Experts from the KNDS military company argued during the Eurosatory Fair that in the case of the tank of the future the cannon in which it will be armed would be decisive. The EMBT ADT 140 prototype tank shown at the exhibition has a calibre weapon as much as 140 mm, while these presently utilized are equipped with 120 or 125 mm cannons.
KNDS was founded 9 years ago by a merger of 2 leading defence companies in Europe: the German armored giant KMW (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann), a maker of Leopard 2 tanks, and the largest French defence company – Nexter, which produces Leclerc tanks and Caesar artillery systems. 1 of the first R & D projects to be undertaken by KNDS engineers was “the tank of the future”. Reason? Prosaic – both the German and French armies face the possible of acquiring in the 3rd decade of the 21st century machines that will replace the 3rd generation tanks – German Leopards 2 and French Leclerks.
The largest on the market
On this year's Paris Eurosators, i.e. the world's largest exhibition event of the defence industry, KNDS presented a prototype – or alternatively a technology demonstrators – of a tank of the future called EMBT ADT 140, or Enhanced Main conflict Tank ASCALON Demonstrator Turret 140. Its constructors stressed that this device is simply a combination of good solutions, including chassis with technologies that will require a battlefield in the future.
KNDS engineers utilized a somewhat modified chassis from Leopard 2A7. The construction had to be redesigned, due to the fact that due to the usage of the ADT 140 unmanned tank, there had to be area for 2 of its operators.
What attracted the attention of the visitors to the fair and what was an absolute novelty of the French-German tank was the cannon in which the ADT 140 tower was armed. The cannon called ASCALON (Autoloaded and Scalable Outperforming Gun) has a calibre of 140 mm, which is much larger than the tank guns presently utilized – 120 mm (Leopards 2, Abrams, Challengery 2, K2) or 125 mm (Russian and Chinese structures). KNDS representatives stressed at the fair that the velocity of 140 missiles fired from ADT is so advanced that there is presently no tank in the planet whose armor could not be shot.
Importantly, as only 22 140 mm rounds of ADT 140 will be included on board EMBT, the crew is expected to usage a coaxial 20 mm caliber game or a remotely controlled 30 mm RCWS system.
However, the first precedence for EMBT developers was not only the power of fire. The tank was equipped with advanced systems for active protection against drones, circulating ammunition and enemy anti-tank missiles. Six radars and directional charges were installed in the armor for this purpose.
KNDS invites you to cooperate
The authorities of KNDS stress that the EMBT tank plan is open to another countries and their defence companies. The talks on this issue were held with the governments of respective European countries, and a fewer months ago Egypt confirmed that it was besides considering joining the programme.
EMBT ADT 140 is presently a technology demonstrators, and its polygon tests, including cannon shooting of 140 mm, are planned in the coming months.
