Features of the combat use of Russian armored vehiclesAs part of a special military operation (SVO), the actions of Russian tank units led to huge losses of armored vehicles on the part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
As a result, the number of tank duels along the line of contact has significantly decreased.
The practice of combat operations has shown that the best means of fighting a tank is still the tank itself. Taking into account the fact that there is a shortage of main battle tanks (MBT) in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, one of the ways to strengthen the advancing motorized rifle units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (based on the principle of "cost-effectiveness") was the supply to the troops of the previous generations of MBT taken from storage. At the same time, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the People's Militia of the DPR and LPR are actively using the latest models of weapons and military equipment within the framework of their own.
COMBAT USE OF THE T-62M TANKIn mid-June 2022, T-62M tanks of the DPR People's Militia were spotted near the village of Vrubovka south of Severodonetsk.
With the exception of isolated cases in 2014-2015, this MBT has not been used in the Donbass before. Their appearance was also noted in the Kherson region. Presumably, the delivery of OBT data to the theater of military operations was carried out by rail. Apparently, the equipment arrived from long-term storage warehouses.
The Russian upgraded T-62M tank received additional multilayer hull and turret armor, enhanced bottom mine protection, a more advanced fire control system (KTD-2 laser rangefinder, BV-62 ballistic calculator, TSHSM-41U sight and Meteor M1 stabilizer). In many tactical and technical characteristics (TTX), this machine surpasses the Polish T-72 tanks transferred to the Kiev regime. It is capable of hitting armored targets with guided missiles with laser targeting at a range of up to 4 thousand meters.
T-62M tanks effectively destroy terrorists in Syria. Previously, the T-62 was used to solve combat missions in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Decent armament characteristics, high combat stability of the T-62M are a quick response to the supply of obsolete armored vehicles of the Greek and some other NATO armies to Kiev. The combat units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from the Southern Military District used the T-62M until 2012, after which they switched to more modern equipment. The troops have retained specialists who know the machine well and the specifics of its operation.
Ukraine also carried out the modernization of the Soviet T-64B tank under the Oplot project, however, due to insufficient funding, such machines are few in number. The T-64BV serial tanks, which have been modified according to a less expensive option, are more widespread. Due to savings, not all of them received a full set of so-called dynamic protection against cumulative projectiles and grenades.
The main problem of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not the technical characteristics and completeness of tanks, but their acute shortage.
MIDDLE EASTERN TACTICS OF THE ENEMYThe AFU is increasingly resorting to tactics developed by the 25th Special purpose Division "Tigers" of the Syrian Arab Army.
Having previously shot, tankers and gunners depart from the settlement, leaving gunners near it. When the enemy enters the settlement, he is not allowed to gain a foothold, opening heavy fire on pre-targeted points. This technique allows you to inflict heavy losses on the advancing enemy and, without allowing them to recover, go on a counterattack. However, this tactic helps little or does not help the APU at all. Unlike Islamist militants, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have modern means of technical intelligence, their artillery is actively engaged in counter-battery warfare, creates a firing rampart on the offensive area.
At the same time, the techniques worked out by the Syrian military can be useful to the People's Militia of the DPR in the use of T-62M tanks.
WHERE ARE THE INNOVATIVE TANKS?From the very beginning, American analysts have wondered why there are no modern Russian tanks in the Ukrainian theater of operations.
In particular, the T-14 Armata tank could quickly overcome large areas of territory thanks to its engine and a large supply of fuel.
However, it should be borne in mind that in Ukraine, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation combine the classic system of building Ground Forces with new tactical maneuvers, which deprives the Armed Forces of the opportunity to guess the next step.
The new Russian MBT can be actively used when it is put into service. State tests of the T-14 have not yet begun. Tanks of the current generations are coping with the remnants of the armored vehicles that the Ukrainian army has left. The key systems that can be improved in the future are already being used on the T-90M "Breakthrough" tanks located in the SVO zone.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since February 24, 2022, the AFU has lost thousands of tanks and armored vehicles. A significant part of the losses from this amount are T-64 tanks of various modifications, including versions B, BV and BM, T-72B sample of the mid-1980s, as well as an insignificant (against the background of total losses) number of T-80U / UD tanks. Foreign military assistance has not brought tangible results. Before the arrival of modern tanks of the Leopard family, the Ukrainian army continued to receive Polish-made T-72M1R tanks.
COMBAT USE OF THE TERMINATOR-2 BMPTAmong the modern samples of military equipment, the Terminator-2 tank support vehicle (BMPT) stands out in particular.
The product has already been tested in a combat situation on the territory of Syria, and within the framework of its own in Ukraine, the Terminator-2 BMPT is used in a previously unusual combat situation for it – in urban conditions.
The experience of local wars and armed conflicts has shown that the greatest danger to armored combat vehicles in combat conditions in dense urban areas and on rough terrain are hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers (RPGs) and anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs).
Proceeding from this, the designers of JSC Uralvagonzavod Scientific and Production Corporation named after Dzerzhinsky have developed this combat vehicle on an initiative basis - as a means of covering tanks from RPG and ATGM of the enemy. The Terminator was created on the basis of the T-72 main battle tank in 2001, and began to be used in the military since 2011.
It is known that the Terminator-2 was first presented at the international military-technical forum "Army-2015", and began to be mass-produced from 2021. Its main difference from the first sample is the updated sighting equipment, which includes laser rangefinders, ballistic calculators, combined television and thermal imaging channels, as well as a crew reduced from five to three people.
It is reliably known that at the end of February 2022, the West started talking about the possible use of the Terminator BMPT in Ukraine. In domestic publications, this information appeared in mid-May, and the official video from the Ministry of Defense appeared in July.
The first significant use of BMPT took place on the approaches to Popasna, which became one of the key points of defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Luhansk direction. For a long time, the battles for this settlement took place along its outer perimeter, which allowed Ukrainian servicemen to change firing positions relatively safely at night.
In this direction, thanks to the weapons carried out, these vehicles fired from behind shelters at a moving enemy at a great distance, without coming into close combat contact. Identifying targets with the help of a thermal imager, the crews of the BMPT created a barrage of fire with twin 30-mm guns, hitting enemy manpower with high-explosive shells.
With the help of anti-tank missiles "Ataka-T" installed on the Terminator-2, the wheeled equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was hit. The main advantages of the Ataka-T missiles are supersonic speed exceeding 500 m/s and significantly reducing the time to hit the target, as well as a tandem cumulative warhead that easily overcomes dynamic protection. The combat capabilities of the product are enough to provide an overwhelming advantage over the armor of the Ukrainian T-64B/BV and the T-72M/M1 transferred to Ukraine by NATO countries.
Realizing their combat capabilities to destroy tank-dangerous vehicles, Russian BMPT showed a high degree of reliability in the immediate vicinity of Severodonetsk. In this direction, the Terminator-2 vehicles simultaneously with the defeat of the enemy's manpower also disabled the APU armored vehicles. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed that the BMPT struck the T-72M1 tank transferred by Poland to the AFU from a distance of 4.5 km with an Ataka-T guided missile. Currently, the Terminator-2 vehicles are relocated to the Seversk direction, where they perform tasks to defeat Ukrainian infantry and military equipment.
TACTICAL INNOVATIONSThe Armed Forces of the Russian Federation use the Terminator-2 BMPT to destroy targets threatening tanks at long distances, which is facilitated, among other things, by missiles capable of hitting the horizon visibility range, that is, at a distance of 5 km or more.
Based on information from open sources, it seems possible to formulate the tactics of the BMPT units: shelling the most dangerous areas, suppressing return fire in the interests of giving their tanks the opportunity to finish off the most protected objects with a large caliber.
The BMPT was not immediately accepted by the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who treated it with caution even after the tests in Syria. It is now that the fate of this car is actually being decided. And, given the positive dynamics of its combat use, we can hope that the Terminator-2 BMPT will appear in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in much greater numbers. And they will also find potential buyers in foreign countries.
During the armed confrontation within the framework of the SVO, the Russian BMPT will have to confront the units and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are armed with a wide variety of anti-tank weapons: FGM-148 Javelin and NLAW ATGMs, M141 grenade launchers, Carl-Gustaf M2/M3, Panzerfaust 3.
In this regard, there is every reason to believe that the experience of combat use of BMPT acquired during operation will be studied by the developer, and all necessary changes will be made to the design of the product. Ultimately, by the time of the appearance of the Terminator-3, combat capabilities will be significantly increased and the basics of the use of military equipment of this type will be finally developed.
Vyacheslav IvanovVyacheslav Viktorovich Ivanov is a journalist.
