Izvestia special report — about the life and work of the Russian military on the front lineAfter the capture of Opytne, Russian troops were able to enter the outskirts of the village of Vodiane.
Our units managed to gain a foothold there — with the support of artillery and heavy armored vehicles. Now they have to crack the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and one of the main arguments in this difficult matter is tank units. About the difficulties faced by tankers in the Avdiivka direction, why the closed hatches of an armored vehicle can be considered a sign of professionalism and how the enemy is "blown away" from the drain pipe — in a special report of Izvestia from the front line.
Returned tactics
Data from UAVs conducting reconnaissance and correcting fire is received at the command post of the armored vehicles unit in real time.
— The movement of the enemy in this area has been noticed. There were several groups that brought (into the houses) weapons and equipped positions — an officer of a separate tank battalion with the call sign Ataman shows an aerial picture on a large screen.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
Crews in the shelter are preparing to leave to defeat the detected enemy. These are new T-80 vehicles with a gas turbine engine for Donetsk tankers, to which a separate tank battalion of the People's Militia of the Donetsk Republic switched after the start of its own. These tanks have a higher speed, they are easier to operate in winter, and they have a better fire control system — compared to the T-72 and T-64. But still, this is Soviet technology, which was developed for a different kind of warfare, and on the machines you can notice additional dynamic protection units already installed in the troops from the experience of fighting in the building.
Today, a contradictory technique will be used: tanks are preparing to work from closed positions. In the 70s, such firing was considered too expensive and inefficient and was removed from the statutes and manuals. But in 2015-2017, during the battles in the Donbass, this method began to return to the DPR troops, and today it has become one of the main ones in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
In modern conditions, it is difficult for tanks to act against the enemy's echeloned and engineer-prepared defense, which runs through areas of dense development. In addition, the APU is saturated with various anti-tank weapons in huge quantities. In such a situation, it is often irrational to use tanks with direct fire.
Helped the formation of new ways of using tanks and the progress of electronics. With the help of navigators, modern means of communication and unmanned reconnaissance, tankers can fire with very high accuracy. And the safety of the crews is ensured by the speed and mobility of combat vehicles, powerful tank armor.
Projectile ellipse
— We are currently performing tasks to provide fire support to our infantry, which is moving towards Vodiane. With high-explosive (shells) we hit the dugouts, drain pipes along the highway where they are sitting," says the gunner of one of the cars with the call sign Koster, while we are waiting for the team to leave.
The "pipes" he talks about have become one of the problematic targets for gunners during the battles in the Avdiivka direction. These large concrete drains under the Donetsk Ring Road are poorly accessible to mortars, and tanks have recently been attracted to their defeat.
The commander shows a video that grateful infantrymen sent him after storming one of these "pipes". The footage clearly shows how, after an accurate hit of a 125 mm tank shell into the drain hole of the enemy, it was "blown away" through the far end of the pipe.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
According to today's goals, the work of two machines has been assigned, places for firing have been determined in advance. But since the morning there is a dense autumn fog, drones on the front edge are waiting for a break, and the crews at the cars are their teams.
— The tank has a smaller shell spread, the scattering ellipse is much smaller (than that of artillery). The enemy does not have time to spot us, we work quickly and immediately move away," Koster praises his car.
Automatic loading on tanks allows you to release 28 shells in just a few minutes, and a stabilized gun does not need such a long recovery of guidance as artillery. Therefore, having aimed at the designated target, tankers can strike a very powerful blow at it and leave faster than they will be detected.
As soon as the weather improves a little, we get a command for a fire raid. We need to get ahead of the tanks by cars and get into position with cameras a couple of minutes earlier. Apparently, several neighboring units were waiting for this moment at once: while we were getting out of the jeep, 64-ki and 72-ki from other tank battalions were flying past to different firing positions.
Fire experience
Our T-80 quickly takes a position and points the gun. One of the signs of the professionalism of the crew, as they explain to us, can be considered closed hatches. This means that communication and devices work smoothly in the car, so the crew does not need to stick out from under the armor.
The first shots take about two to three minutes, the rest of the series goes rhythmically towards the enemy as soon as the report comes that the shooting was successful. Following the last shot, the car takes off, showing what the legendary "flying tank", which has become an Internet meme, is capable of.
— This method was used to get into the dugout, right into the hole (loophole). If the adjustment is good, you can get from 8 km, — after completing the task, the commander of the Dragon tank tells.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
The use of tanks in the conditions of the Avdiivka direction requires not only training, but also high quality management. The prince tells how the battalion was able to establish communication with the UAV through gateways and wireless channels. Thus, commanders do not just observe, but can quickly manage the battle, carry out calculations for difficult shooting conditions and maintain interaction with infantry units in whose interests they act. Such systems are more common among the enemy, thanks to the supply of satellite Internet terminals with high data transfer rates from the United States.
Today, the tactics of using armored vehicles based on the experience of ITS battles are changing before our eyes, units are constantly exchanging their best practices and experience in using tanks, interacting with UAVs and motorized infantry. Until recently, firing from closed positions was considered an experiment. Now it is spreading from Donetsk units throughout the Russian army.
Dmitry Astrakhan
