Stunned by the power of the world's shortest tank

With a height of only about 2m, Black Eagle is considered to be the shortest main battle tank in the history of the world.

In order to find a solution to replace the T-72 and T-80 tanks, from the late 1980s, the Soviet Union had assigned factories and departments to design new tank development projects. This program "squeezed" through the Russian Federation when the Soviet Union collapsed. Two projects were launched, the first being the T-95 tank (Object 195) designed by the research facility at Nizhny Tagil, the Uralvagonzavod factory. And the other project is Black Eagle (Black Eagle) , also known as Object 640 or T-80UM2 by Kirov Design Bureau (LKZ). After the LKZ closed, Black Eagle was handed over to the KBTM design bureau in Omsk in the late 1990s.

In September 1997, a model of the Black Eagle tank was first displayed.

In September 1997, a model of the Black Eagle tank was first exhibited at the second VTTV military exhibition in Omsk. The display tank has a trunk based on the T-80U model, a large turret and main gun, obscured by camouflage cloth and nets. Another model appeared at the Siberia exhibition in June 1999, with a longer body of 7 crawlers (T-80 only 6).

This tank has an estimated weight of 50-65 tons, 7m long, 3.6m wide.

The Black Eagle specs are still in mystery, only to know that it has an estimated weight of 50-65 tons, 7m long, 3.6m wide and especially only 2m tall - this bring it to become the shortest main battle tank in history. Although "dwarf" , the power of the Black Eagle tank is undeniable, if not powerful. Developed on the basis of the T-80U series, the Black Eagle's body has great similarities, but is longer and has more than one heavy-duty gear for the crew to be far behind the car. Its composite armor is very thick (400mm) and equipped with Kaktus explosive reaction armor. The slope of the front of the vehicle and the turret is designed to maximize protection.

In addition, when equipped, Black Eagle may be equipped with the Drozd-2 or Arena active defense system and the Shtora-6 and Shtora-8B optical jamming system. There are also reports that Black Ealge is equipped with a radar that can detect aircraft and helicopters up to 16 km away.

In terms of firepower, the first prototype of the Black Eagle appeared with the main cannon 125mm 2A46M.

In terms of firepower, the first prototype of the Black Eagle appeared with the main cannon 125mm 2A46M. However, the plan of LKZ and later KTBM wants to install it with 135mm or 140mm or 152mm gun with an effective range of up to 10km. In addition to conventional armor-piercing bullets, the 152mm cannon also launched anti-tank missiles through the barrel. In addition, Black Eagle is equipped with a new automatic reloading system installed in the turret section of the turret, which can be loaded quickly to increase the continuous firing speed (10-12 tablets / minute) . The shell of the Black Eagle is designed to be separate from the main compartment, so if the missile box is exploded, the pilot will not be hit by the shrapnel.

The shell of the Black Eagle is designed separately from the main compartment.

Remarkably, Black Eagle gave up the traditional Soviet round turret, instead of a Western-like boxy "oversized" turret. Large gun barrel with bullets and longer base frame so Black Ealge must own extremely strong engine. It was tested with a 1,500-horsepower gas turbine engine that allowed it to reach speeds of up to 70-75km / h, a range of 650-1,000km depending on the amount of fuel carried.

Despite the unprecedented possession of the feature, the Black Ealge project was forced to cancel due to lack of funding in 2002. However, this prototype provides an insight into tank development. Russia. Black Eagle was judged to successfully incorporate all basic features into modern mainstream battle tanks, such as armor, firepower, and mobility.