343
Received : 18 March 2017, Revised : 24 May 2017
Accepted : 26 May 2017, Online published : 03 July 2017
NomeNclature
A
shoe
Area of the track shoe in mm
2
b Track width in mm
D Draw bar pull in N
d Road wheel diameter in mm
e Projected area of track plate/bp in mm
2
G Penetration resistance gradient
l Nominal length of track on ground in mm
m Number of wheel stations per track
n Number of road wheels
p Track pitch in mm
RCI Rating cone index in N/mm
2
x
i
Distance between front idler to CG
x
f
Distance between sprocket to CG
W Gross vehicle weight in N
1. INtroDuctIoN
Main battle tank (MBT) Forms the backbone of the
mechanised forces for any conventional army. Traditionally
these platforms were designed keeping in mind the conventional
warfare philosophy or the iron triangle of repower, mobility
and protection. Such an iron triangle underwent minor changes
with the introduction of un-conventional warfare by non-state
actors post
1
9/11. Hence, the conventional design philosophy
based on contemporary threat scenario needs to be modied
or incorporated with fresh threats in order to extrapolate it as
a future combat scenario. One such future combat scenario is
as shown in Fig. 1. This threat scenario forms the baseline for
arriving at the conguration for the generation next main battle
tank (GNMBT). However, the dilemma facing designers of
such GNMBT is whether to arrive at a conguration which is
evolutionary or revolutionary in nature.
An evolutionary approach per se is an extension of an
existing platform with add-ons or technology upgrades so
that contemporary threats are addressed. Examples for such
an approach include Arjun (Mk-I and Mk-II), Challenger (1,2
and TES), M1 Abrahms (A1 and A2), Leopard 2 (A1 to A7+)
etc. On the other hand, the alternate approach includes arriving
at an altogether new conguration which not only addresses
the future threats but also truly revolutionary in conguration
and design.
A. Hafeezur Rahman
*
, Ameer Malik Shaik, J. Rajesh Kumar, V. Balaguru, and P. Sivakumar
Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, Chennai - 600 054, India
*
E-mail: hafeezurrahman.a@cvrde.drdo.in
The future combat scenario will undergo a sea change as compared to the conventional and un-conventional
warfare employed by the traditional armies and non-state actors. In such a scenario, the main battle tank which
serves as a game changer during these conicts has to face the dilemma whether its design should be either
evolutionary or revolutionary. To determine the basis of selecting the right type of design based on the above, the
broad parameters that dene the conguration namely number of crew, weight, armament system, survivability,
operating range, transportability, tactical mobility, trafcability, intelligence - surveillance - target acquisition -
reconnaissance (ISTAR), system modularity and theatre of operation have been considered. Taking these parameters
into account, this study evaluates both the evolutionary and revolutionary design congurations for a generation
next main battle tank. Finally, from the outcome of this study it is observed that the revolutionary design approach
not only fares better compared to the evolutionary approach, but also possess ease of adaptiveness as an universal
combat weapon platform.
: Future combat; Threat scenario; Configuration; Firepower; Survivability; Mobility; Modularity;
Adaptability
