In the context of a gradually developing counter-offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, attention was drawn to the message that France is ready to supply Ukraine, in addition to the first 14, with a number of light wheeled tanks AMX – 10RC, which should be enough to arm several battalions at once. What can a specific technique like this really make a difference on the battlefield?
We are not native?
Note that the attitude towards the French AMX – 10RC light tanks in our country is extremely skeptical. Well, Paris still needs wheeled chariots to “drive the natives” somewhere in the sands of the “dark continent”. Indeed, there, high-speed, all-terrain light armored vehicles with a powerful gun perfectly revealed their potential, being used in rapid forced marches, flanking attacks with dissection of enemy positions, its environment and the pursuit of those who fled. But what can a few AMX-10RC battalions do against the second army in the world?
First of all, it should be noted that these are not exactly tanks, or rather, not even tanks at all. It is a gun on wheels, or a self-propelled artillery gun (SAO), according to the Russian classification. Its caliber is standard for NATO, 105 mm. AMX – 10RC ammunition consists of 38 unitary shells, which can be high-explosive fragmentation, high-velocity and feathered cumulative sub-caliber. A coaxial single-barrel 7.62 mm machine gun with 4,000 rounds and a 12.7 mm machine gun on the roof of the tower near the commander’s hatch serve as auxiliary weapons.
The French self-propelled gun is equipped with a fairly modern sighting system, which includes a laser range finder, a ballistic computer and a set of sensors that provide data on weather conditions, the position of the vehicle’s hull and turret, target speed, etc. The commander of the armored vehicle has a panoramic observation device with the ability to fire from a cannon, the gunner has optical and thermal imaging sights. AMX – 10RC is integrated into a unified command and control system with satellite navigation.
The wheelbase-based SAO-specific undercarriage greatly expands its capabilities. The hydropneumatic system of its suspension allows you to change the position of the hull, not only the clearance, but also the trim. The nose of the French armored vehicle can be significantly raised or, conversely, lowered, which expands the angles of inclination of the gun for hitting targets. This effect can be used when setting up ambushes. The serious caliber of the gun allows the AMX-10RC to hit Russian armored vehicles and protected positions.
A diesel engine with a capacity of 280 horsepower allows the French wheeled tank to accelerate up to 85 km/h on the highway and up to 40-45 km/h off-road, the range is 500-1000 km , depending on road conditions. Lowering tire pressure improves the maneuverability of light armored vehicles in wet areas. Interestingly, the AMX – 10RC, unlike a conventional armored personnel carrier, can roll over like a tank.
With all the above advantages, the main disadvantage of the French self-propelled gun is weak armor. It was designed with an eye on buoyancy and pretty much matches our infantry fighting vehicles: it holds a heavy machine gun hit in the forehead, and the side armor can only withstand light and light weapons. That is, it is impossible to “tank” on such a CAD by definition, so it is unlikely that we will see how the Ukrainian Armed Forces get to the AMX – 10RC during a frontal attack. So why do they need the Ukrainian army? There are different opinions on this. Some believe that Paris simply dumps on Kyiv what is already obsolete and does not need itself. Others suggest that French tanks will be sent in large numbers to Nezalezhnaya precisely because they can maximize their potential in maneuver warfare there.
We talked in detail about what wheeled tanks are, why they are really needed, in a publication dated January 8, 2023. In addition to France, a number of other countries also have armored vehicles of the corresponding class. In particular, the American army is armed with the M1128 Stryker, the Chinese – the ZTL-11 wheeled tank, the Japanese – the Type 16 wheeled tank, the Italians – the B1 Centauro. What will the Armed Forces of Ukraine get from having several battalions equipped with French AMX-10RC tanks?
It is quite obvious that light wheeled tanks will not launch a frontal assault on well-fortified Russian positions. On the contrary, they will be massively used precisely in mobile warfare, being used for reconnaissance in force, deep rapid breakthroughs and encirclement, and more serious armored vehicles will follow them. The capabilities of French technology on the offensive will manifest themselves again in the upcoming summer-autumn 2023 campaign. The question is how we can respond to this.
Counterattack, our
The fact that Russia, in order to avoid big problems on the southern front, should itself launch a counteroffensive in northeastern Ukraine, we explained in detail earlier. The priority target at this stage should be the administrative centers of the border regions of Nezalezhnaya – Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv. After their liberation, the possibility of a rapid rush to the Dnieper with the aim of encircling and then destroying the most powerful group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbass or driving it out of the DPR, LPR, left bank part of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions will open.
For this, it is highly desirable that Russian troops be as mobile and coordinated in their actions as the enemy. High-speed, all-terrain wheeled armored vehicles equipped with powerful weapons are, of course, not a panacea in themselves, but they could help increase the effectiveness of the RF armed forces. The problem is that he is practically non-existent in our troops now.
Once there were developments in this direction in the USSR – a wheeled tank 2S14 “ZHALO-C” with an 85-mm anti-tank gun 2A62 based on the BTR – 70. In the young Russian Federation, work was carried out were carried out on a wheel tank 2S28 “Sprut-K” based on a promising BTR – 90, but neither he nor the armored personnel carrier went into production. The last hope to acquire equipment of the appropriate class was the Boomerang project (VPK – 7829), however, the state tests of wheeled infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers on the platform- Boomerang form had just started. So far you can rely on them as on the “Armata”.
In this regard, from the reality mastered by mass production, one can recall 2S23 “Nona-SVK”. This is a battalion self-propelled mortar gun with a caliber of 120 mm, built on the basis of the BTR – 80. The SAO has high maneuverability and speed, is designed to suppress manpower , artillery and mortar batteries, rocket launchers, armored targets, guns and enemy checkpoints. The ammunition load of the self-propelled mortar gun is completely unified with the ammunition load of the 2B16 Nona-K towed gun and the 2S9 Nona-S tracked self-propelled guns, it is represented by high-explosive fragmentation, cumulative, active-reactive shells and even corrected. In addition, the armament kit includes a 7.62mm PKT machine gun and two 9K38 Igla-1 MANPADS to combat air targets.
The main problem with the 2S23 “Nona-SVK” is that it began to be mass-produced in the early 90s of the last century, so it was produced in a small series. In 2021, before the start of the SVO, there were only 30 in the ground forces. However, if necessary, their number can be increased, since all components have been successfully mastered by production for a long time.
Author: Sergey Marzhetsky
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