Tanks and other Armoured Vehicles Image thread.

Marduk

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I could easily see an MBT conversion where the cannon and ammo are replaced with VL cells and/or mortar for rapid deployment of drones and anti-drone systems.
At this point it is no longer a MBT, it is a needlessly heavily armored support vehicle on the chassis of a MBT. More likely one would use a similar chassis as for other light artillery or support vehicles - something like Bradley or Stryker one.
Speaking of anti-drone, US Army is already way ahead of you in the more optimal variant, namely resurrecting the Bradley Linebacker with an anti-drone spin.
It just makes more sense for the role than modifying MBTs, IFVs have spare room for such conversions, aren't expected to be taking as much fire as MBTs, and their other capabilities synergize well - they have an autocannon that can also fight drones at shorter range as a secondary weapon, and on top of that they can carry a dismount specialist team with some kind of jamming, detection or neutralizing equipment against drones.

And then there is this:
 

ShadowArxxy

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Comrade
I was just using a early tank the US has that used it.
The Walker also had a muzzle break

The U.S. actually never had that round, and again, it wasn't available until 1982, making it a *far later* "solution" than the Sheridan which was developed in the 1960s.
 

Zachowon

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The U.S. actually never had that round, and again, it wasn't available until 1982, making it a *far later* "solution" than the Sheridan which was developed in the 1960s.
Oh inknow I know.
I again, was just being a smartass.
 

ShadowArxxy

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Comrade
So, some Bulgarian Expat in Canada's armored vehicle company is apparently building up its production capabilities here and is trying to sell us some armored dumptruck:


That Rila 8&8 does strike me as a potentially excellent replacement for the ex-Soviet BRDM-2s and BTR-60s that Bulgaria still uses. However, it's likely to be considerably more expensive than the globally established Piranha / LAV / Stryker, and cost is a major concern for the ongoing modernization of the Bulgarian military.
 

Agent23

Ни шагу назад!
That Rila 8&8 does strike me as a potentially excellent replacement for the ex-Soviet BRDM-2s and BTR-60s that Bulgaria still uses. However, it's likely to be considerably more expensive than the globally established Piranha / LAV / Stryker, and cost is a major concern for the ongoing modernization of the Bulgarian military.
Maybe but the big carrot here is allegedly the company planning to start production for EU customers in Bulgaria.


Should the Bulgarian MoD choose the Rila 8x8, IAG says it will localise all production of the vehicle in its Burgas plant.
 
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GROGNARD

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So, some Bulgarian Expat in Canada's armored vehicle company is apparently building up its production capabilities here and is trying to sell us some armored dumptruck:


...meh. It looks like an embiggened LAV-25A2. Bigger doesnt always mean better.
US_Army_Airdrop_Test_of_LAV-25A2-Fire.jpg


 

Knowledgeispower

Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
honestly if you want to add drones or missiles to a tank bolting their launchers to the side of the turret ala the TOW launcher of the bradley probably makes a lot more sense than using the gun for the task
 
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Agent23

Ни шагу назад!
...meh. It looks like an embiggened LAV-25A2. Bigger doesnt always mean better.
US_Army_Airdrop_Test_of_LAV-25A2-Fire.jpg


Yeah, as I said, it looks like an armored dumptruck.
Frankly I would be OK buying them if these guys can peddle them to other EU countries and build them here, so that we can recoup some of the costs and get more jobs, that would mean that there would be more demand outside of Bulgaria than within it for these things.
The Spaniards might be willing to buy some, since the weapons package is their project already.
 

Aaron Fox

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honestly if you want to add drones or missiles to a tank bolting their launchers to the side of the turret ala the TOW launcher of the bradley probably makes a lot more sense than using the gun for the task
Not really, unless those missiles are basically anti-air cluster munitions, they're only good for larger drones. For the smaller drones? You use guns, and preferably guns with HEPF or AHEAD ammunition (so anything 30mm and larger).
...meh. It looks like an embiggened LAV-25A2. Bigger doesnt always mean better.
US_Army_Airdrop_Test_of_LAV-25A2-Fire.jpg


Please note that the LAV-25 and other larger APCs/IFVs are that way due to design constraints. For example, the LAV-25 and its 'family' are designed for amphibious and river crossing operations, and that requires a hull form that tends to be considered 'large'. The Bradley is the way it is due to the TOW launcher.
 

Morphic Tide

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Not really, unless those missiles are basically anti-air cluster munitions, they're only good for larger drones. For the smaller drones? You use guns, and preferably guns with HEPF or AHEAD ammunition (so anything 30mm and larger).
Alternatively, instead of the clusterfuck of gun-launched missiles, you can bolt on a pod of micro-missiles that can be fired *as needed* instead of mandatory all-or-nothing or a mortar that can have far simpler terminally-guided and/or rocket-boosted munitions than demanded of a proper gun-launched missile with much less recoil.

He's talking "the gun", as in the main gun, as in the thing that starts at 120mm these days but nobody's taken 140mm all that seriously. That is not enough for any serious drone, and it's a giant clusterfuck and a half to use the thing for anti-air work because of elevation limits. Cheap and easy and low recoil is the way to go, a 30mm or bigger secondary armament between the main gun and the heavy machine gun is going to be none of those.
 

BF110C4

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I remember that part of the MBT-70 design had a 20mm coaxial gun to deal with infantry, LAVs and other soft targets as to not waste main gun ammo, the BMP-1 and other vehicles carrying antitank missiles made the designers realize that regardless of overkill the tanker would use the main gun to deal with those threats at max range so the idea was dropped.

But yeah, any kind of secondary autocannon for AA work is going to be impractical due to the required gun elevation vs size of the turret, not to mention the targeting systems required for locking on small, and relatively cold aerial targets such as drones vs land vehicles. Frankly the ideal solution would be dedicated AA gun-missile vehicles both tracked and wheeled to support combat formations, but is too expensive and resource intensive to be done without some impressive evolution of the current doctrine and related budget.
 

paulobrito

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I remember that part of the MBT-70 design had a 20mm coaxial gun to deal with infantry, LAVs and other soft targets as to not waste main gun ammo, the BMP-1 and other vehicles carrying antitank missiles made the designers realize that regardless of overkill the tanker would use the main gun to deal with those threats at max range so the idea was dropped.

But yeah, any kind of secondary autocannon for AA work is going to be impractical due to the required gun elevation vs size of the turret, not to mention the targeting systems required for locking on small, and relatively cold aerial targets such as drones vs land vehicles. Frankly the ideal solution would be dedicated AA gun-missile vehicles both tracked and wheeled to support combat formations, but is too expensive and resource intensive to be done without some impressive evolution of the current doctrine and related budget.
Looks at the initial designs/mockups of the StrV 2000
strv-2000-image03.jpg

140mm main gun and secondary 40mm against light vehicles and helis (and other low flight targets).
 

Marduk

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But yeah, any kind of secondary autocannon for AA work is going to be impractical due to the required gun elevation vs size of the turret, not to mention the targeting systems required for locking on small, and relatively cold aerial targets such as drones vs land vehicles.
It's called a RWS.
When it comes to new armament, the Next Generation Abrams tank looks to have a Kongsberg Protector RS6 Remote Weapon Station (RWS) armed with a variant of the 30mm M230 automatic cannon mounted on top of the turret. The lightweight M230LF version of this weapon, which the U.S. Army has designated the XM914, is now in U.S. military service as a component of various vehicle-mounted short-range air defense systems, including multiple types focused primarily on defending against the increasing threat posed by small drones.


Frankly the ideal solution would be dedicated AA gun-missile vehicles both tracked and wheeled to support combat formations, but is too expensive and resource intensive to be done without some impressive evolution of the current doctrine and related budget.
Yeah...
1280px-Avenger_missile.jpg

Clearly a science fiction vehicle.
 

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