This installment presents the most accurate data available in CD term on modern (and semi-modern) tanks. It is not a definitive list of all such modern tanks, but is a pretty thorough look at Soviet and American tanks of the last 20 years plus the most important current European designs. Note that these ratings will conflict in some details with the material that was presented in CPQ #6. In all cases, treat the material in this article to be correct and most current. Due to vast amount of equipment that had to berated in CPQ #6, it was not possible to re-evaluate each and every vehicle against the most current information (although this was done with many of them), and much of the material was simply updated from the Combined Arms ratings that were originally published in 1988. This article departs from the old CA numbers and re-examines these vehicles in light of the increasingly interesting information available today, especially on the formerly secret Soviet equipment. The data is the most accurate for the US and Soviet material. The US, as we know, has a tradition of public information, and Russia has become remarkably open, due to its need to obtain hard currency via military exports (up to and including nuclear scientists, one fears). The vast majority of the ex-Soviet data comes from the prolific and exacting Steve Zaloga, who appears to be taking better advantage of the new information available from the former Soviet Union than anyone else in the field of modern military affairs (see bibliography). I will bet money that if it's about Soviet tanks, it's based on his data, whether it has his name on it or not. The European material is the most approximate, and even this is really only in the area of armor protection. Although the French in particular also have quite a history of arms exports, armor data on the current British, German and French designs is all quite secret. All three claim that their turret armor will "withstand" or at least "resist" all current tank- fired rounds, to which I respond, "dream on." Take a look at the performance of the current US APFSDSDU rounds, and you won't believe it either. (This is one of the advantages of wargaming: we are required to grapple with these numbers and their interactions on a regular basis, and are less likely to be impressed by blithe, blanket statements.) On a certain level, I take these claims more or less at face value, given the massive space devoted to armor on these vehicles (especially the Leopard 21), and the demonstrated British proficiency at building rolling castles. On the other hand, I did not give the Leopard or Leclerc the full 60 rating because I do not believe they are as far along in metallurgy as the United States with its depleted uranium programs. Some proof of this lies in the ammunition data in which you can see why the US for years kept refusing to change from the rifled 105 while everyone else in the world was going to larger-caliber guns, insisting that it could simply improve the ammunition and get the same penetrative performance. Looking at the M774, M833 and M900, you can clearly see that we were right, and the Europeans still haven't caught up with us in kinetic energy performance. I am assuming some of that same materials expertise in the armor issue. For those of you who were fatigued by the Spanish Civil War alphabet soup elsewhere in this issue, I have for you an even more perturbing modern alphabet soup. Only in the past year has someone (Steve Zaloga, of course) made final definitive sense of all the parallel designations for theT-72 family. The same tank will have a different designation depending upon whether it is produced for the Soviets or for export. In addition, those same tanks produced under licensein Poland and Czechoslovakia use the export designation. These are presented on the table below, along with the known models of T-64s and T-80s. Note that on the vehicle ratings on the following pages, the Soviet designations are used. If you want to find the rating for a T-72MI, for example, look on the table below to find its Soviet designation (T-72A) arid look it up under that designation. On the table below, "RN' is reactive armor, "imp FC" is improved fire control (which usually does not result in any changes in the tank's ratings), and "RF" is range finder. Note that there is a new type of armor listing for some of the Soviet tanks, in the format "XX[YY]." This shows early Soviet composite armor called"Combination K" which appeared first on the T64, predating the West's Chobham armor by quite some time, although it was clearly not as effective. The first number is the armor value vs. kinetic energy rounds, and the second number, within the brackets, is its armor values vs. HEAT rounds. The latest versions of this (shown as armor value 52c) have sufficient anti- HEAT performance that they are susumed within the existing Command Decision rule for Chobham Armor. Note that some Soviet tanks (T-72A, B, and B1 and T-80U) have both the "c" (Chobham Armor) and 'r' (Reactive Armor, see Rule 7.6 under rule 23).Ifhit by HEAT rounds and if the reactive armor is still effective (i.e., has not yet completely detonated according to Ride 7.6), the die roll for penetration is divided by 4, but the result is rounded to the nearest whole number. Thus a roll of 7 becomes (7/4=l.75 rounded to) 2. One of the more important details added in this article is the inclusion of the guided missiles fired by some Soviet tanks out of their guns. This is a departure from the US practice, as the US Shillelagh required a low-velocity gun that was considerably compromised in favor of the missile. The Soviet missiles are boosted from high-velocity tank guns by a small charge, at which point their rocket motors take over. These rounds are not intended as mainstay antitank weapons, but are rather intended for the destruction of two specific objectives: attack helicopters, and other long-range ATGM-firing vehicles. Soviet missile- carrying tanks carry only 4 or 6 such rounds, as indicated on the rating tables (two rounds for CD purposes). In addition, each tank is capable of firing only one specific missile, as indicated on the tables (within the 125 SB -L section, each missile-capable tank shares a line with the missile it may fire, for purposes of clarity), and recapitulated below. Note that the Soviet designation for the missile system fitted to a tank is different from the designation of the missile itself. Similarly, the Soviets use multiple designations for their tank guns, military designations and their industrial production designations. For example, the 115mm smoothbore gun is known as the D-68, U-5TS and 2A20 (industrial designation); the early 125mm smoothbores are known as the D-8 IT or 2A26 (industrial); and the late-model 125s are known as the D-81TM or 2A46M. Two interesting bonus vehicles appear on the tables: the T-67 prototype and the IT-1 tank destroyer. The T-67 is a variant of the T-62 which was never produced, adding a three-round AT-3 Sagger (9M14 Malyutka) launcher to the turret rear to satisfy Kruschev's passion for guided missiles. The IT-1 is the famous mystery tank destroyer reported by the Soviet defector "Suvorov" in his books lifting the veil of secrecy from the Soviet military. It is a missile-armed tank destroyer based on the T-62 chassis. Ile turret resembles aT-62 turret without the gun, and had a hatch in it through which a missile-launch rail could be raised. The tank carried 15 Taifun or Drakon missiles, which apparently never entered formal service. For this reason, the missiles are treated as the successful contemporary Malyutka (Sagger). The vehicle was less secret than simply unsuccessful. Itwas produced in limited numbers and tested with two or more regiments, but was not selected for large-scale production. The IT-1 chassis were then recycled as armored recovery vehicles. Some General Remarks The jury is still out on the best way to power a tank. Diesels are still pulling in the safe money, but for pure performance, compactness and stealth, gas turbines still have the edge, although at the cost of fuel consumption. The T-80 was a GT tank, but the latest version has reverted to a diesel to cut down on fuel usage. The French are seeking a third path with their new hyperbar diesel, a thoroughbred high-pressure beast which is experiencing teething troubles, because it requires the engine to constantly operate at or near its mechanical limits. The F1 120mm smoothbore in the Leclerc is the same 120mm smoothbore as in the Leopard 2 and M1 (the Rheinmetall 120/M256) but with a longer barrel, of 52 vice 44 calibers. This gives it better muzzle energy and ballistic performance, but it can use any of the ammunition of either of the shorter weapons. The DM43 and OFL 120F1 are in fact the same round, the result of a joint Franco-German project. The Germans have now also developed their own longer version of the Rheirimetall 120, at 55 calibers. However, the weapon on the Leopard 21 is still the old 120L44. The new German round, the LKE2 (Leistungsgesteigerte Kinetische Energie 2: Improved Performance Kinetic Energy 2), is actually being developed for the L55 gun and should perform even better when fired from that gun. Modern kinetic energy rounds are listed simply as "APFSDS" on the data tables, without specifying whether the penetrators are steel, tungsten or depleted uranium. The table below contains this information. For what it's worth, the order books for the latest Western tanks look like this: Leclerc: 134 ordered against a total requirement of 650 for the French Army. 390 MBTs plus 46 ARV variants for Abu Dhabi, but these will be powered by normal MTU diesels rather than the hyperbar. Challenger 2: A total of 386 are being ordered by the British Army to equip six armoured regiments (Challenger Is will get a mid-life upgrade with the L30 gun being retrofitted to them), and Omanis buying 18 MBTs and four ARVs with an option for 18 more MBTs. Leopard 2I The German Army does not plan to buy any new Leopard 2s, but instead will convert 225 existing Leopard 2s to the Irnproved standard, and the Dutch Army will do the same with 300 of its own. Sweden will receive 120 new Leopard 2Is beginning in 1996, and will receive 212 more modified from existing German Army Leopard 2s. M1 New production of M1s for the US Army has concluded with the delivery of 62 new construction M1A2s. All further M1A2s will be obtained by the remanufacture of 105mm-armed M1s between 700 and 1000 into the next century. Egypt is receiving 524 M1A1s by a combination of local assembly and co-production with the US. Kuwait currently has 218 M1A2s on order, with options for as many as 765. Saudi Arabia will receive 465 M1A2s, and may buy another 235, although the Challenger 2 and Leclerc are also competing for this new order. BIBLIOGRAPHY Biass, Eric H, and Doug Richardson. "Dawn of the Digital Tank,"Armada International, 3/1994. Biass, Eric H, and Doug Richardson. "Fear Me Now, Tank!" Armada International, 2/1994. Bustin, Ian. "Horses for Courses," Military Technology, 8/94. Chang, Godfrey. "The Polish Tank Industry," Asian Defense Journal 8/94. Ferrard, Stepharie, and Gerard Turbe. The Leclerc System Editions Bosquet Zaloga, Steven, Michael Jerchel, and Stephen Sewell. T-72 Main Battle Tank, 1974-1993. Osprey Publishing, Ltd. (London: 1993). Zaloga, Steven J. T-72, Soviet Main Battle Tank. Concord Publications Company (Hong Kong: 1989). Zaloga, Steven J. T-64 and T-80. Concord Publications Company (Hong Kong: 1992). Zaloga, Steven J. T-54, T-55, T-62. Concord Publications Company (Hong Kong: 1992). Zaloga, Steven. "Russian Guided Tank Projectiles," Jane's Intelligence Review, July 1993. Zaloga, Steven. "Russian Missile Designations," Jane's Intelligence Review, August 1994. Zaloga, Steven J. "Worldwide Developments in Armor/Anti-Armor." Lecture, Fail 1989. Huzzah! More Modern Vehicle Ratings Equipment Explanations CA Weapons Chart: CIS (very slow: 238K) CA Weapons Chart: Western Europe and USA (very slow: 243K) Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly # 7 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com