Taifun 9M15 (russian: тайфу́н, ''typhoon'') was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

missile developed to arm the Object 287 tank based on the

T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while ...

tank chassis. The tank was armed with two 73 mm 2A28 low pressure guns mounted either side of a popup missile launcher. Both the guns and the missile launcher were automatically loaded, the guns each being fed from two eight round drums, giving a total of 32 guns rounds and 15 missiles stored in the tank. The missile launch platform was vertically stabilised, allowing the vehicle to move at low speed and still fire. The guns were remotely controlled by the gunner and commander from the front of the hull. The Taifun missile had a body diameter of 140 mm. It was fitted with a dual purpose warhead with a

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

shaped charge capable of penetrating 500 mm of armour, and a fragmentation effect roughly equivalent to a 100 mm HE-FRAG shell. The missile was

MCLOS Manual command to line of sight (MCLOS) is a method for guiding guided missiles. With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a ...

radio command guided from the tank. The missile had an engagement envelope of between 500 and 4000 m. Tests were conducted in April 1964, during which the tank performed poorly, and as a result the tank and missile were not accepted for service.

Specifications (Object 287)

* Weight: 36.5 tons * Length: 6.12 m * Width: 3.42 m * Height: 1.75 m * Ground clearance 450 mm * Armor: ** Front hull: 100 - 200 mm ** Front turret: 330 mm * Armament: ** 140 mm launcher with 15 x 9M15 Taifun missiles ** 2 x 73 mm Smoothbore guns 32 rounds total. ** 3000 x 7.62 mm * Engine: 700 hp diesel * Road range: 500 km *

ground pressure Ground pressure is the pressure exerted on the ground by the tires or tracks of a motorized vehicle, and is one measure of its potential mobility, especially over soft ground. It also applies to the feet of a walking person or machine. Ground pre ...

0.8 kg/cm * Obstacles : ** Wall: 0.80 m ** Trench: 2.70 m ** Fording: 1.7 m

External links

Article about rocket tanks (in Russian)

Article about the Taifun tank (in Russian)

Anti-tank guided missiles of the Cold War Cold War missiles of the Soviet Union History of the tank Abandoned military projects of the Soviet Union {{Russia-mil-stub

Specifications (Object 287)

See also

External links