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

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

experimental

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

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

Design

The Object 490A was created as an alternative variant for the

Object 490 The Obiekt 490 "Poplar", or Object 490, was an experimental Soviet tank developed in the early 1980s.

. The 490A Buntar was suggested in order 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 to be a vehicle ahead of its time, as it utilized multiple new technologies in order 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 material 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 sam ...

, 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, porcelain ...

. 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 is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. 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 that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened kinetic ener ...

(presumably

Kontakt-5 Kontakt-5 is a type of second-generation explosive reactive armour (ERA) originating in the Soviet Union. It is the first type of ERA that is able to significantly decrease the penetration of armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFS ...

) 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 (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 ( uk , Завод імені В.О. Малишева, translit=Zavod imeni V.O. Malysheva; abbreviated ), formerly the Kharkov Locomotive Factory (, ), is a state-owned manufacturer of heavy equipment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It ...

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 The Korean Movie Database (KMDb) is a South Korean online database of information related to Korean movies, animation, actors, television shows, production crew personnel and other film-related information. KMDb launched in February 2006 by K ...

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 engin ...

engine. Paired with a

hydraulic drive system Hydraulic machines use liquid fluid power to perform work. Heavy construction vehicles are a common example. In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is pumped to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders throughout the machine and ...

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, 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