Tank Of the FUTURE: Polish Obrum PL-01 ADVANCED STEALTH Main Battle Tank Concept [1080p]

Eurosatory-2016: MOST ADVANCED Land Warfare Systems Live Demo

World's Most Deadliest Main Battle Tank, Or, First Ever Series Produced Third Generation MBT

Russia will display its newest tank during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9 this year. 20 units of the world’s first series-produced third generation main battle tank, designated T-14 and based upon the new “Armata” universal chassis system, have recently been delivered to the Russian Armed Forces for training purposes.

By 2020, Uralvagonzavod (UVZ), the largest main battle tank manufacturer in the world, plans to produce 2,300 T-14 Armata models. According to media reports, large deliveries of the tank (around 500 per year) will start in 2017. In total, the Russian Land Forces are scheduled to receive a batch of 32 Armata main battle tanks this year.

The Russian military intends to replace 70 percent of its tank corps with the new tracked vehicle, replacing the older T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks – both of which were also produced by UVZ. The Russian military envisions the universal chassis system as a platform for as many as 13 different tracked vehicles, including a self-propelled artillery platform, an armored military engineering vehicle, and an armored personal carrier.

What are the tank’s technical specifications? According to the Foreign Military Studies Office (FSMO) based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas:

The tank’s main armament is the 2A82 125-mm smoothbore cannon, capable of firing high-powered munitions,including armor-piercing discarding sabot, guided missile, shaped-charge, and other types of munitions. The T-14 is equipped with the Chelyabinsk A-85-3A X-diesel engine capable of producing up to 1500 hp. It also has a tank information control system (TICS) that monitors all assemblies and components, diagnoses malfunctions, and controls onboard systems.

The muzzle energy of the 2A82 123-mm smoothbore cannon is greater than that of the German Leopard-2 Rheinmetall 120 mm gun, according to media reports. The tank also boasts fully automated ammunition loading and completely computerized targeting systems.

The FSMO report continues:

The T-14 tank will be equipped with an adjustable suspension capable of adapting to varying relief, terrain type, and vehicle speed, resulting in increased speed while moving in columns, as well as over rugged terrain. The suspension system will also alleviate crew fatigue, while assisting the fire control system to deliver accurate fire while on the move.

The article also notes that, “[u]nlike previous Soviet/Russian vehicles, crew safety (survivability) and comfort appear to be a concern. The crew is in an armored capsule that is somewhat roomy compared to other Soviet/Russian tanks.”

According to RT, “the tank’s turret will also carry a 30 mm sub-caliber ranging gun to deal with various targets, including low-flying aerial targets, such as attack planes and helicopters. A 12.5 mm turret-mounted heavy machine gun is reportedly capable of taking out incoming projectiles, such as anti-tank missiles. It’s capable of neutralizing shells approaching at speeds of up to 3,000 meters per second.”

What makes Russia’s new main battle tank so special?

First, the active defense system deserves special attention. It is an individual anti-missile and anti-projectile tank defense system, supposedly capable of intercepting any type of anti-tank ammunition.

“It defends the vehicle from strikes, including those from the air. Thus, even the most modern Apache helicopter will not have a 100 percent chance of destroying a T-14 with its missiles. Active defense is situated along the entire perimeter of the turret at various levels, which ensures complete protection of the tank’s most important elements,” according to the FSMO report.

Second, the location of the crew is also quite unique for a Russian tank (as is the vehicles unmanned remotely controlled turret):

The crew of three men is located in an armored capsule in the forward portion of the hull. According to the specialists, the forward projection has multilayered, combined armor protection which can withstand a direct hit of any type of rounds which exist today, [including] sub-caliber and cumulative rounds.

The German weekly Der Stern notes about the T-14 Armata:

An absolutely new main battle tank is certainly not something most of the world’s exiting armies can boast about. The German Leopard-2 tank was developed 35 years ago, just like the American M1 Abrams. The existing versions of the western tanks feature many improvements, but the basic characteristics do not differ much from the original. The Armata is the first genuinely new [tank] construction since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Foreign Military Studies Office further underlines:

In order to appreciate the real design and technological breakthrough of the Russian tank builders, a rather recent, but classified story should be remembered. It turned out that it is more difficult to design and manufacture a truly new tank than a new aircraft. Fifth-generation fighters are already flying, but only second-generation tanks are in the inventories throughout the entire world. So the Armata will become the first series-produced third-generation tank (although there are those who will dare to list it as fifth generation).

Of course, all of these reports have to be taken with a grain of salt, and until the tank has been thoroughly examined in action, we will know very little about its genuine capabilities.

Source: Internet

Ukraine Begins Artillery Withdrawal From Front-Lines

Ukrainian troops have towed artillery away from the front-line in the war-ravaged east, in a step that seems to augur well for a ceasefire agreement signed with Russia-backed rebels.

The military on Thursday showed reporters seven or eight guns being towed away from the front at the village of Paraskoviyvka north of the government stronghold of Artemivsk.

Earlier, Reuters journalists saw a larger convoy of 30-40 vehicles also towing guns away from the front on a highway.

However, the Ukrainian defence ministry said in a statement carried by Associated Press news agency that it reserved the right to revise its withdrawal plans in the event of attack by rebel forces, who control large swaths of the east bordering Russia.

Ukraine 'preparing' nation for a long war
"Today Ukraine has begun the withdrawal of 100-millimetre guns from the line of confrontation," the military said, saying the step would be monitored by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

A team of about 600 OSCE personnel is overseeing the implementation of the deal signed between Russia and Ukraine and brokered by France and Germany.

The intensity of fighting has declined notably in recent days, although the warring sides have continued to trade accusations of violations in the ceasefire that came into force on February 15.

The move was Kiev's most direct step to acknowledge that the ceasefire was finally holding a week after losing the strategic town of Debaltseve to rebels.

Rebels have been pulling back heavy weapons for two days, but Ukraine had until now held back from implementing the withdrawal, arguing that fighting had not yet ceased.

Since capturing Debaltseve, rebels have taken pains to emphasise that they now intend to abide by the peace deal to end the conflict that the UN says has claimed more than 5,000 lives since April last year.

The Ukrainian army reported no combat fatalities at the front for a second straight day on Thursday, the first time no troops have been killed since long before the truce was meant to take effect.

New sanctions

The withdrawal of artillery is "point two" of the peace agreement reached in the Belarus capital Minsk, so beginning it amounts to an acknowledgement that "point one" - the ceasefire itself - is being observed.

Western countries denounced the rebels and their presumed sponsor, Russian President Vladimir Putin, for advancing on Debaltseve despite the truce.

But they have since held out hope that the ceasefire will now hold, with the rebels having achieved that objective.

In the days after its troops were driven from Debaltseve, Ukraine maintained that it believed the rebels were reinforcing for another advance, particularly expressing fear for the city of Mariupol, a port city of 500,000 people.

Western countries have threatened to impose new economic sanctions on Moscow if the rebels advance further into territory the Kremlin calls "New Russia".
Russia, which denies aiding its sympathisers in Ukraine, said on Thursday the threats of more sanctions were cover for Western efforts to undermine the truce.

Snowden: “Prism isn’t just metadata, it is about content” NSA: “If you are not connected to a terrorist target you are of no interest for us”

Appearing by telepresence robot, Edward Snowden speaks at TED2014 about surveillance and Internet freedom. The right to data privacy, he suggests, is not a partisan issue, but requires a fundamental rethink of the role of the internet in our lives — and the laws that protect it. “Your rights matter,” he says, “because you never know when you’re going to need them.” A system administrator at the US National Security Agency (NSA) until 2013, Snowden leaked thousands of classified NSA documents, sparking a global conversation about citizens’ rights to privacy on the Internet. He spoke with Chris Anderson on a recent TED interview.

Few days later, following Edward Snowden’s interview, NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett answers Anderson’s questions about the balance between security and protecting privacy. Ledgett is the deputy director of the agency, acting as the agency’s chief operating officer, responsible for guiding and directing studies, operations and policy.

Ledgett claims that Snowden has placed national security assets and human lives at risk, by disclosing capabilities to adversaries of the USA. The need for surveillance is ubiquitous and protected by law, Ledgett said, “we are on the same network” Ledgett said, “I am using the same email network that is the No 1 email service of choice for terrorists”. 

 

He justified the large scale surveillance operations the NSA is conducting, including the ‘Bullrun’ saying – “everyone does it” about surveillance by metadata, he said” metadata is the information that lets you find connections that others are trying to hide”. he added that the alternative to that will be gigantic content collection that will be more invasive to privacy. “If you are not connected to those valid intelligence targets you are of no interest for us”.