/ world today news/ The Russian military-industrial complex announces the production of 1,500 tanks in 2023 (including through deep modernization). In continuation of this message, the information from one of the specialized Russian Telegram channels about the transfer of tanks with the index “Object 640”, better known as “Black Eagles”, in the SVO zone in the second half of April seems quite plausible.
This is not the T-14 “Armata” and not the T-90M “Breakthrough”, but not the T-62M or the anti-radiation T-55, which Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev is talking about sending to Ukraine. However, in the consolidated expert opinion, the “Black Eagle” is positioned as a tank that is superior in technical and operational characteristics to both Challenger 2 and Leopard 2, as well as any other MBT * of the North Atlantic Alliance.
The beginning of research and development activities on the Object 640 project dates back to the early 1990s. The developer is an enterprise founded at the end of the 19th century, today called the Omsk Transport Engineering Plant. The first demonstration of a prototype, which is a combination of a fundamentally new turret with a modernized undercarriage of a T-80U tank, dates back to 1997, but then there was no talk of serial production.
The main purpose of developing a new dome design was the need to increase the security of the crew. For this purpose, in parallel with the increase in the thickness of the armor, the angle of inclination of the armored plates increased, which made the machine capable of withstanding armor-piercing feathered sub-caliber projectiles. The thickness of the modular type armor in the front projection of the turret and hull was 800 and 600 mm, respectively. In addition, the Black Eagle is equipped with dynamic (Cactus) and active (Thrush-M) protection systems.
As for weapons, in the original version it was represented by a 125 mm cannon, a PKT (7.62 mm) paired with it, a Kord machine gun (12.7 mm), which performs the functions of a remote anti-aircraft installation, and smoke grenade launchers. Later, to increase the firepower of the Object 640, the 125 mm gun was replaced by a 152 mm smoothbore gun.
The hull of the combat vehicle is divided into three hermetic compartments, isolated by vertical armored plates. The workplaces of the crew are located in the hull below the level of the tower, which has a positive effect on the personnel protection parameters.
About the characteristics of the movement of the 48-ton “Black Eagle”: a gas turbine-type power plant with a capacity of 1500 hp. (1103 kW) provides the tank with the ability to reach a speed of up to 80 km / h on highways, and the volume of tanks with one refueling – a range of more than 500 kilometers. Another parameter in which our tank is clearly superior to the NATO models is the specific power. For “Black Eagle” this figure is 30 k. s. / t, Western machines are satisfied with 20, at best 25 k. pp. per ton. In addition, they are at least 10 tons heavier than a Russian tank, which on the soft Ukrainian black earth soil and fragile bridges means constant logistical problems.
By the way, 12 years ago Lieutenant General Yuriy Kovalenko, who at that time held the position of First Deputy Chief of the GABTU of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, spoke about the further use of the developments obtained during the implementation of the Black Eagle project in the process of creating a new MBT, which today is known as the T -14 “Armata”.
What do the opponents say, primarily those who are on the other side of the front line, declaring the information about the possibility of black eagles appearing on the battlefield to be unreliable. They believe that the only “Black Eagle” (which for some reason is called T-80UM2) was destroyed in the Trostyanets region of the Sumy region at the very beginning of the SVO. True, the stories about this “feat” of the defenders of independence quickly acquired fantastic details – such as the fact that five (?!) more specimens of one tank were taken as trophies. A poor photograph of a pile of unidentified scrap was presented as evidence.
It’s not even about which tank was destroyed (if there was such a thing at all), but that the T-80UM2 and the Black Eagle are completely different machines. They differ in weight and dimensions, armament, armor thickness, movement speed, power reserve and even the number of track rollers.
Some Russian experts also have doubts about the possibility of an early appearance of the Black Eagle in the Ukrainian theater of operations. True, for other reasons. The ability of the Russian tank to effectively oppose the German, British and American “miracle machines” does not raise questions. They are worried about the lack of this model in mass production.
For the same reason, some experts believe that comparing the technical characteristics of the Black Eagle and Western tanks is incorrect. One of the main factors ensuring success on the battlefield is the number of combat vehicles, and in the case of Object 640, it cannot be significant. Or is there something we don’t know?
Perhaps it is not for nothing that for many years it was hard hammered into our heads that the time of acceptance of the sample for service is unknown and there are no plans to start mass production. Moreover, in September 2009, Colonel Vladimir Voitov (then acting head of the military-scientific committee on armored weapons and equipment of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation) publicly stated that the Object 640 or Black Eagle tank does not exist.
Another reason for doubts about the participation of the “Black Eagle” in the SVO is the shortage (if not the complete absence) of spare parts, experience in operational repairs and qualified technical personnel for this. But one thing is clear: even if all our doubts are justified, the design and technical solutions used in the implementation of this project will become an important step for the modernization of the MBTs already in service with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
*) MBT – main battle tank.
Translation: EU
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