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	Дата	03.08.2003 00:02:49
	Рубрики	Современность; Танки;

Близится конец Panzertruppen :-))

Вот такая жуткая статейка из последнего IDR - в рамках очередных реформ Бундесвера танковые войска подлежат новому резкому сокращению (примерно вдвое) и из танкового парка будет сохранено только 852 "Лео-2". Впрочем, последние, в соответствии с модным учением "старшего брата", в перспективе тоже подлежат замене некоими "средними" машинками, которые можно будет возить на А-400М. А чисто танковые батальоны будут заменены "смешанными боевыми группами".

INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW - AUGUST 2003

Panzertruppen facing uncertain future as German armed forces reform unfolds

Germany's armored forces ('Panzertruppen') are planning for an uncertain future. Once the spearhead of the German Army, the armored troops today are facing significant reductions. Under the Army of the Future plan announced in 2001, the number of tank battalions is to be cut by 2006 from 20 (plus 14 non-active) to 13 (plus five non-active). Mechanized infantry ('Panzergrenadier') battalions are to be reduced from 20 (plus 14 non-active) to 13 (plus four non-active). The number of armored reconnaissance battalions is also going down from seven to five.
Main battle tanks (MBTs), Germany's primary land combat weapon since the 1930s, have already been reduced by the thousands. Current plans call for a total remaining fleet of 852 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Leopard 2s, including 350 of the latest 2A6 variant and 502 non-modernized 2A4s.
But more cutbacks are expected and senior Panzertruppen officers admit that "in the eyes of many politicians, there are still too many tanks and armored vehicles in the inventory."
At the German Army's armored warfare center ('Panzertruppenschule' - 1,150 staff, up to 3,400 students annually) outside Munster, northern Germany, several initiatives are under way to improve capabilities and to make the country's armored forces better suited for expeditionary-style crisis response operations overseas.
"The German Army of today is tailored to carry out two medium-size operations [KFOR/SFOR-type] and a small-scale operation [rescue, evacuation] outside our borders simultaneously, while retaining a capability to conduct a large-scale Article 5 operation in support of NATO," said Colonel Christian Hofmann, deputy commander. But he and other officers in Munster agreed that the likelihood of such a large-scale, high-intensity warfare scenario in the foreseeable future will be small.
This is why the center's 83-strong combat development group, tasked with the future development of armor, mechanized infantry and armored reconnaissance in the German Army, is focusing to a great extent on how best to employ armor during crisis response operations.
Lieutenant-Colonel Hans-Jörg Voll said that for the near future, training for military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) is to be significantly enhanced. Specific MOUT training is to start in 2004 during battalion- and company-commanders courses at the Lehnin training area in eastern Germany, Voll said. The German Army has identified three distinct MOUT scenarios for which doctrine is prepared and for which units will be trained:
·Block 1: evacuation, logistic support, traffic control;
·Block 2: separation of warring parties, installation of a buffer zone; and
·Block 3: attack, combat.
For a typical MOUT mission, it is foreseen that a battlegroup-sized armor unit would be assembled, including two tank companies, two-three Panzergrenadier companies, one infantry company, a 120mm mortar company as well as an artillery battery, engineers, military police, attack helicopter support and a tactical air control party, plus civilian advisers, human intelligence assets and a civil-military co-operation team.
Building on to this concept, the Panzertruppenschule commander and director of the armored forces, Brigadier-General Wolf Langheld, has launched a concept for a future (post-2010-2015), fully air-transportable combat maneuver battalion. Current thinking is that this would be based on new vehicles such as the proposed Puma IFV (infantry fighting vehicle) and a future medium-weight main combat vehicle to replace the current Leopard 2A6.
The future armored battalion would typically comprise a headquarters and support company, two mechanized infantry companies, two tank companies, and a 120mm mortar company, with additional units being attached depending on the scenario, Lt Col Voll explained.
In terms of equipment programs, the German armor corps is now in the process of receiving a total of 350 Leopard 2A6 MBTs, basically 2A5s equipped with a 1.30m longer gun and the new DM53 LKE-II 120mm kinetic energy penetrator round, both products from Rheinmetall Weapons & Munitions. In comparison to the non-modernised Leopard 2A4, the A6 model features add-on turret protection and digital electronics as well.
A multinational mine protection program for the Leopard 2 (developed in co-operation with Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden) is also expected to lead to some upgrades, including a new bottom plate and other modifications. Follow-on measures include such items as a new escape hatch, modified seat installation (driver and in turret), a new receptacle for the turret slip ring, and leaving the bottom row of hull ammo storage empty.
Further updates include a yet to be developed combat identification system (known as ZEFF - Zielerkennung Freund-Feind), and a new one-way camouflage type of smoke (known as ETIRN).
According to Lt Col Zoll, future MBT engagement doctrine will "definitely involve networking with unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery" in order to successfully operate in environments where opposing forces need to be detected and targeted while still beyond line-of-sight.
For the future (Leopard 2A4 replacement) Lt Col Voll is counting on the development of a significantly lighter combat vehicle equipped with a medium-caliber weapon in an unmanned turret, as well as with a vertical launching missile system installed behind the turret (for which he showed a picture indicating that there would be two modules of four missile cells each).
The mechanized infantry is currently receiving a batch of 74 upgraded Marder 1A5 IFVs (fitted with added mine protection ). These will equip the equivalent of one Panzergrenadier-battalion, leaving the other 20-odd battalions equipped with Marder 1A3.
For the medium and longer term, a Marder replacement is being developed by a consortium of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme. The new IFV will be called Puma and not Igel (hedgehog) as proposed earlier.
Military requirements for the Puma include:
- active protection system against anti-tank missile systems and kinetic energy penetrator rounds;
- close-in and long-range armament;
- optimised co-ordination between dismounted soldiers and the IFV;
- a crew of nine, up to eight of whom dismounted personnel;
- a weight between 32t (basic version, air-transportable in the Airbus A400M) and 45t (with modular additional armor fitted);
- 30mm cannon;
- sensor management;
- engine power: 800KW.
The remaining Jaguar tank destroyers will be taken out of service, but the M113-based armored mortar vehicles are to be replaced. Candidate vehicles for this include the Puma, the Marder 1A3, the new Boxer, the CV 90 and the Waran (an upgraded M113). Possible turret solutions include the Finnish-Swedish AMOS and the Anglo-American AMS120. Officers at Munster indicated that their preference is for the combination of the Waran with AMS, but they stressed that "no decisions have been taken."
The AMS120, which has already been integrated on an M113A4 vehicle, is developed jointly by BAE Systems-owned RO Defence and Delco Defense Systems. It is described as a "responsive, survivable mobile fire support weapon system for mechanized forces." The AMS120 is equipped with an integrated fire control system which would eliminate the need for survey, enabling "fast, accurate, targeting for indirect and direct fire missions," the manufacturers said.
Germany's armored reconnaissance forces are scheduled to trade in their old Luchs wheeled armored vehicles for the new Fennek, produced by a consortium of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and SP aerospace & vehicle systems under a joint program with the Netherlands. According to Voll, the Fennek will have a three-man crew, a speed of 120km/h, and a cruising range of 1,000km. The 10t, air-transportable vehicle is designed to be self-sufficient for a five-day mission. It is equipped with a hybrid navigation system.
Survivability is enhanced by a low signature (height to roof 1.78m), protection against 7.62mm AP ammunition and AP mines and a central tire inflation system. Sensors that will be carried by the Fennek, which is equipped with secure HF/VHF data radios, will include BAA on-board and BSA off-board sensor systems from STN Atlas Elektronik, Aladin hand-launched UAVs from EMT, and (it is expected) the new BÜR (Boden Überwachungsradar) ground surveillance radar for which a leading candidate is the BOR-A 550 from Thales, possibly equipped with a new active electronic antenna from EADS.
JJL

'Panzertruppen'-battalions to be retained (by 2006) under the current Army of the Future Plan
Tank battalions (13 active):
- PanzerBn 33 Neustadt a.R. (Niedersachsen) 2A4
- PanzerBn 64 Wolfhagen (Hessen) 2A6
- PanzerlehrBn 93 Munster (Niedersachsen) 2A6
- PanzerBn 104 Pfreimd (Bavaria) 2A6
- PanzerBn 154 Westerburg (Rheinland-Pfalz) 2A4
- PanzerBn 183 Boorstedt (Schleswig-Holstein) 2A4
- PanzerBn 203 Hemer (Nordrhein-Westfalen) 2A6
- PanzerlehrBn 334 Celle (Niedersachsen) 2A6
- PanzerBn 363 Kuelsheim (Baden-Württemberg) 2A4
- PanzerBn 383 Bad Frankenhausen (Thüringen) 2A6
- PanzerBn 393 Bad Salzungen (Thüringen) 2A4
- PanzerBn 403 Stern (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) 2A6
- PanzerBn 413 Spechtberg (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) 2A6
Mechanised Infantry battalions (13 active):
- PanzergrenadierlehrBn 92 Munster (Niedersachsen)
- PanzergrenadierBn 112 Regen (Bavaria)
- PanzergrenadierBn 122 Oberviechtach (Bavaria)
- PanzergrenadierBn 152 Schwarzenborn (Hessen)
- PanzergrenadierBn 182 Bad Segeberg (Schleswig-Holstein)
- PanzergrenadierBn 192 Ahlen (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
- PanzergrenadierBn 212 Augustdorf (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
- PanzergrenadierBn 294Stetten a.k. Markt (Baden-Württemberg)
- PanzergrenadierBn 332 Wesendorf (Niedersachsen)
- PanzergrenadierBn 352 Mellrichstadt (Bavaria)
- PanzergrenadierBn 401 Hagenow (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
- PanzergrenadierBn 411 Viereck (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
- PanzergrenadierBn 421 Brandenburg (Brandenburg)
Armored Reconnaissance battalions (five active):
- PanzeraufklärungslehrBn 3 Lüneburg (Niedersachsen)
- PanzeraufklärungsBn 5 Sontra (Hessen)
- PanzeraufklärungsBn 6 Eutin (Schleswig-Holstein)
- PanzeraufklärungsBn 8 Freyung (Bavaria)
- PanzeraufklärungsBn 13 ºGotha (Thuringen)

С уважением, Exeter