MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Tank crews in the Western Military District are mastering a new, more complicated combat training program in 2014.
"If tank crews are to be certified in a drill, they will have to learn to hit targets positioned at a distance of 2,200 meters, compared to the current 1,600 - 1,800 meters," the military district's staff said in a statement, received by Interfax on Monday.
The increase in the "open fire" range in the drills is due to a complete switch to new and deeply modernized T-72B3 tanks, the statement says.
Unlike the older models the T-72B3 has a radically new fire control system with a capability of hitting targets at a longer distance. The new-generation digital ballistic computer, which is the core element in the fire control system, cuts preparation time significantly. The thermal vision channel of the main sighting device guarantees the sighting gear's reliable operation in any weather and at any time of the day. A laser range finder of the sighting system guarantees the acquisition of accurate data on the movement of the target (route and speed) within a distance of up to seven kilometers from the tank, the statement says.
More than 150 T-72B3 tanks were delivered to the Western Military District's combined arms formations in 2013.
In this connection, complexity was added to the "target situation" at the tanks' mean line of fire at the combined arms training grounds of the Western Military District, the statement says.