Shturm, an unmanned attack tank developed on the basis of the T-72 (or T-90) chassis recently announced by Russia.
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| Photo image Kiesiak Adam |
Announcement and Successful Testing: Shturm. Russia has for the first time publicly unveiled the prototype of the unmanned tank “Shturm”, developed by the Uralvagonzavod corporation for the Ministry of Defense. This is an important step in the modernization of the armored forces.
The Shturm system includes both an unmanned combat vehicle and a mobile command vehicle, both based on the T-72 or T-90 chassis, and has just been successfully tested in the field.
Outstanding features of Shturm
Firepower designed for urban areas: equipped with a shortened 125 mm D-414 main gun, still using an automatic loading system with a capacity of 22 rounds; diverse weapon options such as 30 mm 2A42 cannon, RPO-2 thermobaric rockets; rumored 152 mm version.
Obstacle-clearing capabilities: equipped with a front bulldozer blade to clear paths or clear obstacles, suitable for urban battlefields.
Reuse of existing chassis: utilizing the T-72/T-90 chassis saves costs and makes flexible use of existing tank inventories.
Flexible control: the current version is still manned, but is designed to operate in remote control mode — paving the way for fully unmanned systems in the future.
Clear tactical role: Shturm is designed to take on the most dangerous missions, such as breaking through enemy defenses, minimizing risks to soldiers, especially in tense urban environments.
Results and Strategic Impact
Successful field testing has marked Shturm as a viable direction — robotic tanks can operate in coordination with traditional armored forces, while minimizing the risk to human lives.
If proven effective on the battlefield, Shturm could pave the way for a new generation of unmanned tanks designed from scratch. At the same time, the highly automated T-14 Armata could become the command center for future robotized formations.
Category Content Project Shturm — unmanned tank based on T-72/T-90 Features Shortened gun, autoloader, dozer blade, weapon options Control Manned/remote control application Role Defensive breakthrough, urban warfare Future Paving the way for combat robots; T-14 as commander.
