The
typical roles and missions of MBTs have evolved over time.
Today, MBTs have to fulfil a broad range of missions, incl.
peacekeeping and others.
This has led to numerous changes in their typical specification.
What has not changed over all these years is one key requirement:
users are still expecting a maximum level of mobility, even
if vehicle weights are increasing due to higher protection
levels etc. Another unchanged key requirement is that users
expected, and they will continue to do so, a maximum level
of reliability. Armies need a high level of availability
of their vehicles, even when operating them over many years
in missions far away from home.
“Maximize
MBT mobility and availability” is the mission of SESM,
a French company member of the German group RENK, world
specialist in automatic transmissions for MBT. Located at
30km from Paris, SESM develops and produces modern powerpacks
for military vehicles.
One
of its flagship products, the Powerpack ESM350 (maximum
1200hp), is dedicated to modernization or new production
programmes of T-90 and T-72 based vehicles, providing them
unprecedented mobility.
Thanks
to the fully automatic powershift transmission including
steering by a steering wheel, the driver can really focus
on his mission. The fatigue due to the repeated efforts
on the two brake-lever steering, the risk to damage the
transmission by a wrong manoeuvre, the possibility to destroy
the engine by over-speed or overheat are now forgotten.
The transmission electronic management selects always the
most adequate gear, whatever the terrain. The engine power
is now used in the most intelligent manner, extending the
engine lifetime and reducing the fuel consumption. The shifting
time, reduced to some tens of milliseconds, cancels the
torque interruption while shifting, enabling continued accelerations
on steep slopes for example. On the contrary to the original
manual gearboxes, the gear shifting can occur at any time,
while steering, braking or accelerating. New features, like
true pivot on the spot or infinitely variable steering radii,
make the vehicle much more mobile also for urban environments.
The engine options include the various upgrades based on
the original T-90/T-72 engine and different western diesel
engines (France, Italy), up to 1200hp. All together, the
mobility of the vehicle is significantly improved.
But
a modern Powerpack is not only an intelligent transmission
coupled to a powerful engine. It also includes a high performance
cooling system making the full engine power available even
in extremely hot (desert) conditions. The air flow generated
by two high speed fans is automatically adjusted depending
on the cooling needs. This provides a stable coolant temperature,
good for the engine lifetime as well.
Very
compact, the Powerpack ESM350 fits into either a T-90 or
any T-72 and derivatives (PT-91, M-84) without deep modification
of the chassis. Versatile, it can be installed in a MBT,
an ARV, an AVLB or an AEV in less than one hour, even in
the battlefield. This quick replacement simplifies drastically
the maintenance and logistics, the vehicle downtime are
reduced to a minimum. This leads to an excellent fleet availability,
limiting the total number of vehicles of the fleet for a
maximized number of vehicles in service.
This
Powerpack has been selected by the Malaysian Armed Forces
to equip their brand new MBT, the PT-91M produced by the
Polish group Bumar.
For
heavier applications (greater than 50 tons class vehicles),
SESM offers high-end Powerpacks with similar features but
with engine power up to 1500hp. In service in the French
Leclerc and successfully tested in the MBT2000 (Al-Khalid),
the fully automatic powershift transmission ESM500, comprises
a secondary retarder and a torque converter, 5 speed forward
and 2 speed reverse. The braking system, separated from
the transmission, includes dry carbon-carbon disk technology,
providing extremely high deceleration. The powerful hydrostatic
steering unit allows a 360° pivot on the spot in less
than 10 seconds.
Original
designer of the transmission ENC200 of the French AMX30B2,
SESM offers also upgrade packages for the AMX30 and derivatives
(air defence Shahine, artillery AUF1). A modern diesel engine,
up to 750hp, coupled to the semi-automatic transmission
ENC200 (fully automatic in option) and an efficient cooling
system is proposed.
With
a lot of Powerpack integration experiences in the world,
SESM can manage the complete work in collaboration with
local partners.
SESM
is the company selected by the French Army for the maintenance
of the Leclerc and the AMX30B2 transmissions. |
Until
today, the T-72 remains one of the most popular MBTs worldwide.
Introduced in the 70s with a remarkably compact design,
various modifications and upgrade programs (protection,
night vision, etc) aimed at improving the combat effectiveness.
However, the mobility of the vehicle typically remained
at the original level, with a 780 hp engine, two separate
manual transmissions and conventional steering with two
manually operated brake levers. This driveline is the
virtually unchanged for the T-90 which is considered as
a modern tank but still uses two separate manual transmissions
and the same old-fashioned steering system. The T-90 is
equipped with a 1000 hp engine, but is no big leap forward
in the mobility of the vehicle, as most of the 70’s
design drawbacks persist: poor cooling system, slow manual
gearboxes, difficult to handle for tired or inexperienced
drivers, long vehicle downtime in case of repair, and
a reliability which may fall below expectations.
But modern powerpacks for T-72/T-90 are now available.
The French company SESM (member of the German group RENK,
world leader in automatic transmission for tanks) offers
a powerpack which improves drastically the mobility of
the T-72/T-90 class. The powerpack fits into the existing
chassis and only minor modifications are necessary on
the inside. This way, the Powerpack is an option for new-production
as well as for upgrade programs. The Powerpack comprises
a fully automatic power-shift transmission, a high performance
cooling system designed for hot climatic conditions and
an engine with a maximum power of 1200hp. Various engine
options are available. The complete Powerpack can be exchanged
in less than one hour in field condition, a big advantage
for the logistics, and also improving fleet availability
and reducing fleet operating costs. One standard Powerpack
can equip a complete class of vehicles, including T-72/T-90
and their derivatives ARV, AEV, AVLB, etc...
The system is currently available in the new Malaysian
MBT PT-91M (Poland).
This powerpack should be interesting for all existing
and future users of T-72/T-90, as it overcomes one of
the weak points of these tanks at reasonable investment.
In return, it makes T-72/T-90 an attractive option for
many years to come.
SESM also offers modern powerpacks for many other tanks,
incl. a 1500 hp PP for Al-Khalid (MBT2000), and also for
the AMX-30 and derivatives (air defense Shahine, artillery
AUF1).
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