T-94 Kulak
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| T-94 Kulak | |
|---|---|
 A T-94A of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division | |
| Type | Main Battle Tank |
| Place of origin |  Stasnov |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1999-Present |
| Used by | see users |
| Wars | Zerno-Ordian War 2015 Curente conflict |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Skadovskagonzavod |
| Designed | 1992-1998 |
| Manufacturer | Skadovskagonzavod |
| Unit cost | $6.4 million NSD |
| Produced | 1998-Present |
| Specifications (Main Battle Tank) | |
| Weight | 48.5 tonnes |
| Length | 9.63 metres (Total) |
| length | 6 meters |
| Width | 3.9 meters |
| Height | 2.25 meters |
| Crew | 3 |
| Armor | Composite armor, Heavy ERA in addition to soft-kill and hard-kill anti-missile defense systems. |
Main armament | 4A96/4A96M/4A96M-5 125 mm smoothbore gun with ATGM capability |
Secondary armament | 12.7mm Kord Heavy machine gun, 7.62mm PKMT |
| Engine | E-1450 12-cylinder diesel engine, 1450 hp |
| Payload capacity | x42 main gun rounds, x5 ATGM rounds, x3,000 machine gun rounds |
| Suspension | Torsion-bars, hydraulic dampers |
Operational range | 750 km |
| Speed | 80 km/h |
The T-94 Kulak is a Stasnovan main battle tank, a development of the T-74 main battle tank. It was first built in 2001 and entered service in the Stasnovan Armed Forces in 2003. It is currently the most modern tank in service with the Stasnovan Revolutionary Army and Naval Infantry. Although a development of the T-74, the T-94 uses a new 125mm 4A96 smoothbore tank gun, a new fire control system, a new 12-cylinder diesel 1450 hp engine. Standard protective measures include a blend of high-hardness steel, composite armour, Zashchita-1 explosive-reactive armor, smoke mortars, laser warning receivers, Tryuk camouflage, the Stena infrared ATGM jamming system and the Okhrana Active Protection System.
Development
The need of the development of a new main battle tank appeared as the fleet of Stasnovan T-74s and T-64s had begun aging, and the main frontline tank of the SRA, the T-74M3, had disappointing performance against newer, heavier tanks used by other nations. The modernization program for said tanks proved to be costly. There was a need for a better protected, faster and better armed Main Battle Tank, to face any possible threats in the modern battlefields. The T-94 was developed by and produced by. Skadovskagonzavod.
Service history
Export
Design
Armament
The T-94's main armament is the 4A96M 125 mm smoothbore tank gun (early production T-94As were equipped with the orginal UTP-96). This is a highly modified version of the 4A76M . It can be replaced without dismantling the inner turret and is capable of firing armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT-FS) and high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) ammunition, as well as 9M119M Refleks anti-tank guided missiles and other 125mm ATGMs. The Refleks missile has semi-automatic laser beam-riding guidance and a tandem hollow-charge HEAT warhead. It has an effective range of 100 m to 6 km, and takes 17.5 seconds to reach maximum range. Refleks can penetrate about 950 millimetres (37 in) of steel armour and can also engage low-flying air targets such as helicopters.
The NSV 12.7mm (12.7x108) anti-aircraft Heavy machine gun is fitted on a remote-controlled weapon station that can be operated from within the tank by the commander and has a range of 2 km and a cyclic rate of fire of 650–750 rounds/min with 800 rounds available . The PKMT 7.62mm (7.62x54mm R) coaxial machine gun weighs about 10.5 kg while the ammunition box carries 250 rounds (7,000 rounds carried) and weighs an additional 9.5 kg.
Like other modern tanks the 4A96M in the T-94 is fed by an automatic loader which removes the need for a manual loader in the tank and reduces the crew to 3 (commander, gunner, and driver). The autoloader can carry 25 ready-to-fire rounds in its carousel and can load a round in 5–7 seconds. Tthe T-94 features a fuse setting system which allows the tank to detonate HE-FRAG rounds at a specific distance from the tank as determined by the gunners laser rangefinder, improving its performance against helicopters and infantry. Accurate firing range HE-Frag-FS 10.5 km, APFSDS 5 km
The Fire-control system on the T-94 (that features integrated combat information and control systems) includes a day and night sighting system mounted at the commanders station which allows for night time detection enemy target. The PRB-94 uses a thermal imaging sight. Both the commander and gunner feature they’re own periscope system that can toggle between normal and thermal vision which includes a laser range finder, a laser designator and missile guidance channel. The digital fire control computer contains two 32-bit processors with an advanced databus, and has capacity for additional systems, for example a Battlefield Information Control System. The driver users another day and night sight.
Mobility
The main propulsor is the E-1450 12-cylinder 1450 hp diesel engine, built by Borkov Armaments Industries. The E-1450 can attain a top speed of 80 km/h on the road and up to 60 km/h on rough terrain. The tank is also fitted with an air conditioning system for work in high temperature zones.
Protection
The T-94 is fitted with a "three-tiered" protection system. The first tier is the composite armour in the turret, consisting of aluminum, high-hardness steel, various, plastics and a controlled deformation section.
The second tier is the advanced Zashchita-1 ERA (explosive reactive armor) which significantly degrades the penetrating power of kinetic-energy APFSDS ammunition and tandem warheads. Also these ERA blocks give the turret its distinctive angled "clam shell" appearance. ERA bricks are also located on the turret roof and provide protection from top-attack weapons. The composite armour results in a lower weight and improved protection when compared with steel-only armour. The sides of the tank also have built-in ERA, to reduce the damage taken on the sides of the tank. Slat armor can also be mounted on the rear of the hull and the turret.
The third tier is a Stena Soft-Kill and the Okhrana Hard-Kill active protection systems. The Stena Soft-Kill includes two electro-optical/IR "dazzlers" on the front of the turret (which gives the distinct Red Eyes), four Laser warning receivers, two aerosol grenade discharging systems and a computerized control system. The Stena warns the tank's crew when the tank has been 'painted' by a weapon-guidance laser and allows the crew to slew the turret to face the threat. The infrared jammer, jams the semiautomatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) guidance system of some anti-tank guided missiles. The aerosol grenades are automatically launched after Stena detects that it has been painted. The aerosol grenades are used to mask the tank from laser rangefinders and designators as well as the optics of other weapons systems. The Stena is a soft-kill system, designed to passively defeat anti-tank missiles by jamming their guidance systems.
The T-94 also features and Okhrana hard-kill APS, designed to destroy the warhead through the use of munitions before the missile can engage the vehicle being protected. The Okhrana protects the tank from destruction by light anti-tank weapons, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), and missiles with top attack warheads. It uses a Doppler radar to detect incoming warheads. Upon detection and classification of the incoming warhead as a thread, a defensive rocket is fired that detonates near the inbound threat, destroying it before it hits the vehicle. The defensice rockets are fired by rotating launchers, usual mounted on the sides of the turret. The Okhrana is used if the Stena APS fails to intercept the incoming missile.
In addition to the passive and active protection systems the T-94 is also fitted with nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection equipment, KMT mine sweeps and an automatic fire fighting system. The EMT-7 electromagnetic-counter mine system can also be installed on the T-94. EMT-7 emits an electromagnetic pulse to disable magnetic mines and disrupt electronics before the tank reaches them. The Tryuk signature reduction suite is also available for the T-94. Tryuk is designed to reduce the probabilities of an object to be detected by Infrared, Thermal, Radar-Thermal, and Radar bands. The tank is also fitted with opto-electronic screening system, electromagnetic protection system and quick-action fighting equipment.
Variants
Domestic Variants
- Object 1494 – Pototype version.
- T-94 - Original model with T-74 turret. Only 200 have been built, and were later upgraded to T-94A standards.
- T-94A - SRA version. This version has also been exported to Valaran and Cydonia.
- T-94K - Commander's version of the T-94, with additional communication (station R-163-50K) and navigation equipment (TNA-4-3).
- T-94U - Experimental modernised version of the T-94A. The main features include a bigger version of the turret design with a armored turret bustle, which is equipped with a new advanced fire control system, a new automatic loader and a new 4A15 125 mm gun, and a new Battle Management System. This variant also featured improved Stena-1 Soft-Kill and Okhrana-1 Hard-Kill active protection systems. This project was terminated, but formed the basis of the T-15 Volk and the T-94M upgrade of the T-94A.
- T-94M - Modernised (M) version of the T-94A. The main features include a include the modernisation of the old turret design with a armored turret bustle, an upgraded fire control system (with improved integrated combat information and control systems), a new gunner sight, a new automatic loader and a new 4A96M-5 125 mm gun, and an improved Battle Management System. The T-94M also features a 1600 hp NRV/T-21 multi-fuel engine. Apart from these, the turret of the T-94A is reinforced with ASMCA-S Modular composite Armor. At least 500 T-94As have been upgraded to T-94Ms, and 250 more are sceduled to be upgraded during 2018.
- IMR-94M - Combat engineer vehicle.
Export Variants
- T-94S - Export Version of the T-94A. It has the option to mount different main gun, coaxial weapon, and HMG. It also had the option to mount different types of ERA\ These tanks do not feature the Okhrana Hard-Kill Active Protection System.
- T-94SK - Commander's version of the PRB-94S
- T-94SM - Export version of the T-94AM. This version does not feature the Okhrana Hard-Kill active protection system and has a downgraded fire control system.
Operators
- Stasnov : As of the 24th of December 2014, the Stasnovan Revolutionary Army and Naval Infantry operates 3,820 T-94As. Both branches operate an unspecified number of T-94AKs. 820 have been upgraded to T-94AM, and 800 more are planned to be upgraded.
See also
Tanks of comparable role, performance and era
- T-97 Korzhev: Elesarian main battle tank
- MST3 Kestrel: Mairish main battle tank
- PcKTr-69 Jaguár: Grozyar main battle tank
- M-71: Srpskan main battle tank
- M-93: Srpskan main battle tank
- Z-V ZERIREICH: Zerinite main battle tank
- M4T1 Dragoon: Chazicarian main battle tank
- ACV14 Ironsides III: Valdian main battle tank
- T-100 Pantera: Cydonian main battle tank
- T-90: Elesarian Main Battle tank