Russia’s Rostec is set to conduct firing trials of the Sprut-SDM1 light amphibious tank on the Black Sea.
The move comes after the light amphibious tank completed the first stage of state trials in maritime conditions.
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Developed by Rostec’s High-Precision Weapons holding company, the Sprut-SDM1 light amphibious tank can hit targets up to 5km away.
The tank has a 125mm 2A75 cannon capable of firing armour-piercing sub-calibre, cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation shells and other ammunition.
A UTD-29 500-horsepower multi-fuel diesel engine enables the military vehicle to travel with a crew of three members at speeds up to 70km/h on land and up to 10km/h on water.
Rostec Weapons, Ammunition and Special Chemistry industrial director Bekkhan Ozdoev said: “Sprut-SDM1 is not inferior in firepower to tanks such as T-80, T-90, and its mobility on land and water is at the level of BMD-4M.
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By GlobalData“The tank is capable of completing complex tactical missions, in particular, reconnaissance, working as part of raid or forward detachments, defence manoeuvres, attacking through water obstacles, amphibious operations, and territory control.
“The main operator or Sprut is the Russian Airborne Forces, but I am sure it will also interest foreign customers.”
The second stage of state trials will include testing Sprut-SDM1 firing capabilities when afloat. The first stage involved testing Sprut-SDM1’s navigation capabilities and transporting the tank by large landing ships.
Later this year, Rostec plans to commence climatic tests to assess its performance in cold conditions.
The full cycle of state trials is scheduled to be completed early next year. Based on the results, the tank will be assigned with the label ‘O1’ to initiate serial production.
The light amphibious tank is also expected to be recommended for adoption by the Russian Army.
Last month, Rostec unit the Central Scientific-Research Institute for Precision Machine Engineering (TsNIITochMash) developed new ammunition to protect armoured vehicles from high-precision weapons.
