Experts analyze the superior power of the 57mm cannon on Russian armored vehicles
Instead of 30mm automatic cannons, Russian infantry fighting vehicles and armored vehicles will receive new combat modules with 57mm guns with high rate of fire, long range and armor-piercing power.
Kinzhal for Armata
During the Soviet era, the army and air force were equipped with three types of 30mm rapid-fire guns. These guns met all requirements for reliability and accuracy until the end of the 20th century.
However, 21st century military equipment will be equipped with new guns with a caliber of 57mm.
During World War II, the Red Army was equipped with 57mm self-propelled tank destroyers, but after that this caliber was almost forgotten. Why is the Russian defense industry and military reviving the 57mm caliber?
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| "Terminator" tank. Photo: Sputnik |
Viktor Murakhovsky, armored vehicle expert and editor-in-chief of the magazine “Arsenal of the Fatherland,” said that there is a trend toward increasing the power of automatic artillery.
"Time passes and now military equipment has to meet higher standards. Now battlefield targets are better protected. New body armor can protect soldiers from fragments of 30mm bullets.
Light and medium armored vehicles have enhanced armor protection. Thanks to this, infantry fighting vehicles and armored vehicles can withstand 30mm armor-piercing rounds at most firing ranges."
At the Army 2019 forum, Russia introduced a number of combat modules with more powerful guns. For example, the heavy infantry fighting vehicle T-15 on the Armata platform is equipped with the Kinzhal remote-controlled combat module. This is a very powerful weapon.
It includes: 57mm automatic cannon with a rate of fire of more than 80 rounds/minute, firing bullets with a muzzle velocity of up to 1,500 m/s and penetrating 120 mm armor, 7.62mm PKTM machine gun with 1,000 rounds, Tucha grenade launchers, Ataka anti-tank missile launchers and optoelectronic equipment.
This spring, Alexander Krasovitsky, General Director of the Russian Military-Industrial Corporation, told Sputnik that the Kinzhal module is considered as a weapon that will be equipped with the promising Bumerang wheeled armored vehicle.
Anti-UAV anti-aircraft artillery
At the Army-2019 Forum, Russia also presented the Derivatsiya-PVO self-propelled air defense system. The designers did something “not very expensive, but very effective”, placing the AU-220M 57 mm (Baikal) combat module on the chassis of the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle.
The new anti-aircraft guns will gradually replace the Soviet Strela-10M and Tunguska systems (which no longer fully meet the requirements of the times).
“The main reason why we started to design this system is the rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). So far, there are no air defense systems capable of effectively dealing with very small and inexpensive air targets,” said Ilya Kryzhin, chief designer of the Derivatsiya design bureau.
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| T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicle equipped with Kinzhal combat module. Photo: Sputnik. |
Using even the smallest anti-aircraft missile to shoot down a UAV means wasting money. Therefore, the experts proposed to develop an anti-aircraft artillery system with a 57mm caliber, which was forgotten.
The automatic anti-aircraft gun of this caliber was developed from scratch, it can use both existing 57mm ammunition as well as promising ammunition - electronically timed and armor-piercing shells.
The 57mm gun combined with a modern fire control system can effectively protect ground troops not only from UAV attacks, but also from cruise missiles, helicopters and attack aircraft.”
57mm is the optimal caliber. If larger calibers (76mm, 85mm, 100mm) are used, such systems cannot move on the chassis of infantry fighting vehicles.
And if using smaller caliber (23mm, 30mm, 40mm) will reduce the damage radius and total firepower. Therefore, 57mm is the optimal caliber for such weapon system in terms of both firepower and ammunition.
The rate of fire of the gun on the Baikal module is 120 rounds/minute, firing at a muzzle velocity of 100 m/s, the firing range is up to 12 km and the ammunition load is from 80 to 148 rounds. It is combined with a 7.62mm PKTM machine gun with an ammunition load of 500 rounds.
If necessary, the Derivatsiya self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery system can shoot down ground and sea targets. To date, no armored vehicle or infantry fighting vehicle has been able to withstand the hail of 57mm shells from the AU-220M module.
Moreover, 57mm artillery shells can destroy an armored vehicle or combat pickup truck, destroy the crew of a missile complex or TOW missile carrier, landing ship or patrol boat.
