Neither U.S., nor Russia, have come up with the latest breakthrough in tank technology. Nope, Poland is the country set to unveil the first ever invisible tank next year. #automagic
Poland already has the fourth largest fleet of tanks in NATO – 892 units – after the United States, Turkey and Greece. So why not increase their numbers with a new tank model, the PL-01 Anders? The new military unit is being developed by OBRUM and Britain’s BAE Systems. It’s said to be the first fifth-generation “stealth” tank, a machine invisible to radar and infrared detection.
To achieve that, OBRUM has covered the tank with a special material that can absorb radio waves. The tank features hexagonal wafers that can be manipulated to camouflage the tank in a certain environment. Plus, the exhaust from its 940 bhp engine is cooled to lower its infrared signature, becoming invisible to the system.
But the military isn’t depending exclusively on the cloaking system. They intend to equip the tank with a 105 mm or 120 mm gun fed by an autoloader with a rate of fire of six rounds a minute. This will fire conventional anti-tank rounds and anti-tank guided missiles. There’s also an unmanned turret that can be changed depending on the mission.
The PL-01 Anders should reach speeds up to 70 km/h (on road) with a three-man crew on board: commander, gunner and driver.
Poland intends to keep investing in its military force in the next couple of years. Military spending should increase by 3-7% annually until 2020.
Follow TechTheLead on Google News to get the news first.
