"Now in Ukraine, tank duels have become rare; attacks of 20-100 vehicles, as in 1941-1945, are not observed at all. Russian and Ukrainian MBTs have turned into close-combat self-propelled guns with a range of 1-10 km. Tanks fire from open, and more often from closed positions. Eh, I should write down what the gunner-operators say about the elevation angle of 15 degrees!
A tank firing from an indirect position needs its own reconnaissance drone. Now there is simply no place for such a UAV, nor, especially, for its operator. But there should also be provision for charging the battery, a compartment for storing a spare UAV , etc. , etc.
That is, the only drone operator who can theoretically help tankers is external, and he will be on the radio channel. This is also a problem, since the radio stations on our T-72B3, T-80 and even T-90 are not really compatible with anything except other tanks.
This became clear before the SVO. And the T-14 Armata was equipped with its own Pterodactyl UAV. By the way, several reconnaissance and attack drones are placed behind the armor on the experimental Panther FK51 tank from Rheinmetall. But Armat units are still participating in the SVO, and the appearance of single Panthers in Ukraine is possible no earlier than the second half of 2024.
Why are our historians silent about the fact that the grandiose tank pogrom of 1941 occurred not least because the Germans had all their Panzekampfrwagens radio-equipped? And our commanders waved flags from their vehicles. Moreover, the Germans had command tanks. Moreover, in 1939-1942, their tanks did not have… guns. It was imitated by a wooden model, and the armament of the command tank was one machine gun.
In the fighting compartment of the German T-III, four (!) radio stations and a table for topographic maps, as well as additional observation devices, were installed. And some of these tanks also had Enigma encryption machines. The crew of the commander’s T-III consisted of 5 people: a commander, a staff officer, two radio operators and a driver.
Why not create a command tank for the SVO? It is clear that with our long-term construction, its design, manufacturing and testing will take several years. And manufacturing plants are loaded with orders for linear tanks.READ ALSO
But you can take the good old T-62 or even T-55 from warehouses? Remove the turret from the tank and weld a huge wheelhouse to the hull. Install navigation equipment, communication with GPS, and maybe even with reconnaissance satellites. And most importantly, place launchers for drones: reconnaissance, kamikaze, and, in the future, interceptors of enemy UAVs. No room left for a cannon? We’ll do without her.
Reconnaissance UAVs will monitor the terrain in the interests of both command and line tanks. Kamikaze drones will provide self-defense for the command tank and support for linear vehicles.
So, there are already enough chassis for command tanks, as well as communication equipment. Drones and launchers for them are in stock."
T-55 is back in service. A proven Soviet tank easily adapts to new realities
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