T-15 Armata

T-15 Armata

Type Heavy IFV
Place of origin Russia
Service history
Used by Russian Ground Forces
Specifications
Weight 48 tons[1]
Armor Steel and ceramic composite
1,200-1,400 mm vs HEAT[2]
Main
armament
 2A42 30 mm auto cannon[3][4] with 500 rounds (AP/HE)[5]
Secondary
armament
 7.62 mm coaxial PKT, Kornet-EM[3]
Engine Multifuel diesel engine
1,500 hp
Payload capacity 9 infantry (+3 crew)
Transmission automatic
Operational
range
 550 km (340 mi)
Speed 65–70 km/h (40–43 mph) (road)

The T-15 Armata (Russian: T-15 Армата), with industrial designation "Object 149", is a Russian heavy infantry fighting vehicle first seen in public (initially with its turret covered) in 2015 during rehearsals for the Moscow Victory Day Parade. The T-15 is expected to replace the BMP-2 and MT-LB based platforms of the Russian Ground Forces.[5]

Background

The infantry fighting vehicle concept was first conceived of in the 1960s during the Cold War, where a confrontation between NATO and Warsaw Pact countries was expected to be dominated by tanks, so infantry required transport to sustain the pace of advance while having armament to fight tanks and armor to withstand machine gun and artillery fire; the Soviet Union created the BMP-1/BMP-2 and the United States the M2 Bradley. While IFVs provided troops with heavier mounted firepower, the amount of anti-tank rockets and guided missiles made it impractical and uneconomical to protect them from such weapons. Post-Cold War, rather than maneuver warfare, most fighting took place in urban areas, such as the battles for Grozny by Russia. While heavy losses could be tolerated in a superpower war, insurgent ambushes with anti-tank weapons easily killing whole squads at once by destroying their IFV have become unacceptable. In an effort to field better protected troop carriers, some countries have experimented with converting tank hulls to carry dismounts.[2]

The Russian T-15 is based on the T-14 tank hull, with its engine relocated to the front to accommodate a passenger compartment in the rear, which adds the engine as a type of shield against frontal hits; passenger capacity is estimated at between seven to nine troops. At 48 tons, the vehicle is slightly heavier than the T-90 main battle tank. It has several features, including a built-in entrenching blade and the T-14's numerous cameras and sensors.[2]

Design

Armament

The T-15 features the Bumerang-BM (Epoch) remote control turret with its 2A42 30 mm auto cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial PKT and a bank of two Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missiles on both sides.[3] Also in development is the AU-220M Baikal remote turret that features the AK-257 57 mm semi-automatic naval gun and the 9M120 Ataka anti-tank missile.[1]

Mobility

Like the T-14, the T-15 is based on the Armata Universal Combat Platform, but unlike the T-14 it has its engine in the front.[5] It is powered by a new generation 1,500 hp multifuel diesel engine coupled with a hydro-mechanical automatic transmission, has a combat weight of about 48 tons, a maximum road speed of 65–70 km/h (40–43 mph), an operational range of 550 km (340 mi), and a power-to-weight ratio of over 30 h.p./t.[1]

Protection

Like the T-14, the T-15 is protected by reactive armour[4] and the Afganit (Russian: Афганит) active protection system. While the T-14 has its Afganit launch tubes at the base of its turret, the T-15 has them arrayed along the top sides of its hull.[5] It uses four soft-kill launchers to deploy smoke grenades that disrupt visual and infrared guidance systems, and five hard-kill launch tubes on top of the hull, compared to the T-14's 10 hard-kill tubes on the turret which automatically turns to face a threat.[2] The T-15 has "an unprecedented level of armor protection," including improved passive steel and ceramic composite plate armor and a slat armor cage at the rear. Its new Malakhit (Malachite) ERA is claimed to protect against ATGMs like the FGM-148 Javelin and Missile Moyenne Portée (MMP) and 120 mm tank rounds like the German DM53/DM63 and American M829A3 APFSDS sabots. In addition to hard-kill and soft-kill APS, the developer uses a special paint that significantly reduces the vehicle's infrared signature. The floor is reinforced with an additional armor plate for counter-mine and counter-IED protection, and it has a jamming system to detonate radio-controlled anti-tank mines. The T-15 has an NBC protection system.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 T-15 Armata HIFV to increase combat capabilities of Russian Land Forces - Armyrecognition.com, 10 August 2016
  2. 1 2 3 4 Russia's T-15 Armata: Moscow's Fighting Vehicle of the Future? - Nationalinterest.org, 18 September 2016
  3. 1 2 3 de Larrinaga, Nicholas (22 April 2015). "New Russian heavy armour breaks cover". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 "T-15 (Object 149) heavy infantry combat vehicle". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "New Russian Armor; First analysis: Armata". defense-update.com. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
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External video
T-15 (at 28 seconds) during night time rehearsal of the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade.
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