The Sprut-SDM light tank is ready to enter the Ukrainian battlefield after it completes the tests and enters the mass production phase, but numerous challenges await it.
The Sprut-SDM light tank is considered to be a combat vehicle created from a wrong concept, so it is likely to encounter disaster if it is launched into the Ukrainian battlefield. The head of Kurganmashzavod – the production facility of BMP-3 and BMD-4 infantry fighting vehicles, Petr Tyukov said in an interview with local media that work is urgently underway on the 2S25M Sprut-SDM light tank.
This combat vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-tank gun, is undergoing final tests to enter mass production, which is expected to begin soon in the Ukrainian battlefield. This machine is a modernization from the 2S25 Sprut-SD, which began production in 1983 and was officially accepted by the Russian Army only in 2006, after which production began on a small scale. It is estimated that about 40 vehicles of this type have been produced, but their number has decreased after February 24 this year. At least there are documents about the case of the Ukrainian Army successfully destroying the Sprut-SD of the Russian Army.
The Sprut-SD modernization includes a new fire control system with a Sosna-U sight for the gunner and a panoramic viewfinder for the commander. However, what thermal imaging equipment would be installed instead of the French product is no longer available because of the embargo is a matter of many questions.
The 2S25M Sprut-SDM itself is still controversial conceptually, even leading to the name, not a light tank but a self-propelled anti-tank gun. The 2S25M can be transported by military cargo aircraft and assault landing ships, it is air-droppable by parachute with the crew inside the vehicle. It can cross water obstacles without preparation at sea rough to force 3. It can embark on assault landing ships from water without assistance at the end of amphibious operations.
The trade-off for mobility is the vehicle’s armor. The front of 40º left and right of the 2S25M provides protection against the firing of small arms up to 12.7 mm and through the remainder of the vehicle against attack from 7.62 mm. As for the Sprut-SDM, its armor is not even appreciated by the BMP-3, which is only equivalent to the BMD-4 while its main gun has a caliber of up to 125 mm. If hit by an anti-tank weapon, the vehicle will almost be destroyed.
The 2S25M was specially designed to be used by the Russian airborne troops as an anti-tank vehicle. According to a representative of Russian defense contractor Tractor Plants, the firepower of the 2S25M Sprut-SDM is on a par with that of the T-90MS main battle tank. But is it suitable for the Ukrainian battlefield? This takes time to prove. The armor of the Sprut-SDM cannot withstand any anti-tank missiles of Ukraine. Obviously the 2S25M is likely to face a huge challenge, which could turn out to be the worst nightmare.
