08.09.2017
Israel and Syria may fight for the Russian
"Terminator" vehicle. Alexander Shevchenko, Chief of the Main Auto
Armoured Directorate of the Russian Defence Ministry shared this information
with Russian journalists on September 7. The news came as a surprise for
military experts and experts from a number of countries of the Middle East.
Indeed, the two states that remain in opposition to each
other showed serious interest in one and the same development of the Russian military and industrial complex. It goes about the
combat tank support machine manufactured by Uralvagonmash. RIA Novosti has
dubbed the new vehicle the "meat grinder."
"Terminator" (the tentative name for
"Object 199 Frame) is based on the chassis of the T-72 tank.
Interestingly, a customer may choose between two engine types - 840 or 1000 hp.
Most likely, the manufacturer has conducted profound modernisation of the good
old four-stroke diesel 840 hp V-84.
The "Terminator" weighs about 44 tons, which
corresponds to the classical mass of the T-72 tank of various modifications
(from 39 to 48 tons for about 40 years of production).
From the point of view of combat use, the
"Terminator" is a universal machine, as it allows to suppress tanks,
armoured personnel carriers, and, of course, infantry of the enemy. The vehicle
is equipped with two 30-mm automatic 2A42 guns and a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun,
as well as four launch canisters for 9M120 guided missiles (the so-called
"Ataka" complex). In addition, the vehicle also carries two automatic
30-mm AG-17D grenade launchers.
To crown it all, the machine uses the technology for the
protection of guided missiles from small arms.
The Russian "meat grinder" that possesses
all-round ballistic protection against destruction means can also serve as the
basis for the creation of the machine of the future - a fully autonomous combat
robot.
Quite possibly, Mideastern states show great interest in
the Russian machine after it demonstrated its abilities in Syria. Russia sent
several "Terminator" machines to Syria as several prototypes of the
modified version of BMPT-72 "Terminator-2." In the opinion of French
military experts, the machine displayed fantastic efficiency in combat action.
In late August, Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed five
contracts worth 22.6 billion rubles for the purchase of
"Terminators". Earlier, the department intended to buy only ten
machines. The order was unexpectedly expanded, which, as it seems, is connected
with the experience of real battles of the Russian army in Syria.
In April 2016, Russia and Algeria concluded an agreement
for the delivery of Russian "Terminators" to the African country. In
2013, military specialists from Saudi Arabia closely studied capabilities of
the machine during the IDEX-2013 arms show.
In fact, the prospective development of the Russian
defence industry is at least eleven years old. In the mid-1980s, its
"ancestor" - Object 781 - was tested, but it was never launched into
serial production.
Israel's interest in the Russian machine is
particularly interesting. As is known, back in 1967, after the Six-Day War,
Israel, a very young country back then, began to use captured Soviet armoured
vehicles. Israel had seized about 300 Soviet tanks with unspent ammunition and
minor damage directly on the battlefield. Since then, Israel's interest in
Soviet and Russian military products has never receded.
The acquisition of "Terminator" capable of becoming
a full-fledged combat robot, may be of special significance for Israel. After
all, Tel Aviv is known as the trendsetter in developing state-of-the-art
unmanned combat systems. As a matter of fact, France, Russia, and even the
United States lag significantly behind Israel at this point.
Israel may study the Russian "Terminator" to
supplement its model range with new combat caterpillar armoured robots.
Alexander Artamonov
Pravda.Ru
Pravda.Ru
Original post: pravdareport.com
BMPT-72 Terminator 2: Details
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