The inability of Russia's heavily armored T-72 main battle tanks to survive against Ukrainian Ground Forces infantry armed with cheap rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) has led the Kremlin to develop concepts for an entirely new tank with better armor or a tank whose mission will be to protect other tanks.

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For want of a better moniker, this new concept is being bandied about as "Tank 2.0." There's nothing definite about it except it's the subject of serious discussion by the Kremlin and its weapon's designers, said Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST).

What Russia is looking for is a new tank or a machine like a tank more capable of defending itself against missile-equipped infantry and attacking other vehicles at stand-off ranges with anti-tank missiles, said Pukhov. He pointed to the painful experience of Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine that lost well-protected T-72 to volleys of RPGs.

"We discovered that no matter how skillful the crew, the tank would get up to 10 hits," said Pukhov.

"Even if you have perfect armor -- active, passive. In one case it will save you from one hit, in another case from two hits, but you'll still get five hits and you're done. That's why now you're supposed to have some kind of Tank 2.0."

He claims Russia already has a prototype of this Tank 2.0 called the "fighting vehicle to support tank attack" or "Boyevaya Mashina Podderzhki Tankov." It goes by the Hollywood-like name, Terminator.

Pukhov alleges there have been two versions of the Terminator concept developed so far. Another version is based on the T-14 Armata tank chassis still in development.

Despite the lengthy name that implies Tank 2.0 will be a tank that protects other tanks, Terminator will be an entirely new tank, claims Pukhov.

"Unfortunately, neither the concept nor the technologies are ready," said Pukhov. "But the era of new tanks is very close."

TagsRussia, Tank 2.0, Ruslan Pukhov, T-72, Terminator