M60A3 TIFCS - Royal Thai Army's Renovated Hitter

WreckingAres283 · March 6, 2024, 11:46pm

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M60A3 TIFCS - Royal Thai Army’s Renovated Hitter

Hi and welcome to my 38th suggestion, which is about the Royal Thai Army’s M60A3 TIFCS, hope you like it. :popcorn:

First of all:

This is a suggestion for a Vehicle we could see in game at some point in the Future , that doesn´t mean next Patch or somewhere in the near Future
Feel free to share more Information and / or correct me if something is wrong
Discuss respectfully, any aggressive kind or verbal abuse will be reported, the Forum rules also apply here

Basic Background

The M60A3 was developed in response to the need for an improved version of the M60 series in 1976, particularly to address problems with the M60A2 and the outdating M60A1 tanks.
Production of the M60A3 began in 1978, with the first units delivered to army units in Europe starting in 1979. However, the M60A3 was considered a stopgap solution as development of the XM1 Abrams main battle tank was already underway. Nevertheless, production continued and a total of over 15,000 M60s were built. Procurement of M60A3 tanks for the U.S. Army ended in 1983, but production for foreign military sales, including orders from Egypt in 1985, continued. In addition, various modernization programs have been carried out to modernize existing fleets in other countries.
The Royal Thai Army ordered 125 M60A3 TTS tanks from the US reserve through the FMS program around 1996, with the mission of enhancing border defense. By 2015, M60A3 TTS’ were modernized by the Israeli company Elbit Systems. The modernization was intended to improve the performance of the main battle tank M60A3 in order to stay in service longer, improve firepower and also easier to use at night.

grafik

The M60A3 TIFCS Overall

The modernization of the original M60A3 TTS to the current one is extensive. The most obvious and externally visible is the new Thermal Fire Control System (TIFCS) with HMA (Head Mirror Assembly) from Elbit Systems, which is also used on the Merkava Mk.4. In order not to hinder the installation of the new FCS and the use of the commander hatch, it has been raised up by around 10cm, which can be clearly seen, especially in close-ups. The 105mm M68 has been given a thermal sleeve to improve heat resistance, which was previously not available on the M60A1 RISE (P) and M60A3 TTS of the Royal Thai Army.

Visual Differences Highlighted

M60A3 TIFCS:

M60A3 ทบ Upgrade-20

M60A3 TTS:

grafik

Another major change can be found inside; The old turret steering system was replaced by a new electronic one. The ammunition arsenal is made up of various bullets; the strongest is the new M426 APFSDS, followed by M735A1, M456A2 HEAT-MP and L35 HESH.
Except everything mention before, the Thai M60A3 TIFCS is identical to the examples in the game; a laser-based rangefinder,
weighing 54.6 tons, powered by a Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12 with 750 hp, a top speed of 48 km/h, armed with an M68 105mm gun, along with a 7.62mm M240 and .50 M85 machine guns, smoke grenades and four crew members.

Thanks for your time, hope you liked it :salute:
[Will add more if there are some (more) important / declassified things]
[PM or comment if a Link or Picture isn´t working]