Preliminary Design of a Dual-Purpose Round for a New Main Battle Tank Armament System

摘要

The selection of 152mm for the caliber for this weapon maximizes the chances for marrying this system to the Pentomic system in order to obtain the capability of firing a guided anti-tank missile. A 152mm round could be developed that provides the very desirable dual capability for defeating tanks and soft targets. This round would be lighter and shorter than that estimated for the 140mm round by BRL. The shell will be slightly heavier requiring about a 6 percent increase in muzzle energy. However, the gun length will be less and the center of gravity of the gun will be more favorably located. There will be a slight decrease in the ballistic co-efficient. An improvement in the state of the art of spin compensation will be required in order to obtain the equivalent penetration predicted for the 140mm Shell. However, the necessary improvement is expected in the very near future. A rifling twist of 1 turn in 40 calibers will be required for the design shown. Some decrease in this twist may be possible by refining the design. The achievement of the required accuracy is not expected to be a problem.