Russia is notable for, how do we put this, a rather freeform approach to military technology. So, perhaps it’s not a surprise they’re trying to reinvent the wheel. Or, rather, bolt a gamepad onto a tank. Yes, like that scene in Men in Black II.
According to Sputnik International, which appears to be a state-run media organization, the Kurganets-25 is controlled not with your pedestrian wheel, but with a futuristic, advanced… DualShock knock-off:
“I spent two years on convincing the designers to make the console similar to a Sony Playstation gamepad, to make it easier for a young soldier to familiarize himself with it,” Bakov said. “As it turns out, a steering wheel is dangerous for the rib cage during an impact and when climbing out. It takes up more space but provides nothing.”
Okay, we’ll give him that one about the steering wheel; that’s a fairly common concern. Sadly, we don’t have any pictures of this control scheme, which is a shame since we need to know if they went with the PlayStation layout or the Xbox version.
That said, having actually used a gamepad to steer virtual vehicles, I’m not exactly convinced it’s the best idea. But we’re going to find out one way or the other; apparently the Kurganets-25 is going into production next year.