For six decades, Russian tank building relied on the experience of World War II. T-60, T-72, T-72 and other models of formidable armored vehicles to a greater or lesser extent borrowed the most important technical solutions from their predecessor, T-54. The changed tactics of warfare and the emergence of modern means of destruction have led to the abandonment of classical schemes in many countries. A vital problem was the survival of the crew in the event of penetration of armor-piercing shells and missiles in the hull.
Essentially new solutions were required, and they appeared. In the United States, Germany, Israel and other countries producing powerful armored vehicles, they went along the quite logical path of increasing armor protection and enlarging gun calibers. The train of thought is generally correct, but deadlock: the weight of the machine increases, its dimensions increase, the ability to transport equipment decreases, and speed and maneuverability deteriorate.
The latest Russian tanks combine the advantages of Western models with the advantages of domestic equipment. The development of the "object 195" began in the late eighties. The main difference between this mysterious model, even the appearance of which has been kept secret for a long time, is that its tower is unusually small. The command post was moved to an armored corps, or rather, to an armored capsule, which reliably protects the crew from enemy fire weapons. Thanks to this decision, the latest Russian tanks have a relatively low weight (up to 50 tons), which allows them to be equipped with powerful weapons, while maintaining the ability to develop high speed (up to 65 km / h).
During the design and development work , revolutionary changes have occurred in the elemental base of electronic equipment. Such fire control systems that engineers of the 80s and 90s could not even dream of became possible. The latest Russian tanks are equipped with active means of protection against missiles and even shells that pose a threat to them. There was an opportunity to reduce the number of crew members and significantly facilitate on-board equipment.
The result of the improvements was the new Armata tank of Russia, 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 type of weapon will be much cheaper.
Uninhabited tower lowers the silhouette, which is very important in 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 all previously produced military vehicles suffered so much . This is achieved through special fiber optic information interfaces and cameras, providing the effect of "vision through the armor."
According to experts familiar with the prototypes, the newest tanks in Russia are ahead of the time by a good decade, during which none of the countries producing armored vehicles will be able to develop anything like that. Specialists of Uralvagonzavod, which plans to produce a miracle machine, modestly specify that they simply completed a technical order. True, completely and honestly.