The Best That Never Was 2 (Prototypes)

[Homer]

Not sure if it was ever live fire tested, but the AUSA Greenbook circa 1983-4 had a picture of an 880 pickup with a twin hellfire mounted in the back reportedly being used as a surrogate by the “high tech test bed”. It’s been a minute, but I think the article was pretty heavily focused on the DIV 86 structures, especially the light and motorized divisions and the divisional aviation brigades.

That’s about the time were on the cusp of fielding tactical UAVs (Aquila), bringing in no-shine combat boots, and getting rid of the Dragon…

That may have been the same issue/year with the CAWS as a developmental weapons system, the M247 DIVAD test battery being fielded, and the add for the Ares 75mm automatic cannon mounted on the AAI high survivability test vehicle-lightweight- “In the time it takes to read this sentence, the ares 75mm cannon has put five rounds on target”.

[Raellus]

From the Technicals thread.

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[Homer]

Similar type vehicle. I think the picture I saw was taken out west, it was a little drier.

Lots of weird stuff got tested in that period.

[Raellus]

Please forgive me if this one's been posted before.

The Object 287 Taifun was a tank-destroyer (?) based on the T-64 chassis. It had a super-low-profile turret with two low-pressure 73mm guns on either side of a pop-up ATGM launcher.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taifun_9M15

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[Vespers War]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Please forgive me if this one's been posted before.

The Object 287 Taifun was a tank-destroyer (?) based on the T-64 chassis. It had a super-low-profile turret with two low-pressure 73mm guns on either side of a pop-up ATGM launcher.

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I don't think it's shown up in this thread previously, but it was the last vehicle I statted out in my Soviet Missile Tanks thread.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Vespers War

I don't think it's shown up in this thread previously, but it was the last vehicle I statted out in my Soviet Missile Tanks thread.

Thanks, VW.

Here's a strange one- probably too late for the Twilight War, but not outside the realm of possibility. In the 1990s, perhaps taking a page from Israel's Merkava MBT, the Ukrainians experimented with a heavy IFV based on the T-72. The BMT-72 featured a stretched hull (see image below) to accommodate a five-man troop compartment between the turret (from the T-80, with reduced ammo capacity) and the engine block. Entrance and egress is affected via a trio of roof hatches (see image).

Information is sparse. The following link is the most comprehensive source I've managed to find.

https://en.topwar.ru/142484-tyazhela...2-ukraina.html

I'm not surprised that this design didn't enter production. A five-person infantry squad is underpowered, and exiting the vehicle under fire from roof hatches makes the dismounting under fire extremely hazardous.

The Ukrainians also experimented with a version based on their T-84 MBT, the BTMP-84 (2001). The concept and design was similar to the BMT-72, but the engine was offset from center to allow the five troops to dismount via a door in the rear of the tank (like the Merkava). This, no doubt, would have improved survivability for the dismounted infantry, but the project, offered for export, attracted no customers.

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[Vespers War]

There was also a Heavy APC program, the BMP-55. It converted a T-55 to an APC with a 3 person crew and 10 infantry passengers. They swapped the machine end for end so the engine would be at the front and the old front could be fitted with doors to avoid the ingress/egress issues of the BMT-72. They also swapped out the original engine for a 5TDF from a T-64. Armament was an RWS with a 12.7mm machine gun with the potential to mount a pair of ATGMs.

As an effort to find some use for obsolete T-54/55 hulls, it made sense. Unfortunately, it was proposed during the Peace Dividend era, and was probably relatively expensive given the extensive conversion being performed.

Additionally, 2005 saw the BMPV-64 prototype built. Shockingly, it was a T-64 conversion. 3 crew and up to 12 passengers, again swapped end-for-end to clear the rear for a clamshell door. The RWS for this one had a 30mm autocannon and a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun. Defenses were augmented with Nozh ERA and Zaslon active defense systems. Again, no sales were made.