The Obiekt 490A "Rebel" (Russian: Объект 490А Бунтарь), or Object 490A, was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

experimental

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

developed between 1981 and 1982. Only two prototypes were ever produced, neither of which was capable of firing due to time constraints. Neither of the vehicles was completed before their production was ceased.

Design

Object 490A was created as an alternative variant for the Object 490. The 490A Buntar was suggested to provide the vehicle with one more crew member as well as an externally mounted gun. The biggest change from the Object 490 to the 490A was the completely redesigned turret as well as minor changes to the chassis. The project was cancelled at the end of 1984 due to the newer Object 477 Molot program beginning. The tank is considered a vehicle ahead of its time, as it utilized multiple new technologies to stay ahead of the competition.

Armor

The armor consisted of a layer of steel followed by

composite armor Composite armour is a type of vehicle armour consisting of layers of different materials such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. Most composite armours are lighter than their all-metal equivalent, but instead occupy a larger volume for the s ...

, which consisted of five layers of steel separated by four layers of

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

. The roof armor was unusually high on the hull as well as the turret in order to prevent the vehicle from being damaged by

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

. The vehicle's fuel tank was located to the right of the driver and acted as extra armor. Ammunition was stored in a compartment situated in the right side of the turret and the commander was situated right beside it. The gunner seat was placed in front of the commander. This fighting compartment was completely isolated from the rest of the tank, including from the driver who was to be situated in the front.

Reactive armor Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants includ ...

(presumably

Kontakt-5 Kontakt-5 is a type of second-generation explosive reactive armour (ERA) originating in the Soviet Union. Due to the shortcomings of Kontakt-1, NII Stali developed a new type of reactive armor, Kontakt-5, so that it also affects the penetration c ...

) was designed to be implemented to the front of the tank as well as the sides, but the production was cancelled before the vehicle reached that stage.

Armament

The vehicle sported a

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...

(designated as "Argus"). Argus was the main computer to which the radar, thermal imager and cameras were linked to. The gun was mounted externally rather than inside an armoured turret, giving the tank a lower profile. The creators of the vehicle, Bazhenov and Shomin, debated over what caliber of gun should replace the previously planned 125mm 2A66M smoothbore. A 130 mm was suggested, but a 152 mm 2A73 gun would instead be the gun implemented on future models.

Mobility

The 5TDF engine manufactured in the

Malyshev Factory The Malyshev Factory (; abbreviated ), formerly the Kharkov Locomotive Factory (, ), is a state-owned manufacturer of heavy equipment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was named after the Soviet politician Vyacheslav Malyshev. The factory is part of the s ...

was used as a temporary placeholder and would be changed out for the 1500

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

KMDB 6TD-3 6-cylinder

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

engine. Paired with a hydraulic drive system and 580 mm wide tracks, the tank had good mobility for its weight. The tank had an approximate 31 hp/t

power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement ...

, allowing the vehicle to travel at 75km/h on roads and 55km/h off-road.

References

{{Cold War tanks Cold War tanks of the Soviet Union Main battle tanks of the Cold War Trial and research tanks of the Soviet Union Abandoned military projects of the Soviet Union Tanks with autoloaders