#NO BLOWOUT PANELS FOR CREW SAFETY (vine boom)

[gremlins-hotel]

Who was gonna tell me the Challenger II’s field armor package makes that thing nearly 80 tons? 80 tons??? Britain what are you doing 😭 the Challenger II is already the heaviest & most underpowered NATO tank without all that. 1,200 horsepower for 80 TONS?? That’s 15 hp/ton. I mean that’s not…that’s not pitiful, but your contemporaries are pushing 23.2/t (M1A2) and 24-26.9/t (Leopard 2A5). Please babe, I’m begging. Be better. Even the Z-mobiles are beating you brother: 23/t (T-72B +), ~24.7/t (T-80U/BV), 21.3/t (T-90M). This is ignoring other ground vehicle types such as IFVs, surface-to-air missile defense, etc. that we have also seen fielded.

(((One should strive for a power/weight ratio of 18-20 hp per ton. Ideal is 20+. Most NATO tanks come in at 60+ tons with engines running 1,500 horsepower to the sprockets. This is a good place to be for mobility’s sake; get to positions faster, leave positions faster, being mobile when in potentially target-rich environments. Cold War Soviet & modern Russian Federation tanks tend to be a lot smaller than NATO counterparts (often in the 45-60 ton range) and, though their engines are smaller (1,000-1,250 horsepower), they are just mobile relative to weight.)))

In other news, Ukrainian armored forces are being incredibly resilient and resourceful in attaching their own homemade ERA (reactive armor; against chemical & kinetic threats) to their freshly delivered Leopards. I’m assuming they’re doing it to their Challengers as well, but I haven’t seen the pictures like I have for the Leos. Leo 2A4 with added on ERA:

In other, other news, the Kremlin is pulling T-54s and T-55s out of mothballs and reserves to be sent to the Ukrainian front. Guys, these are tanks that started service in 1948. If you’re too lazy to do math, these are 75-year-old heaps that probably haven’t seen the touch of a mechanic in two decades despite the T-54 technically still being in-service.

Bonus pics just because they look goofy: M1A2 vs T-72 & T-55 vs. Challenger II