In the early 1970s, the U.S. developed the first practical thermal imaging sights. Like starlight scopes, thermal imaging sights are entirely passive and do not require a searchlight. However, the technology is entirely different. Rather than sensing and amplifying natural light, thermal imaging sights pick up natural infrared energy, or heat, and create a video picture from it. Tanks, trucks, and humans all are slightly warmer than the natural background of earth and trees and, through a thermal imaging sight, will tend to stand out in distinct contrast to the background. This makes thermal imagers (also called FLIRs) ideal as tank sights. Not only do they enable tankers to see at night, but they highlight the sort of objects that tankers are most concerned about — other tanks.
The other distinct difference between thermal imaging sights and the two earlier generations of night sights is that thermal imaging sights are also useful during the daytime. Thermal sights can pick out the difference between tanks and background in daytime just as easily as at night. Even though a tank has a perfectly good daytime telescopic sight, in fact this is an enormous advantage. Modern battlefields are smoky, dusty places. Burning vehicles fill the air with thick clouds of oily smoke, hiding many objects from view. Also, modern tank guns, because of the enormous blast of their muzzles, kick up a great deal of dust and debris when firing. A tank with a thermal sight can see through much of the smoke and other obscurants on the modern battlefield.
Thermal imaging sights are a revolutionary development in tank fighting, in much the same way as radars were for aerial combat four decades ago. They make tanks all-weather, day and night weapons. They enable tanks to fight in conditions that would have otherwise been impossible. And they have interesting tactical implications. A force equipped with thermal sights, when encountering a force without such sights, can hide itself using smoke grenade launchers. While the tanks with thermal sights can see through the smoke, the other side cannot. And so the poorly equipped units are especially vulnerable, because they cannot return fire against their smoke-cloaked opponent. This is what occurred in our fictional scenario at Pressbach.
Why don't Soviet tanks have thermal sights? There are two reasons: cost and technology.
Thermal sights are extremely expensive. A fire control system incorporating a thermal sight can easily cost a quarter of a million dollars. On a tank like the Abrams, this is about 10 percent of the total tank cost. On the cheaper Soviet tanks, it would be an even greater fraction of the cost. The U.S. is planning on building about 7,000 Abrams tanks over the course of about ten years. The Soviets build that many tanks every two years. Thermal sights on these tanks are a luxury that the Soviet Army has so fer not been able to afford. The Soviets are capable of building thermal sights. Indeed, they have such sights on their attack helicopters and thermal pointers on certain fighter aircraft such as the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker. But thermal sights require very expensive manufacturing techniques. In the field of electro-optics, the Soviets have had real difficulties in mass producing many of the key high-tech electronic components. As a result, these components go to high-priority weapons like fighters and helicopters before they go to tanks.
The Soviets will probably eventually adopt thermal sights on some of their tanks. But given the sheer number of tanks needed to equip the Soviet Army, it will take the Soviets a much longer time to equip a significant portion of their force with this feature. By then, the U.S. and NATO may be adopting the next generation of multisensor sights with millimeter wave radars. The technological contest will continue. But at the moment, NATO has some important tactical advantages.
CHAPTER 4
Spetsnaz in Action: Scouting the Danube Bridgehead
Secondary Soviet Mechanized Attack
Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Isakov studied the children's drawings on the school wall. The primary school building near the Chaloupky Airfield had been taken over by his company for lack of enough space in the buildings at the base itself. Isakov could not speak Czech very well, but he could roughly make out the writing on the pencil drawings. The company commander, Maj. Nikolai Danilov, entered the classroom along with the company's zampolit, Capt. Aleksei Gelman.[30]
"Good morning, Misha. Where are the rest of the troublemakers?"
"Good morning, Comrade Major. The other platoon leaders will be here shortly," replied Isakov. As leader of the company's 1st Air Assault Platoon, Isakov always made sure his platoon came in first. He arrived at company meetings promptly to keep up the good name of the platoon with the company staff. The remaining platoon leaders trudged in a few moments later. At the head of the pack was the leader of the signals platoon, Sr. Lt. Ivan Varepa. He had been a fine sprinter while in the university, and his physique still showed it. The other two platoon leaders, Yegor Kostin of the 2d Air Assault Platoon, and Viktor Baladin of the 3d Platoon, were stockier. They were tough-looking characters, and Baladin had a broken nose from soccer.
"All right, you punks, we've got business to do," snapped Captain Gelman.
Obviously, the company political officer was annoyed at having to wait for the rest of the company officers. Two were still missing, Capt. Gennadi Vinik, the transport officer, and Lt. Pyotr Rushin, the company special weapons officer. The meeting began anyway.
Major Danilov began the briefing. "Soldiers, we have a tough assignment. But I am sure that the 404th Spetsnaz Company will make 4th Army proud. As you are aware, the 4th Army decided against using us for rear area raiding at the beginning of the war. The front's spetsnaz brigade is being used for this. We were being saved to spearhead a major operation. Today is it. The 4th Army should finally be breaking out of the damn forest by later today or tomorrow.
They need a crossing over the Danube River. The northern wing of our army has been the most successful, so they are being assigned the river crossing operation. It will take place here, between Deggendorf and Straubing." Major Danilov pointed to the map, and the lieutenants examined the 1:50,000 scale maps they had been issued.
The crossing was located at a bend of the Danube River. The northern bank was in the final foothills of the border region that 4th Army had been fighting through since the war began. The choice of the site made sense, since the area near the bend appeared to be flat and should prove to be a good staging area for all the equipment that would be needed to make a river assault. The terrain on the fer side of the river was flat and open— the kind of terrain the tankers and motor rifle boys had been praying for since the war began! The fighting in the forest had been miserably tough, from all the reports Isakov had heard.
"We will be parachuted over the Danube early tomorrow morning while it is still dark," continued Danilov. "There are three landing zones. Isakov, you and the 1st Platoon will have the one on the right, to the south-east, code-named Afrika. You will be dropped on the southern outskirts of Stephans-posching. Kostin, you will have the center drop area, here on the road between Wischlburg and Makofen, code-named Peru. And Baladin, you will be dropped in the northwest zone, here to the left, near Irlbach, code-named Kanada. We are going to break up the signals platoon to give each of you a squad. Two of the squad members will provide your radio communications, and the remainder can act as runners if you need them. Lieutenant Varepa, you and your senior sergeant will jump with the company headquarters into Landing Zone Peru along with Baladin's platoon. We will set up a company headquarters, probably around Makofen.
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