M-95 Degman
Encyclopedia
M-95 Degman is a prototype Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n main battle tank
Main battle tank
A main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...

, developed in the factory Đuro Đaković specijalna vozila d.d., located in Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod is a city in Croatia, with a population of 59,507 in 2011. The city was known as Marsonia in the Roman Empire, and as Brod na Savi 1244–1934. It is the sixth largest city in Croatia, after Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek and Zadar. Located in the region of Slavonia, it is the...

, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

. It is also known as the RH-ALAN Degman. The Đuro Đaković factory is best known for its principal role in the production of M-84
M-84
The M-84 is a Yugoslav 2nd generation main battle tank. The M-84 is in service in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kuwait, Slovenia and Serbia.-Development and production:...

, a Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

 version of the Soviet T-72
T-72
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A...

 MBT
Main battle tank
A main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...

 produced under licence. M-95 Degman represents a further development on the M-84.

The principal improvement over its predecessor M-84 is the application of spaced composite/laminate armor on top of which explosive reactive armor was added, hull front and side skirts are covered giving that extra protection against HEAT
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...

 shaped-charge munitions. A separate ammunition bustle compartment at the back of the turret adds protection for the crew if tank is hit from behind, and added protection is given by additional slat armor in form of wire mesh with chains, main purpose being to prevent any rocket propelled grenades that might be used to penetrate weakest points at the back of the tank.

Đuro Đaković thermal imaging allows enhanced night activity and optional 1200 hp engine, which increases the power-to-weight ratio to approximately 27 hp/t. There are numerous smaller changes in fire control
Fire control
control of fire 'control of fire' is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, or reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving a fire of fuel, oxygen or heat ....

, communications equipment, track etc. The Degman's autoloader is 15% faster meaning 9 shells can be fired in a single minute instead of 8 shells, which is M84 norm.

The Degman M-95 has not entered serial production yet, however two prototypes were ordered by the Croatian Government, a M-95 model and the other M-84D sample (for export). Đuro Đaković is going to be producing the export version the M-84D (essentially an M-84A4 with significant upgrades) for Kuwait and other potential buyers. The Kuwaiti Army has confirmed interest in modernizing its 149 dated M-84 to the new M-84D standard, as well as the procurement of an additional 66 new M-84D's. The far superior M-95 model will be ordered by the Croatian government.

History, production and modernization

The M-95 Degman tank was largely based on the older M-91 Vihor tank. A full working prototype of the Vihor tank completed basic testing at the Đuro Đaković but due the hostilities in mid-1991 this tank was never delivered to JNA
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...

. Đuro Đaković was already working on a second prototype (at this point the hull had been completed) but due to the hostilities work on the second Vihor prototype stalled until 1994 when it was completed with the new turret.

Meanwhile, the first prototype was upgraded and modernized, a more powerful 1200 hp engine was installed which provided a higher power-to-weight ratio. A storage basket and slat armor at the back of the turret were added, increasing armour protection. A Racal
Racal
Racal Electronics plc was once the third-largest British electronics firm. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Racal was a diversified company, offering products including: as voice and data recorders; point of sale terminals; laboratory instruments;...

 communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

 suite was installed to improve communications range and digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...

 battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...

field compatibility and a new CBRN
CBRN
CBRN is an initialism for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. It is used to refer to situations in which any of these four hazards have presented themselves. The term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC , which had replaced the term ABC that was used in the fifties...

 suite was also added, the SZ 2000 CBRN
CBRN
CBRN is an initialism for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. It is used to refer to situations in which any of these four hazards have presented themselves. The term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC , which had replaced the term ABC that was used in the fifties...

 suite giving substantially superior performance over the older NBC suite used on M-84 tank; for example, in nuclear or chemical/biological warfare situations, SZ-2000 shuts the engines down and automatically filters fresh air into the tank.

The Optics
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...

 and fire control system was developed by Fotona, a Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

n company, and now comes as standard on all current Croatian and Slovene M-84 tanks. The Vihor/M95 tank received new laser range finder, LIRD-4B - a laser irradiation warning system. A Fotona/Končar
Koncar
Končar may refer to:*Rade Končar, World War II Yugoslav Communist resistance fighter*KONČAR Group, an electrical engineering company of Croatia*Končar class fast attack craft, a class of military ship built for the SFR Yugoslav Navy in the 1970s...

/Đuro Đaković digital battlefield computer has also been added to improve battlefield performance. Diehl
Diehl
-People:*As a surname:**Arthur Diehl , English impressionist landscape artist**August Diehl , German actor**David Diehl , American football player**Ella Diehl , Russian badminton player...

 provided new tracks giving the tank better performance both on and off road.

This project received considerable assistance from Elbit of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Explosive Reactive Armor developed by Elbit is one major upgrade and gives a distinctive look to the M95 tank. Rafael - Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station
Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station
The Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station , also known as Katlanit is a Remote Weapon System that enables a variety of devices to be operated automatically or by remote control, including 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, and 12.7 mm machine guns, 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, anti-tank missiles and...

 which consist of a 12.7mm calibre heavy machine gun and 40mm grenade launcher is another upgrade. This Remote Controlled Weapon Station acts also as the commander's independent thermal viewer. Additional upgrades are planned, including a new 120mm compact gun developed by RUAG
RUAG
RUAG is a Swiss technology company, with its headquarters in Bern. It has production sites in Switzerland , Germany , Sweden , Hungary and Austria .-Structure:The RUAG has following subsidiaries:*RUAG Aerospace RUAG is a Swiss technology company, with its headquarters in Bern. It has production...

 Defence of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and few additional defensive and ECM systems including LAHAT
LAHAT
The LAHAT is a third generation semi-active laser homing low-weight anti-tank guided missile developed since 1992 and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries...

 anti tank missiles.

Potential Clients

: the Croatian Army plans to have around 30-40 M-95s: in 2007 the Kuwaiti Army
Kuwaiti Army
Kuwaiti Army is the primary land force of the Military of Kuwait.Kuwait's postwar equipment orders include 200 M-84 tanks and eighteen self-propelled 155mm guns from France. Kuwait also has received United States, Russian, and Egyptian armored vehicles...

planned to upgrade 150 of their M-84 tanks to M-84D Degman standard and also purchase 66 new M-95s but have not done so.

External links

http://www.ddsv.hr/tenk_degman_eng_1.html http://www.vjesnik.hr/pdf/2003%5C05%5C20%5C07A7.PDF http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/47751/ http://www.personalmag.rs/mil10.htm
  • Degman (M-95) tank video

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  • http://www.koncar.hr/
  • http://www.ddsv.hr/vojni_program.html
  • http://www.fotona.com/en/defense/
  • http://www.racalacoustics.com/
  • http://www.elbitsystems.com/
  • http://www.thalesonline.com/
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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