Next generation main battle tank. Part iii: An air transportable, upgradable and flexibleweapon system integrated in the future warfare

With a foreseen life of more than 30 years, the future Main Battle Tanks (MBT) will face continuous upgrades in and will challenge ever-changing threats. The armament, the armor, the information and the communication suite will be upgraded/changed depending on the scenario and on the technology available. Like in moder cars, the huge hardware/software/sensors is the most changing package. This continuous upgrade should be included in the design of new vehicle, than should be conceived more as a modular, vehicle family than as a single vehicle. The new battle tank is closer to a car platform that is the base for a family of vehicles, in which a major revision of any single model should be performed every two years. The old option-less approach like the Ford T model, which remained in production from 1908 to 1927, belongs to the past. A very desirable requirement would be to host the new vehicle in the bay of the latest C130 for rapid deployment. Even if it is time to update the venerable C130 to something newer and more capable, the basic concept remains. The always-growing 100-ton pan-tank approach is becoming obsolete, along with the idea to add hardware to improve firepower, protection and battlefield effectiveness. This third part introduces a few concepts to design a new MBT or better, a new MBT family, in which a modular concept makes it possible to adapt the vehicle to a specific scenario and to update it with ease. Flexibility and update capability are the new key words. The old concept of the mobile bunker with tracks should be substituted by a hierarchical protection system. This approach is inherited from the attack helicopters. The best-protected part of the tank should be a very small crew compartment. It should be completely separated from the weapon compartment with the main and secondary armaments equipped with automatic loading systems. The NBC (Nuclear Bacteriological Chemical) air filtering system can then be reduced to serve only the humans. The crew should travel secured by safety belts and should be equipped with ejection seats. Air-bag should be considered to reduce the shock of a direct hit from APFSDS penetrator or other high energy threats. These seats are conceptually different from aircraft ones since they will assure a simple exit from the tank, not a true ejection. A multiengine-multimotor approach may be used for traction with two or more powered sprockets. The small powerpacks will occupy less room inside the vehicle. A drive by wire system with an enhanced stability and direction system should be implemented. The ground pressure should be kept well under 900 kPa. Tracks should be narrow and long to reduce power requirements. Only the frontal arc of the MBT should be protected with passive "direct kill" armor. The remaining part of the vehicle should rely on hard-kill active systems except for "light" automatic fire. Since armor is an accessory, it should be added to the basic MBT structure. The "adding" from the outside approach should be extended to as many items as possible to simplify maintenance, equipment and update. The basic vehicle structure is closer to the frame of an F1 car with all the parts and accessories added to it. Similarly to F1 racing cars, it can be made with lightweight materials and aircraft technologies, like Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic or aluminum alloy monocoque structure. Finally, an on-board electronic diagnosis system should be implemented to simplify maintenance and increase availability and reliability.