mark doppelgänger 🛰 Profile picture
May 10, 2022 11 tweets 5 min read Read on X
1/
Remember the T-14 Armata? The russian tank that had a lot of hype for a couple years?

In the spirit of "zippier cars", let's discuss it a bit further.
2/
#T14Armata, an innovative russian tank with crew fully enclosed in the front hull behind heavy protection, while a fully automated turret was located in the classic way.

Along with the tank, related T-15 IFV and 2S35 SPG were developed as shared platform.
3/
The design seemingly got a lot *right*, tho there remains some discussion as to armor of the turret - supposedly absent in the vehicles produced.

With a lot of hopes riding on its shoulders, the design failed to enter serial production and seems stuck. How come?
4/
Enter 12N360.

Russian designers correctly surmised they need a 1500 HP class engine to make T-14 competitive. Yes tanks need to be zippy to survive on the battlefield.

And in their hubris they settled on X-layout (X-12) engine.
5/
In their unbridled hubris, russian engineers decided to standardize mass serial production of combat vehicle on an X-layout engine.

There's a reason this isn't successful historically. This was bound to attract Engineering Fates - and those are subtle & quick to anger.
6/
X-layout engine is alluring - very compact and powerful. Above all, an X-layout seems just within grasp - simply by mating two V-engines together. It's also *surprisingly* hard to engineer. It takes high hubris to try to standardize series production on it w/o a backup plan.
7/
Just how much hubris did the Rus' T-14 Armata engineres have? They didn't leave room for any other, *classic* engine layout in case of 12N360's failure. And 12N360 failed to mature; the company behind it, Uralvagonzavod, went bankrupt.

informnapalm.org/en/armata-t-14…
9/
So you appreciate the level of hubris:
There's been no series production vehicle powered by X engine, beyond a short sub-series of Avro Manchester. Only Brits managed to *just about* make it work for series production, once - if you squinted & kept a fire extinguisher on hand.
8/
The same unbridled hubris of T-14 is also currently miring Rus' invasion of Ukraine.

And, as irony would have it, ukrainians designed & produce a 1500 HP class engine for their T-84 tank upgrades just fine.
9/
Enter 6TD-3.

A 1500 HP development of well proven 6TD-2, compact & powerful and only slightly exotic: opposed-piston 6, a reasonably well understood technology. And, in a major pinch, could be substituted for with another layout: a flat boxer.

No hubris, getting things done.
10/
Recommend:
- keep professional hubris in check
- know history of your profession
- in particular don't tempt Engineering Fates by parading immature gear around
- don't go conquering an engineering nation, befriended by other engineering nations

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More from @DoppelMark

May 24, 2022
1/
The article by @FischerKing64 refuses to question honesty of public statements by Putin.

Let's read carefully and see where this mistake gets him.

2/
Author reads into Putin's statements "without immediately assuming bad faith at every turn".

Putin & his entourage us a mix of truth & dishonesty. The interviews are a couple years old, we can check them against reality.
3/
>>in Russia media is under control
>projection

lol wut? In Russia the media *is* to large extent under gov control. In the West the *gov* is to large extent under media control.

It's not a projection. The nature of the problem is different in RU and in the West.
Read 33 tweets
May 19, 2022
1/
Let's talk a *slow* airplane for a change: Bayraktar TB2, a Turkish lightweight UAW ("drone") has been significantly successful in Ukraine.

The airplane serves both reconnaissance and strike duties.

Article provides interesting details:

2/
Isn't she pretty?
In particular the Ukrainian maritime variant, with seabird decal.
3/
Unique design allows for low observability, in particular low radar cross-section. Not quite "full on stealth" - but it's much stealthier than an average flier.

We don't have official numbers, but this calculates baseline expectations - and it's good:

Read 11 tweets
May 11, 2022
Unpopular take:
the federal government should focus on foreign policy; the states are the proper place for domestic policy.
I could swear I saw you *correctly* punting domestic issues to states and away from the federal gov just yesterday.

Don't flip plop on the fundamental and important division of responsibilities.

Read 4 tweets
May 10, 2022
1/
Unpopular opinion:
the recent wave of "work from home" is the biggest and unique opportunity to "stick it to the boomers". Actually to do much better than that.
2/
Good management is both about enabling your employees - and also about measuring their effectiveness.

Beyond "walking around & seeing butts in office chairs", actual measurement - and reporting both up & down the chain. "Work from home" pushes in that direction.
3/
There are also various other benefits to "work from home" - less dependence on proximity to city; more personal freedom to shape work as you see fit, to juggle & smoothly change works, etc.
Read 5 tweets
May 4, 2022
1/
>US commenced "invasion" in Ukraine by regime changing it

No.

2014: Ukrainians over-threw their government aligned with Russia - the Russia that for well over a century occupied Ukraine, drained resources & talent, suppressed culture.

"But muh USA" is wack revisionism.
2/
You see people in Ukraine staunchly & resolutely defending their freedom for 2+ months now. That is a clear and strong signal. I support their defense of freedom.

As for democracy... whatever. Both sides are democracies with all the trappings & faults, and it helped neither.
3/
To see just how pernicious and pervasive suppression of Ukraine's culture was back under russian control, see this well written thread:

Read 4 tweets
Apr 28, 2022
2/
Translates well into english, especially when taken through the Thread Reader
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1519688…
cc @BosozokuTerKen probably of interest
Read 4 tweets

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