Foreign Armored Vehicle Remote Control Weapon Station

The development of remote-controlled weapon stations is closely related to the evolution of modern forms of warfare. In modern warfare, armored vehicles not only have to undertake the main task of assault and defense in plain areas. It also needs to undertake urban combat, mountain combat, anti-terrorism operations, riot control, peacekeeping and other tasks, which places higher requirements on the weapon system capabilities of armored vehicles.

The weapon system of traditional armored vehicles is a two-man turret or a single-man turret. The two-man turret has the disadvantages of being large and heavy, but it allows the commander to obtain the best battlefield situational awareness through direct panoramic visual observation. The larger outline also provides space for installing additional armor, main or auxiliary weapons, and sights. Equipment, etc. provide convenience. The disadvantage is that the double gondola occupies a large fixed space in the vehicle, thereby reducing the space and flexibility for carrying infantry and placing other equipment. Compared with the two-man turret, the single-man turret is smaller and lighter in weight, making it easier to install on light or medium armored vehicles, but it reduces the commander's situational awareness.

Compared with traditional manned turrets, remote-controlled weapon stations have the following characteristics. One is smaller size and lighter weight. It can be installed on various armored vehicles as needed, which is beneficial to improving the battlefield survivability and maneuverability of armored vehicles. Second, the shooter's combat position is reduced to the inside of the vehicle body, which avoids the danger of exposing weapons operated outside the vehicle, which is conducive to improving the shooter's battlefield survivability and continuous combat capabilities. The third is the completely overhead installation method, which avoids the turret basket and other sagging parts of weapons from occupying the space in the vehicle. This allows the shooter (gunner) to sit anywhere in the vehicle, which is conducive to optimizing the space layout in the vehicle. Fourth, by installing optical sights, laser rangefinders, infrared thermal imaging cameras, video cameras, ballistic computers, servo mechanisms, stabilizing devices and display terminals, functions such as automatic target search, identification, tracking, stable aiming, and remote-controlled shooting can be realized. , which is conducive to improving the shooting accuracy and combat capabilities of weapons. Fifth, the main and auxiliary weapons can be optionally equipped with small and medium-caliber light weapons such as 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, 12.7 mm machine guns and 25-40 mm machine guns, as well as grenade launchers and anti-tank missile launchers, so that the armored vehicle has strong fire strike capabilities and Task adaptability. Sixth, based on its own various observation and sighting instruments, it can become a node of the battlefield information network by installing global positioning systems, on-board computers and battlefield management systems, which will help improve the overall combat effectiveness of the troops.

01

Norwegian M151 "Protector" universal remote control weapon station

The "Protector" series of Universal Remotely Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS) produced by Norway's Kongsberg Defense Systems includes M151, M153, medium-caliber remote-controlled turrets and streamlined models. Currently, the "Protector" series of universal remote-controlled weapon stations have been equipped with the armies of more than ten countries around the world, with the U.S. Army being the largest user.

The M151 "Protector" universal remote control weapon station is the earliest remote-controlled weapon station in the "Protector" series with the largest sales volume and the most mature performance. It weighs 135 kg and has a height of 749 mm. Adopting a modular open design, it can be equipped with optional M249 5.56mm light machine gun, M240 7.62mm general machine gun, M2 12.7mm heavy machine gun, MK19 40mm automatic grenade launcher, etc. It is equipped with 16 smoke screen launchers, which can target The entire vehicle, including the remote-controlled weapon station system, provides protection. A separate aiming line system is used to realize automatic aiming of different ballistic weapons, and a shock-absorbing stabilization system is configured to ensure accurate aiming and shooting during vehicle travel and weapon launch. A daytime color imaging system is used to identify and aim short-range targets, and a 30x magnification viewing device and an eye-safe laser rangefinder can be used for long-distance targets. The drive system can achieve 360° omnidirectional rotation, with a high and low range of -20°-+60°, a maximum azimuth angular speed of 100°/second, and a maximum high and low angular speed of 50°/second.

02

Norwegian "Protector" Zhongkou Jingzhai remote control turret

The "Protector" medium-caliber remote-controlled turret is essentially a remote-controlled weapon station with advanced armor protection capabilities. When the armor protection level reaches level 4 of the NATO-4569 standard, the weight including weapons and ammunition is 2,000 kilograms. The "Protector" medium-caliber remote-controlled turret adopts a modular design and can be equipped with a 25-50mm medium-caliber machine gun. It can fire air-burst bombs, high-explosive bombs and armor-piercing bombs. The coaxial weapon can be equipped with a 5.56-7.62mm machine gun. It is also optional Comes with anti-tank missiles and non-lethal weapons.

Based on the fire control system capabilities of the "Protector" remote-controlled weapon station, the fire control system of the "Protector" medium-caliber remote-controlled turret can also provide the commander with independent surveillance and the ability to launch lethal/non-lethal weapons, with hunting- Annihilation capability. The drive system can achieve 3600-degree omnidirectional rotation, a high and low range of -20°-+60°, a maximum azimuth angular speed of 100°/second, and a maximum high and low angular speed of 50°/second. The "Protector" medium-caliber remote-controlled turret can also be equipped with an optional battlefield management system and armor protection components, which can realize the conversion of armor protection levels from Level 1 to Level 4 of the NATO-4569 standard.

03

Swedish "Lemur" remote-controlled weapon station

The initial development concept of the "LEMUR" remote-controlled weapon station was a top-mounted stable aiming system. It later gradually developed into a complete series of "modular joint optoelectronic aiming and remote-controlled weapon platforms", including the "LEMUR" S ( Aiming and Warning), Lemur W (Weapons Station) and Lemur SW (Weapons and Warning). All three are fully electronically controlled and gyro-stabilized, and the latter two are remote-controlled weapon stations.

Excluding weapons and ammunition, the "Lemur" remote-controlled weapon station weighs about 270 kilograms and can be equipped with a 12.7mm machine gun (300 rounds of ammunition) or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher (64 rounds of ammunition). The latest "Lemur" remote-controlled weapon station can also be equipped with an M242 25mm machine gun or a 30mm machine gun, and is equipped with a 7.62mm parallel machine gun, which increases its total combat weight to 450 kilograms.

The "Lemur" remote-controlled weapon station is fully stable and equipped with a soft braking device, so the launch platform has high stability. The observation and sighting device includes a thermal infrared camera connected in parallel with a day camera and a laser rangefinder, with a 3600-degree omnidirectional field of view and a height and low range of -20. ~+60°, the sighting device is installed under the weapon system, and has armor protection on it, which can withstand attacks from small-caliber bullets and shell fragments. The Lemur remote-controlled weapon station adopts a modular design and can also integrate combat management systems, auxiliary protection components, smoke grenade launchers and automatic target trackers.

04

Italy and "Punch" 30 Overhead Weapon Station

The "Punch" 30 overhead weapon station manufactured by the Italian company Otto Melera is essentially a remote-controlled weapon station, which fills the gap between the "Strike" remote-controlled weapon station (mounted with a 12.7 mm caliber machine gun) and the "Punch" "The space between 30 manned turrets (mounted with 30 mm caliber machine guns).

The "Punch" 30 can be equipped with a Mk44 30mm machine gun, and the auxiliary weapon is a 7.62mm machine gun. It can also be equipped with 2 "Javelin" or "Spike" anti-tank missiles, which can replenish ammunition for the weapon in the vehicle. The fire control system adopts a gyro stabilization device and has the ability to observe and shoot day and night. It is equipped with sensor components such as CCD cameras, second-generation infrared cameras, and eye-safe laser rangefinders. It can also be equipped with self-stabilizing daytime cameras and third-generation infrared cameras. and other sensors, with complete hunting-annihilation capabilities. After installing the commander's auxiliary control device, both the gunner and the commander can independently control the weapon. The drive system adopts digital electronic control and can also be manually controlled. It has a gyro stabilization device and a gun sighting system, which can realize 360° rotation of the weapon and sighting system in the azimuth direction and -10°-70° movement in the pitch direction, which is very suitable for dealing with cities. various goals in the environment. The total combat weight of the remote-controlled weapon station after installing the "Spike" anti-tank missile launcher is 1,550 kilograms. The armor protection level complies with Level 1 of the NATO-4569 protection standard. After adding additional protective armor to reach Level 3 protection level, the total combat weight increased to 1750 kg.