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OBRUM PL-01

2018 ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER MODERN X-TANK

History

OBRUM from Poland attempted to study an early, mostly traditional Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) - WPB Anders - which now appears to be abandoned. Instead, the company undertook a new, further developed vehicle project with the "PL-01" with the support of BAe Systems Land Systems in the UK. For now, the PL-01 will first be built as a concept tank and then ready for production. It's certainly an optimistic next-generation product that takes advantage of the latest active stealth capabilities (in terms of vehicles), crew survivability, and offensive firepower.

Prototypes will be launched sometime in 2016, with mass production sometime in 2018 - if the project gets that far - export models could be ready as early as 2022.

The vehicle is based on the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle BAe designed for the Swedish army and debuted at the 2013 MSPO Defence Show - looking like a futuristic Hollywood movie. It certainly matches some of the more potent qualities of the main battle tank systems of the East and West.

The PL-01's official battlefield role will be as an infantry fighting vehicle, light tank or fire support vehicle - although it will carry the capability of a main battle tank (MBT) without the associated overweight.

The conceptual design is 7 meters long, 3.8 meters wide and 2.8 meters high. There are seven road wheels on one side of the hull, and the hull structure is well protected by armor (although upgrade kits are also optional). The glacis panels are wide and nearly flat, giving the vehicle an overall low profile.

Gross weight is in the 35t range and is incorporating amphibious capabilities (after some preparation for real deep water wading). Power is said to come from an as-yet-unnamed diesel engine with at least 950 hp, an expected speed of 70 km/h and a range of up to 500 km.

Internally, due to the use of an unmanned powered turret, there is only a crew of three (as opposed to the traditional four in modern main battle tanks), further controlling the silhouette of the vehicle. The main barrel - 105mm or 120mm caliber, electronically stabilized and fed via an autoloader - was almost completely encapsulated as part of the turret structure, with a multi-slotted muzzle brake on the business end of the gun. The driver creates a front left position with his line of sight blocking visible on the glacis board. The commander and gunner will also occupy positions on the fuselage itself, and all workstations will have blast seats.

A laser rangefinder and thermal imaging system were added to help improve accuracy and situational awareness - in fact, the 350-degree viewing capability was part of the PL-01's design. Other system options include Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) and GPS navigation. Airborne survivability against mines, improvised explosive devices and fires has been improved through various measures including fire suppression systems. In addition to task forces, the vehicle can accommodate up to four infantrymen in a small compartment in the rear of the fuselage - similar to Israel's Merkava MBT.

In this way, the PL-01 will be able to move forward with infantry units.

The entire vehicle will feature adaptive technology, including hexagonal panels along its various surfaces, which will be used to adjust the temperature of the fuel tank to ambient levels in flight, giving the fuel tank an inherent "stealth" capability. An active defense system protects against incoming enemy air threats (eg armor-piercing missiles) allowing automatic responses. Smoke grenade launchers further help protect the vehicle from potential long-range threats. While a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun will be standard, optional customization is available via a Remote Weapon Station (RWS) mounted on top of the turret.

The station will support 7.62mm and 12.7mm caliber machine gun weapons and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher (AGL).

Like other frontline combat vehicles, the base chassis of the PL-01 is designed to provide the basis for CC2 (command and control) vehicles, armoured rescue vehicles (ARVs), minesweepers and other battlefield platforms such as those made possible by a flexible chassis.