The project of the new generation T-95 main battle tank was revealed in 2000
Information about the T-95 up to now is still a mystery. Only know that it is estimated to weigh about 50-55 tons, about 7m in length, 3.5m wide. The height is unknown but it is believed to be lower than many other tanks.
In particular, the T-95 main battle tank was developed with an unmanned turret, with an internal automatic reload system for a 152mm heavy smoothbore gun. This is considered the world’s largest tank gun ever developed. Secondary weaponry includes a 30mm automatic cannon.
The T-95 was a new design, rather than a modification of existing vehicle. It had little common with the T-90 and other older Soviet tanks. Design of the T-95 focused on heavier armor and crew survivability. The T-95 was operated by a crew of 3, including commander, gunner and driver. All crew members were seated inside the hull in a well protected cell. The tank could operate even with penetrated armor, as long as the crew cell was intact.
The 152mm main gun of the T-95 is capable of launching anti-tank missiles. However, with the gun’s extremely large size, with only 152mm conventional high explosive ammunition, it can cause heavy damage to enemy tanks.
The T-95 was fitted with a new fire control system. The tank had a panoramic commander’s periscope with thermal imager. It gave the tank a hunter-killer engagement capability. Commander was searching for targets using his periscope while the aiming and firing process was delegated to the gunner. This allowed to engage targets faster.
It is not clear what top secret technology the T-95’s armor system has, most likely an active defense system. Project T-95 was suspended in 2009 by decision of the Russian Ministry of Defense without any reasons announced. Some sources said that, at that time, the Russian Defense Ministry had decided to choose the T-14 Armata project. By that time only 3 prototypes were built. It is likely that the new tank failed to meet requirements of the Russian Army.
