Combat reconnaissance vehicle BRM-1K (Object 676) and a little about thermal imagers.

[HUSKER2142]

On the forum and in various discords, the topic has been raised more than once as to whether there was a ground-based radar on the BRM-1 in our gaming time of 1979-1982. Last week I started researching the topic and came across a reconnaissance vehicle operating manual from 1982. All that is known about the radar itself is that it began production in the mid-1970s. Perhaps the information provided will give us in the future a ground radar on the BRM-1K in one of the patches, since I can judge that a ground radar could initially be on all reconnaissance vehicles.

Documentation of BRM-1K operation

 

 

In addition, I studied the topic of thermal imagers in the USSR and learned some interesting things.

The first Soviet zero-generation thermal imager to go into small-scale production was 1PN59 "Posobie-1", which consisted of 50 sensitive elements and had a scanning frequency of 16 Hz, and a target recognition range of 2000 m. This device was installed on PRP-4 (1984) - a mobile reconnaissance point used for reconnaissance and target designation of missile and artillery systems.
The second thermal imager of the first generation was 1PN71 "Posobie-2" with 64 sensitive elements and a scanning frequency of 33 Hz. The target recognition range increased to 3000 m. This device was installed on PRP-4M (1988).
The first two thermal imagers did not find widespread use in sighting equipment and were used only for monitoring the terrain on highly specialized reconnaissance vehicles. However, even if one wanted to, 1PN59 could not be used as a sight due to the low scanning frequency.

Directly for equipping tanks, work was carried out on "Agava-1" thermal imager, which already had 100 sensitive elements and could recognize a tank-type target at 2000 m. "Agava-1" successfully passed tests, but the military abandoned it due to unsatisfactory characteristics, so the timing equipping Soviet tanks with thermal imagers moved back again. After this, the development of an improved version, "Agava-2" began. The number of sensitive elements was increased to 256 pieces, and the target recognition range increased by 20-30%. “Agava-2” suited the military, but its mass production took place in the early 90s, when the country no longer had time for thermal imagers, however, this sight will be installed on some Russian T-80U/UK tanks.

 

Image from the screen of thermal imager 1PN59.