Posted on 08/21/2015 5:20:56 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Discussing the tremendous combat potential for the new AU-220M 57 mm automatic gun, experts speaking for Russian Ministry of Defense television network Zvezda have described the new weapon as being one of the best initiatives to be implemented by the Russian military in over a decade.
The channel recalled that in Russia, the idea of large-caliber guns for use by armor and artillery first emerged at the very outset of the Great Patriotic War, with Soviet engineers demonstrating the potential of the then-unprecedented 57-mm anti-tank gun, the 52-P-271, in the difficult first months of the war, in 1941.
The revolutionary weapon was initially considered to be so powerful that engineers could not find a worthy target capable of withstanding the round's blow. A shot from the gun was enough to paralyze any existing German tank, and the gun was later successfully developed to be mounted on the chassis of the legendary T-34. The new modification, known as the T-34-57, took part in the battle of Moscow, and saw use in the Battle of Kursk, earning positive reviews. The artillery piece took especially well to German Tigers, with production resuming, after having being temporarily halted over the guns' 'excessive armor penetration ability'.
© PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA/MARKO M
The 57-mm anti-tank gun model 1941 (ZiS-2) developed and adopted in the opening days of the Great World War.
The channel recalled that "after the war, the legendary anti-tank guns were forgotten, but recently, the topic of a 57-mm cannon has become in mode once again. The development marks the return of a true legend."
Zvezda noted that the 57-mm AU-220M gun, "the recently presented wonder of the Central Research Institute Burevestnik, is nothing short of a modern version of the legendary caliber weapon. Maximally automated, versatile and easy to operate, mounted to a vehicular chassis, the new weapon is poised to come into service in the near future."
According to experts, the AU-220M contains "all the best of existing global artillery technology," with the unique module said to be "one of the best initiatives implemented by the Russian army in the past decade."
Engineer and Candidate in Technical Sciences Viktor Simonov told Zvezda that "the essence of the project lies in the fact that the module, mounted on a wheeled or tracked chassis, will be able to easily suppress and destroy the majority of light and medium-armored targets across all weather conditions."
Simonov explained that "it must be understood that the project to adapt a ship weapon to ground vehicles is a very laborious process, requiring many scientific studies, calculations, tests. And everything is aimed toward one goal: to provide armored vehicles with such firepower that, even if it will not allow them to fight on a par with fully-armored tanks, will, in any case, cause the enemy a maximum of trouble on the battlefield."
With a phenomenal rate of fire of 300 rounds per minute, and a guaranteed striking range of up to 12 kilometers, the AU-220M's 57 mm projectile is unlikely to cut through the 1 meter-thick front armor of an Abrams or a Leopard MBT, but even against the heaviest of armor, engineers bet on the hail of high-explosive projectiles knocking out optics, destroying aerials, smashing caterpillar tracks and jamming turrets.
New ammunition under development for the module include armor-piercing, high-explosive and even guided rounds.
Simonov noted that the new weapon is set to dramatically increase the fighting capacity of Russia's infantry fighting vehicles and armored transports. "If we take for example the 30-mm 2A42 or 2A72 guns, their effectiveness as the main gun on the same BMP [IFV] is several times lower than the same module, mounted on the same vehicle, but only with the 57-mm caliber. Here everything depends on fire characteristics –the rate of fire, and the munition."
The expert glibly explained that while "the 30 mm caliber is a good tool to treat, let's say, a headache, the 57 mm is a real antibiotic, capable of much more serious things. And less rounds are necessary. Three or four shots from this 'ship caliber' weapon would easily replace 20-30 shots from the 30-mm gun."
Experts note that the perspective vehicles to which the AU-220M can be adapted are virtually endless, from the BMP-2 and BMP-3 IFVs, to the BTR 7829 Boomerang and the Kurganets-25, based on the Armata universal combat platform.
Andrei Cherkasov, military engineer and graduate from the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School, noted that the new cannon will "not be limited to tracked vehicles. This is too promising a development not to be used to the full. I am convinced that the A-220M is not just an artillery module. It is more than that. Right now a lot of attention is being paid to universality –the ability to change the designation of gun modules, based on the nature of the task at hand.
This [gun] greatly simplifies the task of equipment selection by forces on the ground. The rotation of reserves will theoretically no longer be necessary after the successful introduction of these systems…And in conditions of combat this is an important time-saving measure."
Zvezda confidently asserted that the AU-220M is sure to serve as a real breakthrough in the development of Russian artillery systems. The channel noted that "the new module, traditionally pared with the traditionally reliable machine gun of the 7.62 mm caliber, has every chance to turn practically any armored vehicle into a real universal soldier, capable of single-handedly solving tasks previously thought unthinkable and impossible."
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150821/1026013318/military-armor-gun-russia.html#ixzz3jS3ln4J3
Just send in the warthogs and take them out.
Sounds big enough to make short work of Up Armored Humvees or Strykers - one burst on target.
In the first Iraq war, they had Russian tanks and were boasting about those these “desert” tanks were superior to the Abrams.
Then, the USA rolled in with GPS and one-shot all those wittle tanks while moving at the same time before the Iraq tanks could even get in range. It was amazing.
So if this thing has a good fire rate, okay. What about it’s tracking ability because the Abrams won’t be sitting still and it will be hitting you at a good range. This Russian tank seems better suited in urban situations.
The 57 mm gun is really meant for a tank. It seems to be a pretty upgrade option for infantry fighting vehicles or light tanks, at least on paper. Most Russian and Western IFVs currently carry much smaller caliber weapons (up to 35mm).
First, I'm sure that there are Freepers who can confirm this, but I don't think that the M1 has frontal armor a meter thick.
More important..... the article smells like BS. Picture if you will, Stalin in a bunker. It's 1941, and the Russians have their back against the wall. They're presented with a weapon that has 'excessive armor penetration ability' and can defeat all of the German tanks.
Stalin says, "Nope, this gun is much too powerful. We should use something else."
If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
Looks like they’re still making the mistake of putting the ammunition around the base of the turret so one good hit will blow the vehicle like an explosive bolt.
High rate of fire is good, and I guess needed by smaller caliber weapons. No doubt they could mess up tracks, optics, etc. But if your plan is to engage with lots of rounds... You need to be able to get lots of rounds forward to your combat units. That's a very active supply train full of volatile material - just the kind of thing "deep strike" is meant to take out. Just the kind of thing to be vulnerable to even a small munition fired from a drone. They may have some interesting capabilities, but in a war zone, moving tons of ammunition around in support is going to be problematic. Precision weapons reduce the logistics tail.
Funny thing about armor piercing rounds is they will pass thru lightly armored vehicles without doing much damage unless it hits a hard spot like the engine block.
They lost me early in the article. I have a passing familiarity with Soviet armor during the Second World War, but I’ve never heard of a T-34-57. The initial T-34 design deployed in combat had a 76 mm gun and is typically known as the T-34/76.
I don’t know of any Soviet tank destroyers or self-propelled guns which mounted a 57 mm gun.
Besides, if the gun is firing at 300 rounds / minute, how much ammunition can be carried? These are not small rounds.
Russian propaganda is frequently clumsy.
Beat me to it! Russian tanks have been constructed this way since WWII. The Iraqi tanks (T-72s if not mistaken) would just turn into roman candles when hit.
Thats great and all but one Hellfire 2 missile can destroy any known armor on earth.
A few more details here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57_mm_anti-tank_gun_M1943_(ZiS-2)#Self-propelled_mounts
Certainly, it turns out that there were a few T-34/57s produced, but not in a significant number.
The 57 mm gun was too small to take on the increasingly heavy German armor.
Sputniknews and Zvezda lie 100% of the time.
300 rds per minute?
I’m dubious.
Probably a 3 to 5 round burst. Otherwise they coudn’t carry enough ammo and would melt the barrel.
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