Main Battle Tanks and Armour Technology

[pmaitra]

So you're saying that Relikt is the ERA alone, and not the ERA + APS system. I hear you.

Anyway, please post pictures if you have any.

Edit: I meant, post pictures of any ERA + APS systems.

 

[Damian]

Knife ERA cassettes in layered version codenamed Duplet, mounted on T-84M Oplot.

Knife working mechanism drawing.

T-90MS with 4S23 Relikt ERA.



M19 ARAT multilayer light ERA mounted on M1A1/M1A2 tank.

4S22 Kontakt-5 (or Ukrainian ERA developed in 1990's and based on 4S22 elements, designed as interim solution before Knife was fielded) on T-64B (modernized).

T-64B (Modernized) with Knife.

 

[Damian]

NII Stali presentation of Dynamic Protection (Динамическая защита - Дз), for example light multilayer ERA capable to protect to some degree, lightly armored vehicles like BMP-2 or BMP-3 against for example RPG's with tandem HEAT warheads.

 

[pmaitra]

Knife working mechanism drawing.

What is 22? Is that a shaped charge? Can you please post a legend?

 

[methos]

What is 22? Is that a shaped charge? Can you please post a legend?

22 is a shaped charge warhead, 23 are the jets/stings formed by the liners of shaped charges. "Fight fire with fire" is the working mechanism of Knife/Nozh.

 

[pmaitra]

22 is a shaped charge warhead, 23 are the jets/stings formed by the liners of shaped charges. "Fight fire with fire" is the working mechanism of Knife/Nozh.

I absolutely love your to the point answers. Thank you very much. Thanks to Damian for posting that picture.

 

[p2prada]

This is the Kaktus ERA. All images from Object 640.

 

[Damian]

Kaktus ERA and Object 640 is still a bit of mystery. From survivability and protection point of view it is interesting machine, turret armor is designed that way, so composite protects front, sides and turrt top surfaces + it is reinforced by ERA. However as it seems, armor is angled such way that is very thick thanks to inclination but when we would cut out part of armor, and place it at 90 degrees and compare with cutout from any NATO top class 3rd generation MBT, then NATO vehicle would have a thicker armor.

It seems that Russians were very concerned with weight and were experimenting with any possible solution that could decrease weight and size while preserving in the same time, high protection.

Other interesting design was called Malachit, it seems that it was not ERA alone but Malachit was a codename for whole protection of Object 187 tank.

Similiar to T-90A?

Yes indeed, T-90A turret and also probably T-84 series turret, are based (but not same) on Object 187 turret. However this prototype had different hull, actually there were several different hull configurations with different front armor design (many prototypes had hull front similiar to NATO designs) and with several different engines, also different armament was tested and all in all approx 10+ prototypes were builded. However decision to adapt Object 188 as T-90, less advanced and simpler tank, was a reason why program was cancelled. Actually all Object 187 prototypes are kept in Kubinka military center where all Soviet and Russian tank prototypes are tested. UVZ where tank was designed, try to convince military, to take one of these prototypes, repair it to running condition and kept in museum or something like that.

 

[Damian]

Proposal of upgrading side hull and turret protection by installation of ERA modules, it seems that these modules represent 4S24 ERA, that could be seen on vide I posted above.

Side turret armor of newest T-90MS is also protected by the same ERA.

You can call this proposal an equivalent of western up-armor packages, like TUSK, TES-H, AMAP, AZUR etc.

Reactive elements 4S20 ("Kontakt-1"), 4S24, 4S23 ("Relikt") and 4S22 ("Kontakt-5").

 

[p2prada]

According to Igor, the 4S24 is twice as small as 4S20 and is meant for small vehicles while providing increased capability compared to 4S20.

Defunct Humanity: Russian NxRA for LAVs

The Pakistanis had made one called AORAK. No idea what happened to it.

 

[Damian]

4S24 main idea is to reduce explosion stress on vehicle hull. It was huge problem for lighter vehicles when it's ERA exploded it could seriously damage hull structure.

However 4S24 can also be placed in cassettes that are bigger than normal, then 4S24 can be used as multilayer ERA, where there are several 4S24 elements with isolation placed between them.



4S24 is on the right side, left side is ERA for BMPT hull side skirts.

 

[methos]

Here are some images from some Japanese website, which seems to be the translation of an article from the international symposium of ballistics (unless google translator trickes me). In the test they used some very hard steel plates with rubber sandwiched inbetween (similiar to what is claimed to be part of the NERA wedges of the Leopard 2A5/6) and fired different projectiles at it.

(the last images seems to be from another source but was also used there)

 

[pmaitra]

How HEAT and SABOT work

 

[Damian]

Just recently on TankNet, one of users post an interesting photo of ZTZ-99A2 turret (probably one of prototype variants) placed on ZTZ-99A1 hull.

Note that this prototype is not armed with 125mm smoothbore gun (ZPT-98 or it's derivatives) typical of ZTZ-99 series, but is armed with 120mm smoothbore gun. Seems that Chinese were experimenting with different armament but all in all they decided to stick with 125mm armament and typical for T-72, T-90, ZTZ-96 and ZTZ-99 tanks, carousel autoloader.

 

[Damian]

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2009psa_arm/tuesgrassano.pdf

New US Army AMP (Advanced Multi Purpose) 120mm HE with programmable fuze, impressive ammunition, take a look at photo with T-55 turret side perforation done by that HE round. AMP is designed to completely replace M830 HEAT, M830A1 MPAT, M908 HEOR and M1028 Cannister ammunition.

Something more here:

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/wsh2012/112.pdf

 

[Damian]

Double post

 

[Shaitan]

 

[methos]

Nice Leopard 2 pictures. Seems to be the 2A7(+) in Duel configuration (i.e. no 270-360° armour coverage).
From updated KMW website:

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Nice Leopard 2 pictures. Seems to be the 2A7(+) in Duel configuration (i.e. no 270-360° armour coverage).
From updated KMW website:

They look same..

 

[Damian]

@Methos, do Bundeswehr actually upgraded some significant numbers of it's tanks to Leopard 2A7 variant? It's strangely quiet about it.