T-62M MBT

Main Battle Tank - Russia

The T-62M is an upgraded version of the standard Russian-made main battle tank T-62. The T-62M main battle tank was adopted in service by the Russian armed forces in 1983. The T-62M is fitted with the Sheksna (US designation AT-12 Swinger) laser beam-riding missile system, passive armour protection, a V-55U engine, and the R-173 communications system.

T-62M MBT variants:

- T-62 (1972): with 12.7 mm DShKM anti-aircraft machine gun mount over loader's position and some other detailed improvements.
- T-62 (1975): This was the final production model and was fitted with the KTD-1 laser range-finder over the 115 mm U-5TS (2A20) gun mantlet to increase first round hit probability.
- T-62D: T-62 fitted with the Drozd anti-tank missile defence system, passive armour protection, a V-55U engine and the R-173 communications system. Details of this first-generation Drozd system, now called Drozd-1 are given in the T-54/T-55 MBT entry.
- T-62D1: T-62 fitted with the Drozd anti-tank missile defence system, passive armour protection, a V-46-5M engine and the R-173 communications system.
- T-62M1: T-62 upgrade with the Sheksna (US designation AT-10) laser beam-riding missile system, passive armour protection, a V-46-5M engine and the R-173 communications system
- T-62M1-1: T-62 upgrade without the Sheksna guided missile system, the passive armour protection, the V-46-5M engine and the R-173 communications system
- T-62M1-2-1: T-62M1 upgrade without the Sheksna guided missile system, passive armour protection in turret and belly only, and with the V-46-5M engine and the R-173 communications system
- T-62MV: T-62 upgrade with the Sheksna (US designation AT-10) laser-guided missile system, explosive reactive armour system, a V-55U engine and the R-173 communications system
- T-62MV: T-62 upgrade with the Sheksna (US designation AT-10) laser-guided missile system, explosive reactive armour system, a V-55U engine and the R-173 communications system.
- T-62MV-1: T-62 upgrade with the Sheksna (US designation AT-10) laser-guided missile system, explosive reactive armour protection, a V-46-5M engine and the R-173 communications system.
- T-62K: Command version of T-62 with TNA-3 land navigation system. This appeared in 1973 and consists of six components: a gyroscopic compass, one or two compass indicators, a latitude correction device, an odometer, a power converter and a calculator.
- T-62 flame-thrower: A flame-thrower version of the T-62 is in service under the designation of TO-62. This has a flame gun mounted coaxially with the 115 mm gun with an effective range of 100 m.
- T-62 with Giat 120mm smoothbore gun: In mid-1986, Giat proposed the replacement of the Russian T-62's 115 mm U-5TS (2A20) smoothbore gun with the Giat 120 mm smoothbore gun. In this conversion, the original elevation and traverse mechanism is retained and the existing 115 mm gun is replaced by the 120 mm smoothbore gun with loading from the right instead of the left, and the existing recoil system also being modified. This remains at the concept stage.
- T-62 with armour package: Improved armour protection by the installation of two different configurations of passive armour and one configuration of explosive reactive armour. Special paint and screens make it more difficult to detect in the visible, near and far-infrared bands.
- T-62M ARV: recovery vehicle. The modifications included the removal of the three-person turret which was replaced by the fixed upper half of a T-55 or T-55A tank turret which for this role had the 100 mm weapon removed and the turret facing the rear.

Armament

The main armament of the T-62 MBT is a U-5TS (2A20) 115 mm smoothbore two-axis stabilised gun fitted with a bore evacuator, with a maximum rate of fire of 4 rds/min when at a standstill. The gun is fully stabilised in both horizontal and vertical planes. A 7.62 mm PKT machine gun mounted coaxially to the right of the main armament has a practical rate of fire of 200 to 250 rds/min and is fed by a belt containing 250 rounds. A 12.7mm DShKM machine gun can be mounted on the commander hatch. A bank of eight Type 902B 81 mm smoke grenade launchers is mounted on the right side of the turret and these are operated by the gunner. The gun is able to fire the AT-12 9K116-1 Sheksna missile. The 9K116 Sheksna guided weapon system includes the 115 mm 3UBK10M-2 round with the 9M117M laser-guided missile, the IK13 tracker with built-in missile guidance laser channel and the 9S831 voltage converter. The missile has four wrap round fins at the rear and two control surfaces at the front. It has a 0.8 hit probability at 4,000 m with a flight time of 13.5 seconds. Maximum armour penetration is approximately 650 mm with an effective engagement envelope of 100 to 5,000 m. Maximum flight endurance is between 26 and 41 seconds, after which the missile self-destructs.

Design and protection

The hull of the T-62M is divided into three compartments, the driver's at the front, fighting in the centre and the engine and transmission at the rear. The driver is seated at the front of the vehicle on the left side and is provided with a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the left. The turret is mounted on the centre of the hull, with the commander and gunner seated on the left and the loader on the right. Both are provided with a single-piece hatch cover that opens to the rear and can be locked vertically. The turret and the bottom of the hull have additional armour protection. The additional passive armour fitted to the glacis plate and around the forward part of the turret is essentially steel with an additional layer of phenopolyurethane inside. Additional armour is fitted under the forward part of the hull and a steel frame is provided between the floor and roof of the driver's compartment to help absorb the shock of a mine exploding under the vehicle.

The T-62M is fitted with additional passive armour mounted at the front of the turret

Mobility

The T-62M is powered by a V-55U diesel engine which has an integral supercharger and develops 620 hp. To improve cross-country mobility, the T-62M is fitted with new torsion bars for increased road travel have been fitted. The torsion bar suspension consists of five dual rubber-tyred roadwheels with the drive sprocket at the rear and the idler at the front. A hydraulic shock absorber is provided at the first and last roadwheel stations. The T-62M is equipped with tracks from the Russian-made T-72 main battle tank. Mounted at the rear of the hull is an unditching beam and two diesel drum fuel tanks can be installed at the rear to increase operational range. The T-62M can run at a maximum road speed of 50 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 450 km.

Accessories

The T-62M onboard systems and fire controls have been improved only by replacing those elements necessary to support the launching of the missile. Key parts are the 1K13-1 combined sight and control element, converter, control panel and electronic distribution panel. The Volna fire-control system includes the KDT-2 laser range-finder mounted over the main armament, which has a maximum range of 4,000 m, TShSM-41U sight, Meteor M1 stabiliser and the BV62 ballistic computer. The T-62M can ford a maximum depth of 1.4 m without preparation. It can also ford deep water of 5 m maximum when fitted with a snorkel. The snorkel is fixed at the rear of the turret when it is not used. The T-62M has a PAZ nuclear collective protection system which consists of a radiation detector/actuator (RBZ-1m), five separate explosive squib mechanisms and a blower/dust separator. An infrared searchlight is mounted on the right side of the main armament.