Re:Russian tank manufacturer shuts down production
by aivisol on Monday March 28, 2022 @07:37AM
(#30829388)
I wouldn't be so optimistic to think Russian tanks are full of computers. I know many things have changed since last time I sat in T-72/T-80 tank but back then the electronics were quite primitive. You would see massive boxes full of cards with rows and rows of low-density chips. Gyroscopes mentioned in the article were mostly mechanical.
If they are now being retrofitted with newer electronics nowadays I do not know.
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Re:Russian tank manufacturer shuts down production
by luciusdomitius on Monday March 28, 2022 @07:48AM
(#30829467)
A modern tank is basically useless without a thermal sight. This is what is meant by modernisation - improved sensors + maybe comms & makeshift reactive armor. I don't really think anyone would be crazy enough to attempt using a 1960s' tech tank in today's battlefield.
On the other hand it is extremely naive to think that anyone would use a consumer-grade chip in a military project. Security being a much bigger concern than even supply chain issues. This is the hardware they seem to be using (and manufacturing locally). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MCST - pretty laughable by today's standards, but secure and seems to do the job. Weren't the space shuttles running 80286 and wasn't 80386 being manufactured until recently?
Re:Russian tank manufacturer shuts down production
by maxerickson on Monday March 28, 2022 @09:16AM
(#30830213)
Shuttle used a computer designed in the 60s.
Re:Russian tank manufacturer shuts down production
by candiodari on Monday March 28, 2022 @02:54PM
(#30834158)
SpaceX, which has been used to launch military hardware, uses "dual-core x86" chips. And, obviously, they use a boatload of microprocessors, some of which are PowerPC chips, all over the rocket. All of this is connected over triple-redundant Ethernet.
And as for software: It's C++. Including a version of chrome, with UI components at least partially (but maybe entirely) in Javascript.
https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/2y14y4/engineer_the...