Object 292

Object 292

Object 292

USSR

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.7	10.7	10.7

Class:

Medium tank

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Description

The Object 292 was the among one of the most ambitious attempts during the final days of the Soviet Union to create a next-generation tank cannon testbed. The Kirov Plant and Mobile Vehicle Engineering Institute planned to introduce a high-calibre smoothbore cannon to enable Soviet MBTs to be able to disable equivalent NATO MBTs at the longest possible distance. This meant choosing a calibre of 152 mm instead of the conventional 125 mm or slightly larger 130 mm, which were still common calibres in Warsaw-Pact countries, and mounting it onto a hybrid between the T-80BV and T-80U's turret. Due to a severe lack of funding as the Soviet Union was struggling with financial debt, although the cannon proved effective during field tests, the prototype was eventually shelved. However, experiences learned during the program would be further iterated on for future MBT prototypes.

The Object 292 was introduced during Update "Air Superiority" as a reward for the 2024 Call of the Dragon event. While it may look like a T-80U without the ERA packages, the lack of an anti-aircraft machine gun and the significantly larger cannon gives it away quite easily. It's not the best protected tank at its tier, but the sheer penetration and damage from the monstrous 152 mm cannon more than makes up for any potential shortcomings by sending the source of the damage back to the hangar in a single shot; however, make sure to make every shot count, as a missed/ineffective shot will most likely be the death sentence of the Object 292.

General info

Survivability and armour

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Self-entrenching equipment

Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground

Armourfront / side / back

Hull150 / 85 / 45

Turret140 / 110 / 65

Crew3 people

Visibility74 %

If players do not recognize the design of Object 292, its engine sound will surely give its lineage away; the chassis is a T-80BV without the Kontakt-1 ERA blocks, while the turret is from the T-80U without its Kontakt-5 ERA blocks. It could be said that the Object 292's hull is somewhat like a T-80U with the T-80BV's composite armour layout (T-80U has a revised composite armour layout based on the T-80BV's), but the lack of Kontakt-5 also means its upper plate only has the base armour thickness at around 550 mm KE. The common Soviet weakspots still apply, in the form of the lower front plate and driver's port.

The turret is a different story, however. As it uses a revised T-80U turret, it has better protection than the T-80B series thanks to the new composite armour layout giving it a high degree of protection. A good example of this was the redesigning of the mantlet, which was reduced in size compared to its T-80 brethren. The area around the gun itself can reach up to 500 mm KE protection, making it much harder for lower-tier tanks to penetrate the turret directly, but some parts may still be vulnerable to accurate enemy fire. Commanders should be careful to avoid letting lucky shots hit the mantlet around the barrel, as this can also lead to the turret crew or entire turret system being knocked out of action. The shields on the sides of the turret are effective at stopping chemical rounds, although kinetic protection is expectedly not very substantial.

The turret has a number of weaknesses. Anything above the turret shields is vulnerable to direct APFSDS hits (causing the dart to hit at least one crew member and possibly the turret ammo rack) and HESH, with random parts of the roof causing the entire tank to implode when hit by any amount of overpressure damage. The bottom of the gun mantlet right under the gun has 0 to 1 mm RHA protection, causing the tank to implode when hit by explosives.

The overall internal layout is very similar to most Warsaw-Pact/Chinese MBTs, with a carousel autoloader located at the center mass of the vehicle. However, instead of having the projectiles lying below the propellant like the 6eTS series autoloader on T-64/80 series, the autoloader only consists of the projectiles, while the propellants are located either behind the turret (separated from the crew), or behind the carousel if it cannot fit into the autoloader.

The fuel tanks unfortunately negate all the effort to move critical modules into less vulnerable positions, as they explode hard enough to destroy the tank like any other Soviet MBT, so letting enemies hit the hull, particularly the LFP, is still a bad idea. The three-man crew is also retained with identical layout to the T-80 series - thus any penetrating shots up front that don't detonate the fuel will very likely knock out the driver and cause fatal damage to the turret crew by both the projectile and shrapnel. To make matters worse, if players decide to bring a full load of ammo at 30 rounds, there will be 14 spare propellant charges located exactly behind the autoloader carousel in the chassis. It is never a good idea to turn the Object 292 into a gas-turbine-driven mobile firework launcher, so either the tank needs to dig some cover for its LFP with the dozer blade or try to find at least some kind of solid cover for its hull.

As a last note, the tank doesn't have smoke grenades, only ESS. ESS allows to break automatic trackers of helicopters, but it will not prevent thermal gunner scopes from seeing the tank, and every tank and most aircraft at its rank have one, so it won't really help. It can make things worse, even, as Object 292 doesn't even have thermal scope itself. The tank itself isn't shining extremely bright in thermal sights, at least from the front, but if it will be blinded by its own smoke it will be an easy target for anything.

Armour type:

• High hardness rolled armour (hull front, sides, and rear)
• Cast homogeneous armour (turret, gun shield, cupola, driver hatch, gunner optics)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull top, turret top, engine vent, blowout racks)
• Structural steel (applique armour on hull sides and turret cheeks)
• Rubber-fabric screens (frontal and side skirts)
• Alloy BT-6 (engine compartment top)
• Aluminium (applique armour on hull sides)
• Tracks (applique armour on hull top)
• Armour radiation material (applique armour on cupola)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	50 mm (69°) Upper glacis 80 mm (59°) + 8 mm (16, 18°) Lower glacis	50-100** mm (0-32°) + 8-16** mm 20 mm (32°) Bottom	50 mm (0°, 30, 40°) 10 mm Engine vent 20 mm (53°) Bottom	30 mm Front 10 mm Radiator vents 20 mm Rear
Turret	250-1400** mm (11-76°) + 70 mm (22-28°) Cheeks 120-350** mm (0-45°) Gun mantlet	100-750** mm (10-25°) + 70 mm (16-69°) 45 mm Propellant racks	45-200** mm (1, 78°)	45 mm (63-82°) + 125 mm (78°) 30 mm Gunner optics 30 mm Propellant racks 45 mm Blowout panels
Cupola	45 + 10 mm (cylindrical)

** Variable thickness armour

Composite armour	Frontal effective protection	Side effective protection
Hull	Upper glacis: 480-530 mm Kinetic / 450-600 mm Chemical	N/A
Turret	Cheeks: 400-800 mm Kinetic / 500-800 mm Chemical Gun mantlet: 450-600 mm Kinetic / 700-900 mm Chemical	Front: 120-800 mm Kinetic / 400-850 mm Chemical

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• The underbody is 20 mm thick, and the frontal and side skirts are 8 mm thick.
• A 30 mm thick internal RHA screen separate the crew compartment from the propellant racks at the turret rear.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB78 / 13 km/h

RB and SB70 / 11 km/h

Number of gears9 forward

1 back

Weight46.0 t

Engine power

AB2 099 hp

RB and SB1 100 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB45.6 hp/t

RB and SB23.9 hp/t

To boost the tank with its larger gun, the engine is upgraded from the original Klimov GTD-1000 to the GTD-1250 used on T-80U series; thus it will have enhanced mobility than a conventional T-80BV while players still have to be careful not to over-extend since the relative-slow reverse speed for Soviet tanks still haunts Object 292. The speed is not terrible, but some NATO medium tanks will be faster to positions due to the same or better acceleration.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	78	13	46	1,705	2,099	37.07	45.63
Realistic	70	11		973	1,100	21.15	23.91

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 636 → 6 615

RB4 492 → 6 410

SB5 250 → 7 491

Total cost of modifications208 300

350 000

Talisman cost2 800

Crew training200 000

Experts710 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces1 080 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 200 / 250 %

232 / 232 / 232 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 290 Suspension Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 260 Brake System Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 260 Filters Research: 19 000 Cost: 30 000 500 Transmission Research: 18 000 Cost: 28 000 480 Engine Research: 18 000 Cost: 28 000 480	Improved Parts Research: 3 300 Cost: 17 000 290 Dozer Blade Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 290 Improved FPE Research: 3 000 Cost: 16 000 260 Crew Replenishment Research: 19 000 Cost: 30 000 500 ESS Research: 18 000 Cost: 28 000 480	Horizontal Drive Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 290 Adjustment of Fire Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 260 Laser rangefinder Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 260 Elevation Mechanism Research: 19 000 Cost: 30 000 500 Artillery Support Research: 18 000 Cost: 28 000 480

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Main armament

152 mm LP-83 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition30 rounds

First-order16 rounds

Reload10.0 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 15°

To engage and destroy NATO MBTs from the longest possible distance with a single shot, Soviet engineers came up with what was arguably the simplest but most effective solution: instead for opting for missiles or a longer barreled 125 mm, they opted to increase the calibre of the gun to 152.4 mm and in the process created one of the most lethal guns ever put on a MBT.

Although the installation of such a huge cannon into the T-80U's turret was not as hard as one might think, the Soviet engineers also developed a different autoloader for this prototype vehicle which resulted in a somewhat slower reloading rate of 10 seconds. Turret traverse however was not adversely affected, so outside of the reload and lack of machine guns the tank feels surprisingly similar to its normal T-80U contemporaries. The firepower itself is fearsome indeed, eclipsing even the Ariete AMV, with only very few MBTs being able to survive a shot to their UFP - but should you miss, most MBTs can fire at least once if not twice back at you which is highly likely to result in being sent back to the hangar. Therefore, being accurate with your shots is crucial for this vehicle moreso than in other vehicles

As mentioned prior, the tank lacks thermal vision, so vigilance is highly recommended when playing the vehicle. It is best to stick to range, as your fairly long reload and lack of versatility as well as your exceptionally good muzzle velocity lend themselves well to a sniping playstyle.

152 mm LP-83					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	30	-5°/+15°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	10.00
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
152 mm APFSDS	APFSDS	695	693	687	680	673	665
152 mm HE	HE	61	61	61	61	61	61

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
152 mm APFSDS	APFSDS	1,980	7	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
152 mm HE	HE	920	45.9	0.3	0.1	8.62	79°	80°	81°

The shells of the tank are extremely lethal and give the best in the world of kinetic and chemical shells, respectively.

The APFSDS has shell velocity of 1980 m/s and penetration of 401 mm at 60 degrees. Since the shell weights 7 kg, even a glancing penetration is going to take a life or utterly obliterate some module, whether its by dart itself or the shrapnel it creates. Any hit aimed vaguely in the direction of enemy ammo rack will destroy the target with practically no chance of survival. It's even worse than being hit by heaviest tandem ATGM, as other tanks (including already dead ones) and modules can't stop the penetrator, leaving literally no chance of survival and sometimes resulting in collateral hits.

The HE isn't as overwhelmingly powerful and doesn't have special features like the proximity fuse, but it nonetheless flies at 920 m/s and does same overpressure damage as heaviest artillery tanks. It could even penetrate and destroy Challenger 2 series through the driver port, something other tanks can't even dream of doing, so HE can be fired at the turret neck of virtually any tank and in 90% of the cases have the target destroyed, and in the other 10% cases have enemy gun barrel completely ruined.

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Object 292

Full ammo	Ammo part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
30	Projectiles Propellants	17 (+13) 17 (+13)	1 (+29) 1 (+29)	No

Notes:

• The Object 292 uses two-piece ammunition, composed of propellant bags (orange) and projectiles (yellow).
• Projectiles and propellant bags are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• The autoloader contains 16 shells. Once these have all been fired, the autoloader must be replenished before being able to fire again.
• Blowout rack only: 17 (+13) shells.

Usage in battles

When players see the Object 292 from afar, some might take it as a very odd modification of T-64A due to the turret design, while some might take it as a T-80U with all Kontakt-5 ERA packages destroyed; once their vehicle is hit by APFSDS flying at an unprecedented 1,980 m/s or bombarded by a huge "howitzer" shell, they will soon know what really hit them.

The most iconic feature of the Object 292 is the 152 mm LP-83 smoothbore cannon onboard; holding the record of the largest calibre smoothbore cannons ever completed for more than 3 decades, its ace is its fearsome penetration for both APFSDS and HE-FS shells. Having the highest penetration of all smoothbore cannons, the Object 292 is able to easily penetrate most vehicles it faces through even their most well-protected areas such as UFPs. Even if the shell didn't detonate enemy targets, the sheer penetration ensures critical damage to powerplant and crews, sometimes even completely disabling the turret system of enemy targets.

While using HE-FS is common for Warsaw-Pact/PLAGF MBTs, the Object 292 brings it to a new level - not only does it have devastating explosive content for its shell, it also has very high penetration for HE-FS at a whopping 61 mm, which also turns it into a makeshift APHE since most NATO and PLAGF tanks don't have good side armour to stop side shots, making it more reliable than APFSDS at close distance and still devastating as a makeshift howitzer to engage covered targets.

The 152 mm gun is more than enough to deter enemies from engaging Object 292 without careful consideration, which also makes it a good role to defend key breakthrough points as stationary support vehicle. However, as a prototype tank based on Soviet-era technology, the T-80BV hull and T-80U-equivalent turret also brings some flaws to the 292. First of all, the iconic Kontakt-5 or Kontakt-1 ERA packages are not present on the vehicle, although bolt mounts for them are present on the UFP. The T-80BV series served as the basis of the future T-80U series with revised composite armour formula for better protection, but this only stops APFSDS up to 500 mm penetration; while tanks at its tier might not have the chance to reliably disable Object 292, rushing into the battlefield against higher tier MBTs may not be the best idea.

The turret traverse speed isn't hindered by the weight of the gun itself and retains identical speed as its Soviet-era cousins which is at least 30% slower than NATO/PLAGF counterparts; it is always a good idea to turn the turret beforehand for as much reaction time as possible.

As for the autoloader system - while the tank can ensure consistent 10-second reload, separated propellant from carousel and has turret blowout panels for the propellents, the long reload time also means any missed or non-critical damage to enemy tanks without disabling the gun system gives the death sentence to Object 292, since most tanks at this tier can reload faster than the autoloader even with injured/disabled crew (in case the enemy has ready shell in breech), let alone tanks with autoloader; do remember there's 14 spare propellents for the other 14 shells inside the autoloader in case players decide to bring full-load, once they are hit by enemy shots, players can expect for a huge firework from the detonation of propellents and thus, 16 shells are more than enough to bring down enemy team.

Overall, while Object 292 brings unique experience to players with its devastating firepower and identical handling of Soviet MBTs to get used to easily, players also need situational awareness and not over-extent to deliver the fatal blow every time it fires - a surviving, gas-turbine-driven 152 mm cannon has both the physical and psychological power to deter enemy targets.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 152mm main gun enables this tank to engage targets from long distances and the damage is nearly impossible to survive in case of a critical hit
• Autoloader configuration and blow out panel help with survivability (beware that the blow out panel is only for the first-stage charge storage)
• Upgraded mobility from T-80BV series with GTD-1250 gas-turbine engine
• High explosive content HE-FS for long-range engagement against covered targets

Cons:

• Weakspots such as LFP and unreliable fuel tank still haunts the protection of hull
  • Lacks any ERA for extra protection and having driver's visor exposed to incoming attacks
• No smoke grenades, so losing attention of aircraft is difficult
• No thermal sight while everyone at the rank has one, ESS is not very useful at this point as a consequence as well
• Only three crew members
• Longest reload time for autoloader MBTs at 10 seconds per consecutive shot
• Lacks both coaxial and HMG for gunning down light targets/aircrafts

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Object 292 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #393 - Metal Beasts section at 00:24 discusses the Object 292.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Call of the Dragon: Object 292