T-1102

The T-1102 Whirlwind (Sniatyn: вихрь tr. Vikhr) is a main battle tank developed by Kartsev-Venediktov Design Bureau for the People's Army as a part of the Universal Combat Platform program. The tank first entered service is 1569, beginning the replacement of the aging T-920.

Featuring a number of innovative characteristics, the T-1102 represents a new generation of Severyanian main battle tanks. The most significant new feature is the use of an unmanned turret, with the crew of three seated in an armored capsule in the front of the hull.

The People's Armed Forces is currently in talks Drahen regarding acquisition of the Universal Combat Platform.

History

The T-1102 was designed to command a battle in the open fields and river plains that make up a majority of Marzanna and Brigidna.

Development of the T-1102 began in 1549 and was completed in 1560, a total of eleven years, and was initiated after the earlier incrementally innovative T-959 project was cancelled. It did not enter service with the Severyan Red Army until 1569, after it received heavy updates to its electronics, armor, and weapons. After the failure of the T-959 project the T-1102, and subsequently the entire Universal Combat Platform program, was subject to intense scrutiny regarding budget.

The tank was, in part, a joint project between the Severyan Defense Industry and their counterparts in Drahen. The two nations developed a lighter and quicker variant of the tank for use in the jungles and mountains of Drahen.

Design

Protection

In addition to dual-reactive armor Malachit the T-1102 features an active protection system Afghanit (Sniatyn: Афганит) and Shtora (Sniatyn: Штора). The Afghanit system includes a millimeter-wavelength radar to detect, track and intercept incoming anti-tank munitions, both kinetic energy penetrators and tandem-charges. Currently, the maximum speed of the interceptable target is 2,700 m/s, with projected future increases of up to 3,900 m/s and offers 360° protection.

The tank's crew of three is protected by an internal armored capsule with more than 900 mm RHA equivalent, increasing their chance of survival in case of a catastrophic kill. Both the chassis and the turret are equipped with the latest ERA system from the front, sides and the top. Turret shape utilizes the stealth technology, decreasing its radio and thermal signatures. The T-1102 uses the integrated computerized control system which monitors the state and functions of all tank modules. In battle, the software can analyze threats and then either suggest or automatically take the actions to eliminate them, while without the external threat it can detect and rectify the crew errors.

Armor

The T-1102 employs the newly developed Severyanian 44S-sv-Sh steel alloy composite armor. The tank utilizes reactive armor panels in the base design, unlike previous MBTs which utilize appliqué ERA tiles.

Active protective system

The T-1102 is equipped with the Afghanit Protection System. The system consists of four panels, one mounted on each side of the turret, and the hardkill "launch tubes." The system utilizes both softkill and hardkill techniques. The first confuses the guidance mechanism of ATGMs and such, causing the incoming projectile to lose the target lock. The hardkill system acts as a fail safe for the softkill. The Afghanit panels, which track projectiles for both systems will arm the hardkill system automatically if a projectile comes within 200 meters of the vehicle, and will send out an electronically activated charge that shoots an Explosively Formed Penetrator towards the target projectile once it comes within 30 meters.

The Shtora System is an electro-optical active protection system or suite for tanks, designed to disrupt semiautomatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) antitank guided missiles, laser rangefinders and target designators. It acts as a backup for the Afghanit System.

Armament

Primary

The main armament of the T-1102 is the 2A91-V5 125 mm smoothbore cannon, a new replacement for the 2A46 of previous Severyanian tanks. Noteworthy features include an absence of a fume extractor (due to the unmanned turret), a brand new autoloader system, a firing rate of 10 rounds per minute, and a maximum effective-penetration range of 8 km. The detection range of the tank's optical sensors is ~5 km for tank-sized targets at day, and 3.5 km at night through the thermal imaging channel. The gunner sight's optical channel is equipped with 4x and 12x optical zoom. The laser rangefinder has a theoretical maximum range of 7.5 km.

Ammunition is stored in in the turret with 45 rounds. The gun utilizes a variety of different rounds, however, the majority of ammunition stored in the tank is made up of the new Vacuum-1 sabot round. The round has a penetrator which is 900 mm long, and are capable of penetrating 1,000 mm of RHA equivalent at a distance of 2,000 meters. The tank also stores a number of the new Telnik HE-Frag round and the 3UBK21 Sprinter ATGM

Secondary

The secondary armament consists of a 12.7 mm KORD machine gun with 1,000 rounds and a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun with 10,000 rounds. All guns are remotely controlled. In addition, another 1,000 rounds can be stored separately. A 12.7 mm machinegun is installed above the turret roof-mounted commander's sight, which avoids visual obstructions.

All weapon systems can be operated manually or from the main fire control system. The fire control system can lock out manual control.

Aiming

The commander and gunner have largely identical multispectral sights, with the visible spectrum and thermal channels and laser rangefinders. The commander's sight is installed on the turret top and has 360° field of view, while the gunner's one, situated in the turret's niche to the gun's left, is slaved to it and is additionally equipped with the direct-vision periscopic channel and laser designator for the gun-launched, SACLOS ATGMs.

Mobility

The T-1102 is powered by a ChTZ A-85-3A diesel engine delivering up to 1,500 hp. The engine's theoretical, not normally used, maximum power is 2,000 hp, at the cost of radically decreasing its service life, projected around 2,000 hours at nominal 1,500 hp, comparable to other modern tank engines, and up to the unprecedented 10,000 hours at moderated 1,200 hp. The engine is electronically controlled. Operational range is over 500 km.

The T-1102 has a 12-speed automatic gearbox, with a top speed of 80–90 kilometers per hour (road) and a range of 500 kilometers. The transmission is an electronically controlled mechanical gearbox with the external reverse and demultiplier gears, giving the tank equal forward and reverse gear ranges. The transmission is joined with the engine into a single unit that can be swapped out in the field in just under 30 minutes.

The T-1102 has seven 700 mm road wheels. It has the ability to adjust the suspension of the two first roadwheels and the last one. The T-1102 has a partial hydraulic suspension system with lever arm shock absorbers that double as suspension actuators, which improve the pivoting ability of the vehicle. An active suspension system improves the target lock time by a factor of 2.2, and the timeframe between target detection and reaction is reduced by 31 percent.

Its moderate mass of 48 tons allows it to be easily rail- and trailer-transported, conserving its engine and transmission's service life, and it can navigate most of the solidly built bridges in the country, unlike, for example, the Holy Lanlanian M50 Kasjare, whose 60+ ton mass and large size forces it to operate only where bridges are specially reinforced and railways have sufficient clearance to allow its passage. Moreover, two tanks with their crews and all attending equipment can be easily airlifted by the heavy An-124-100 transport plane.

Variants

TT-1102J: The TT-1102J is a variant specifically designed for use in Drahen's military. Its features include: A significantly lighter weight of 36 tonnes, a 120mm 2A90-V4 smoothbore ETC gun, and a lighter weight armor. The variant relies on the Afghanit and Shtora protection systems heavily due to the lack of the original vehicle's heavier armor. Its reduced weight also means that the tank has a larger operational range, and slightly higher top speed.

Operators

• Template:Country data Flag-Severyane.png Severyanian D.P.R.: developer and primary producer.
• Template:Country data Flag-Drahen.png Drahen: co-developer, TT-1102J variant

See Also

List of modern armored fighting vehicles