In Development: T-15 Kinzhal

Commanders!

Today, we’d like to tell you about the first – and main – prize that’s coming in the next Battle Path we call Wars of the Past. It is the T-15 Kinzhal Tank Destroyer.

Now, you’re all familiar with the T-15 – this heavy IFV variant of the Armata platform was added to the game all the way back in 2016 and remains to this day one of the most popular high-Tier vehicles, especially for PvE. You can read more about its history in our dedicated article but, long story short, its fate was similar to the T-14 MBT. They built a couple of pieces and paraded them around during the yearly celebrations in May, but little more came of it. Right now, perhaps a dozen of T-15’s exists, all of them more or less hand-crafted prototypes.

Which brings us to the vehicle at hand. In 2019, a different version of the T-15 appeared in public. Instead of the standard Bumerang-BM turret, it featured a different combat module called Kinzhal. The main difference between the turrets is the presence of a 57mm gun, a massive upgrade over the original 30mm autocannon.

Of course, the concept is nothing new. The Armata platform was unveiled in 2015 and the first rumors about a 57mm turret version began to circulate roughly a year later. Back then, the concept was supposed to be armed with an older turret called AU-220M and was commonly referred to by the media as “Terminator-3”.

The Kinzhal module seems to be a development of the AU-220M module and belongs to the family of three weapon platforms that complement each other:

• Bumerang-BM turret with a 30mm autocannon
• Epoch turret with a short 57mm gun
• Kinzhal turret with a long 57mm gun

The Kinzhal module was developed in 2018 by the Burevestnik design bureau and first appeared in public at the Army 2018 expo, although the module displayed back then was either a mock-up or a prototype. The finalized variant (which can be recognized primarily by hooded ATGM tubes) only appeared a year after, in 2019, during the Victory Day military parade.

The module weighs some 4 tons and its armament consists of a long 57mm gun (likely some version of the same gun the Derivatsiya uses), a machinegun and a two-barreled ATGM launcher (either Ataka or Kornet ATGM). The gun itself fires basic armor-piercing or high-explosive ammunition. The APCBC ammo can penetrate roughly 100mm to 120mm of steel angled at 60 degrees at the range of 1500 meters. The gun’s maximum elevation is +60 degrees with the maximum depression being -5 degrees. The estimated rate of fire is 80 rounds per minute and the turret carries 80 rounds.

This module’s raison d’être is likely not just the ability to engage slower flying targets at longer ranges, but also the ever-increasing protection levels of modern western IFVs. The 30mm caliber is generally considered obsolete and is being moved away from, even though modern autocannons of this size do still get developed. The battlefield isn’t what it used to be – either you participate in asymmetric warfare, or you face modern opponents. The days of thin-skinned IFVs such as the BMP-1 invading en-masse are long over.

With that being said, not even Russia – typically known for exaggerating the intended service numbers – is planning to produce the T-15 heavy IFV with the Kinzhal module en masse. The Armata platform is expensive and equipping large amounts of infantry units with this behemoth is simply not viable. The intentions are clear – arm only the elite, specialized units with the T-15. However, whether that will really happen or not remains to be seen. Right now, two or three pieces of this vehicle exist and are participating in various expos and parades.

In Armored Warfare, the T-15 Kinzhal will be a Tier 10 Premium Tank Destroyer as well as the top prize of the Wars of the Past Battle Path campaign.

But before we tell you more about it, here’s the usual disclaimer:

The numbers below are very preliminary as the vehicle has not been properly tested. They are sure to change and should only be discussed as an indicator of how we’d like to set the vehicle up.

With that being said:

For the most part, the T-15 Kinzhal will resemble the standard T-15. The protection systems, the camouflage and the mobility will be roughly the same, although the Kinzhal will feature an additional module improving acceleration by 15 percent.

The main difference will, of course, be the different turret featuring a 57mm gun similar to the one of the Derivatsiya. However, this gun will use a different mechanic – a rapid three round burst with increasing penetration for each shell within the burst (this mechanism is similar to the Griffin 50mm one). The gun will use an AP shell only (520mm of penetration, 92 points damage per shot) with the final shell of the burst being capable of penetrating even an MBT frontally.

On the downside, there will only be a single ATGM launcher with two Kornet missiles (tandem HEAT warhead, 1300mm of penetration and 1100 points damage per shot).

The gun will also have only mediocre gun depression (-6 degrees). In other words, this T-15 will shift its firepower focus from ATGMs to its gun. With these three round bursts, we’re looking at roughly 24.000 points of damage per minute. For the ATGMs, you’ll be able to choose between two modes (mutually exclusive additional progression modules):

• Improved launcher (2.7s between launches, 17 second magazine reload time)
• Double launch (two missiles launch at once, 22 second magazine reload time)

And that’s pretty much it. The other features that you know and love on the T-15 are there as well – Mechanized Infantry deployment or the Supercharged Hard-Kill APS ability.

We hope that you’ll enjoy this take on the T-15 and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!