Report: Russia wants to replace Armata with two-section 'tank of the future'

Specialists are said to believe that it is already necessary to lay the groundwork for the project
 

The Russian state-run news agency TAAS reported that the concept of a two-section "tank of future" designed to replace the country's latest tank, the Armata, after the 2040s was presented at the Army-2020 international military and technical forum, which took place at the end of August near Moscow.

The concept was presented by the 38th R&D and Testing Institute of Armored Hardware and Armament, which drafts requirements for advanced armor. The institute’s specialists are said to believe that the Armata tank and its versions will be effective on the battlefield until the 2040s but it is already necessary to lay the groundwork for the tank of the distant future.

According to Colonel Yevgeny Gubanov, the institute's deputy chief, "Specialists of the 38th Institute today perceive such a combat vehicle in the option of a coupled two-section design. The front combat module may have a control compartment with three crewmembers in a highly protected armored capsule. The module’s medium part is expected to accommodate an unmanned turret with a mounted electro-thermochemical cannon with an automatic loader." 

The tank’s second section coupled with the first is expected to accommodate a 3,000 hp multi-fuel gas turbine engine. The second module is also expected to carry air and ground drones to conduct reconnaissance, search for mines and perform security functions.

The future tank’s electro-thermochemical cannon is expected to use new compounds instead of gunpowder that will be ignited by an electric discharge. The tank will fire hypersonic shells. The tank’s front module will also be outfitted with reactive armor, a blinding laser weapon and an electromagnetic pulse generator. The module’s rear part will accommodate vertical take-off homing missiles with an operating range of up to 12 km, according to TASS. 

The institute’s specialists were quoted as saying that further build-up of tank firepower and armor within the existing configurations considerably increase their mass, and that the coupling of two sections will help reduce specific ground pressure and solve this problem. The specialists were also said to believe that the tank’s general-purpose engine compartment can be used together with manned modules for motor rifle personnel and combat modules with the armament of various caliber and designations. The tank’s crew will be combat aware with the help of the ‘transparent armor" vision technology when information from various external sensors is transmitted to the crew inside the armored capsule, the report said.

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