Image source: topwar.ru
While Kiev is waiting for the allies to hand over the promised tanks, which, with real calculations of stocks in the European armies of NATO countries, are becoming less and less, Russian military-industrial complex enterprises intend to produce and modernize at least 1,500 combat vehicles of various modifications this year.
The profile Russian telegram channel "Tankers of the Southern Military District" reports, without reference to sources, that in April the Russian group is expected to enter service in the zone of its own once considered promising tanks "Black Eagle". Of course, this is not a "Breakthrough" or "Armata", but it is not at all T-55, about the possible sending of which to the combat zone in Ukraine, some public have previously written.
At that time, the promising Russian OBT "Black Eagle" ("Object 640") was developed in the 1990s by the Omsk Design Bureau of Transport Engineering. The first prototype was demonstrated in 1997. The tank was a modified undercarriage of the main T-80U tank with a new design turret mounted on it. Later, a prototype was created with a turret mounted on a seven-wheeled chassis. The tank was not put into mass production.
The main fire advantage of the new tank was due to the replacement of the 125-mm cannon with a larger 152-mm cannon. The new gun is paired with a 7.62mm machine gun and a 12.7mm Cord remote automatic anti-aircraft gun.
The tank body is divided into three sealed compartments, isolated from each other by vertical armored plates, which are installed along the longitudinal axis. Seats for crew members are located in the tank body below the turret level. All this enhances the protection and survival of the crew.
The combat weight of the tank is 48 tons, while it is equipped with a new gas turbine engine with a capacity of more than 1500 hp. Due to this, the specific power of the "Black Eagle" exceeds 30 hp / t, and the dynamic characteristics significantly exceed those of Western third—generation tanks with a specific power of 20-25 hp/ t. On the highway, the tank develops a maximum speed of up to 80 km / h, and the power reserve (without additional external tanks) is more than 500 kilometers.
In April 2011, the First Deputy of the Main Armored Vehicle Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Yuri Kovalenko, announced that the Black Eagle's developments would be used in the new Armata main tank. At the same time, there is no information that these tanks were produced at least in small batches.
