Poland’s current plans for a reinvented stealth tank of the future impressively combine intelligent design with revolutionary technologies that allow it to go undetected to the naked eye as well as thermal and radar imaging, among many other cool tricks.
Cloaking capabilities for military vehicles started developing as early as the 1940s. While we’ve come a long way from mounted lights, Poland’s current concept for a reinvented stealth tank of the future impressively combines intelligent design with revolutionary technologies that they believe will allow it to go undetected to the naked eye as well as thermal and radar imaging, among many other cool tricks.
OBRUM and BAE have teamed up to create the three-crew, 33-ton PL-01 — designed with a compact, low profile and offered in multiple, modular formats with plug-and-play add-ons like additional armor for high-threat environments or different turrets. Besides having the latest sensors and targeting systems with panoramic views enabling the Commander to essentially see through tank walls, the PL-01 can go 43 miles per hour and features a variety of weaponry including a 120 millimeter smoothbore cannon; 7.62 millimeter coaxial machine gun; smoke grenade launchers; and an active protection system.
Its chameleon-like capabilities come mostly from its radar-absorbing material and thermal tile mesh covering that mimics surroundings. The tiles can even display any preprogrammed image to make it look like something else completely.
A functional PL-01 prototype will be fielded sometime in 2016, and it’s expected to be produced as soon as 2018.
