Uralvagonzavod from Russia to launch new production line of guns for T-14 and T-90MS tanks TASS 12711161

Defence & Security Industry News - Uralvagonzavod
 
Uralvagonzavod from Russia to launch new production line of guns for T-14 and T-90MS tanks.
The Uralvagonzavod (Russian acronym: UVZ) scientific-research corporation will launch an automatized manufacturing line to produce newest high-precision guns for T-14 Armata and T-90MS main battle tanks (MBT), as well as for 2S25 Sprut-SDM air-droppable self-propelled anti-tank gun (SPATG) systems, the Izvestia newspaper said.
     
     
High-precision engineering tools allows rapid and precise drilling, rifling, and chrome coating of the bores, providing unique characteristics to the items. The manufacturing line will be integrated with the only enterprise in the country that produces tank guns, namely, Yekaterinburg-based Plant 19. The modified line will produce a new series of 2A46M-5 guns for T-72B3, T-90MS MBTs and Sprut-SDM SPATGs and 2A82-1M for T-14 Armata tanks. The delivery of the first guns to the Ministry of Defense (MoD) is scheduled for 2017. The accuracy of the guns will increase by 15-20%, while the scattering of shots during the firing from place and on the move will be reduced by 1.7 times. The new gun are unofficially named 'sniper' due to their high precision that does not come short of small firearms.

A representative of the UVZ corporation officially told the Izvestia newspaper that the preparation for the installation of the hardware is ongoing. The modernization of the provision welding fabrication and the beginning of the low-rate initial production of the barrels are planned to be finished next year. All works will be finished within three years, and the manufacturing line will reach its rated capacity. "The whole technological process at the new facility - from components production and boring to final check-out of end products - will be an automatized one. In particular, the engine lathes, routers, and drilling machines have been replaced by a digital multifunctional center. Modern welding outfits will be used to increase the quality of welding and reducing its time. High-precision plasma burners and laser cutters will be exploited to produce details from panel material.

The Editor of the Arsenal Otechestva magazine, Viktor Murahovskiy told the Izvestia newspaper that the manufacturing of tank guns is one of the most sophisticated technological operations, considering the length of modern barrels.
     
     
"Each micron is important here. The other technological operations related to the further production of a tank gun and its mount with breech end depend on the precision of the processing accuracy. All these [processes] increase the precision and vitality of gun. The less scattering of shot is, the less it requires to conduct a calibration of gun," Murakhovsky said.

The analyst pointed out that the T-90MS tank is armed with a new 2A46M-5 gun that exceeds not only Russian-originated 2A46 guns of previous generations, but also 120 mm tank gun of NATO countries produced by the Rheinmetall AG corporation in the areas of precision and firepower.

The 2A46M-5 tank gun has a barrel length of 6 m. The barrel has an elevation angle of +15° and a depression angle of -5°. The gun has a firing rate of up to eight rounds per minute. It should be noted that 2A46M-5 can fire 40 types of rounds, including the armour-piercing subcaliber rounds and Refleks-M guided missiles, Izvestia said.

The 2A82-1M gun for T-14 Armata tank is supposed to be the most powerful serially produced tank gun. The new has much in common with 2A46M. According to Izvestia, 2A82-1M features advanced firing rate, muzzle velocity, and barrel service life.