The IDF’s future tank: Electromagnetic cannon

[Major Shaitan Singh]

Imagine a tank that can shoot a laser or an electromagnetic pulse. How about one that can drive on a hybrid engine – partly powered by electricity – instead of the loud diesel engines used today? These technologies and others are under consideration for integration into Israel’s future tank which the IDF hopes will be operational by 2020.

Last year, the IDF Ground Forces Command set up a team of combat and technical officers – from the Armored Corps, the Weapons Development Branch in the Ground Forces Command and the Defense Ministry’s Merkava Program Office – to begin planning Israel’s future tank, the successor to the Merkava.

Development and construction of the Merkava began in the 1970s, and the most advanced model, the Merkava Mk 4, entered service in 2003.

Currently, two brigades are equipped with the Merkava Mk 4, purported to be one of the best-protected tanks in the world and capable of superior speeds and maneuverability.

The rest of the IDF’s armored brigades operate older versions of the Merkava or M60 Pattons.

“When we look at what the future tank will look like, we need to look broadly at all technology that exists,” Brig.-Gen. Yigal Slovik, outgoing commander of the Armored Corps, said this week. “There are such things as electromagnetic or laser cannons, but right now they are too big and not applicable. They might however be in the future.”

For power, Slovik said that the tank could potentially operate on a hybrid engine that burns fuel to charge batteries that can then independently power the tank for extended periods.

Slovik said that the crew of the future tank would also likely be smaller than today, and as few as two soldiers could operate it.

“The future tank will ultimately be faster, better protected, more interoperable and more lethal,” he said.

The decision to begin developing a new tank was sparked by the entry of active-protection systems such as the Trophy, which has been installed on an entire brigade of tanks and successfully intercepted a rocket-propelled grenade along the Gaza border last year.

The thinking in the defense establishment is that tanks no longer require thick layers of armor – which slow down the vehicle, and raise fuel and production costs – and could suffice with less armor and more systems like Trophy.

The IDF

 

[Kompromat]

1: hybrid engine require batteries to be replaced after a certain amount of time. What if that time comes in the battlefield as no one can rightly predict the duration of a war ? The engine would have to run on diesal again which raises , a logistical nightmare.

2: Light armor theory is good , it means , more agility and speed. Made possible by APS , but the future IFVs would have high performance guns with high caliber , uranium tipped anti material / AP bullets possibaly fired by an electromagnetic firing machanism at multiple times the speed of sound ,with ROF of
1500 bullets per minue or greater .light armor will not last long against such systems.

3: APS also has a limit to how many projectile it can stop and it can be fooled by firing dummy projectiles at it , wait for it to run dry and bang !

4: APS nor high agility would provide protecton from future ATGMs with laser , IR guidence and very high AOA , with range extending 18kms with multiple high expolsive warheads.

5: CAS a/c and attack helos in the future , would carrry sensor fused cluster bombs which cant be escaped from by using a hybrid engine , light armor , and APS.

6: Many countries would have laser based jamming devices and high voltage electonic beam technologies to fry the electronics of an incoming tanks , turning them into sitting ducks.

7: Few countries would have , SRBMs with multiple TNWs having PPA. aka doomsday for an invading armor unit.

Moral of the story. Having light armor completely defeats the purpose of a tank. Having two crew may sound futuristic , but it would become an operational failure if one of them gets hurt , killed , sick or gets into disagreement with the fellow crew , plus two crew can't fix a tank if it breaks down in middle of an active hostility zone.


Israelis have a history of sexing up their equipment with big useless talk. They do build potent tanks which no other country wants to buy.

My two cents. Regards.

 

[Luftwaffe]

Aeronaut...

Add Price Tag at the moment one of the best Tanks of the world Costs between $5.5-$7.5M a pop.

Idea of such a Tank would cost 2X more if not 3X and the maintenance is definitely going to be costly. Price Tag could be anywhere between $10M-$12M. I take it as a science project.

 

[United]

good go electronic Iranians love electronic stuff like RQ's

 

[Skull and Bones]

Aeronaut...

Add Price Tag at the moment one of the best Tanks of the world Costs between $5.5-$7.5M a pop.

Idea of such a Tank would cost 2X more if not 3X and the maintenance is definitely going to be costly. Price Tag could be anywhere between $10M-$12M. I take it as a science project.

South Korean Black Panther costs more than $9 million a piece, so there is always a market for high end products. And given the Active protection system, the whole investment worth the price.