Tank Transports Dying Of Old Age

The U.S. Army is running out of heavy trucks and rail cars that can carry tanks and other armored vehicles long distances. Armored vehicles that run on tracks wear out quickly if they travel long distances. The tracks and the “running gear” (wheels and related mechanical components) are not durable, because of the heavy weight of these vehicles and the vulnerability of these “track laying systems” that are used because they are the only effective way to enable heavy vehicles to move cross country. After moving about a thousand kilometers under its own power the heavier (over 20 tons) tracked vehicles have to stop and replace worn out components. Because of this, armies use special flatbed railroad cars and tractor trailer trucks to move armored vehicles long distances. Both the rail cars and special trucks owned by the U.S. are wearing out and budget cuts are making it difficult to buy replacements.

 

A decade ago the army had about 2,000 Heavy Equipment Transporters. Each consisted of a heavy duty tractor that could haul 80 ton tanks on a flatbed trailer. These M1000 HETs (Heavy Equipment Trailers) cost about $400,000 each. The trailers weigh 25 tons and are 16.1 meters (52 feet) long and also carry lots of cargo, which they often do when not hauling M-1 tanks or other armored vehicles. The 20 ton M1070 tractor that usually pulls this trailer has a six man cab, so the tank crew can be carried as well. A decade of heavy use in Iraq and Afghanistan has reduced the number of working trainers to about 1,500 and some of these are in need of refurbishment.

 

The situation is worse with the special rail cars. The army bought 6,000 of these in the late 1960s but they only have a useful life of fifty years. The 1,300 owned by the Department of Defense have seen little use, but are dying of old age. New ones cost about $150,000 each. Another 4,500 are actually owned by railroads but the Department of Defense paid to equip them with the special features that enable them to carry tanks. These were more heavily used (to carry other cargo) and are all going to be gone because of old age. 

 

The army can improvise, if need be, using stock flatbed rail cars to carry tanks. It takes time to install additional features needed for this. Meanwhile the army still has some tank transport capability with the special tractor trailers, at least the ones that are not in the shop because of heavy use in the last decade. 

 

The rail car deal in the 1960s was in preparation for a major conventional war with the Soviet Union. That threat is gone, but there is still the possibility of tanks being needed in a hurry for some future war. Being ready for such a movement (of tanks from army bases to ports) is costly and may be too expensive in the face of budget cuts and the need for so many other items of equipment. Then again, the United States has deactivated most of the armored units it maintained during the Cold War. Thus there are not nearly as many armored battalions to move to ports.  The thousands of rail cars built to move tanks were built for a mobilization that is no longer possible.

China Calls It A Tank On Wheels

Four years ago China revealed an assault gun version of its ZBL 09 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle. This version has a small turret containing a 105mm gun, for providing direct fire support for troops. There was already an artillery version, carrying a 122mm howitzer in a larger turret. There are several other versions, and apparently more on the way.

 

The Chinese Army has been recently referring to this vehicle as a wheeled light tank. It’s unclear if this means a new doctrine about how the ZBL 09/105mm is to be used, or if the vehicle remains assigned to infantry support work with some extra training for shooting up other armored vehicles. The 105mm gun carried is not powerful enough to destroy most modern tanks, but could knock out most other armored vehicles. 

 

The basic ZBL 09 is a 21 ton vehicle that has a crew of three and carries seven passengers. The vehicle is 8 meters (25 feet) long, three meters (9.2 feet) wide and 2.1 meters (6.5 feet, to the hull roof) high. It's amphibious, and has a top water speed of 8 kilometers an hour. On roads, top speed is 100 kilometers an hour, and max road range on internal fuel is 800 kilometers. The infantry carrier version has a turret with a 30mm autocannon. There are also artillery versions carrying either a 105mm or 122mm howitzer.

 

The ZBL 09 entered service in 2009, and some combat brigades are being equipped with it, to operate somewhat like the American Stryker brigades. China has been developing new wheeled armored vehicles for over a decade. Until recently, these were all based on Russian designs. The ZBL 09, however, borrows more ideas from the West. Still, some of the more recent (five years ago) Russian type designs were interesting, and instructive.

 

Back then, for example, the 18 ton, 6x6 WMZ551A model was given a new turret. The vehicle has a crew of three and can carry nine more troops. Using technology and weapons obtained from Ukraine, the new vehicle has a 30mm autocannon, instead of 25mm. More importantly, the new turret has an improved fire control system (containing a laser range finder, and a vidcam that shows the vehicle commander what the gunner sees.) This is apparently related to earlier Chinese efforts to upgrade its BMP1 tracked infantry fighting vehicles, with BMP3 turrets from Russia. These also have the 30mm cannon. The main problem with all these upgrades was money. The government wanted Chinese-made weapons to be used, as they are cheaper, and supply is more assured. But the Chinese manufacturers didn't want to move up to the 30mm autocannon design just yet. Many Chinese generals believed that the Chinese 25mm autocannon was sufficient. All that has changed.

 

There was always agreement that an improved fire control system was a good thing. But there was not much space available inside a BMP. Some export models of the BMP3, when equipped with a thermal imager, had to mount some of that gear on the outside of the vehicle. There was also agreement that wheeled armored vehicles for the infantry might be a better investment.

 

The Chinese have been observing NATO success in Iraq with the Stryker and LAV wheeled combat vehicles. Chinese designers eventually concluded that the roomier internal layout of Western vehicles did serve a useful purpose, and the ZBL 09, and all the electronics installed in it, are an example of what the Chinese learned.