ROMARM TAB-71

     Notes:  Using the Soviet BTR-60PB as a base, the Romanians came up with the at first very similar TAB-71 series of APCs.  In addition to Romania, the TAB-71 was used by Yugoslavia and later Moldova.  Yugoslavian and Moldavan examples may still be in service, but Romanian TAB-71s have long been replaced by the TAB-77 and later APCs.  The TAB-71 was first seen by the West in 1972 and is externally very similar to the BTR-60PB, though the vehicle is believed to have been in service since the late 1960s. Internal arrangements are different and the turret used is also different. In addition to the basic TAB-71 APC and its upgrades, there are several command variants as well as an ARV and mortar carrier (only APC-types will be covered here).

 

The TAB-71

     As stated before, the basic form of the TAB-71 is very similar to that of the BTR-60PB.  The engines are in the rear; this means that there is no door or hatch in the rear of the vehicle for the troops to enter and exit, the troops must therefore enter and exit through a pair of roof hatches, making them vulnerable if this is done under fire.  There are small hatches in the sides between the second and third roadwheels.  These are commonly called by the Romanians “suicide hatches” as they are very small, almost impossible to squeeze out of wearing even minimal gear, and generally used only in emergencies or to feed supplies through; you definitely can’t come out of them in a fighting posture. The front of the vehicle has a boat-shaped nose, and the driver on the left and commander on the right have bullet-resistant windshields to their front and small windows to either side. The windshields have armored shutters which may be closed over the windshields with vision slits in them.  The commander has a hatch overhead which opens forwards, but no sort of weapon mount.  The driver has no hatch, but does have a head for a night vision block. Behind the commander’s and driver’s position is the small turret; this turret is the same as used on the MLVM tracked APC, and it has a small hatch in the turret roof.  The turret is manually-operated. There are no firing ports and no special provisions for fire other than manual fire extinguishers.  The crew and troops have a collective NBC system to plug into.  A front-mounted winch is mounted for self recovery; this has a capacity of 5.5 tons and 60 meters of cable.

     Like the BTR-60PB, the TAB-71 is powered by twin gasoline engines, but the engines used on the TAB-71 are much more powerful Saviem SR-225 engines each developing 140 horsepower.  The vehicle is still very difficult to drive, as transmission is manual with the driver having to shift each engine individually in gear simultaneously in order for the vehicle to continue to operate smoothly. The vehicle is amphibious with minimal preparation (a trim vane must be erected from the driver’s compartment and bilge pumps turned on), requiring 4 minutes. Once in the water, the TAB-71 is propelled by the motion of its wheels. Suspension is 8x8 and of the off-road-type, with central tire pressure regulation.

     The TAB-71M, also called the TAB-72, is fitted with the same Saviem 797-05 diesel engines as the TAB-77; there are still two mounted and the driver difficulty is still present, as the manual transmission is retained.  These engines each have a capacity of 130 horsepower.  The engines are mounted in a somewhat larger compartment, which unfortunately takes room away from the troop compartment.  The “suicide hatches” have been made a little larger, but are still a tight squeeze. The turret is modified and has more vision blocks than the TAB-71’s turret, and the gunsight head is improved and better protected.

 

Command Variants

     The TAB-71A R-1450 is a minor command variant, for use at platoon command levels.  The primary difference is the addition of an additional long-range radio and short-range radio with associated antennas on the roof.  The TAB-71A R-1451 is used at a somewhat higher level of command; it has two long-range radios and two short-range radios, a removable pole-type antenna to extend communications range, and a small box on the right side of the roof which houses a 1kW generator.  The turret of the R-1451 houses only a PKT machinegun; the KPV and the associated ammunition and stowage are deleted.  The interior of the R-1451 is rearranged for command functions, and has a small amount of space for map stowage, marking and office-type supplies, and room for the radio operators.  It does not carry a dismount crew.  The TAB-71A R-1452 is used at even higher command levels; the turret is unarmed and contains extra day and night vision devices, and the interior is heavily rearranged with room for a command staff, map stowage, a map board, two long-range, two medium-range, and two short-range radios, a radio teletype machine (one of the long-range radios is modified to allow the transmission of this data), and office and plotting supplies.  The roof of the R-1452 has a 4kW generator, and also has a small crane with a capacity of 1 ton to allow the generator to be dismounted and remounted.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

TAB-71

$67,566

G, A

1.6 tons

11 tons

3+8

4

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB-71M

$67,491

D, A

1.6 tons

11 tons

3+8

4

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB-71A R-1450

$68,041

D, A

1.2 tons

11 tons

3+7

4

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB-71A R-1451

$62,112

D, A

800 kg

11.3 tons

3+5

5

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB-71A R-1452

$86,599

D, A

700 kg

11.5 tons

3+5

6

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

TAB-71

183/92

42/21/5

290

195

CiH

W(4)

TF2  TS2  TR2  HF3  HS3  HR2

TAB-71M/R-1450

171/86

39/20/4

290

135

CiH

W(4)

TF2  TS2  TR2  HF3  HS3  HR2

TAB-71A R-1451

166/83

38/19/4

290

139

CiH

W(4)

TF2  TS2  TR2  HF3  HS3  HR2

TAB-71A R-1452

164/83

37/19/4

290

142

CiH

W(4)

TF2  TS2  TR2  HF3  HS3  HR2

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

TAB-71/TAB-71A R-1450

None

None

KPV, PKT

600x14.5mm, 2500x7.62mm

TAB-71M

+1

Basic

KPV, PKT

600x14.5mm, 2500x7.62mm

TAB-71A R 451

+1

Basic

PKT

2500x7.62mm

 

ROMARM TAB-77

     Notes: The Romanians not only built the BTR-70 under license, they built their own version of the BTR-70, the TAB-77.  The TAB-77 first appeared in the late 1970s to the West, but was probably in service with the Romanians a couple of years earlier than that.  The Romanians do not appear to have ever had any export customers for the TAB-77.  There are a number of different versions of the TAB-77 that were built, including several upgraded models and prototype versions. (The prototype versions will not be covered here.) The Chinese purchased a number of TAB-77s in the 1980s for evaluation purposes, and they reportedly entered limited test service, though the idea was not further pursued.

 

The TAB-77

     The hull follows the basic model of the BTR-70, though with some detail differences, primarily to suit local Romanian manufacturing methods.  The main difference is the engines; the two gasoline-powered engines of the BTR-70 are replaced with a pair of 132-horsepower Savia 797-05M1 diesel engines which give the TAB-77 greater range.  The TAB-77, however, is heavier than the BTR-70, so even though engine power is comparable, the TAB-77 is slower than the BTR-70.  The turret is also different, being of higher profile, and having weapons with greater elevation and depression (-12 degrees and almost straight up). The turret has no hatch in the roof, and vision is through vision blocks or the gunsight (which also has a night vision device).  The turret is manually-operated. The TAB-77 retains the “suicide hatches” of the TAB-71M; the primary entrance and exit for the troops is still a pair of roof hatches.  There are, however, three firing ports in each side of the troop compartment and two in the rear.  The engines are at the very rear of the vehicle, as on the TAB-71.  The driver and commander are in the front of the vehicle, with the driver on the right and commander on the left; they have bullet-resistant windshields to the front with armored shutters which may be lowered and have vision slits in them.  To their sides are small windows over which armor plates may be slid.  The commander has a hatch over his position; the driver does not have a hatch, but the roof does have an opening for a night vision block.

     As stated above, the TAB-77 uses different engines than the BTR-70.  Suspension is 8x8 off-road-type; the front four wheels are the steerable wheels.  The TAB-77 is still difficult to drive due to the manual transmission and twin engines.  The driver has a central tire pressure regulation system. The crew has a collective NBC system.  Armor is all-welded steel, but is relatively light (though an improvement on the TAB-71).  The vehicle is amphibious, with a trim vane requiring erection from inside the driver’s compartment and bilge pumps turned on, as well as a waterjet once the vehicle is floating.  The crew is protected by an automatic fire detection and suppression system.  The same front-mounted winch as on the TAB-71 is on the TAB-77, with a capacity of 5.5 tons and 60 meters of cable.

 

The B-33 Zimbru

     Originally thought to be simply an upgrade of the TAB-77, the B-33 in fact uses the BTR-80 as a base.  It was first seen in 1996. The B-33 is powered by a single 280-horsepower diesel engine.  (Transmission is still manual.) Layout is largely the same as on the TAB-77, but to the side of the commander’s compartment is an additional firing port. The turret is the same as on the TAB-77, but has an IR searchlight on top (controllable from inside the turret) and a bank of six smoke grenade launchers at the rear of the turret.  Gone are the “suicide doors;” the doors are now large enough for troops to enter and leave the vehicle through them, and are clamshell doors opening upwards and downwards.  The roof hatches open outwards and can be locked open vertically; for this purpose, they each have a firing port in them, with the soldier using the hatch as a gun shield.  The winch has been increased in strength to 6 tons, but still with 60 meters of cable.  The B-33 is fitted with a modern radio set, including a long-range, medium-range, and short-range radio.

     The Zimbru 2000 is a further development of the B-33, powered by a German-made 260-horsepower turbocharged diesel coupled to an automatic transmission.  The turret of the Zimbru 2000 is larger and is an OHWS fitted with a 30mm 2A42 autocannon instead of the customary twin machinegun turret.  This turret hats a hatch in it, and has upgraded night vision equipment and fire control.  Service began in 2007, after the delay of the RN-94 program.

     The Saur 1 is greatly redesigned from the Zimbru 2000, with the engine in the center of the vehicle, and that engine being a Cummins 275-horsepower engine.  The troop compartment is in the rear and there is a large hatch in the rear of the vehicle.  The front of the vehicle is redesigned and has a sharper slope than previous models. The Saur 1 has an OHWS like that fitted to the Zimbru 2000.  The Saur 1 is available for export, but no sales have yet been made.

     The version made for Chinese evaluation is believed to have increased armor and is much heavier than its Romanian counterpart.  It is otherwise like the standard TAB-77.

 

Command and Signals Vehicles

     The TAB-77A R-1451/M is a version of the TAB-77 fitted out as a command vehicle.  In this role, the vehicle is fitted with a low-profile turret armed only with a PKT machinegun.  Two long-range, three medium-range, and two short-range radios are carried, as well as a radio teletype machine; in later versions, a ruggedized laptop computer is carried instead of the radio teletype.  A map board and map storage is carried, as well as office and plotting supplies, and the shelves of the vehicle can be folded out into a large work space.  Three folding chairs are carried. A hand-held image intensifier and thermal imager is carried.

      The TAB-77A R-1452 is not only a signals vehicle, it carries generators to power the vehicle and an accompanying R-1451/M.  It has a very long-range radio with a range of 100 km, two long-range radios, two medium-range radios, and a switchboard, along with necessary commo gear.  It carries 20 field telephones.  An antenna mast can be erected atop the vehicle to further extend radio range.  The vehicle has a 1kW and a 5kW generator at the rear of the vehicle on the roof.  The R-1452 has a dummy turret, but it does not rotate and the weapons are fake and the weapons do not elevate or depress.  The false turret still functions as an observation dome, and is therefore given a value below.  The true armament of the R-1452 is a pintle-mounted machinegun by the commander’s station.

 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The B-33 is a rare vehicle in the Twilight 2000 timeline.  The Zimbru 2000 and Saur 1 are absent from the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

TAB-77

$47,833

D, A

1.6 tons

13.3 tons

3+8

8

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

B-33

$39,761

D, A

1.5 tons

14 tons

3+8

10

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

Zimbru 2000

$44,204

D, A

1.6 tons

14 tons

3+8

8

Passive IR (D, G)

Shielded

Saur 1

$92,685

D, A

1.7 tons

13.5 tons

3+8

8

Passive IR (D, G), Image Intensification (G), Thermal Imaging (G)

Shielded

Chinese TAB-77

$48,549

D, A

1.2 tons

15 tons

3+8

8

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB-77A R-1451/M

$128,056

D, A

800 kg

13.7 tons

3+4

9

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB-77A R-1451/M (Late)

$187,981

D, A

800 kg

13.7 tons

3+4

10

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB-77 A R-1452

$43,457

D, A

600 kg

13.6 tons

4

10

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

TAB-77

150/75

34/18/4

290

138

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF4  HS3  HR3

B-33

151/76

35/18/4

290

147

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF5  HS3  HR3

Zimbru 2000

142/72

33/17/4

290

136

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF5  HS3  HR3

Saur 1

152/77

35/18/4

290

143

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF6  HS3  HR3

Chinese TAB-77

137/69

32/16/4

290

156

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF5  HS4  HR3

TAB-77A R-1451/M

146/73

33/17/4

290

142

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF4  HS3  HR3

TAB-77A R-1452

147/73

33/17/4

290

141

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF4  HS3  HR3

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

TAB-77/Chinese TAB-77

+1

Basic

KPV, PKT

600x14.5mm, 2500x7.62mm

B-33

+1

Basic

KPV, PKT

600x14.5mm, 3000x7.62mm

Zimbru 2000

+2

Fair

30mm 2A42 Autocannon, PKT

300x30mm, 3000x7.62mm

Saur 1

+2

Fair

30mm 2A42 Autocannon, PKT

360x30mm, 3600x7.62mm

TAB-77A R-1451/M

+1

Basic

PKT

2500x7.62mm

TAB-77 R-1452

None

None

PK (C)

2500x7.62mm

 

ROMARM TABC-79/ABC-79M

     Notes:  This Romanian vehicle uses many automotive components of the TAB-77.  Though it is primarily still known as the TABC-79, its designation was recently changed to the ABC-79M. Although classed as an APC, its Romanian designation is reconnaissance armored personnel carrier.  It is a 4x4 vehicle, smaller but more heavily armored than the TAB-77 series.  It is uses many of the same automotive components as the TAB-77 and is regarded by some experts as a shortened version of the TAB-77, though it bears only a superficial resemblance to the TAB-77. The TABC-79 is currently used only by Romania. The TABC-79 has seen combat service in Kosovo as part of KFOR. One example was purchased by the Israelis in 1994, for unknown trials, and its current disposition is also unknown.

     The commander and driver sit at the front of the vehicle, the driver on the left and commander beside him on the right.  The commander and driver have a windshield to the front that may be covered by an armored shutter (they then use vision blocks); they also have hatches above their positions.  The turret is identical to the TAB-77s, except that the vision equipment is better as is fire control equipment.  The passengers have hatches on either side of the vehicle between the wheels, and another door on the rear; the side hatches are small, similar to the “suicide hatches” of the TAB-71M, and the rear door is cramped and narrow.  There is also a hatch on the roof of the vehicle behind the turret.  The troop compartment is relatively small. The TABC-79 has a collective NBC system for the crew and troops. Protection also includes an automatic fire detection and suppression system. The passengers have firing ports, two to a side and two in the rear.  The TABC-79 has a 5.5-ton winch on the front with 50 meters of cable.

     There are two primary variants of the TABC-79: The TABC-79 reconnaissance version, with an extra long-range radio that is data-capable and a radio teletype; and the TAB-C, an APC variant which has room for one extra person in the troop section.  There is also the TABC-79M turretless APC, with a pintle-mounted machinegun and even more room in the troop section.  The TAB RCH-84 is an NBC reconnaissance version with appropriate biological, chemical, and radiological detection and measurement gear, and a pair of dispensers for marking flags (40 per side, which are actuated from inside the vehicle), and a full NBC overpressure suite.  It also has an extra long-range radio with data capability, and appropriate communications gear for transmitting its findings back to higher headquarters. The TABC-79A PCMOA is a FIST vehicle with extra observation and rangefinding equipment in its turret as well as a designator; its turret is wider but lower in profile, and is armed only with a PKT machinegun. The PCMOA has extra communications gear, including an extra long-range data-capable computer and equipment to communicate fire direction information to artillery and mortar units. It has a limited computer for computation of fire direction information and coordinates.

     The TABC-79 is powered by a single Savia 798.05N2 turbocharged diesel engine, with an automatic transmission.  The driver has conventional controls.  The engine is relatively compact, allowing for that small hatch in the rear, though it is mounted at the rear of the vehicle. The TABC-79 is amphibious without preparation, requiring only that a waterjet be switched on when the vehicle begins floating.  Suspension is 4x4 and of the off-road-type. Armor protection is slightly improved over the TAB-77, being on par with the B-33.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

TABC-79

$50,423

D, A

700 kg

9.3 tons

3+4

6

Passive IR (D, G)

Shielded

TAB-C

$35,373

D, A

900 kg

9.2 tons

3+5

6

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TABC-79M

$24,295

D, A

1 ton

9 tons

3+6

6

Passive IR (D)

Shielded

TAB RCH-84

$472,778

D, A

350 kg

9.5 tons

4

8

Passive IR (D, G)

Shielded

TABC-79A PCMOA

$125,195

D, A

350 kg

9.5 tons

4

8

Passive IR (D, G), Image Intensification (G)

Shielded

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

TABC-79

127/63

29/15/3

200

80

CiH

W(3)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF5  HS3  HR3

TAB-C

128/64

29/15/3

200

79

CiH

W(3)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF5  HS3  HR3

TABC-79M

131/65

30/15/4

200

78

Stnd

W(3)

HF5  HS3  HR3

TAB RCH-84/TABC-79A PCMOA

124/62

28/15/3

200

82

CiH

W(4)

TF4  TS4  TR3  HF5  HS3  HR3

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

TABC-79/TAB RCH-84

+2

Fair

KPV, PKT

500x14.5mm, 2000x7.62mm

TAB-C

+1

Basic

KPV, PKT

500x14.5mm, 2000x7.62mm

TABC-79M

None

None

PK

2500x7.62mm

TABC-79A PCMOA

+2

Fair

PKT

2500x7.62mm