This would make a fun design-a-tank competition.

Another lithium SSK joins the east-asian arms race:

https://www.janes.com/article/85421/south-korea-completes-preliminary-design-for-second-batch-of-kss-iii-submarines

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South Korea completes preliminary design for second batch of KSS-III submarines

South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has completed the preliminary design phase for the second batch of KSS-III (also written as KSS-3) diesel-electric submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN), the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 26 December.

The shipbuilder began working on the boat’s design in July 2016, and is expected to begin building the first of these submarines, which are expected to feature enhanced capabilities for underwater operations, in the second half of 2019, said DAPA.

The new submarines are set to be equipped with locally developed lithium batteries, which store considerably more energy than lead-acid batteries, as well as with advanced sonar and weapon systems designed to enhance the boats’ target detection capabilities and overall survivability.

With the japanese launching one this year, I'm sure it won't be long before china gets one in the water (wouldn't be surprised if lithium batteries were fitted to that weird sub with a tiny sail that showed up recently). The battery chemistry would suggest an order of magnitude increase in submerged range is possible, and given that batteries can be refilled underway I expect to see lithium based subs (SSL's?) replace AIP systems quickly. Not having to store strong oxidisers on board the submarine is another plus, those things have a long history of being lethal to the wrong side.

Wouldn't you still need something stout to confine the propellant while it's burning?

34 minutes ago, Mighty_Zuk said:

 

• My proposal for an autocannon to be mounted coaxially to the main gun (horizontally but not vertically aligned), is only one layer of a solution to APS. This is supposed to be the lowest tier defense, for ranges from point blank to the maximum range at which a burst of medium caliber munitions can accurately hit a turret sized target and reliably neutralize an APS. Higher tiers are HE-MP shells from the main gun, going up to ATGMs either from the MBTs or from IFVs with an ABM-like effect, and at the top just good old shelling of tank units with artillery munitions to generally just soften them up.  

Ooh, good point - at longer ranges getting a HE-MP shell and a fin shot on the same target at similar times would be easier

Get a very low velocity MP-HE round, for easier multiple rounds simultaneous impact

Hell, stick an 80mm mortar in the turret roof to fire guided airbursting HE. Top attack (so not all APS will see it coming), and it can be used for other mortar things too

7 hours ago, Jeeps_Guns_Tanks said:

 

 

One advantage the Sherman has is that tranny, dif, and final drivers are not connected directly to the motor, so anything that fits and makes around 500 HP would work, but for it to work well, it needs to be making full torque and HP at no more than 2500 RPM and the lower the RPM the better. 

That'd be easy to fix with a pair of gears between the engine and transmission, if you wanted to run the thing off a high speed engine. Just a transfer case like the M7

Nothing much new, but it does show the EO sensor on a stick quite well

48 minutes ago, Mighty_Zuk said:

So what happened to Tal's rule of thumb that 7cm of diesel equals 1cm of RHA? (i.e factor of 7:1, not 3:1).

 

 

That's thickness efficiency, not mass efficiency, but a TE of 1/7 is still a mass efficiency of 1.4 (given the density of diesel is ~1/10th steel)

Spare parts would be a very significant cost if you actually wanted to use them, probably worth replacing the engine, transmission and tracks

Is it as much of an issue with contra rotating rotors? There'll be no resultant torque applied, as each stalled rotor will roll you in an opposite direction to the other stalled rotor*

* Assuming both rotors stall at the same time

7 hours ago, Toimisto said:

@SH_MM I am pretty sure that the perforated plates of Leo2 side skirts are not made of metal, as evident in this picture: https://i.imgur.com/NcBlFnT.jpg The sideskirts in question are from a FDF Leo2A6.

How so? that looks like rust to me

A 40mm plate on a T-72 hull is a significant upgrade, that's >4" LoS

Krakatoa is erupting, and may have caused a tsunami

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'Volcano tsunami' hits Indonesia after Krakatoa eruption

At least 20 people have been killed and 165 injured after a tsunami hit the coast around Indonesia's Sunda Strait, government officials say.

The country's disaster management agency says two people are missing, and dozens of buildings were damaged.

It says the possible cause of the tsunami were undersea landslides after the Krakatoa volcano erupted.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-46663158

That's an odd vessel - 4.2 MW driving 10k tons is out of the ordinary for ships. I wonder why they decided on a drifting platform, vs a normal research ship? It's not as if russia cannot build icebreakers

1 hour ago, Willy Brandt said:

https://esut.de/2018/12/meldungen/land/9408/armata-und-kurganetz-nicht-in-serie/

ESUT reports that neither Kurganetz or Armata will hit serial production.
Their source is a british Defence Magazin but they dont give the name.
And the British Defence Magazine is quoting the Vice Defence Minister Yuri Borisov.
Does anybody know the magazine or has a second source?

There was some discussion of this in the armata thread a few months ago

32 minutes ago, Renegade334 said:

 

Yeah, no wonder I missed it, I don't have a SM subscription to read their articles. Thanks, though.

 

So the scheme is this:

- Griffin 1: 120mm

- Griffin 2: 105mm

- Griffin 3: 50mm

 

Wonder if they'll bother building that Griffin 1 or if it'll be relegated to being an optional upgrade to the Griffin 2.

Following that trend with a polynomial trendline, the Griffin 4 is due to have a -45mm main armament

WoWS is pretty fun

https://www.janes.com/article/85132/brazil-transfers-m41c-light-tanks-to-uruguayan-army

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Brazil transfers M41C light tanks to Uruguayan Army

The Brazilian Army completed the transfer of 25 M41C light tanks to its Uruguayan counterpart in Rivera, Uruguay, on 7 December, according to sources from both nations' armies.

Of the 25 vehicles, 15 were completely refurbished by Brazil while the remaining 10 will be used for parts. Those that will remain intact will be assigned to armoured infantry units, which currently use M24 light tanks. While the M41Cs are also legacy vehicles, they will enhance the capabilities of the Uruguayan Infantry.

CHAFFEE IS ETERNAL

Peresvet in service, apparently:

http://tass.com/defense/1034344

Quote

Peresvet combat lasers enter duty with Russia’s armed forces

Russian military personnel operating those systems underwent special training at the Mozhaysky Military Space Academy

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russian-made combat lasers, Peresvet, have started to enter duty with the Russian armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"Peresvet laser systems, based on new physical principles, entered combat service in testing regime with the Russian armed forces," the paper said. "The armed forces started receiving them in 2017 as part of the state procurement program."

1 hour ago, David Moyes said:

1. I'm glad they got rid of the manually operated .50 on top
2. The ladder stowage position isn't ideal if they're planning to fit the usual proper side armour
3. Is that an EO sight on a stick I see, behind the RWS?
4. The UGV in berlin camo is a nice touch

Turns out that pausing the T31e competition wasn't a complete waste of time, as we've had another candidate throw their hat into the ring. I didn't know atlas did full ship design

https://navaltoday.com/2018/12/10/three-shipbuilding-consortia-get-funds-for-their-type-31e-frigate-plans/

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Three shipbuilding consortia get funds for their Type 31e frigate plans

Three shipbuilding teams have received funds from the UK to continue developing their plans for the construction of Type 31e frigates.

On December 10, 2018, the country’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) awarded three contracts for the Competitive Design Phase.

The contracts have been awarded to consortia led by BAE Systems, Babcock and Atlas Elektronik UK and are valued at up to £5 million each, according to Stuart Andrew, UK’s Defense Minister.

Meteor missile deployed on ops with typhoon:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/typhoons-launch-with-new-missile

3 hours ago, Lord_James said:

The guns not shortened either? That L55 is gonna be a pain in a real street fight. 

That'd be a whole new level of effort - you'd need to design the shortened gun, test it, work out ballistic data for all natures of ammunition, and reprogram the FCS.

Wot, no remote weapons station?

This is how not to do it:

https://ascienceenthusiast.com/hawaiian-monk-seals-are-snorting-eels-and-nobody-nose-why/

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Hawaiian monk seals are snorting eels and nobody nose why