New Cold War 2020 mod version!

[MarkSheppard]

May I highly suggest

Linka

for your soviet screen images; just use "concept" and you can find links to download HI RES (1.2+ MB JPG) images of the following:








An artist's concept of Gruman Aerospace Corporation's proposed advanced tactical fighter (ATF). (Released to Public) Date Shot: 1 Jan 1986

Best part is; since theyr'e DoD pictures, they are 100% royalty free


A artist's concept of Soviet surface-to-air laser weapons. Photo courtesy of Soviet Military Power Magazine (Released to Public)

[RecruitMonty]

Hi Plasma,

I need a new place to put Icon 0049, any suggestions?

[PlasmaKrab]

Turreted icon shps 103 to 120 are free in the current game version. That's where I'm adding my new icons now as well.
I'm currently busy replacing all the 0049 and 0059 icons as well, upgrading lots of the old ones in the process.

[MarkSheppard]

Leopard 2 of the Swiss Army fitted with the Swiss desianed and built 140 mm smoothbore gun which is fitted with a fume extractor and a slotted muzzle brake.

First ballistic verification of the Swiss 140mm smoothbore gun under live conditions took place in the Summer of 1988 with the first projectiles being fired from the weapon installed in a Leopard 2 MBT taking place in the Autumn of 1989.

To ease handling, the ammunition is in two parts. The main propellant charge has a steel bottom and a combustible container with about 10 kg of propellant, and one part with either a KE projectile plus an additional 5 kg of propellant or a Multipurpose (MP) round which would probably not require the additional charge. The propellant will be optimised for the KE projectiles.

The KE projectile has a long rod penetrator of conventional material, not depleted uranium as used in US projectiles of this type, and a sabot with a plastic driving band.

Trials so far have shown that both types of ammunition will penetrate around 1,000 mm of steel armour, which is a significant increase in penetration over current in-service 120 mm projectiles.

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Liquid Propellant Advantages over Conventional Propellants:



Martin Marietta Defense Systems is also exploring LP for the US Navy's Gun Weapon System Warships programme under a contract awarded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Crane Division.

The first phase of the Navy programme, the company will apply the technology and hardware of the 155 mm LP gun it is already developing for the US Army Crusader, although the naval weapon will have an expanded performance.

As a result of the first phase, the United States Navy has awarded Martin Marietta a Second Phase full performance, single shot demonstrator that will be capable of launching new precision guided munitions to a range of over 100 km.

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United Defense Armored Gun System chassis with 105 mm turret replaced by new turret with two six round packs of LOSAT


Artist's impression of a Loral Vought Systems LOSAT system mounted on a modified Bradley chassis launching an HVM

The US Army envisages a potential use on M2/M3 Bradley vehicles whilst the US Marine Corps is interested in equipping its 8 x 8 LAVs.

Another US Army interest is in the future three-man crewed Line Of Sight Anti-Tank (LOSAT) Vehicle based on Bradley IFV components. This has an elevatable four-round launcher assembly with a further 20 missiles stored within the vehicle body.

Missile launch weight is approximately 77 kg, missile length 2.845 m and diameter 0.162 m. Range limits are from around 914.4 to 4,572 m.

In October 1993 it was revealed that Loral had proposed the HVM for use on the XM8 Armored Gun System for the US Army. The 105mm gun would be replaced by a two-man turret containing a pod of six HVM weapons on each side. Reloading would be by a boom/winch assembly like that used for the MLRS from another vehicle. Combat weight of the AGS LOSAT would be 20,865 kg.

It would be air-transportable in the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy (6 AGS LOSAT versus 4 Bradley LOSAT), McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III (3 AGS LOSAT versus 2 Bradley LOSAT), Lockheed C-141 Starfighter (1 AGS LOSAT compared to no Bradley LOSAT) and Lockheed C-130 Hercules (1 AGS LOSAT compared to no Bradley LOSAT).

[Suhiir]

Starts to make you wonder if Tanks are on their way out.
I know we've all heard this song and dance before but with the introduction of top-attack ATGM's, depleted uranium armor, hyper-velocity missiles and guns, and bigger and bigger tank main guns it's getting to the point where a vehicle that can withstand the firepower of the battlefield to utilize the traditional mobility, shock, and firepower of the tank is getting so big and heavy I keep remembering the German JagdTiger or Maus - too big and heavy to be of any consequence because they couldn't go so many places due to ground pressure, inability to cross rivers (the bridges couldn't support them), and limited ammo supply due to the size of their guns.
I keep waiting for some new supertank named "Bolo Mk I" to be announced.

[Marcello]

"Starts to make you wonder if Tanks are on their way out."

For a start the sort of high intensity, high tech conflicts where this could become an issue aren't going to happen for many years. In the meantime tanks are proving themselves useful in places like Afghanistan or Iraq. No LOSAT touting OPFOR there.
Beyond that it is hard to tell.
Personally I am not particularly fond of the information dominance concept the FCS is based upon, where thin armored cars wipe out the enemy armor via PGM barrages from safe standoff ranges, but who knows?
In the timeframe where high intensity, high tech wars may become again likely robotics may be already sufficiently developed to make unmanned ground combat vehicles mainstream. If this was the case might the need for armor protection to keep human losses as low as possible might be a less pressing issue, resulting in UGCVs with thinner armor (a bit like in the 60's when steel armor was considered hopeless against HEAT, giving birth to designs like the Leopard 1)? As I said it is hard to tell.

[RecruitMonty]

It would cost too much to replace them. Bigger and heavier tanks can be developed. LOSAT toating weapons are too expensive armies will one day realise they will have to balance costs with numbers. I hope to one day see all those techies get theirs from some good old fashioned armoured warfare.

[Pats]

I hope it wont be necessary to build all those weapons ;-) anyway.
Better use them in games then in reality!

[MarkSheppard]

Well, originally, the M1 Abrams entered service weighing about 50-55 tons. Now, the latest M1A2 SEPs are what 60-65 tons.

So I would think that a lot of R*D would be going on so that we can get M1A2 SEP protection on M1 Abrams weight levels; to restore the "Expansion" potential that was lost during the Abrams' lifetime.

I've looked up the specs for the US Army's XM291 140mm ATAC gun; it weighed 91 kg *LESS* than the M256 120mm Gun, and it could even be converted to fire 120mm ammo, in about an hour by replacing the gun tube. This 120mm version of the XM291 is right now the current gun of FCS.

Then we got the various other armor technologies; like electromagnetic armor, which can defeat RPG-7 warheads, yet total power drain is less than starting the tank on a cold morning; advanced explosive reactive armor which can defeat incoming APDFS rounds by snapping the penetrator in mid flight, ARENA/TROPHY close in defense systems that launch projectiles to defeat incoming threats....

I've looked up the various Electrothermal Gun technologies; and they offer about 30% imprvoement in muzzle velocity and energy over current conventional propellant guns; while not requiring the total technological base redo that liquid propellant guns do.

Presently, the M256 120mm gun with the M829A3 round can penetrate 81cm at 1000m. If we assume muzzle velocity increases by 30% with an ETC version of the M256, then that means that a ETC M829A3 would have a penetration of around 100cm + at the same range.

[pdoktar]

DU warheads do not support higher velocities. At least yet. That´s why the L55 was abandoned by the US army as a upgrade. Tungsten penetrators can use the potential of higher velocities, but current DU is stuck in 1500-1700 m/s. That´s why the latest US DU penetrator is heavier and goes slower.

And I don´t know if M829A3 is the same as M829E3.