Russia plans to develop a wheeled version of Sprut-SDM1 125mm amphibious light tank
According to an interview published by the Russian State Defense Company ROSTEC at the end of December 2021, the Russian defense industry plans to develop a wheeled version of the Sprut-SDM1, a tracked light amphibious tank.
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Scale model of Sprut-SDM1 turret mounted on an 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle chassis. (Picture source bastion-karpenko.ru)
The idea for the development of a new wheeled light tank is currently considered by the Russian defense industry, especially for the export market. This type of combat vehicle could be first developed for foreign armed forces in the Middle East and Africa.
The wheeled version of the Sprut-SDM1 could be based on a wheeled chassis developed in Russia or can be based on the driveline of the Boomerang 8x8 armored vehicle. Russia is able to use different wheeled chassis according to customer requirements.
Other countries in Europe and Asia have already developed light tank concepts based on a wheeled vehicle as the Centauro II manufactured by the Italian company Leonardo that can be armed with a 105 or a 120mm cannon or the Maneuver Combat Vehicle or MCV also called Type-16, an 8x8 anti-tank combat vehicle armed with a 105mm gun developed by the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
A light tank based on a wheeled chassis has the advantage of being lighter than the main battle tank, offering the same firepower and high level of mobility. It can be more easily air-transportable for fast deployment.
According to a scale model published on Internet, the Sprut-SDM1 will keep the same armament including a 125 mm 2A75M smoothbore tank gun which characteristics virtually match those of the 2A46M5 tank main armament. The gun can fire all types of ammunition designed for the T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks. It can also fire a modernized missile, a derivative of the Invar-M round.
The Sprut-SDM1 could be fitted on the Boomerang chassis offering the vehicle at a faster speed than a tracked vehicle. The Boomerang chassis with the Sprut-SDM turret keeps its amphibious capacities, in fact, the original Boomerang is fully amphibious, being propelled in the water by two propellers which were situated on either side of the hull at the rear.
