The U.S. Army's "Mobile Protected Firepower" (MPF) light tank bidding case finally came to an end on June 28. The Griffin 2 light tank from General Dynamics Land Systems unexpectedly won. The reason why it is called an "accident" is because BAE, a company participating in the bidding, was found to have violated regulations and was eliminated. General Dynamics Land Systems has won a low-rate production contract with a total value of US$1.14 billion. It will initially produce 96 Griffin 2 light tanks for the US Army, with a unit price of US$11.875 million. The number of light tanks purchased by the US Army will reach 504.
Since the U.S. military's light tank plan was hastily launched after China's 
5 light tank entered service, and many technical indicators were based on the 5 , it was also jokingly called "crossing the river by feeling the rabbit." So as representatives of the highest technical level of the tank industry in China and the United States, who is the strongest light tank, the Griffin 2 or the Type 15?
Conservative and Radical - Griffin 2 and Type 15
This U.S. Army light tank bidding continues the United States' "tradition" of pursuing stability in the field of weapons research and development. Of course, this is a last resort. After the failure of many radical projects such as the Crusader artillery and the Comanche stealth helicopter, the U.S. Army had to return to the tradition of seeking stability. Although the Griffin 2 is the latest generation of light tanks of the US military, its technical indicators are really conservative. The Griffin 2 is actually a pieced-together light tank. Most of the core components are off-the-shelf. For example, the chassis of the British Ajax infantry fighting vehicle is directly used as the chassis (this also explains why the Griffin 2 does not need to carry infantry). , but also adopts a front-engine design). The fire control system directly uses the M1A2C (M1A2 SEP V3), and the main gun is also modified from the M68 105mm rifled gun of M60.
The technical level gap between Griffin 2 and BAE's MPF solution is huge. In theory, if it were not for the "help" of the US Army, there would be no possibility of winning. In fact, the United States' "soundness" in bidding for a new generation of light tanks is entirely due to the stagnant technical level of the U.S. tank industry. Simply put, the technology is no longer good.
BAE's MPF plan, which was kicked out by the US Army on the pretext of being kicked out
, my country's Type 15 light tank won the bidding against the VT-5 light tank (to be precise, it should be the predecessor of VT-5). However, the technical indicators of the 5 light tank are obviously much more advanced than the VT-5. Obviously, our country's light tank bidding is "radical" over "prudent", which is exactly the opposite of the United States. However, my country's "radicalism" is not "advanced". It is based on the maturity and reliability of relevant technologies. Simply put, China's technology is in place.
Firepower - The Type 15 light tank has greater comprehensive advantages
The Griffin 2 adopts the US military's traditional 4-person crew layout (car commander, gunner, driver, loader). The main weapon is an M35 105mm low-recoil rifled gun modified from the M68 105mm rifled gun. It mainly uses M900A1 armor-piercing bullets and the developing AMP multi-purpose bullet. Among them, M900A1 is the depleted uranium armor-piercing projectile , with a core length of 545 mm, a muzzle velocity of 1501 m/s, and a vertical penetration depth of 500 mm at 2000 meters, which is at the level of the current international mainstream 105 mm armor-piercing projectiles. Can effectively destroy second and early third generation tanks.
AMP is a new type of intelligent ammunition used by the US military to replace all other traditional ammunition except armor-piercing projectiles. Equipped with an ammunition data link (ADL), the fire control system can select different modes of fuze and according to different target properties before launch. It can not only reduce the types of ammunition carried, but also maximize the fire support of the Griffin 2. ability.
AMP multi-purpose ammunition
However, the Griffin 2 does not use an automatic loading machine, which greatly reduces the sustainability of its firepower. There are probably two reasons. On the one hand, there is news that Griffin 2 may replace the larger caliber 120 mm smoothbore gun in the future. If an automatic loader is used now, it will need to be replaced in the future (this reason is far-fetched) .On the other hand, the tail-cabin automatic loader technology in Western countries is not very mature, the failure rate is too high, and it cannot meet the requirements of the United States. Auxiliary weapons include a 7.62 mm parallel machine gun , and a commander's weapons station (ICWS) with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun installed in front of the commander's command tower.
In terms of fire control system, Griffin 2 basically follows the configuration of M1A2C. The main difference is that the commander's peripheral sight is replaced by a French Safran PASEO modular sight, which is more technically advanced.
In addition, the Griffin 2 is also equipped with the French "Pilar V acoustic detection system", which can monitor the sound of gunfire around the vehicle and display a more accurate direction on the information terminal, while automatically controlling the direction of the turret or weapon station. Threat position rotates and counterattacks. This system provides Griffin 2 with a third ability to detect enemy targets in addition to optical and radar , and it also plays a role in improving the tank's survivability to a certain extent. The "Pilar V acoustic detection system" has also been installed on the second-generation "Enhanced Main Battle Tank" (EMBT) technology demonstration vehicle jointly developed by Germany and France.
5 light tank is basically the same as the Griffin 2 in terms of weapons. The main gun is also a 105mm rifled gun, which is an upgraded version of the domestic Type 94 105mm rifled gun. The standard armor-piercing bullet is the domestic DTC02-105 armor-piercing bullet, which is commonly known as the third-phase 105 armor-piercing bullet. The armor-piercing data of this bomb has not been disclosed, but referring to the data of the outlet version of the bomb "BTA-2" (penetration depth of 550 mm at 2000 meters), the penetration depth of the self-used DTC02-105 armor-piercing projectile at 2000 meters should be able to reach 600 mm. If this data is true, then the power of the main gun of the Type 15 light tank is significantly greater than that of the Griffin 2.
Moreover, the Type 15 light tank also uses extremely advanced tail cabin-type automatic armor. It is estimated that the maximum rate of fire can reach 15 rounds/minute, and it can maintain this rate of fire for a long time, which is also higher than the Griffin 2. The Type 15 light tank The tank's ability to use a tail-cabin automatic loader also shows that the reliability of this equipment meets the requirements of our army. This also breaks the rumor that "the tail-cabin automatic loader is not reliable".
5-type light tank's other ammunition includes anti-explosive bombs, armor-piercing bombs , artillery-launched missiles and lateral effect bombs. Compared with the Griffin 2's "one bullet, multiple functions" AMP multi-purpose ammunition, the Type 15 light tank needs to carry multiple types of ammunition. As long as the total amount of ammunition carried remains unchanged, the quantity of each type of ammunition will be smaller. A lot, which causes the continuous fire strike effect of a single battle scene to be affected. For example, if the lateral effect bullets designed to hit reinforced concrete fortifications are used up, the killing effect of other types of bullets will be much worse.
In terms of auxiliary weapons, the Type 15 light tank is roughly the same as the Griffin 2, including a 5.8 mm parallel machine gun and the commander's weapon station (ICWS). However, it is different from the latter. In addition to the 12.7mm heavy machine gun, the weapon station of the Type 15 light tank is also equipped with a 35mm grenade launcher, which takes into account both curved and flat firepower, and can deal with reverse slopes and targets hiding in high places. There is no doubt that the matching of firepower must be more scientific.
In terms of fire control system, the Type 15 light tank basically uses the 99A's upward reverse stabilized image commander fire control system, and has "hunting-annihilation" capabilities. However, due to the later finalization time and the application of a large number of new technologies, the fire control system of the Type 15 light tank is actually better than that of the 99A, especially in terms of informatization, through the on-board digital inter-vehicle integrated information combat system and data Chain, the Type 15 light tank can conduct real-time information exchange with drones, infantry or other platforms, realizing battlefield information sharing and coordinated attack and defense between different combat units. The fire control system of the Type 15 light tank is generally at the same level as the Griffin 2, but some subsystems of the Griffin 2 are more advanced.
Protection - the Type 15 light tank has greater advantages
As mentioned above, although the Griffin 2 is claimed to be developed by the United States, it is actually a pieced together light tank. For example, it directly adopts the British Ajak The chassis of the Sri Lankan infantry fighting vehicle.Putting aside the serious vibration and noise of the Ajax infantry fighting vehicle itself, which led to the rejection of the British Army , the total combat weight of the Ajax infantry fighting vehicle using only the 40 mm machine gun reached 42 tons, while the Griffin 2, which uses a larger-caliber 105 mm main rifled gun, is less than 35 tons. Unless the armor of the Griffin 2 is made of vibranium in the Marvel movies, the Griffin 2 will not be able to use this alone. The protection of 2 is very watery. In fact, in order to control the total combat weight, the turret of Griffin 2 is also made of aluminum alloy.
In order to strengthen the protection capability, the Griffin 2 is equipped with decal armor on the body and turret. The external storage boxes on the front and sides of the turret can also serve as spacer armor. According to General Motors, the front of the Griffin 2 turret can defend against attacks by 30mm armor-piercing projectiles, but there is no news on whether it can defend against attacks by larger-caliber armor-piercing projectiles. In terms of resistance to damage, Griffin 2 can theoretically withstand light shoulder-mounted anti-tank rocket launchers like RPG-7, but for large-caliber anti-tank rocket launchers like RPG-29, PF-98A, and anti-tank missiles still lacks sufficient protection.
Griffin 2's storage box
General company has given two solutions. One is to install explosive reactive armor for it, which is the same type used by M2A4 infantry fighting vehicles and AMPV armored personnel carriers. However, this solution will cause the Griffin 2 to be overweight, which will result in the C-17 Marble Glue's hard target of transporting two Griffin 2s at a time being unable to be met.
The explosive reactive armor
installed on the M2 infantry fighting vehicle will therefore most likely use the second option, which is to integrate Israel 's "Iron Fist" active defense system. It has not yet been decided whether a heavy or light version will be installed.
Light plate Iron Fist active defense system
In comparison, the protective performance of the Type 15 light tank is much stronger. First of all, the chassis of the Type 15 light tank is a newly designed tank chassis, not an infantry fighting vehicle chassis. Since there is no need to consider transporting infantry, the weight ratio used for protection is higher. Under the premise of the same weight, the basic armor of the Type 15 light tank is thicker than that of the Griffin 2. The thicker basic armor not only has higher basic protection, but also means that more protective explosive reactive armor can be installed.
And according to previous CCTV programs, the basic armor material of the Type 15 light tank is high-strength special armor steel. Compared with traditional tank steel, it has a higher density, higher strength and toughness, and can perform better. Protective properties. And the turret of the Type 15 light tank also uses the same material.
In addition to the reactive armor installed under the turret and the front of the car body (mainly facing the bombardment), the sides and rear of the turret are also equipped with spacer armor and grid armor respectively. It is speculated that the front of the Type 15 light tank can withstand 35mm armor-piercing projectile attack. In terms of resistance to damage, it is speculated that it can withstand attacks from portable anti-tank missiles and heavy anti-tank rocket launchers. Considering the excellent load-bearing capacity of the Type 15 light tank chassis, it is not ruled out that in the future, it can be replaced with additional armor with higher technical level and heavier weight to obtain stronger protection capabilities.
There is currently no sign that the Type 15 light tank has plans to equip an active defense system. However, judging from at least two active defense systems currently launched in my country for external sales, there are no technical problems with the Type 15 light tank's active defense system. It mainly depends on the needs of the army.
Domestic GL5 active defense system
In terms of defense, although the Type 15 light tank is not equipped with an active defense system for the time being, due to its stronger anti-penetration and anti-breakability, the overall protection level is also higher, reaching the application of light tanks. Some standards. The defensive power of Griffin 2 is the level of heavy infantry fighting vehicle .
Mobility - the Type 15 is superior in tactical maneuverability, and the Griffin 2 driver has a stronger perception.
Better mobility and passability than main battle tanks is one of the important reasons for the existence of light tanks.The total combat weight of the Griffin 2 is 34.5 tons, and the total combat weight of the Type 15 light tank is 33 tons. Both are controlled within 35 tons, so they both have excellent strategic mobility. According to the requirements of the U.S. Army, the C-17 large transport aircraft can transport two Griffin 2s to take off and land at simple frontline airports, and the updated version of the Y-20 can also transport two Type 15 light tanks at one time.
Considering the huge gap in the strategic transportation capabilities of the air force between China and the United States, at least for now, the strategic mobility of the Griffin 2 is better than that of the Type 15 light tank. Of course, this is determined by the quality of the transport and has little to do with the tank itself. Moreover, in terms of the use of light tanks, our country does not need to deploy rapidly around the world like the United States, so the shortcomings in strategic mobility will not have any impact on us in a short period of time.
15 type relies more on railways for strategic maneuvers
In terms of tactical mobility, the advantages of Type 15 are very obvious. The running gear of the Griffin 2 is 6 pairs of small-diameter aluminum alloy road wheels, using a hydropneumatic suspension system. The engine is the MT881 V8 diesel engine produced in Detroit, with a maximum power of 1,100 horsepower. The integrated transmission adopts Allison's 3040MX. The unit power exceeds 31 horsepower/ton. The maximum highway speed can reach 72 kilometers/hour. The maneuverability is very good. . The
5 light tank traveling device is composed of 6 pairs of small-diameter road wheels and adopts a composite suspension system of liquid-pneumatic + torsion bar. The engine is powered by a domestic 132 series diesel engine that uses two-stage supercharging technology. The standard power is 1,000 horsepower and the unit power exceeds 30 horsepower/ton. It uses a hydraulic-mechanical integrated transmission system and has excellent maneuverability.
In terms of basic parameters, the unit power of the Griffin 2 is slightly more than the Type 15 light tank, and the mobility of the two is basically the same. But once it reaches ultra-high altitude areas with an altitude of more than 3,500 meters, the advantages of the Type 15 light tank emerge. Generally speaking, the oxygen content in the air in ultra-high altitude areas is only 60% or even lower than that in plain areas, and the maximum power of the engine is reduced by more than 50%, resulting in serious power shortage and a significant increase in fuel consumption.
Once heavy equipment such as tanks enters such an environment, first of all, the mobility will be greatly reduced. Not only will the maximum speed be unable to rise, but there will also be obvious slow response in acceleration, deceleration and other operations. Secondly, the failure rate will also become extremely high. Problems such as carbon deposition in piston and combustion chamber are more serious than in low altitude areas. Over time, cylinder problems will occur. In addition, fuel consumption will also increase significantly, and the tank It is very easy to get stuck during the advancement process, which undoubtedly greatly increases the difficulty of logistical support.
The specially designed Type 15 light tank engine does not have these concerns. The power loss of the Type 15 light tank does not exceed 12% in plateau areas with an altitude of more than 4,500 meters, and the maximum speed can be maintained at 60 kilometers per hour. This is something that all other tanks, including the Griffin 2, cannot do.
However, in terms of the driver's situational awareness, the Griffin 2 is better than the Type 15 light tank. Griffin 2 is equipped with a DVE-W thermal imaging driving vision enhancer, which has a wide-field viewing angle of 107 degrees. It also has lenses installed on the front of the car, the front corners and the rear of the car, realizing the front hemisphere and Full coverage directly behind. To put it simply, with the help of this system, the driver can theoretically obtain the same 360-degree surround field of view as the commander's probe command. The viewing angle is wider and there are fewer blind spots. Not only can it avoid digging into ditches, but it can also more effectively avoid incoming anti-tank missiles. In this regard, there is still a big gap between the Type 15 light tank and the Griffin 2.
Conclusion
As a work with strong emergency features, the overall design of Griffin 2 lags behind our Type 15 light tank, whether in terms of mobility, protection, or firepower. However, we must also admit that, as the saying goes, "a bad ship also has three points of nails", the Griffin 2 still surpasses our Type 15 light tank in some subsystems. In general, although the Griffin 2 is not as good as the Type 15 light tank as a whole, it is still a good product that can meet the needs of the US military.
