T-17

The T-17 is a Stasnovan fourth-generation Main Battle Tank that has recently entered service with the Stasnovan Revolutionary Army and was developed and produced by Tormavkovo Mozhaev Military Design Bureau for Stasnovan Armed Forces, and was designed to be a more advanced and overall better alternative to the T-94 Kulak. The T-17 is part of the Titan Universal Combat Platform of the Stasnovan Armed Forces, that includes (apart from the T-17), the BMPT-15 Medved, the 2S81 Basilisk SPG, and is also planned to include a heavy MLRS, an Engineers Combat Cehicle, and some other variants.

Development
The development of the T-17 started when the need of a pure fourth-generation main battle tank appeared. Many nations had begun developing fourth-generation MBTs, and so the Stavka tasked the two major Stasnovan tank companies, Skadovskagonzavod and The Tormavkovo Mozhaev Military Design Bureau. The Tormavkovo Mozhaev Military Design Bureau, decided to make a revolutionary, new tank design, with a n unmanned turret, and with the crew operating from the hull. The T-17 is has recently entered service with the Stasnovan Armed Forces.

Unmanned Turrent design
The T-17 has a unique layout, because of its unmanned turrent design. The three-man crew (driver, commander, gunner) is located and operates from a heavily armored "capsule" comartment in front of the turret, which has three hatches for each crew member. The driver, who also has the role of the mechanic, can access the inner workings of the unmanned turret from an internal hatch, to carry out repairs, reload the secondary armament etc. The unmanned turret gives the T-17 a smaller silhouette, thus making it harder to detect, and also significantly increases crew survivability.

Armament
The T-17's main armament is the 4A15-M 125 mm high-velocity smoothbore tank gun. It can be replaced without dismantling the inner turret and is capable of firing armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT-FS) and high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) ammunition, as well as the next-gen, Stasnovan 2M014M Rapira-A anti-tank guided missiles, that has fire-and-froget capability and is capable of top and regural attack. The 4A15-M can also fire other 125 mm ATGMs.

The 4A15-M on the T-17 is fed by an automatic loader. The autoloader can carry 25 ready-to-fire rounds (with 12 additional in the hull) and can load a round in 6 seconds. Additionally the T-17 features a fuse setting system which allows the tank to detonate HE-FRAG rounds at a specific distance from the tank as determined by the gunners laser rangefinder, improving its performance against helicopters and infantry. The gun also features an electro-thermal chemical propellant, that increases the muzzle velocity. Accurate firing range HE-Frag-FS 11.5 km, APFSDS 6 km.

As for secondary armament, the T-17 has a KORD 12.7mm (12.7x108) remotely controlled anti-aircraft Heavy machine gun is fitted on a remote-controlled weapon station that can be operated from within the tank by the commander and has a range of 2 km and a cyclic rate of fire of 650–750 rounds/min with 800 rounds available. Additionally, the T-17 also has a 2B30 30mm autocannon, to engage soft targets and low flying aircraft. The 2B30 is capable of firing armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS), high explosive incendiary (HEI), high explosive fragmentation tracer round (HE-T) armour piercing (AP) and depleted uranium (DU) rounds and has en effective range of 3,100 metres. The gunner can select to rates of fire, low (200 to 300 rds/min) and high (550 to 800 rds/min).

Electronics
The tank is equipped with the 26,5–40 GHz AESA radar "KORA" that has a range of 100 km, which is mainly used by the Active Protection System. Up to 40 airborne or 25 ground targets with up to 0.3 m.sq. RCS can be tracked simultaneously.

The T-17 is equipped with an advanced fire-control system (that features integrated combat information and control systems), the USUO/UBT-104, linked to the KORA ASEA radar, along with a traditional laser range-finder and crosswind sensor. The system is capable of a "lock-on" mode, which can acquire and track specific targets up to a range of 10 km using thermal optics, and it transmits it to the fire computer, that aims the gun. This allows the crew to fire accurately while moving as well as effectively engage low-flying aircraft. The system also has a fried/foe identification system, capable of identifying friendly units in a very short time.

The FCS is also linked to an advanced gun stabilizer and trigger-delay mechanism to optimise accuracy while moving in uneven terrain. Should the trigger on the main gun be pulled at the moment the tank encounters an irregularity in the terrain, oscillation of the gun barrel will cause temporary misalignment between a laser emitter at the top of the barrel and a sensor at the base. This will delay the FCS from activating until the beam is re-aligned, improving the chances of hitting the intended.

Both the commander and gunner feature they’re own periscopic systems that can toggle between normal, Forward looking infrared (FLIR), ultraviolet and thermal vision, and also includes a laser range finder, a laser designator and missile guidance channel. The periscopes can rotate a full 360 degress, and make use of high definition digital cameras. Apart from that, there are also several smaller cameras with similar capabilitys placed around the vehicles to cover all angles, increasing situational awareness.

The commander of the tank has the ability to override the command to take control of the turret and gun from the gunner. Moreover, unconfirmed reports state that, in the event of an emergency, the vehicle can be operated by only two, or even a single, crew member. It is speculated that the FCS can automatically spot and track visible targets, compare them using the data link established with other friendly vehicles to prevent redundant target engagements, and fire its main gun without manual input.

The T-17 also has significantly improved networking capabilities over older Stasnovan desings. The T-17 makes use of the ZEVS-117 Intergrated Battlefield/Battlespace Management System, the utillises an extensive and highly-advanced communication technologies, to transmit and receive information from any active Stasnovan battlenets. This enables quick and easy coordination and communication with other vehicles, to maximise combat effectiveness. The ZEVS-117 is linked to the navigation system of the tank. It uses satellite and continuously updated radar information to create a real time map of the battlefield. The tank is able to give target designation for the artillery and serve in air defence and reconnaissance functions. The T-17 uses highly protected communication channels which connect a group of T-17s and the command post.

Mobility
The main propulsion is the Arkhanovo Tractor Factory 12N50 multifuel engine. Different versions of the T-17 are planned to be powered by either more powerful or less powerful engines, depending on the variant. The 12N50 attain a top speed of 90 km/h on the road and up to 60 km/h on rough terrain. The tank is also fitted with an air conditioning system for work in high temperature zones.

The T-17 also features an integrated high-resolution terrain-scanning system to the vehicle's suspension system. This is purported to allow the vehicle to "plan ahead" by scanning nearby terrain up to 50 meters away in all directions and calculate the optimal position of the bogies in order to improve vehicle handling over uneven terrain.

Protection
The T-17, like the T-94, is fitted with a "three-tiered" protection system.

The first tier is the 77S-sv-Sh composite armour, the "standard" version used with MBTs. 77S-sv-Sh is 4th generation composite armour, making use of nano-ceramics, Tungsten-carbide and modern steel alloy technologies, the SVTS low-alloy steel in particular. The SVTS armor, despite its relatively low weight when compared to other similar armor designs, does not lose its qualities and can be operated at Arctic temperatures. The 77S-sv-Sh was desinged to havelight weight and the modularity, that allows for quick and simple repairs, thus, reducing upkeep. The T-17's armor layout features perforated armor, which allows weight reduction of more than 20 percent while maintaining its performance. The composite armour as a whole results in a lower weight and improved protection when compared with steel-only armour.

The second tier is the advanced, two-layered Zashchita-5 ERA (explosive reactive armor) which significantly degrades the penetrating power of kinetic-energy APFSDS ammunition and tandem warheads. ERA bricks are also located on the turret roof and provide protection from top-attack weapons. The sides of the tank also have built-in ERA, to reduce the damage taken on the sides of the tank. Slat armor can also be mounted on the rear of the hull.

The third tier is a Stena-5 Soft-Kill and the Paladin Hard-Kill active protection systems. The former is an upgrade of the older, original Stena system. The Stena-5 includes two electro-optical/IR "dazzlers" on the front of the turret, four Laser warning receivers, two aerosol grenade discharging systems and a computerized control system. The Stena warns the tank's crew when the tank has been 'painted' by a weapon-guidance laser and allows the crew to slew the turret to face the threat. The infrared jammer, jams the semiautomatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) guidance system of some anti-tank guided missiles. The aerosol grenades are automatically launched after Stena detects that it has been painted. The aerosol grenades are used to mask the tank from laser rangefinders and designators as well as the optics of other weapons systems. The Stena is a soft-kill system, designed to passively defeat anti-tank missiles by jamming their guidance systems.

The T-17 also features and Paladin hard-kill APS, designed to detect, track and intercept incoming anti-tank munitions, both hypersonic kinetic energy penetrators and tandem-charges. Currently, the maximum speed of the interceptable target is 1,700 m/s, with projected future increases of up to 3,000 m/s. According to the news sources it protects the tank from all sides. The system consists of three steerable cartridges with 12 charges each (two on each side of the turret, and another one in the rear), and a turret-top VLS with two more similar cartridges.

In addition to the passive and active protection systems the T-17 is also fitted with nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) protection equipment, KMT mine sweeps and an automatic fire fighting system. The EMT-7 electromagnetic-counter mine system can also be installed on the T-17. EMT-7 emits an electromagnetic pulse to disable magnetic mines and disrupt electronics before the tank reaches them. The Tryuk signature reduction suite is also available for the T-17. Tryuk is designed to reduce the probabilities of an object to be detected by Infrared, Thermal, Radar-Thermal, and Radar bands. The tank is also fitted with opto-electronic screening system, electromagnetic protection system and quick-action fighting equipment. Unlike other tanks in Stasnovan service, including the T-94, the T-17 has its ammunition stored in a new armored turret bustle rather than a crew compartment in order to avoid risks of explosion.

Variants

 * Object 178 – Prototype version.
 * T-17A – Standard production variant in service with the Stasnovan Revolutionary Army.
 * T-17S - Proposed export variant. Not yet offered for export.

Operators

 * Stasnov : The Stasnovan Armed Forces have placed an order for around 800 T-17As in 2015. The first batch of 30 tanks was delivered in early 2015 for active duty testing. An additional 70 are believed to have been delivered, though this is unconfirmed.