Russia’s Top Brass Wants to Replace Armata With Two-Section ‘Tank of the Future’

The concept of a two-section ‘tank of future’ designed to replace the latest Armata armored vehicle after the 2040s was presented at the Army-2020 international military and technical forum on Tuesday, TASS reported.

The concept was presented by the 38th R&D and Testing Institute of Armored Hardware and Armament, which drafts requirements for advanced armor.

The Institute’s specialists believe that the Armata tank and its versions will be effective on the battlefield until the 2040s but it is necessary already now to lay the groundwork for a tank of a distant future.

“Specialists of the 38th Institute today perceive such a combat vehicle in the option of a coupled two-section design. The front combat module may have a control compartment with three crewmembers in a highly protected armored capsule. The module’s medium part is expected to accommodate an unmanned turret with a mounted electro-thermochemical cannon with an automatic loader,” Institute Deputy Chief Colonel Yevgeny Gubanov said.

The tank’s second section coupled with the first is expected to accommodate a 3,000 hp multi-fuel gas turbine engine. The second module is also expected to carry air and ground drones to conduct reconnaissance, search for mines and perform security functions.

The future tank’s electro-thermochemical cannon will use new compounds instead of gunpowder that will be ignited by an electric discharge. The tank will fire hypersonic shells.

The tank’s front module will also be outfitted with reactive armor, a blinding laser weapon and an electromagnetic pulse generator. The module’s rear part will accommodate vertical take-off homing missiles with an operating range of up to 12 km.