Russia - NATO and the race for unmanned infantry fighting vehicles

Military powers Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have just introduced two lines of unmanned tanks, the Uran-9 and Black Knight. This is the latest achievement, marking a step forward in the development of unmanned infantry fighting vehicles (UGV).

Uran-9 tank for Russian infantry. Source: Topwar.ru

Both the Uran-9 and Black Knight are currently tasked with remote reconnaissance and fire support for special infantry combat forces.

The most special advantage is that both types of tanks do not require direct human control but are controlled through a mobile command center within a range of 3km with many computers and radio communication equipment.

They can automatically navigate, identify surrounding terrain as they move, avoid obstacles and set their own course.

It is expected that in dangerous combat situations, they will be used instead of manned tanks, helping to minimize casualties for soldiers.

Although they perform the same mission, these two unmanned tanks are designed with different key priorities.

Uran-9 - A formidable opponent on the battlefield

The Uran-9 tank was developed by the state arms corporation Rosoboronexport. The Uran-9 prototype was introduced in early 2016 and is expected to enter service with the Russian army by the end of 2017.

This tank has received much praise, not only from Russia but also from the West and the US. Military analyst Dave Majumdar of The National Interest Magazine called it “the messenger of the future”.

This is not surprising at all. In fact, up to now, no NATO country has owned or produced an unmanned combat vehicle with as strong an attack firepower as the Uran-9 (despite the fact that the US has been researching and manufacturing unmanned combat vehicles for the past 20 years).

The tank is 5.1m long, 2.53m wide, 2.5m high, and has a combat weight of 10 tons. The armored body is resistant to personal weapons. The vehicle uses a tracked chassis that allows it to move on various terrains. The multi-fuel diesel engine reaches a maximum speed of 35km/h.

Uran-9 can detect targets from a distance of 6km during the day and 3km at night thanks to being equipped with a sophisticated sensor system, including a laser alarm system, target detection, identification and tracking equipment.

Thanks to its “huge” firepower, the Uran-9 is a real threat on the battlefield. It is capable of fighting against heavy tanks on the battlefield. The tank uses a specially designed turret that integrates a 2A72 automatic cannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.

The most powerful weapon on the Uran-9 is four 9M120 Ataka anti-tank missiles. The radio-guided missiles can destroy tanks at ranges from 400 to 6,000 meters.

In addition, the Uran-9 also has 2 9S846 Strelets MANPADS air defense missile systems (each system is equipped with 3 9K33 Igla missiles). In addition to missiles, the Uran-9 is also equipped with 6 RPO Shmel thermobaric missile launchers with a maximum range of 1,700m.

This is a very effective weapon in destroying infantry hiding in trenches. With such modern firepower, the Uran-9 is even more powerful than the American Stryker armored vehicle which is only equipped with M2 machine guns and MK19 grenade launchers.

Black Knight - Stepping Back on an Unmanned Defense Tank

The US and the West have never been slow in developing advanced fire support vehicles.

At the Global Forces Symposium and Exposition-2017 military technology exhibition taking place from March 13 to March 15 in Huntsville (Alabama, USA), British defense company BAE Systems introduced the "rival" of Uran-9 - the Black Knight unmanned tank.

It is expected that this tank line will be equipped for US infantry in 2018.

The Black Knight is a medium tank, 5m long, weighing about 12-13 tons. This is an effective fire support weapon for the M1A2 Abrams tank. It can be deployed from the C-130 military transport aircraft.

Black Knight tank for US infantry. Source: Topwar.ru

In addition to its main mission of fire support and defense, the Black Knight can also conduct search and rescue operations for soldiers in combat zones, provide food and ammunition.

The body of the vehicle is made of aluminum alloy, the outside is covered with composite armor that allows it to resist 25mm kinetic energy armor-piercing bullets. Two armored escape doors are located on the side of the tank, allowing soldiers to escape in an emergency when the vehicle is shot and burned.

The Black Knight has a fairly wide field of view thanks to the surveillance camera system installed on 5 cylindrical automatic rotating modules on the turret (1 central module and 4 surrounding modules).

The central module is the most flexible, able to scan the entire surrounding wide space vertically and horizontally. The 4 surrounding modules observe the narrow space right next to the tank's position. The cameras are connected to the sensor and warning system so that they can quickly detect moving objects in the operating area.

To increase the tank's firepower, the turret is equipped with a 30mm automatic cannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun with remote control that can be adjusted. The Black Knight is equipped with a 300 horsepower Caterpillar diesel engine, reaching a speed of 75 to 80km/h.

It is clear that, because the Uran-9's focus is on deep strike capabilities, it is lighter (10 tons) than the Black Knight (12-13 tons) for easier movement and can reduce the chance of being hit.

With its powerful firepower, the Uran-9 will be a shock force in battles against enemy strongholds, providing direct and effective fire support for infantry.

In contrast to its "rival" Uran-9, Black Knight does not focus on total attack in a wide combat area but focuses on flexibility in performing defense, support, and assistance missions in the central combat area.

The Black Knight has thicker armor protection, better visibility, and is more than twice as fast as the Uran-9.

Although the Uran-9 and Black Knight differ in design and main priority tasks, representatives of these two schools of engineering promise to give the army that owns them a great advantage in any war.

According to the People's Army