 for the T-95 prototype,[2] has a high-speed APFSDS shell with a 1,980 m/s muzzle velocity, only dropping to 1,900 m/s at 2 km.[28][29][30][31] However, Russian engineers have so far kept the 125 mm-size gun, assessing that improvements in ammunition could be enough to increase effectiveness, while concluding that a larger bore weapon would offer few practical advantages.[32]

The T-14 can use anti-aircraft missiles.[2][33] A 30 mm anti-aircraft gun may be installed instead of the 12.7 machine gun.[34]

Mobility

The T-14 is powered by a ChTZ 12Н360 (A-85-3A) diesel engine[2][35] delivering up to 1,500 hp.[2] The engine's theoretical maximum power, not normally used,[36] is 2,000 hp, at the cost of radically decreasing its service life, projected min[37] 2,000 hours at nominal 1,500 hp,[2] comparable to other modern tank engines, and up to 10,000 hours at moderated 1,200 hp.[35] The engine is electronically controlled.[12] Operational range is over 500 km.[16]

The T-14 has a 12-speed automatic gearbox, with a top speed of 80–90 kilometres per hour (50–56 mph) and a range of 500 kilometres (310 mi).[2] At least one expert speculated that the transmission might be an electronically controlled mechanical gearbox with external reverse and demultiplier gears, giving the tank equal forward and reverse gear ranges.[38] Other sources suggest a partly or fully hydrostatic transmission.[39] Uniquely for a Soviet/Russian design, the transmission is joined with the engine into a single unit that can be swapped out in the field in just under 30 minutes(source?).

Unlike previous Russian and Soviet designs, such as the T-90/80/72/64, the T-14 has seven 700 mm road wheels per side, based on the T-80 variant.[39] It has the ability to adjust the suspension of at least the two first roadwheels, and, probably, the last one.[40] In the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade rehearsal video, a T-14 Armata is shown retracting one of its frontal first wheels during turns. This, and some recently published design blueprints,[40] suggest at least a partial hydraulic suspension system based on the adjustable lever arm shock absorbers that now double as suspension actuators.[40] This may have been done to improve the pivoting ability of the tank, as an active suspension system improves the target lock time by a factor of 2.2, and reduces the timeframe between target detection and reaction by 31 percent, all due to the resulting smoother ride.[2][40]

Much thought was given to the tank's strategic mobility. Its moderate mass of ~48 tons allows it to be easily rail- and trailer-transported, conserving its engine and transmission's service life, and it can navigate most of the solidly built bridges in the country, unlike, for example, the Japanese Type 90 Kyū-maru MBT, whose 50+ ton mass and large size forces it to operate only in areas with specially reinforced bridges and railways with sufficient clearance.[41] Two T-14s with their crews and all attending equipment can be easily airlifted by the heavy An-124 transport plane. However, the most numerous Russian strategic airlifter, the Il-76, is able to lift this mass only in its newest, PS-90-equipped variant.

Protection

The T-14's crew of three is protected by an internal armored capsule[2] with more than 900 mm RHA equivalent,[2] increasing their chance of survival in case of a catastrophic kill.[19][42] Both the chassis and the turret are equipped with the Malachit dual-Explosive reactive armour (ERA) system on the front, sides and the top.[20][43] The turret's shape is designed to reduce its radio and thermal signature.[20] The tank uses an integrated, computerized control system which monitors the state and functions of all tank modules. In battle, the software can analyze threats and then either suggest or automatically take actions to eliminate them, while without the external threat it can detect and rectify crew errors.[23] Serial production of the Armata Platform's ceramic armor components began in mid-2015.[44]

The tank features the Afghanit (Russian: Афганит) active protection system (APS), which includes a millimeter-wavelength radar to detect, track, and intercept incoming anti-tank munitions, both kinetic energy penetrators and tandem-charges.[2][45] Currently, the maximum speed of the interceptable target is 1,700 m/s (Mach 5.0), with projected future increases of up to 3,000 m/s (Mach 8.8).[14] According to news sources, it protects the tank from all sides.[20] These systems put the Armata a generation ahead in terms of defensive technology. Such systems are "only in their infancy on British and American tanks".[46]

Defense Update released an analysis of the tank in May 2015, speculating that Afghanit's main sensors are the four panels mounted on the turret's sides, which are probably AESA radar panes spread out for a 360° view, with possibly one more on top of the turret. In their opinion, the active part of the system consists of both a hard kill and soft kill element, the first of which actively destroys an incoming projectile (such as an unguided rocket or artillery shell), while the second confuses the guidance systems of ATGMs, causing them to lose target lock. They believe that it would be effective against 3rd and 4th generation ATGMs, including Hellfire, TOW, BILL, Javelin, Spike, Brimstone, and JAGM, as well as sensor-fused weapons (SFW).[47] Some Russian sources claim the hard-kill APS is effective even against depleted uranium-cored armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds traveling at 1.5–2 km/s (0.93–1.24 mi/s), but others are skeptical, saying the fragmentation charge would not do much to the dense penetrator; while it might be able to push it off course somewhat with a hit-to-kill approach, it likely won't do much to stop it.[17]

Afghanit hard-kill launchers are the long tubes mounted in groups of five between the turret's front sides and the chassis.[20] These send out an electronically activated charge that fires an Explosively Formed Penetrator towards the target (in all directions).[48] The tank is also equipped with the NII Stali Upper Hemisphere Protection Complex,[49] which consists of two steerable cartridges with 12 smaller charges each, and a turret-top VLS with two more similar cartridges,[50] corresponding to the vehicle's soft kill APS.[47] Additionally, using the AESA radar and anti-aircraft machine gun it is possible to destroy incoming missiles and slow-flying shells (except kinetic energy penetrators).[51]

In July 2015, the deputy director of the Uralvagonzavod tank manufacturing company claimed the T-14 would be invisible to radar and infrared detection due to radar-absorbing paint and the placement of components with heat signatures deep within the hull. American and Russian armor experts have doubts about these unproven claims. A retired senior U.S. military officer said that sensitive modern thermal technology could detect things such as vehicle movement, a weapon firing, an exposed crewman, or the exhaust of an engine capable of moving a 50-ton tank regardless of heat-generating component placement. Analysts also pointed out that most stealth technology in Russia has been for aircraft to reduce their radar cross section from airborne or ground-based detection, while in a ground vehicle the approach would be to make it indistinguishable from ground clutter to optimize shielding from air-to-ground detection and the two techniques do not necessarily overlap.[52]

Sensors and communication

The T-14 is equipped with 26.5–40 GHz Active electronically scanned array radar,[23] which has a range of 100 km and is used mainly by the APS. Up to 40 airborne or 25 ground targets down to 0.3 m (12 in) in size[14] can be tracked simultaneously. The tracking system provides an automatic firing solution for the destruction of the target, which can then be transferred to either the APS or the main gun control computers.[2] The tank will be able to give target designation for artillery[14][53] and serve in air defence and reconnaissance roles.[12][14][45][54] The T-14 uses highly protected communication channels that connect a group of T-14s and the command post.

The commander and gunner have largely identical multispectral image sights, with visible electromagnetic spectrum and thermography channels and laser rangefinders.[2] The commander's sight is installed on the turret top and has a 360° field of view,[2][47][55] while the gunner's, situated in the turret's niche to the gun's left,[47][55] is slaved to it and is additionally equipped with a direct-vision periscopic channel and laser designator for the T-14's gun-launched, SACLOS anti-tank missiles.[2] The detection distance of tank-sized objects for both sights is 7,500 m (8000)[56] in daylight, through the TV/periscopic channel, and ≈3,500 m at night through the thermal channel. There is also a backup night-vision capable sight, with 2,000/1,000 m respective detection distances.[2] In addition to traditional vision periscopes, the driver has a forward looking infrared camera[55] and a number of zooming closed-circuit television cameras.[2] Video cameras are installed for all-round vision for the crew, since it lacks the normal vantage point of turret roof hatches. This 360-degree camera coverage is perhaps one of the T-14's most unusual features, made necessary because of extremely limited visibility without them. The crew, clustered in the front of the hull, would have poor situation awareness if the camera setup and video feeds were to fail.[32]

Although the T-14 is touted as an entirely Russian-made next-generation tank, some components may not be entirely domestically made. Cybersecurity analysts have stated that Russian industries have had difficulty producing critical components of night-vision systems which are standard on the tank, and have attempted to buy them from Western or Chinese suppliers in the past. This means components of the T-14 could have originated outside of Russia, and may be more difficult to obtain or produce due to sanctions against Russia for its involvement in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.[57]

Victory Day Parade

The tank was first shown in public during rehearsals for the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade.[58] During the rehearsals one of the tanks stopped moving for 15 minutes. This was later explained as human error, an inexperienced driver having accidentally engaged the emergency brake. There were no problems during the parade proper.[59][60][61]

NATO response

The T-14 Armata is the world’s newest and most advanced main battle tank, as well as the first fifth generation tank to enter serial production.[10][62] British intelligence views the unmanned turret as providing many advantages.[63] It has been described as a major concern for Western armies.[64][63] However, western observers question the economics of Russia's modern tanks like the T-90 and T-14 to be available in significant numbers.[65][66]

Russia claims the tank's main armament is twenty years ahead of comparable Western tank guns and renders existing NATO anti-tank weaponry obsolete.[46] In response to the Armata, German Rheinmetall AG is believed to be developing a new 130mm tank gun. Germany is discussing with France the development of an unspecified "ground combat system" to compete with the technological advances of the Armata.[62]

Export

Egypt

Denis Manturov, the Russian minister of trade and industry, said that Russia was ready to sell the Armata tank to Egypt. "Russia is ready to discuss with Egypt the delivery of the T-14 Armata tank after executing its plans for this new generation tank under the state armaments program," he told RIA Novosti on a visit to Cairo in May 2015.[67]

The manufacturer of the Russian Armata tank invited a delegation from Egypt to a military equipment and arms expo in Russia, where the capability of the new tank will be demonstrated. "We invited the Egyptian delegation to the exhibition of weapons, which will be held in September this year [2015], to show what this machine is capable of," the company's director Oleg Sienko told TV Channel Russia-24.[68]

Asia-Pacific

Vladimir Kozhin, a Russian presidential aide, said that Russia's foreign partners, including China and India, have expressed interest in purchasing new military equipment presented at the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow, including the Armata tank. "To a larger extent it is our traditional partners: India, China and South-East Asia," he told the Izvestia newspaper.[69] Even though China has shown interest in the T-14, Chinese company Norinco claims their domestic VT-4 tank is superior to the Armata design in terms of mechanical reliability, fire control, and unit cost.[70]

See also

External video
T-14 during night time rehearsal of the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade.

Image gallery

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference defenseupdate20150509 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

References

  1. ↑ "Die Presse: российская "Армата" знаменует революцию в танкостроении". РИА Новости.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Танк Т-14 "Армата" или Т-99 "Приоритет"" [Tank T-14 "Armata" or T-99 "priority"] (in Russian). vpk.name. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Названа цена танка "Армата"". Popmech.ru.
  4. ↑ "Названа цена "Арматы"".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pilot batch: Russian military get first T-14 Armata tanks". RT. TASS. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  6. ↑ "General Director of "Uralvagonzavod" Oleg Siyenko" (in Russian). 19 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Russia Created New Steel Armor for Armored Vehicles". Siberian Insider. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Евгений Даманцев. "Видимые преимущества перспективного танка Т-14 "Армата"".
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "БМП "Армата" сможет уничтожить вертолеты и беспилотники".
  10. 1 2 "T-14 (Object 149) Armata Main Battle Tank (MBT)". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  11. ↑ MacFarquhar, Neil. "As Putin Talks More Missiles and Might, Cost Tells Another Story".
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  13. ↑ https://lenta.ru/news/2015/10/01/armata/
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ""Армата" против "Леопарда": новый русский танк превзойдет все мировые аналоги".
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  17. 1 2 The Game Changing Feature in Russia's T-14 Armata That Might Make NATO Tanks Obsolete - Nationalinterest.org, 28 September 2016
  18. ↑ "Пушка Т14 пробивает до 2 метров гомогенной стали - youinf.ru - информационно-познавательный журнал YouMag". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
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  21. ↑ Sputnik. "Take Cover! Russian Armata Tank Gets New High-Tech Ammo Type". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Создан новый боеприпас для танка "Армата" - Еженедельник "Военно-промышленный курьер"". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Щеголев, Илья (23 January 2015). ""Армата" против "Леопарда 2" и "Абрамса"". Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  24. ↑ "Антикризисная модель "Арматы"". svpressa.ru (in Russian). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  25. ↑ "Танк "Армата" усилят пушкой калибром 152 мм". EADaily.
  26. ↑ "Рогозин: танк "Армата" оборудуют новой пушкой с мощным зарядом". РИА Новости.
  27. ↑ Егор Созаев-Гурьев. ""Армату" сделают мощнее". Известия.
  28. ↑ "Отечественные проекты танковых пушек" (in Russian). 19 March 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
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  30. ↑ "Т-95 / Объект 195" (in Russian). 1 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  31. ↑ "152-мм пушка для "Арматы"" (in Russian). Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  32. 1 2 Russia's New Tanks Are Pretty 'Stale' – Offiziere.ch, 10 June 2015
  33. ↑ "Танк Т-14 "Армата". Инфографика".
  34. ↑ Paul Richard Huard. "The T-14 Is a New Russian Tank —And a Whole Lot More — War Is Boring". Medium.
  35. 1 2 "Дизельный двигатель 12Н360". ЧТЗ-УРАЛТРАК (in Russian).
  36. ↑ АО ИД «Комсомольская правда». ""Армата" - то что надо". АО ИД «Комсомольская правда».
  37. ↑ https://ria.ru/spravka/20160906/1476195857.html
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  39. 1 2 "Следующий – Т-14". Vzglyad (in Russian). 26 September 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  40. 1 2 3 4 "Активная подвеска танка "Армата"". Gur Khan Attacks (in Russian). 12 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  41. ↑ "９０式戦車（Type90MBT）".
  42. ↑ "ТАСС: Армия и ОПК - "Армата" и "Курганец": от пульта для геймпада до искусственного интеллекта". ТАСС.
  43. ↑ "Прототипы танка "Армата"".
  44. ↑ "ТАСС: Армия и ОПК - Серийный выпуск керамики для брони "Арматы" начался в Новосибирске". ТАСС.
  45. 1 2 http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/OEWatch/201503/201503.pdf
  46. 1 2 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3121195/20-years-ahead-West-WON-T-blow-like-predecessor-Brains-Russia-s-new-robotic-tank-reveals-secrets-machine-forefront-country-s-250BILLION-military-modernisation.html
  47. 1 2 3 4 "New Russian Armor; First analysis: Armata". defense-update.com. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  48. ↑ "Системы активной защиты бронетехники".
  49. ↑ "КОМПЛЕКС ЗАЩИТЫ ВЕРХНЕЙ ПОЛУСФЕРЫ". НИИ Стали (in Russian).
  50. ↑ "Что представляет из себя танк Т-14 "Армата"?".
  51. ↑ ""Армата" расстреляет снаряды противника из пулемета". Известия (in Russian).
  52. ↑ Franz-Stefan Gady, "Is 'Russia's Deadliest Tank' Really Invisible to the Enemy?", The Diplomat, 13 August 2015
  53. ↑ "САУ "Коалиция-СВ" установила рекорд дальности стрельбы".
  54. ↑ "На танки "Армата" установят радары с АФАР" (in Russian). army-news.ru. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  55. 1 2 3 "Russia's armour revolution". Jane's 360.
  56. ↑ https://ria.ru/spravka/20160906/1476195857.html
  57. ↑ Franz-Stefan Gady, "Is Russia's 'Deadliest Tank' Using Western Technology?", The Diplomat, 6 June 2015
  58. ↑ "1st PHOTO: Russia's secretive Armata battle tank revealed". RT. April 21, 2015.
  59. ↑ "Russia's New Tank Breaks Down During Parade Rehearsal". 7 May 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  60. ↑ Press, Associated (7 May 2015). "State-of-the-art Russian tank breaks down at Victory Day rehearsal". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  61. ↑ "Whoops !! Russian T-14 Armata Breaks Down". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  62. 1 2 Lockie, Alex (15 March 2016). "Russia claims its deadly T-14 Armata tank is in full production". Australian Business Insider. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  63. 1 2 "UK military intelligence issues warning over Russian supertank threat". The Telegraph. 6 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016. Without hyperbole, Armata represents the most revolutionary step change in tank design in the last half century. ..revolutionary turret design that makes crew less vulnerable under fire. The tank is also reckoned to be lighter, faster and lower in profile than Western rivals.
  64. ↑ Majumdar, Dave. "Surprise: Russia's Lethal T-14 Armata Tank Is in Production". Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  65. ↑ "Putin's Got a Cool New Tank: How Many Can He Afford?". The Fiscal Times. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  66. ↑ Majumdar, Dave (7 November 2016). "Russia's Armata T-14 Tank Could Be Super Dangerous on the Battlefield (But There Is One Simple Problem)". The National Interest. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  67. ↑ – RIA Novosti.com, 26 May 2015
  68. ↑ – Sputniknews.com, 26 May 2015
  69. ↑ – Sputniknews.com, 4 June 2015
  70. ↑ Franz-Stefan Gady, "Can This Chinese Tank Beat Russia's T-14 Armata?", The Diplomat, 9 June 2015

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