http://rt.com/news/256277-ak-rifle-russia-parade/
Any opinions?
The AK-74 sounds like it could be a game-changer in sales abroad. The Armata tank, I just don’t see being a huge thing. They’re both being introduced on VE Day in Russia - which just has me thinking how cool it might have been to have a few of those tanks in 1944.
Since you are asking for and there could only be opinions given I reported this to be moved.
The Armata is interesting. It is a revolutionary design. Russian built tanks do not have a good reputation for survivability. With a remote turret and the crew in the hull that could be a game changer.
However, I have heard on several tanker pages that the capabilities given all sound like Soviet era propaganda. The turret was covered until the parade. The boxes on the turret might be fake. The ones shown are apparently the only ones in existence. There are some that are questioning their ability to put it into full production. I’m going to wait and see on this.
Accessorized AKs have been around for some while. Nothing in that description, except the improved accuracy, is new. Who even buys new AKs, anyway? The insurgent world is awash in surplus ComBloc AKs the commies handed out and the nations who use them largely make their own.
There’s the old saying about speaking softly and carrying a big stick. I believe the opposite is also true. When I hear a government leader emphasizing how overwhelmingly powerful his military forces are, my default assumption is that his military forces are actually a lot weaker than everyone else had thought.
Sure, thanks Loach. It’s an IMHO for sure. You’re right - the tank had been shown on TV, etc, here (I’m in St. Petersburg) until this week with the fabric on the turret. Don’t know about any parts being fake, however. As for the VE-day/May 9 parades, there will be plenty of T-90’s and those are plenty real.
Yeah, I’m kind of confused on that one. The AK-74 is not new by any stretch of the word - it’s right there in the designation. It’s called that because it was introduced in 1974. The M variant is from 1991.
As for the T-14, considering Russian tanks’ woes with their autoloaders in past decades, an unmanned turret seems like a singularly bad idea but hey. Long as they don’t ask me to drive one, whatever floats their battleship.
[QUOTE=SputnikNews]
The gun will be digitally controlled by a crewmember located in a separate compartment, which would be made from composite materials and protected by multi-layered armor. The crew compartment will be also isolated from the motor compartment to increase survivability on the battlefield.
[/QUOTE]
Survivability, always a good thing.
More from the ArmyTimes (a US site):
The devil’s in the details. How redundant is the remote operation of the turret to deal with battle damage from hits that don’t produce catastrophic kills? How good is the suspension (in other words is it really faster cross country or does it effectively need to go slower off road?) How much does it cost? How much does it cost to maintain and operate so your troops can train? What’s the armor package? What the hell is with the giant shot trap to the left of the gun.
Continuing usage of the 125mm missile through tube makes me question if they’ve improved the effective range of their gun/fire control combo. The guided missile are quite a bit more expensive than a main gun round and travels much slower. Guidance both gives the chance to correct and gives the target time to evade or seek cover (almost 18 seconds to max range). Maybe they don’t need it anymore but included it for the extreme ranges since it was pre-existing. It was more a solution to being outclassed at range when introduced though.
The best thing I can see from a Russian tanker perspective is the separate crew compartment. The are no longer in the turret exposed ammo that like to go boom when hit. The down side compared to separate ammo storage is the turret still pays the cost meaning it’s harder to repair and get back in the next fight.
Yeah, I get that. The issue is that autoloaders jam a lot, and somebody has to unfuck the thing, during which time the tank obviously can’t fire. And sometimes a round hang-fires and the gunner has to deal with it in a real fucking hurry else the turret goes boom.
Good luck dealing with that when the crew is a) only two guys, one of which is busy driving at all times and b) locked in a “shatterproof chamber”. I expect there’s a hatch they can open to get inside the turret and such, but that all takes precious seconds.
I’m skeptical of the concept of a 2-man crew, especially when it comes to situational awareness. IMHO, you need at least 3 people to operate a tank in combat: a driver to look at the terrain, a gunner to look at the target, and a commander to look for the next target.
(Besides, what’s with this Russian obsession with small tank crews? Even during the Cold War, the Warsaw Block standard was 3 to the NATO 4. After all, if there’s something Russia never had a shortage of, it’s personnel).
That I will try and find more about. When it’s revealed (in daylight) the narration will be from the Kremlin/Ministry of Defense HQ: Greatest battle-tank evar!1!!!
Both Palace Square and Red Square are closed to the public for these parades. So I won’t be able to walk up and knock on the turret to see if it’s made of cardboard. The shot trap, however, I will see. On TV.
Just something from Wiki, the authority on all things military (though these at least make sense):
As far an unfucking the thing - which is firing something upwards of 40 shots a minute - I have no clue who gets that job. Also I’d like to know how fast/capable it is “off-road” as it were. General Winter and all.
So what, the spare personnel used for shift rotation are just going to walk behind the tanks?
I’ll retract that 40. That’s for a twin-barrel AK-130 (130 mm) autoloader. Somewhere around 15-20 seems about right for a 150mm.
ArmyTimes says 12 spm. Still pretty fast.
Not just tanks. The Soviets and now Russians have always favoured automation to a huge degree. You see it in their spacecraft and submarines and strategic missiles. Also in Tank crews.
Its an engineering philosophy.
Ruh Roh! (as we say in Russian)
New Russian T-14 Armata tank grinds to a halt on Red Square
http://rt.com/news/256437-armata-stuck-moscow-parade/
Good thing they’re only rehearsing. But this doesn’t speak well.
Nah, man, they just told you : they’ll be operating the SAM vehicles. Then every 8 to 12 hours, the crews shift. That way each vehicle is always manned by a fresh crew, and the vehicles can be run 24/7 ! 
That’s hilarious! I don’t know which “shift” I’d want to be on. Probably the SAM vehicles. At least there’s a chance of “run away” if fit is about to hit the shan.