Babylonian Empire

Page 300

Chapter 339 T-72's hometown

When the Soviet Union was just established, it was just an agricultural country with a poor foundation. Under the leadership of the leaders and the hard work of the first generation of Bolsheviks, the Soviet Union became an industrialized country after the first five-year plan. After decades, the industrial level of the Soviet Union has reached a very high level.

Various advanced fighter jets, intercontinental ballistic missiles, small tanks and armored vehicles, and even ordinary off-road vehicles all reflect the strong industrial research and development capabilities of the Soviet Union. The weapons equipped by the Soviet Union are characterized by rough skin and thick flesh, which are very durable The backwardness of electronic equipment, which has been criticized by people, is also caused by the Soviet Union's basic thinking mistakes.

In order to prevent a nuclear war that will come at any time, in order to still be able to fight after the nuclear weapon explodes, one thing must be considered when developing all the weapons of the Soviet Union: it can withstand the strong electromagnetic radiation of the nuclear explosion!

In this kind of electromagnetic radiation, all chips are slag, and will be completely destroyed in an instant, not even the strongest explosion-proof chips. Only electronic tubes can survive the strong electromagnetic radiation of nuclear explosions safely.

The Soviet industry has always been on the road of miniaturization of electronic tubes, which is a dead end.Although the Soviet Union also had a semiconductor industry and small-scale integrated circuits, they loved electron tubes.

Due to the weakness of electronic research and development, it is reflected in the T-72 that the fire control system is backward and the night vision equipment is poor. However, at present, the T-72 is still a powerful weapon.

The production of T-72 has gone through a difficult process.

In the Soviet Union, there were many design bureaus that developed tanks. The most famous one was the Morozov Design Bureau that designed the advanced T-64 tank. In the late 64s, the T-60 tank was equipped with the world's largest tank Artillery: 125mm smoothbore gun!In this era, most of the tank guns are around 100 mm. This kind of artillery has inherent advantages, and it is easy to destroy the opponent's tank.

The T-64 tank permeates all the hard work of the chief designer Alexander-A-Molozov. He has worked in the tank design bureau for 50 years, 36 of which served as the chief engineer, and almost dedicated his life to the development of Soviet tanks. Career, so, after his death, in view of the outstanding contribution of the former chief engineer in tank development, in 1979, Kharkov Machinery Manufacturing Design Bureau was named Morozov Design Bureau.

Compared with the brilliance of the Morozov Design Bureau, other design bureaus can only work in its shadow, which also arouses the fighting spirit of others, especially the advanced tank like T-64, which is reliable but very bad.

For example, Kartsev, the chief designer of the Nizhny Tagil Design Bureau, has been improving the T-62 tank and carrying out the so-called Project 167. The focus is on reliability. Although Project 167 has been successful, it is impossible for the Soviet Union to equip it again A tank that is only a little more advanced than the T-62. At this time, the Armored Forces Directorate issued an important task to Kartsev: to develop a simplified T-64 tank with reliable performance.

Although the T-64 tank is advanced, there are always various problems, and they have been overwhelmed. Therefore, the Nizhny Tagil Design Bureau has obtained a project code-named Project 172.In fact, it is to replace the T-64 main battle tank with a B-45 engine and a more reliable automatic loader.

However, after Kartsev fully understood the design of the T-64, he realized that many technologies of the T-64 were quite immature.Many advanced designs are the source of the low reliability of the T-64 main battle tank. Even if the reliability of components can be effectively improved, the overall reliability of the system may not be ideal.

Kartsev then decided to develop a brand-new tank based on the "Project 167" he designed, combined with some technologies that had been tested and proved mature on the "Project 172", and the project code was "Project 172M".Kartsev played a trick, added an M, and developed a completely irrelevant tank. He successfully obtained funding, spent them all, and successfully built a good tank. tank.The new tank has good comprehensive performance and high reliability. This is the T-72 tank!

The T-64 cannot be exported due to its advanced technology, while the cheap T-72 was equipped with the Soviet Red Army in large quantities, and the simplified version was also exported in large quantities. This time the export to Iraq also included a production line, which confirmed this tank. success.

Of course, if Kartsev knew that some aspects of his tank were not liked by the young man from the Middle East. After the introduction of the production line, this guy would have to improve. I am afraid that Kartsev's mood today will not be That's great.

In Zhang Feng's eyes, the biggest flaw of the T-72 is the fire control system, but he will solve this problem very well. He successfully modified the 69 tank last time, which made Armored Ali envious. Germany introduced this fire control system, and with a little improvement to adapt to the ballistic curve of this 125mm artillery, this criticism can be eliminated.

And the other one is the armor. Although the main armor of the T-72 is a composite armor inherited from the T-64, the grade is obviously lower. In later generations, it can be seen that there are always some "bricks" outside. It is equipped with reactive armor, which is basically not seen in contemporary Western tanks. This is because the main armor of the T-72 is not enough to deal with the main threat, so it has to be used as a last resort.

Now the main armor of the T-72 is imported first, and at the same time, we are also looking for better armor in the Western world. Although the armor of various countries is kept secret, if we can spend a lot of money to poach some talents from the other side, then, also Great results will be achieved, such as the Royal Academy of Armored Corps in the UK.

Kartsev didn't know what the guy in front of him was thinking, and at the subsequent reception in Moscow, the atmosphere on both sides was very harmonious.

Goromyko first greatly exaggerated the friendship between the Soviet Union and Iraq, and praised Iraq's victory in the Iran-Iraq War and its contribution to the peace and stability of the Arab world. Hour.

Then, finally moved to the main topic.

"In our battle with the Iranians, your country's T-72 tanks have played a very important role. They can completely defeat the Iranian chief's tanks. In the Middle East, this kind of tank can completely dominate the crowd." Zhang Feng sighed.

Hearing the praise for the tank, the wrinkles on Kartsev's face stretched out, and he said, "Yes, our design bureau is the best in the Soviet Union, and the tanks we produce are top-notch in the world."

Blow it, you just, Zhang Feng really wants to fast-forward a few years, let him see how the T-72 was defeated in the later wars, against the American M1, the German Leopard 2, and the British challenger , are not sure of victory.Therefore, he has to improve.

But now, it is not a problem for this kind of tank to abuse Iran and Israel.

"So, we are here this time to discuss the details of the introduction of the production line." Zhang Feng said.

When it came to the topic, Nikolai Shestopalov, deputy director of the General Administration of Engineering of the Soviet Ministry of Defense, who was always by the side, said: "Comrade Gorbachev, secretary of zhōngyāng, has already transferred all the agreements in your country to the In our bureau, except for the main armor and tank gun of the T-72 tank, which are directly imported from our finished products, the rest will be produced and assembled in your country, and we will export a production line to your country."

The Soviet Union is responsible for exporting weapons, which is the General Administration of Engineering of the Ministry of National Defense. They are already very familiar with these things.

"At that time, we only signed an agreement, and we haven't discussed the specific model yet." Zhang Feng said.

specific model?Nikolai can’t understand it, so what specific model can there be, it is the model that is currently exported, and a sealed T-183 production line is dismantled from the 62 factory (the two are very similar, the original T-72 The production line of [-] was also transformed in this way.) Exported to Iraq, it can be improved.

"It's mainly the engine." Zhang Feng said: "The B-72 engine originally used by tanks like the T-46 is not very suitable for the climate in the Middle East. You must know that in summer, the weather in the Middle East is extremely hot, causing the engine power The drop was pretty steep."

Having said that, Kartsev has vaguely guessed something. How does this Mr. Qusay know so much?

Any weapon has adaptability. Although Soviet weapons are very adaptable, the main consideration is the harsh northern environment. In an environment of minus [-] to [-] degrees Celsius, Soviet tanks can be successfully started at one time.However, it is different in the hot Middle East. The temperature of the engine will rise, and the power will also drop.

Therefore, the T-72 tank in Iraq sometimes shows insufficient power. However, this 700-plus-horsepower engine drives a [-]-ton body, and the gap is not very obvious. Your Excellency Qusay Want something nice?

"Our tank uses the B-46 engine. It is more durable, takes a long time to overhaul, and has mature technology..." Nikolai has rich experience in this field, and immediately began to talk endlessly.

Adelina's translation was very simple. After Nikolai talked for a long time, she only translated it into: "Nonsense."

"It's just that it doesn't have enough power." Zhang Feng said after listening to Adelina's translation, "I know that your country has a better engine, which is exactly the same size as the B-46 and can be plugged into the T-72 engine. Moreover, its power is enough to drive the T-72 tank at a cross-country speed of more than 40 kilometers per hour in the hot climate of the Middle East."

Listening to each other's words, Kartsev and Nikolai's faces became a little surprised. Why is this guy from the Middle East so familiar with Soviet equipment?

What he was talking about, wouldn't it be the gas turbine newly developed by the Soviet Union, which took decades to finally be practical? (In later generations, there are only two types of gas turbines in the world, the American M1 and the Soviet T-80U. This kind of thing is quite fuel-intensive).

That thing must never be exported.

"What kind of engine are you talking about?" Kartsev began to pretend to be confused.

"Of course it's a 6TD engine." Zhang Feng said.

3 Chapter 1000 The [-]-horsepower engine

The 6TD engine is a 1974-cylinder 1979-horsepower tank engine developed by the Kharkov Engine Design Bureau of the Soviet Union in five years from 6 to 1000.This is a two-stroke, water-cooled, horizontal cylinder and opposed piston diesel engine that uses turbocharging technology. It is improved from the 55TD diesel engine used on the T-5 tank. (Another commonly used type is the V-shaped cylinder layout.) In 79, the T-6A tank equipped with a 64TD engine successfully passed the test. The experiment proved that its maneuverability has been greatly improved.In October of that year, the 10TD engine was recommended for mass production.Since the 6TD engine and the 6TDF engine have quite a lot of similarities in design, it is relatively easy to establish a 5TD engine mass production line, which is very suitable in terms of technology and cost. Therefore, within a few years, all Soviet T-6 tanks will be upgraded. For 64TD engine.

However, since the T-72 is a low-end tank, there is no plan to use this engine for the T-72.

However, Zhang Feng is very interested in this kind of engine, because after being improved, this kind of engine can easily reach a power of 1200 horsepower, which is the standard power of the main battle tanks of later generations.

Using this kind of engine to drive the T-72 tank is a bit overkill, but Zhang Feng knows that if the T-72 tank is in his hands, it must be modified, the weight will increase, and the maneuverability will decrease. It will be very important. Although there are many advanced tank engines in this era, such as the German MTU, the engines of Western countries are too expensive and very delicate. The old Maozi's engine is more powerful.

Moreover, when Iraq develops its own next-generation main battle tanks, it will not be stuck in terms of power. After the production line of this tank engine is introduced together, it will definitely be very cost-effective for itself.

Therefore, we must be firm in this negotiation, because this is a relatively advanced motivation for Lao Maozi. Will Lao Maozi sell it?

The only good thing is that this kind of thing is not the main armor and tank gun that need to be kept secret, so there is still a lot of room for negotiation.

"Your Excellency Qusay, this kind of engine is immature. We have just tested it out and are currently testing it." Nikolai began to be sloppy.

"Really?" Zhang Feng said, "Can I visit your country's armored forces? I really want to see what the engine looks like in the belly of the T-64 tank."

Foreign Minister Goromyko saw it and knew that this time it was a slip of the tongue. He knew everything, so how could he fool him.

Goromiko said: "Your Excellency Qusay, this engine must still be very immature. We have always supported the friendly Iraq. However, this tank engine must still have not been approved by the General Administration of Engineering Export qualifications, so, I'm very sorry..."

"Then we can wait until when we can obtain the export qualification, and then introduce together." Zhang Feng said.

As soon as he said this, it was equivalent to saying that the contract this time might be delayed, which made several Soviet people present very dissatisfied.

The Soviet Union has always had the final say on its own export of weapons. This time it is considered a very generous treatment for Iraq. I did not expect that the other party would make such endless conditions. If it were not for Secretary Gorbachev himself He told me, and he is a popular person next to General Secretary Andropov, so they will not be so polite.

In the current high level of the Soviet Union, they are also very concerned about their background. Everyone wants to get Gorbachev's nepotism. Gorbachev visited Iraq last time and brought back a large order. This is a very remarkable achievement. , even the general secretary likes it very much, if it is messed up in their hands, it will be difficult to handle.