Posted on 05/24/2019 7:07:37 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
© Ladislav Karpov/TASS
MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. The Russian engineering company Tecmash and the state hi-tech corporation Rostec are considering replacing 30mm guns with 57mm weapons in Russian armored vehicles’ munitions systems. Russia’s Defense Ministry is also studying this possibility, Tecmash Deputy CEO Alexander Kochkin told TASS on Tuesday.
"We are carrying out an assessment together with Rostec State Corporation and the customer represented by the Defense Ministry is conducting the relevant work," Kochkin said, replying to a question about the possibility for Russian armored vehicles to switch to the 57mm caliber.
Today the 30mm caliber is the basic diameter of guns for Russia’s light-and medium-armored vehicles. The switchover by Russia’s entire armor to the new caliber depends on available financial resources.
"The caliber change will require huge expenses on the upgrade of the operational armament and military hardware," Kochkin explained. That is why, Rostec enterprises are working in this area "on their own initiative," he added.
Several weapon systems with the new caliber were on display at the Army-2018 defense exhibition in Kubinka near Moscow last year. In particular, Russia featured the Derivatsiya-PVO air defense artillery system based on the chassis of the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle and the promising T-15 heavy infantry fighting vehicle based on the Armata platform and armed with the Kinzhal combat module containing the 57mm gun and anti-tank missiles.
Alexander Potapov, CEO of the defense manufacturer, Uralvagonzavod, (part of Rostec) said at the recent Milex-2019 arms show that the company had intended to study various options of using 57mm guns for the Air Force, the Army and the Navy.
The Burevestnik Central Research Institute within Uralvagonzavod is engaged in developing the Derivatsiya-PVO anti-aircraft artillery system and the AU-220M ‘Baikail’ 57mm combat module.
More: http://tass.com/defense/1059222
I dont think I would use that camo pattern in that environment.
Yeah. Gotta be somewhere where there’s enough room to shoot it. :)
Just guessing but most attack helicopters have ~30mm cannon. The 57mm may be intended to expand the anti-helicopter air defense envelope.
Another possibility is that if it can elevate near vertically, the heavier caliber may be useful in urban canyons for taking out rooftop defenders by blasting through walls at acute angles and penetrating multiple levels of poured concrete floor/ceiling.
I don’t know if this is the same as their 57mm “Derivation” program, but one of the benefits that has been mentioned is that a gun is a more cost-effective means of shooting down drones—as mentioned in lurk’s post, than using missiles such as the Pantsir in Syria.
Just an observation... That gun mount looks like it could elevate to almost 90-degrees. Are they trying to develop some kind of dual-purpose, tracked light-artillery system on the backs of an IFV system? Not sure what benefit that would give them. 57-mm would be pretty anemic in terms of explosive potential.
I was thinking the same, but as their is not radar emitter-receiver on the vehicle it appears that you’d have to fire at that helicopter optically.
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