T-Rex
TypeProject MBT
Place of originUkraine
Production history
DesignerArey Engineering Group[1]
Specifications
Mass39 ton[2]
Length6.57 m
9.23 m gun forward[3]
Width3.56 m[3]
Height2.50 m[3]
Crew3[1]
Main
armament
125mm gun[2]
EngineDiesel

T-Rex (Ukrainian: Тірекс) was a Ukrainian main battle tank announced in 2016.

Development

The vehicle was announced in 2016[4] and was developed by the Arey Engineering Group,[1] an engineering group belonging to the Azov Battalion.[4] It was named after Tyrannosaurus rex.[4] Its main competitor was the Russian MBT T-14 Armata. Sergei Stepanov, the chief designer for Arey, claimed that the tank would have a "conceptually new system of fire control and a high level of personnel protection," along with "many features include high maneuverability, 360-degree vision, and a high-bandwidth counteraction analytics system."[1]

The vehicle would be based on the T-64[2] and hulls of T-64 and T-72, inherited by the thousands from the Soviet Union, would be reused in the production of the tanks.[1] The Azov Battalion estimated that up to 20 tanks could be upgraded every month.[4]

In 2020, Russian media claimed that development and production of the tank had ceased as the project was "technically unviable." These unverified reports cited stability problems and possible rupturing of the tank barrel when firing 125-mm shells.[5][6]

Design

The tank would be based on the T-64[2] and would feature an unmanned turret.[2] The three crew members would be seated in an armored capsule at the front of the hull, where they could remotely-control the cannon, the automatic loader and the machine guns[1] T-Rex would weigh 39 tons and be equipped with a 125mm main gun with "high-power projetiles". The armor would utilize both Nizh and Duplet (Ukrainian: Дуплет) explosive reactive armor.[2] The combat capability was said by the Ukrainian press to be exceeding those of the Ukrainian Oplot and Bulat,[1][2] while at the same time being more cost-effective than the Bulat.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kapnik, Olena (2017-01-18). "New Ukrainian main battle tank to give new life to old Soviet T-64 and T-72 tank hulls". Euromaidan Press. Translated by N., A. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Sovershit li Ukraina tankovuyu revolyutsiyu?" Совершит ли Украина танковую революцию? [Will Ukraine make a tank revolution?]. Naked Science (in Russian). 2016-05-02. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  3. 1 2 3 Zgurets, Sergey (2016). "Vremya «Tirexa»" Время «Тирекса» [T-Rex Time]. Defense Express (in Ukrainian). No. 3–4. Kyiv: Defense Express. pp. 16–27.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Shudrya, Albiy (2016-04-22). "Ukrainskiy tank "Tireks": khishchnik na bumage" Украинский танк "Тирекс": хищник на бумаге [Ukrainian tank "Tirex": a predator on paper]. BBC News (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2017-05-28. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  5. ↑ Murasheva, Ksenia (2020-05-10). "Proyekt ukrainskogo tanka «Tireks» nazvali «tekhnicheski nezhiznesposobnym»" Проект украинского танка «Тирекс» назвали «технически нежизнеспособным» [The project of the Ukrainian tank "Tirex" was called "technically unviable"]. ferra.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  6. ↑ Murasheva, Ksenia (2020-08-02). "Ukraina otkazalas' sozdavat' prevoskhodyashchiy «Armatu» tank" Украина отказалась создавать превосходящий «Армату» танк [Ukraine refused to create a superior "Armata" tank]. ferra.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
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