MBT design development why the tank is not obsolete

The configuration of the main battle tank will change dramatically as the impact of new technology is felt

Marsh Gelbart examines future requirements for main battle tanks.

For almost 80 years the tank has played a major role on the battlefield because of its survivability, mobility and firepower. Firepower and protection have been locked in a competitive spiral since the early days of tank warfare and because of this tanks have increased in weight and bulk. But recent advances seem set to reverse this trend and major tank-producing nations are envisaging that tanks will be sleeker, smaller and lighter within the next 25 years.

The US future combat system (FCS) will be in service after 2015 and is expected to weigh 39 tonnes. The British MODIFIER tank replacement programme is more conservatively pitched at 40 to 50 tonnes and due in service by 2020. Until recently tank design remained conventional and evolutionary. The large majority of main battle tanks (MBTs) had a traditional configuration with a rear-mounted engine and drive sprocket, and carried their main armament in a traversable turret. Some contemporary MBTs have introduced auto- loaders, reducing the tank crew from four to three. This has resulted in a decrease in space taken up by the crew compartment and a contraction in a tank's bulk and weight. Integrated vehicle electronics will accelerate the reduction in crew numbers and General Dynamics Land Systems Division and its system enhancement package for the M1A2 leads the way. By 2020 a two-man crew manning duplicated workstations may be the norm for new generation tanks. Crewmen are likely to be seated side by side in a capsule sheltered within the tank's hull rather than in the turret. A tank crews situational awareness will be preserved through optical and electronic sensors and these will have to provide an indirect panoramic view to compensate for the loss of top vision. High-tempo, twenty-four-hours-a-day conflict will be standard and tanks will be able to digitally download tactical information to their compatriots. Information supremacy will permit a tank crew to get inside an opponents engagement cycle, allowing them the first shot and a probable kill. The expanded battlefield will mean dispersion of armoured assets and digitalisation will enable control of these resources and maximise the concentration of effort.

Tanks play a major role on the battlefield because of their survivability, mobility and firepower.

Kinetic energy projectiles are the primary tank killer utilised by MBTs and short-term lethality could be achieved by lengthening cannon barrels and improving projectile design. An example of the former is the Giat CN 120-26, a smooth-bore l2Omm cannon with a calibre of 52 rather than the usual 44. It seems unlikely that western countries will increase the calibre of the 1 2Omm weapons upon which they have standardised because the bulk of l4Omm calibre projectiles would reduce the number of rounds carried. In the mid term, solid propellant electrothermal chemical cannons are likely to be preferred. In the future, electromagnetic cannons will provide projectiles of additional velocity. Ammunition for the autoloader could be stowed in a turret bustle equipped with blow-off panels or within the hull separated from the crew capsule by armoured bulkheads. Fire-controI systems will grow in sophistication, reducing crew workload, and thermal-imaging sights and automatic target detection, recognition and tracking will become the norm. The low-slung silhouettes of future MBTs with reduced-size turrets will make for a harder target. Armour will not be as heavily concentrated on the frontal arc and account will have to be taken of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) with top-attack profiles and of anti-armour bomblets. Composite armour in modular, replenishable form will be de rigeur for future MBTs. While Chobham and its derivatives will remain the benchmark for armoured protection, there may remain a place for advanced reactive armour. Some future tanks may be protected by electronic armour. The basis of this technology exists in the shape of laser-warning detectors fitted to some Russian, Israeli and Italian MBTs. These warn a tank crew if their vehicle has been painted by range-finding lasers. Soon defence aid suits (DAS) that incorporate soft-kill and hard-kill technology will be in service. The former decoys ATGMs, the latter fires submunitions to destroy incoming ATGMs.

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