Battle Tank Research Articles

The Economics of Smart Defense

Introduction: Difficult ChoicesNATO's proposal claims to be a new way of thinking about generating defense capabilities. It encourages allies to cooperate in developing, acquiring, and maintaining military capabilities. It means pooling and sharing capabilities, setting priorities, and coordinating efforts better. It involves member states not spending more but spending better; it is about specializing in what we do best and seeking multinational solutions to common problems.1Smart Defense has economic dimensions that need to be clarified and assessed critically. We do not live in a world of magic wand economics, where declarations of intent miraculously lead to efficiency improvements in defense markets. Smart Defense cannot ignore the incentives and constraints that operate in defense markets at both the national and Alliance levels.The financial and economic crisis of the past five years has meant cuts in national defense budgets, which have meant that nations cannot avoid the need for more and continuing difficult defense choices. Inefficiencies within member states' defense markets and within NATO have to be addressed. For each member state, budget pressures and rising input costs mean that, yet again, something has to go. The question is, What are the options and what goes?Furthermore, defense budgets that have been cut in real terms still have to finance defense equipment, which is both costly and becoming costlier. For example, intergenerational cost growth on U.K. main battle tanks and combat aircraft was almost 6 percent. The unit cost of the Hunter fighter aircraft was £4.6 million in 1955, compared with today's replacement, the Typhoon, at a unit cost of £72 million (2012 prices). Of course, the Typhoon is superior to the Hunter in terms of speed, weight, complexity, and capability.2 Such rising unit costs, which affect all nations, have led some commentators to forecast a future single-ship British Navy, a single-tank British Army, and a 'Starship Enterprise' for the Royal Air Force!The defense economics problem is clear. Defense budgets-which are constant or falling in real terms, and subject to costly and rising equipment costs-mean that difficult defense choices cannot be avoided. National defense policies will have to consider a range of choices affecting equipment and personnel. While these choices will include numbers of personnel and equipment, there are also substitution possibilities within equipment and personnel and between equipment and personnel.Some of these choice problems can be avoided where there are inefficiencies in defense spending. The defense economics problem identifies the need to increase the efficiency of defense spending, and this applies to all member states and NATO. Of course, efficiency improvements also involve winners and losers: some of the interest groups that currently benefit from consuming inefficiency will lose from efficiency improvements. Examples of inefficiencies in defense markets include non-competitive procurement policies, preferential purchasing (e.g., buy-national policies), a failure to assess the efficiency of military units, and the duplication of armed forces and defense industries in NATO.Inefficiencies in NATO Defense MarketsNATO is an inefficient organization for providing both armed forces and defense equipment. Inefficiency embraces opportunities for choosing an ideal or socially-desirable level of defense output and/or achieving the same defense output at a lower cost. Here, major problems arise, since defense markets are different. Compared with commercial markets, where there are large numbers of buyers and sellers, defense markets are dominated by governments as major or monopsony buyers, usually facing a national monopoly or oligopoly supplier of defense equipment. As major or only buyers, governments can determine the size of their national defense industry, its ownership, structure, and performance. …

Varma Turbine

Varma designed ultra modern and high efficiency turbines which can use gas, steam or fuels as feed to produce electricity or mechanical work for wide range of usages and applications in industries or at work sites. Varma turbine engines can be used in all types of vehicles. These turbines can also be used in aircraft, ships, battle tanks, dredgers, mining equipment, earth moving machines etc., Salient features of Varma Turbines.1. Varma turbines are simple in design, easy to manufacture, easy to operate and maintain.2. Varma turbines are less expensive.3. Varma turbines have a great power to weight ratio, compared to present turbines.4. Varma turbines will have low maintenance costs.5. Varma turbines will have 95% efficiency, the highest compared to any present turbines.6. Varma turbine parts will be less prone to rust, erosion, wear and tear.7. Varma turbines will arrest all leakages of steam, gas and water in respective turbines.8. Varma water turbines can convert the whole potential energy in every drop of water, acquired by virtue of its position, into kinetic energy and further into electricity.9. Varma turbines will have no blades, either fixed or rotary, the complex structures of present turbines. 10. Varma turbines have common design to use gas, steam or water’s potential energy as feed to generate electricity or mechanical work.11. Varma turbines will have low noise and no vibrations because the balance of the rotating sphere and shaft is perfect.12. The base of the turbine will be more compared to its steam intake chambers. It gives more stability to turbine. 13. Varma turbine will face less thermal and corrosion fatigue, less stress, cracking and misalignment.

Mathematical investigations of branch length similarity entropy profiles of shapes for various resolutions

In our previous study, we defined the branch length similarity (BLS) entropy for a simple network consisting of a single node and numerous branches. As the first application of this entropy to characterize shapes, the BLS entropy profiles of 20 battle tank shapes were calculated from simple networks created by connecting pixels in the boundary of the shape. The profiles successfully characterized the tank shapes through a comparison of their BLS entropy profiles. Following the application, this entropy was used to characterize human’s emotional faces, such as happiness and sad, and to measure the degree of complexity for termite tunnel networks. These applications indirectly indicate that the BLS entropy profile can be a useful tool to characterize networks and shapes. However, the ability of the BLS entropy in the characterization depends on the image resolution because the entropy is determined by the number of nodes for the boundary of a shape. Higher resolution means more nodes. If the entropy is to be widely used in the scientific community, the effect of the resolution on the entropy profile should be understood. In the present study, we mathematically investigated the BLS entropy profile of a shape with infinite resolution and numerically investigated the variation in the pattern of the entropy profile caused by changes in the resolution change in the case of finite resolution.

‘The Tip of the Spear’—The Bundeswehr, Soviet Force Restructuring & Development of West Germany's Armored Forces, 1951–1986

After the decision to re-arm Germany in the early 1950s, the military leadership in the Federal Republic of Germany or “Bundeswehr” once again set out to create an army capable of not only defending the Federal Republic of Germany but of being able to integrate itself within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) forward defense of Western Europe. This article examines the Bundeswehr's re-armament and its operational and tactical organization as well as the weapons systems, most notably the development of a whole new generation of main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles or personnel carriers that were far superior to either their Soviet or American counterparts. The article likewise examines the incorporation of tactics and operational doctrine employed by the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front (1941–1945) during World War II.

Comprehensive Evaluation on Weapon System of Main Battle Tank Based on Topsis Method

An integrated evaluation of the modern main battle tank based on Topsis method is discussed in this article. The method is a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution which can avoid the difficulty in traditional evaluations that regard the multi-evaluation parameters as a single efficiency evaluating value. The results show that this mode1 features convenient calculations，high distinguish efficiency and high stability. The article supplies a new system to the comprehensive evaluation of the modern main battle tank.

A Field Study on the Influence of M1A1 Abrams Tank Traffic on Soil Compaction

Military training exercises using heavy-tracked vehicles is an intensive land-use activity that may result in vegetation disturbances and soil compaction. In this study, the focus was on soil compaction as a result of M1A1 Abrams battle tank traffic. For this purpose, two main treatments were investigated: tank trafficking rates at the time of tank training maneuvers and moisture content of the soil profile. The influence of Abrams tank traffic on soil bulk density and mechanical impedance was measured immediately after the tank passes on plots having three different soil moisture levels. We found increased soil bulk density as a result of tank traffic regardless of the number of tank passes. Overall soil bulk density increases throughout the soil profile were 0.04, 0.07, and 0.04 g/cm3 for the low-, medium-, and high-moisture plots, respectively. After three, six, and nine tank passes, consistent increases in penetrometer resistance measurements were observed. However, the effects of the number of passes appear somewhat inconsistent when low-moisture contents were dominant in the soil profile (0.12–0.17 cm3/cm3). For plots with the highest moisture level (0.37–0.38 cm3/cm3 ), the impact of tank traffic was concentrated in the surface 15 cm, with an average increase of 1 MPa regardless of the number of tank passes. We conclude that the effects of different tank passes on soil compaction did not follow a clear trend. Moreover, based on the residual impact of tank traffic, we conclude that efforts should be made to avoid tank exercises when the moisture content in the soil profile is 0.26 cm3/cm3. We further conclude that tank traffic should be restricted when possible when the soil moisture content is in the 0.40- to 0.46-cm3/cm3 range.

Electro-mechanical transmission modelling for series-hybrid tracked tanks

This paper describes a mathematical model and presents the dynamic analysis of a series-hybrid tracked tank driven by two electric motors, one devoted to propulsion (PM) and the other to steering (SM). A double differential mechanism is adopted to electrically produce the speed difference between the tracks required for skid steering. In this paper, this specific transmission is called Electro-Mechanical Transmission (EMT). The EMT model supports the steering motor control strategy definition and the electric motor size optimisation. Dynamic simulations applied to a 55 ton main battle tank are shown and discussed to validate the obtained results.

Armour Protection and Affordable Protection for Futuristic Combat Vehicles

Protection creates a shift in the internal paradigm of the soldier and leads to multiplied psychological stamina for moving fearlessly in the battlefield which generates a major force-multiplier effect. Hence, the mechanized forces are still likely to be one of the dominant forces on the futuristic battlefield and would be the primary target of enemy forces capable of engaging from tank guns up to 4-5 km in a direct fire mode and up to 8-10 km in an indirect fire modes. Increased protection is possible only using advanced armour technology. Throughout the history of warfare, materials technologies have had a significant impact on land-combat force capabilities. Armour materials have progressed through improvements in metallic systems and development of advanced, lightweight (low areal density) composite materials. The advancements in ceramic systems have further improved the performance. Similarly, the advances in development of explosive reactive armour has generated efficient armour system against all contemporary high explosive antitank (HEAT) ammunition and missile threats for armoured vehicles. Yet, to achieve armour performance exceeding that of the current light combat vehicles and main battle tanks for new vehicular systems, weighing significantly less than the present combat vehicles, advances in new armour materials, systems, and survivability technologies are required. This paper describes various approaches and advancements in the metallic, ceramic, and composite armour materials and new dynamic armour systems that are essential to improve the survivability of armoured vehicles in the futurisitic multi-spectral battlefied scenarios. Defence Science Journal, 2011, 61(4), pp.394-402 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.61.365

Computer Simulation of an Armoured Battalion Swarming

Swarming is a tactical approach considered in modern armies combat activities conceptualisation. More intensive research of military application of swarming began after 2000, mostly in the areas of unmanned air, underwater, and ground vehicles, as well as in air force, navy and some special ground force units. In spite of relative inconveniences of contemporary main battle tanks to act as swarmers, some of initial results of the armoured mobile platforms swarming research have been presented. The motivation for the research is that adaptation of contemporary tanks for swarming could prolong their working life until the new generation comes, and could be the best investment in medium and smaller countries armiesi modernisation. Brief survey of the till date research, description of the simulation model and the results of experiments simulating swarming of the battalion-sized group of armed mobile platforms, defending territory from superior adversary unit, have been considered in the paper.

Application of Artificial Intelligent For Armour Vehicle Detection Using Digital Image Processing For Aerial Application

This paper will presents a new automatic target recognition (ATR) algorithm to detect targets such as battle tanks and armoured personal carriers especially that been used by Malaysia Armed Forces from air-to- ground scenario. Numerous friendly-fire incidents justify the need for identification of armour vehicle in both command control and weapon systems. Rapid and reliable identification of the targets at maximum surveillance is a challenging problem. In this paper work, the reliable method to segregate the potential target from the background scene such as Fourier Transform is applied before the extracted target will be process in order to get the detail of edges and boundaries using Hough Transform. The edges will provide sufficient information for the system to generate training data for Artificial Neural Network simulation to recognize the potential target image.

Обеспечение конвенциональной безопасности в Европе: прошлое, настоящее, будущее

The article discusses the issues of control over the size and the use for military purposes of five categories of conventional offensive weapons: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, 100 mm+ artillery, combat aircrafts and attack helicopters. These are subjects to the restrictions in Atlantic-Ural area in accordance with the Treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe (CFE) which is the key, though not the only one to date, international regulatory and legal instrument in this field.

A Meta Study of Transfer of Training

A Meta study of four empirical studies of simulator training was performed. The empirical studies were performed at a battle tank simulator, a combat vehicle simulator, an active sonar anti-submarine warfare simulator, and at a simulated command and control staff exercise of an international naval mine countermeasures mission. The combined number of participants in the Meta study made use of inferential and causal statistics possible. The results showed higher ratings of motivation/fun and effect on reality than fidelity. This suggests that a simulator can provide both motivating and valuable training even if it does not have very high fidelity. The casual analysis with LISREL provided a model showing that the feeling of involvement in the simulation influences the training in the simulator, which in turn has a positive influence on the transfer of training to real world performance. Since the analysis is based on amalgamated data from different studies with partly different conditions, site specific models may be different.

English

Present-day reliance on wheeled and tracked armour personnel carriers (APCs) and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), may be changed in the future. Shaped charge grenades and impovised explosive devices (IEDs)represent a considerable threat, even to well protected main battle tanks (MBTs). Paradoxically, the crew of wheeled and tracked troop-carrying vehicles is numerically three to four times larger than that of MBTs, however, their protection in all aspects is significantly lower. Therefore, heavier vehicles may get more attention in the future, where sharing the chassis and a number of components with MBTs could provide significant reductions in procurement costs and maintenance, as well as a simplified logistics in relation to the latest tracked. Obviously, the IFVs mobility of heavy vehicles would be lower than that of lighter vehicles. However, by applying various degrees of modular armour protection, a significant rise in strategic, operational, and tactical mobility could be achieved. Such heavy tracked vehicles, built on a common chassis as MBTs, may equip the future heavy brigades, which will be in contrast to the lighter wheeled vehicles included in rapid deployment brigades. As a result, tracked personnel carrying vehicles may extinct in the future. Defence Science Journal, 2010, 60(5), pp.483-490 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.60.550

The History of Tank Development in the United States

<span>American Tank development was driven by changes in doctrine and tactics over time. When the United States entered World War One, the Army was quick to incorporate armor into its ranks. As American armor developed, it was hampered by narrow visions of the purpose of armor on the battlefield. Armor was thought to only be useful in close infantry support and pursuit missions. During the interwar years the focus of development was on light and maneuverable tanks. It was not until World War Two that tank tactics matured. The war proved that armor was an essential part of any modern military. Tank on tank tactics were refined. With this came the need to destroy enemy tanks with one accurate shot. This became the focus of tank development toward the end of World War Two and has prevailed to this day. The war also drove the shift from producing many specialized tanks to producing a single multipurpose tank. Tanks became heavier and more powerful in an effort to design an invincible tank that could dominate the battlefield. The main battle tanks of today are a testament to the changes that the United States military has gone through since World War One.</span>

Development of a multipurpose, efficient and inexpensive bearing test rig

The basic objective of this research is to develop an inexpensive, multipurpose and efficient test rig for condition monitoring of rolling element bearings. The fundamental philosophy of measurement of lubricant film thickness for monitoring the condition of rolling element bearings has been exploited and transformed in the form of a test rig. The developed test rig is potent enough for performance evaluation and condition monitoring of rolling element bearings which is vital for its prolonged life and enhanced performance. A significantly correct prediction of life of bearing can also be made which in turn gives an idea about possible mode and time of failure. Certain machineries like aircraft, battle tanks, rocket launchers, ships, etc. need impeccable working of the system. Failure of such systems is not acceptable at any cost. In the heart of such system, bearings play a central and key role. Still there is no such standard mechanism available for ascertainment of performance and testing of rolling element bearings with high degree of reliability. In the continuing process of improvement and modification in the existing test rig, a simple, versatile, and inexpensive test rig has been developed and presented through this paper. Key words: Condition monitoring, low cost, lubricant film thickness, performance evaluation, rolling element bearing, test rig.

English

Tandem shaped charge warhead is one of the efficient methods to defeat the explosive reactive armour (ERA) protected main battle tanks (MBT). In this concept, two shaped charges mounted in the same missile are initiated one after the other with certain time delay. First shaped charge jet would remove the ERA and the second jet would penetrate the bare armour. Both these explosive charges are mounted close to each other most of the time due to severe space constraints in the system. It is necessary to protect the second charge from the blast effects of first charge, during the time delay between the initiations of two charges. Blast effect of precursor charge on main charge is understood to have detrimental effects on the performance of warhead system.This paper presents a case study of an investigation into the inconsistent performance of a tandem warhead for a third generation antitank missile. The warhead generated a crooked jet resulting in inconsistent penetration performance. Typical crater profiles were observed when the penetration performance deteriorated. Systematic analysis was carried out and simulations were performed using Autodyn-3D to reproduce the phenomenon. Experiments were conducted using Flash X-ray which substantiated the assumptions made for simulation studies. Defence Science Journal, 2010, 60(2), pp.164-168 , DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.60.335

一种基于Kalman滤波的环形模板匹配相关跟踪算法

The global searching method is adopted in the traditional correlation algorithms in target tracking system, resulting in the large amounts of calculation, the difficulty of real-time implementation and even the loss of the tracking target when the target is partially shaded or in sharp attitude variation. To solve the problems, an improved approach based on the loop correlation template matching and Kalman filter is proposed to realize target tracking. Kalman filter, to make the tracking more active, estimates the possible region of the target in the next frame at first,and finds the best matching points by the loop correlation matching in the aforementioned region while the loop-template matching overcomes the loss of the horizontal matching points caused by the sharp attitude variation. So the algorithm has strong robustness, and is of translation and rotation invariance. In the experiments, the proposed algorithm is applied to the tracking of a main battle tank partially shaded and a jet with Viktor Pugachev's Cobra . Compared with the traditional algorithms, the algorithm herein can steadily track the targets in less time without losing them.

고속 Multi-DSP를 이용한 전차 탑재 펄스 도플러 레이더 신호 처리기 개발

전차 탑재 레이더는 기상에 관계없이 전천후로 대전차 미사일을 탐지하는 능동 방호 장치의 필수적인 센서이다. 본 논문에서는 전차 탑재 미사일 경고 레이더를 소개하고, 주요 핵심 기술로 고속의 멀티 DSP를 이용한 신호 처리기를 설계 및 제작 결과를 제시하였다. 핵심 알고리즘으로는 어댑티브 CFAR, 가중 선형 근사 알고리즘, 소프트웨어 추적, 위협 분석 등을 구현하였으며, 시험 결과를 제시하였다. A missile warning radar is an essential sensor for active protection system to detect antitank missile in all weather environments. This paper introduces missile warning radar for main battle tank and presents the results of the design and implementation of the radar signal processor using high speed multi-DSP. The key algorithms include adaptive CF AR, weighted linear fitting algorithm, S/W tracking capability, and threat decision and present test result.

Military technologies of the world

From the introduction of gunpowder to the reigning era of nuclear weapons, military technological advances have been at the forefront of change. These changes in weaponry have influenced the outcome of many historical events and the downfall or success of major civilizations. All nations have sought to improve military technologies in the hope of gaining the upper hand in conflict. The developments in guns, cannon technology, warships, tanks, and airborne and space weapons, have been crucial in the ever-changing face of war. While it is inherent in human nature to seek better weapons for survival, the use of this weaponry will continue to make an impact on history. Through careful examination of the science and engineering of these weapons, persons can continue to venture into the field of military weaponry with an outlook towards the future. Through the many advancements made in military weaponry, our civilization is one that continues to change in the face of war. Technological advancements made in this area improve upon current war tactics and often are the basis behind military warfare. Technology has proven to transform history, lending itself to be one of the most powerful assets of the human race. Breakthroughs in military technology prove to be at the forefront of war and in many cases the result of war is directly connected through these advancements. In history, major civilizations have seen their rise or downfall through the elevation of weapon technology. Lee delves into the engineering and science behind major weapons such as: guns, cannons, fighter and stealth aircrafts, various types of missiles, attack helicopters, aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, main battle tanks and future weapons. He comprises the knowledge behind the weapons along with an understanding of how the weapons are used and applied to modern warfare. By showing how weapons have changed military warfare, he explains the human nature to seek better weapons for survival, protection, and domination of resources.

Influence of Abrams M1A1 Main Battle Tank Disturbance on Tallgrass Prairie Plant Community Structure

The Department of Defense's Range and Training Land Assessment program provides information and recommendations to range managers regarding the condition of training lands. This information is used to assist in scheduling training areas and in monitoring the effectiveness of rehabilitation projects. Fort Riley Military Installation is a major training reservation located in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas, within the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. A randomized complete block design composed of three treatments (M1A1 Abrams tank traffic during wet and dry soil conditions, and a nontrafficked control) with three replications was established in each of two soil types, a silty clay loam and a silt loam soil, on Fort Riley in 2003. Disturbance was created by driving the tank for five circuits in a figure-eight pattern during either during wet or dry soil conditions. Two additional experimental treatments were added during the study: five additional tank passes on one-half of each figure eight in 2004 and burning in 2006. Two areas, a curve and straightaway, within each traffic intensity (and later, burn treatment) subplot were designated for sampling. Aboveground biomass, species composition, and ground cover were measured during each growing season. Recovery of grass and total aboveground biomass in silty clay loam soil was delayed for curve areas and following disturbance in wet soil conditions, respectively. Species composition and ground cover continued to exhibit significant disturbance effects in 2007, with greatest damage observed for repeated traffic under wet soil conditions. Fire effects on vegetation were variable and generally greater for undisturbed control plots than for disturbed areas. The tallgrass prairie typically is considered to be among the most resilient of military training lands, but our research suggests that resiliency is dependent upon soil type and training conditions, and may require longer periods of recovery than previously thought.