Meet the new ACT3205 RCV-H unmanned US tank killer for the army
WASHINGTON, US — Key features of America’s next-generation unmanned anti-tank killer platform have emerged. It’s the ACT3205 RCV-H, and its features and equipment we learn thanks to the Twitter account Ronkainen.
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The ACT3205 RCV-H will be an unmanned platform. The power unit is expected to be a next-generation engine for combat land platforms. The expected power that the ACT3205 RCV-H will receive is 650 horsepower. The transmission will be an electric hybrid [two sprocket traction drives]. The suspension of the new US anti-tank killer vehicle will be in-arm hydro with band track type. According to the exported data, the ACT3205 RCV-H’s power/weight ratio will be around 24 hp/ton.
The ACT3205 RCV-H unmanned tank killer concept proposed by the US Army GVSC includes an automated 120 mm gun. The secondary armament will be the .50 cal Advanced Remote/Robotic Armament System [ARAS]. The tank killer will also have an integrated active protection system [APS]. However, we still don’t know what it will be. In the realm of speculation, Washington has used the Israeli APS Trophy quite often in recent years. But whether it will be her – we can only guess.
The new robotic ground vehicle is expected to weigh 27 tons. According to Ronkainen, the cost of the ACT3205 RCV-H will be one-sixth of the cost of the Abrams SEPv3 tank. I.e. somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million USD.
To get a better idea of what exactly the ACT3205 RCV-H will be, we need to determine its threshold capability against an existing platform. Let’s take the Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tank as it comes closest to the desired information. For example, the tank killer will be close to half the size of the tank comparisons. But the developers promise that the ACT3205 RCV-H will have the lethality of the Abrams M1A2 SEPv3.
The tank killer will have the survivability of the Bradley and weigh less than the Stryker. This, as well as its significantly smaller size, will allow a single C-17 transport aircraft to carry two platforms. In extreme situations during the execution of missions directly to the battlefield, the ACT3205 RCV-H will be able to be transported by a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
It remains to be seen how many operators will be needed to navigate this unmanned platform. Although there is no official confirmed information, it is assumed that a group of two robotic machines will be operated by a crew equal to one Abrams tank. I.e. there will be two driver operators and two more firearms operators. Given the information in this way, a tank killer on the battlefield will require a two-man crew.
Although nothing is definitive, it is impressive to say that this unmanned platform will cost six times less than an ACT3205 RCV-H tank. According to some experts in the field, this will most likely not be the case. The explanation: ACT3205 RCV-H has the same gun, similar performance stabilization, FCS and sights, hard-to-kill APS, at least enough armor to last on the battlefield, significant mobility, outstanding C4I equipment, robotics, etc.
Of course, these are the most expensive components in the platform. The question is, can the ACT3205 RCV-H cost $2-3 million just because of the smaller size, lack of advanced armor, less production hours, and less materials overall?
According to some experts, the cheaper price of the electronics, as well as the cheaper turbine, because of the 650 horsepower are a good indicator that the price will drop to the desired up to 3 million USD.
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