M-84A4 Sniper: A Joint Legacy

Yontzee · July 20, 2023, 4:18am

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M-84A4 Sniper: A Joint Legacy

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A Slovenian M-84A4 Sniper main battle tank.

Description:
- Role: Main Battle Tank
- Origin: Croatia/Slovenia
- Manufacturer: Đuro Đaković spezialna vozila dd
- Summary:
  - The M-84 is a Yugoslavian main battle tank developed in the late-1970’s, early 1980’s by the Military Technical Institute of Belgrade. Developed from the Soviet T-72M, the M-84 was produced since 1984 and received multiple upgrades through its lifetime with the new default being the M-84A. These upgrades significantly enhanced the overall firepower, mobility, and armor protection of the vehicle, allowing it to compare favorably to the T-72A of the Soviet Army. The M-84A features a SUV-M-84 fire control system (FCS) from the base M-84, a locally designed FCS that allows for far better targeting and engagement of targets, and enhanced sights to augment the main gun, a 2A46M 125mm smoothbore gun. Supplementing the main gun is a 7.62mm M86 machine gun as well as a 12.7mm M87 anti-aircraft machine gun. The M-84 is crewed by a team of 3 personnel, the Commander, Gunner, and Driver. The M-84A was upgraded with a locally produced V-46TK diesel engine with an output of 1,000hp as well as a 7-to-1 V1000-7 Mechanical Transmission for speeds up to 65km/h. The M-84 and M-84A was used by the Yugoslavian Army before being passed on to successor states, who themselves continued modernizing the M-84/M-84A.
  - One variant developed by Croatia and Slovenia, the M-84A4 Sniper provided a significant upgrade over the base M-84 or M-84A. With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Croatia found itself limited in vehicle production due to only producing a quarter of equipment needed for M-84 production. However, the Croatian company, Đuro Đaković, managed to continue production of the M-84. Following a joint partnership with Slovenia in the 1990’s, designers decided to focus on improving the SUV-M-84 fire control system (FCS) found on the M-84/M-84A. The result was a new fire control system dubbed Omega-84 which offered significant improvements over the original FCS. This included a newly upgraded gunner sight named the SCS-84 which incorporated new stabilization, a new digital ballistic computer, new electric/hydraulic turret motors, and enhanced laser rangefinder, increasing overall firepower and response. Other sensors included is new wind, tilt, and direction sensors which fed into the ballistic computer and a LIRD-4A laser warning receiver to alert the crew of incoming laser guided missiles and laser rangefinding equipment. No further upgrades were done on armor or maneuverability, maintaining the M-84A’s composite armor and original powerpack. The M-84A4 is equipped with UHF VRQ 316 HE/HG transceivers operated by the Commander to provide battlefield awareness. The M-84A4 Sniper has the option of incorporating the German MTU 880 Diesel Engine capable of 1,100 horsepower. The M-84A4 Sniper went into production by Đuro Đaković, with around 150 units produced. The Croatian and Slovenian Army’s are the main users of the M-84A4 Sniper and are still active today. The Croatian M-84A4 Sniper’s are expected to receive the 12.7mm Kongsberg Remote Weapon Station, providing the M-84A4 with hunter-killer capabilities and thermal imaging for the commander. In the early 2000’s a new modernization commenced which resulted in a prototype tank known as the M-95 Degman which itself is a continuation of the M-91 Vihor as well as the M-84D, new types of main battle tanks featuring enchantments to the FCS and dynamic protection.
Armament:
- Primary: 125mm 2A46M Smoothbore Gun
  - Cartridge: 125mm
    - Ammunition:
      - APFSDS-T
      - HEAT-FS
      - HE-FRAG
    - Feed System:
      - Autoloader-22rds (42rds total)
    - Rate of Fire (RoF): 8rds/min
    - Depression/Elevation: -6/+13 degrees
    - Turret Movement Velocity:
      - Traverse: 285mils/s
      - Depression/Elevation: 70mils/s
      - Rate: 340mils/s
- Coaxial: M86 7.62mm Machine Gun
- Tertiary: M87 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun
Maneuverability:
- Engine:
  - Primary: 1,000hp V-46TK Diesel Engine
  - Optional:
    - 780hp V-46-6 Diesel Engine
    - 1,100hp MTU 880 Diesel Engine
- Transmission: V1000-7 Mechanical Transmission (7-forward, 1-Reverse)
- Chassis: Torsion Bar
- Max Speed: 65km/h
Dimensions:
- Length: 9.53m (w/ gun forward)
- Width: 3.59m
- Height: 2.19m
- Weight: 42t
Crew (3x):
- Commander
- Gunner
- Driver
Accessories:
- 12x 81mm Smoke Grenade Launchers
- ESS
- Laser Rangefinder
- LIRD-4A Laser Warning Receiver
- Entrenching Blade
- Armor:
  - New quartz/sand mixture with protection against 105mm rounds.
- NVD:
  - Driver: TNPO-168V Day Periscope/PPV-2 Passive Periscope (Passive IR)
  - Gunner: SCS-84 Electro-optical Sight (Passive IR)
  - Commander: DNKS-2 Day/Night Periscope (Passive IR)
In-game:
- The M-84A4 Sniper is a further upgrade to the M-84A and maintains itself as a brawler tank. Note operators should prevent exposing the sides and LFP due to similar weakness of the T-series main battle tank. It’s best to remain hull down. While the M-84 itself would be a realistic battle rating of 9.0, the M-84A4 Sniper is well set at BR 9.3 due to retaining the enhanced armor and powerpack of the M-84A, while being upgraded with a modern fire control system allowing for fast response. Not to mention a Laser Warning Receiver to alert the operator of incoming missiles or targeting equipment. Due to the similarities of the M-84A and M-84A4 Sniper, the two vehicles should be foldered together at BR 9.3.
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