Concept Designing of Armoured Fighting Vehicles for Future Combat
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Defence Science Journal, Vol. 70, No. 4, July 2020, pp. 397-403, DOI : 10.14429/dsj.70.14706 © 2020, DESIDOC Concept Designing of Armoured Fighting Vehicles for Future Combat Alexander Kuprinenko@ ,*, Mykola Chornyi@, Volodymyr Mocherad@, and Halyna Lotfі Ghahrodi# @National Army Academy, Lviv, Ukraine #Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine *E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT The experience of military conflicts in recent decades shows changes in the nature of warfare performance, which differ significantly from those conditions for which existing types of armoured fighting vehicles were created. The conducted analysis of the works on the designing of advanced armoured fighting vehicles shows that these changes have not yet been sufficiently taken into account. It still focuses on the creation of high-value combat vehicles with high combat performance for direct (contact) actions. Given the limited economic opportunities of the most countries this inevitably leads to unreasonable expenses. This article presents a conceptual approach to design up to date of armoured fighting vehicles which is based on the asymmetrical principle of their development. Given that the practical implementation of the proposed approach is complex and high-cost, the results of simulation modelling of typical situations of combat use of the offered types of armoured fighting vehicles are given as evidence. Keywords: Armoured fighting vehicle; Combat application; Asymmetrical development; Technical characteristics; Simulation modelling 1. INTRODUCTION • An increase in the number of diverse goals, changes in the The experience of military conflicts over the past decades hit distribution law for firing angle7 has shown that armoured fighting vehicles (AVFs) continue • The transition from the linear interaction of large army to play an important role in solving a wide range of combat units that are operating at operational range of weapons missions assigned to units of the Army. A tank, an infantry and move towards to destruct the enemy, to the spatial fighting vehicle (IFV) and an armoured personnel carrier interaction of autonomous combat groups, which (APC) are considered to be the main AFVs types. simultaneously conduct reconnaissance-shock, mainly Almost all the above types of AFVs were designed in non-contact actions in various directions8 . the last century for particular warfare performance. These Modified conditions of combat application put forward conditions were defined by different military and political views new requirements for AFV9,10. They include: on conducting an armed struggle, the level of development • Adaptability to highly maneuverable autonomous actions of armaments and military equipment, scientific, technical, as part of distributed small units (battle groups)11 productive-economic opportunities of the opposing force. • The possibility of destroying the enemy’s objects outside Since the creation and till present days there is a constant the line of direct visibility12 improvement of these AFV types1,2, however, in general • The possibility of changing the configuration of armoured functional purpose of their hasn’t practically been changed. vehicles in groups and the indicators of their combat Widespread application of achievements in the military qualities depending on the nature of the tasks which are sphere within information technology has led to a significant being solved efficiency increase in the modern weapons systems and the • The informational interaction between the group of nature of the warfare performance3,4. A significant increase in combat vehicles to provide a decentralised performance the range, velocity, accuracy and selectivity of the influence of the tasks. of modern armed systems led to the expansion of spatial, The experience of military use of existing AFVs types in reduction of time indicators for solving problems and revealed military conflicts, in particular, in Chechnya13, The Iraq war14, the need for small units (battle groups)5. the war in Syria15, military operations in eastern Ukraine16, The main changes of the conditions of AVFs combat indicates the discrepancy of their low level of combat application are: effectiveness according to the requirements, which mainly • Significant increase of the possibilities of AVFs’ means of focuses on insufficient protection of the landings and crew, destruction6 limited fire capabilities, information and functional diversity, inappropriate real conditions of the methods of combat use. Received : 20 June 2019, Revised : 09 May 2020 Accepted : 09 June 2020, Online published : 13 July 2020 397 Def. SCI. J., VOL. 70, NO. 4, JULy 2020 2. PRELIMINARY INFORMATION the existing approaches to create a promising types of AFV Existing today, a significant imbalance in the development symmetric development, which involves a comparative of means of AFVs’ protection and means of their destruction, assessment of relatives of the same purpose or of the same constant improvement, mass character and variability of the type samples and the creation of already existing analogues ones makes it impossible to create an absolutely well-protected 19. This is the level of confrontation of individual samples. In AFV sample. An example of unsuccessful attempts to create other words – there is an evolutionary development of existing a highly secure AFV sample is US Ground combat vehicle17 types of AFV, created for completely different conditions of program. conducting armed struggle. But attempts to simultaneously Therefore, today it is meaningless to focus only on implement high military performance indicators one of the designing an AFV for a direct (contact) action. To reduce existing types, which are already on the verge of exhausting the losses under the conditions of today’s armed struggle is constructive reserves, leads to the emergence of serious important to strike enemy’s objects at a long distance without problems, that include: an increase in overall dimensions, mass entering the hitting area of its means. and complexity of samples; high cost; protection problems; long Thus, the main difference between the strategy of designing terms and recovery20. In the conditions of limited conducting modern combat operations from the strategy of the economic opportunities of many states, this is inevitably leads twentieth century is the priority of conducting indirect actions. to unreasonable costs and lag. Changes in the nature of the warfare performance are advance These circumstances require solving a difficult problem, also requests of priority in mobility over the protection of which is to raise the level combat effectiveness of the AFVs the AFVs which are operating in direct fire contact with the taking into an account economic possibilities of the states. enemy. Characteristic features of modern warfare performance 3. PROPOSED CONCEPT which, directly influence the development of advanced AFVs Concerning an alternative approach in designing types, are: modern and advanced AFV types, a concept based on the • Optional to implement of the parameters’ high values principle of their asymmetric development is suggested in this of combat characteristics in one sample, which usually article as shown in Fig. 1. increases its complexity and cost. The expediency of Within the framework of the adopted concept, the distributing military tasks between different spatially approach, which is proposed for the technical hypotheses design dispersed means (intelligence, management, destruction) of perspective AFV types, is determined that simultaneously in order to create a network of information of interacting with the development of technologically complex types, other means that make up the combat system. On the one hand less costly types of technologically simplified execution are this explains the contradiction between the need to solve being developed. combat tasks with significantly expanded spatial indicators In this case, the overall modular design principle, which and it shows economic expediency concentration and consists in the AFV design as a set of two independent modules application in large areas of high-value specimens. - basic and functional (combat), it is suggested for types of • Abstraction from the platform features. This means that AFV of the technologically simplified performance, as well warfare performance is possible with arms and military as for more complex types. In the base module has a control equipment, placed on various not necessarily specialised, unit, a power plant, transmission elements, a chassis, an complex, expensive platforms, the successful operation important security components, also the necessary connection of which involves the presence of a special providing points with the combat module. Combat module contains a infrastructure18. Thus, the armed struggle moved from the level of confrontation of individual samples to the confrontation of combat systems. The times when the emergence of a separate type of AFVs could seriously influence the effectiveness of the employment of troops, such as the emergence of a tank in the First World War, has been irrevocably passed. Accordingly, the result of the design should be an AFV system, not a development (upgrading) of separate types of AFV that are unrelated to each other according to the tasks to be solved. Thus, the modern conditions of combat use of AFV show a completely different way of AFV development. It is in the transition to a massive creation of less universal in terms of combat characteristics