On the last Ukrainian tank to tank biathlon Strong Europe Tank Challenge 2018 g. in Germany, a lot has already been written. But the explanation of the reasons for such a poor outcome from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine inexperienced crews ("Lenta.ru") I was surprised.
Impressions of the direct participants in biathlon, who were accused of incompetence, always the most interesting, as it is the opinion of people from the "field", seated directly into the machine and evaluating it in a specific situation. The video biathlon participants and their assessment of the state of a lot of tanks explained.
I got interested in two points: which tanks Ukraine presented at the biathlon and the reasons, interfere with the effectiveness of firing from a tank.
According to official reports, Biathlon in Germany were sent tanks "Hold". In tanks provided photographs clearly seen, it is not "Hold"! This tank is easily recognizable by towering above the commander's hatch cylindrical panoramic sight. In the photos the other tanks, does not like to "Hold". What kind of tanks?
Tankers have slightly opened the mystery. It turns out, it really is not "bulwark", they were made back in the 2001 year! maybe, it was the first modification of the tank, which later became the "stronghold". Tanks "Hold" in the Ukrainian Army never was, they hardly have made all 49 pieces on the Thai contract and sent to Thailand.
It turned, that biathlon four tanks of a single party in the ten tanks were sent, made for the Ukrainian army during the existence of Ukraine. More in the Ukrainian army of new tanks have been reported. As long as I remember, It was a scandal, that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine refuses to pay. probably, For this reason, six tanks of the party and kept at Malyshev plant, where there are no conditions for long-storage tanks.
Four tanks had disappeared. There are authentic version, that they have long been sold in the US, as very needed money. after 17 years these tanks remembered and decided to show them to the German biathlon as a miracle Ukrainian armored vehicles. Now this party tanks variously called T-84, T-84U, the first "Hold" version. In fact, a further development of the Soviet T-80UD.
I was surprised by the approach of the Ukrainian military and industry in preparation tanks and crews on biathlon. Tankers describe in detail, how to "give up" these tanks at Malyshev plant and how to train crews. After seventeen storage without adequate conditions and without routine maintenance tanks decided to send in the biathlon. It does not even bother to conduct acceptance tests and to check the characteristics of the systems and components. After such a long-term storage without complying with the necessary conditions for them could be many defects, that has already taken place in Germany.
Malyshev plant was still, What will happen to these tanks. As stated by tankers, plant for the preparation of "not paid" crews, probably, there have been wronged even for long non-payment of these tanks, and the crews of the plant is not taught. They are like beggars, all the time that they asked to make these tanks, and from them fended, like annoying flies. With this technique unverified, without coherence crews were sent to the biathlon.
Presented at the biathlon tanks in their characteristics are at the level of the last Soviet tank T-80UD, as well as T-72 and T-90. In these tanks was perfect fire control system, and that today very few people concedes. With good preparation tanks and crews they had fared well in the biathlon.
But the tanks were in poor condition and, basically, even with good preparation of the crew could not claim to be a good result. Faults fell one after the other, since such "trifles", as a leak in the fuel system, idle engine system sensors, sparking poles on the batteries. Much more serious problems have been with the fire control system.
The main reason for failure in the biathlon was the inability to shoot from the tank due to constant failures loading mechanism and gun stabilizer. I spent many years with its experts engaged by tank fire control systems and have some idea, that there could be.
According to crew statements, When the MSA in the tank at all times "shaking" Cannon, and they could hardly have imposed it on target. By circumstantial evidence, It is observed due to the high rigidity of the stabilizer due to lack of adjustment of this circuit or defect in the control unit. They changed blocks, but it does not always help. Each tank control unit must be adjusted to the individual characteristics of the tank. Without this defect is not eliminated, and it would be for trained professionals. These are only available at the plant and in the repair battalion level, to my mind, Panzer division. Tankers do not know, how to do it and do not have the right to engage in such work.
After a long storage tanks could change the parameters of guns and towers (resistance points). The stabilizer had to reconfigure, and it was not done. high probability, that in the control units were defective due to aging of the element base, especially since the tank equipment in Ukraine is not manufactured by specialized companies and without strict control applied element base.
The second serious malfunction failures were due to loading mechanism locking sensors further operations at a cycle of loading the gun. Sensors and should work, they ensure the safety of the tank and crew, in the gun is still being charged on a pig, and explosive projectile with a sleeve. locks cause could be a sensor failure, it is unlikely, or unacceptably big gap and defects in knots loading mechanism, leading to false tripping or failure to trip sensor.
Apparently, so it was. The tanks have been in storage for a long time and is not served. A tank factory have lost the necessary technologies, no suitably qualified professionals and is not demanding military acceptance. Details and components of the tank are made of "improvised" metal, which may eventually lose their characteristics. Manufactured and assembled without complying with the time technology components cease to perform its functions. The loading mechanism of many nodes, and when it is super-dense arrangement tolerances of the parts and components are very hard. Therefore, any liberties with their manufacture can lead to serious consequences.
So that the tanks had to be nervous on biathlon. In a stressful situation, when you can not make a shot, not only the mat will begin to evaluate the technique and the, who made it, and potrebuesh and introducing an additional crew member for loading gun.
Tank, put up for biathlon Ukraine, It is an analogue of the T-80UD with a small degree of modernization, several hundred of which have been delivered under the contract in 1996-1998 in Pakistan. Over twenty years of operation on the tank did not have any complaints, that is made by another Soviet tank backlog showed good characteristics. Later made almost the same tanks - is a completely different quality, and even in the summer they are practically unfit for combat landfill.
All this suggests that, that the Ukrainian tank industry deteriorated so, that not only is it produced for its own army in a quarter century, only ten tanks, so these tanks in quality were on the lowest level and only disgraced the country in international competitions.
In addition to the quality of tanks, Needless to mention the preparation for participation in biathlon. Degradation occurs at the highest level of administration in an army and defense industry. tanks and crews preparing for the Biathlon could not carry out any technical, or on the organizational level. Elementary logic told to conduct maintenance work for a long time kept tanks, debug them, test and carry out a complete cycle of crew training. None of this was done.
According to the stories of tankers, they were not wanted, nor own command, HN structures Ukroboronproma, responsible for the quality of art. With this approach, and the corresponding result. This lamentable experience should always be kept in mind: in the preparation of major events are no trifles, and any business can be ruined, not doing its preparation.
What can I say,опять русские виноваты???