1K17 Szhatie

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A preserved 1K17 Szhatie.

The 1K17 Szhatie (Russian: 1К17 Сжатие — "Compression") is a self-propelled

Msta-S chassis with a battery of laser projectors mounted in the turret. It was developed by the Soviet Union
in order to disable the optical-electronic equipment of enemy missiles, ground and aerial vehicles.

History

The 1K17 Szhatie was developed in the 1970s and 1980s. Although the Soviet Union attempted to keep the plans secret, the Pentagon managed to obtain drawings from defectors. Western intelligence services code named it the Stiletto. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the development of the Szhatie was abandoned, as the development and manufacturing of the laser projection system had become too expensive and unnecessary. Two of these "tanks" were tested, with one being scrapped and the other being displayed in the Army Technology Museum near Moscow, but without its laser projector.

Design

The "tank" used an intense laser beam to disable the optical-electronic equipment of the enemy vehicles. This was created by focusing light through 30 kg of artificial rubies, which made the whole system very expensive to produce. The optics that produced the laser were placed at the end of a silver coated spiral which helped amplify the beam and increase convergence. The energy to power the laser was provided by a generator and an auxiliary battery system. The lenses themselves were able to operate in different environments by moving metal caps closer to protect the lens. It was also equipped with a 12.7mm NSV machine gun to defend itself against attacks by infantry and air.

A similar laser system was also developed around the same time named "Sangvin", which was based on the

ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.[1]

Trivia

This vehicle has sparked a folk tale in Romania according to which Romanian President

USSR
and equipped them with the so-called "laser weapons".

There are no witnesses or evidence to support that this encounter was real or that such weapon ever existed.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Боевые квантовые генераторы СССР" [Military quantum generators of the USSR]. army-news.ru (in Russian). Армейский вестник. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
  2. ^ Teodoreanu, Daniel (January 7, 2016). "TANCURILE RUSEŞTI topite de ARMA LASER a României, în 1968. Adevăr sau propagandă în SUPER LEGENDA COMUNISMULUI? Există informaţii, dar nimeni nu şi le asumă". evz.ro. Retrieved March 4, 2022.

External links

Media related to Laser tank 1K17 at Wikimedia Commons