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Since the advent of armored vehicles, the age-old battle between projectile and armor has intensified. Some designers sought to increase the penetrating ability of projectiles, while others increased the durability of armor. The fight continues today. A professor from Moscow State Technical University spoke about how modern tank armor works. N.E. Bauman, Scientific Director of the Steel Research Institute Valery Grigoryan.
At first, the attack on the armor was carried out head-on: while the main type of impact was an armor-piercing projectile with kinetic action, the duel of designers boiled down to increasing the caliber of the gun, the thickness and angles of the armor. This evolution is clearly visible in the development of tank weapons and armor in World War II. The constructive solutions of that time are quite obvious: we will make the barrier thicker; if you tilt it, the projectile will have to travel a longer distance through the thickness of the metal, and the likelihood of a rebound will increase. Even after the appearance of armor-piercing shells with a rigid, indestructible core in the ammunition loads of tank and anti-tank guns, little has changed.
Dynamic protection elements (EDP)
They are “sandwiches” of two metal plates and an explosive. EDS are placed in containers, the lids of which protect them from external influences and at the same time represent throwable elements
Deadly Spit
However, already at the beginning of World War II There has been a revolution in the destructive properties of ammunition: cumulative shells have appeared. In 1941, the Hohlladungsgeschoss (“projectile with a notch in the charge”) began to be used by German artillerymen, and in 1942 the USSR adopted the 76-mm BP-350A projectile, developed after studying captured samples. This is how the famous Faust cartridges were designed. A problem arose that could not be resolved by traditional methods due to the unacceptable increase in the mass of the tank.
In the head part of the cumulative ammunition there is a conical recess in the form of a funnel lined with a thin layer of metal (with the bell facing forward). The detonation of the explosive begins from the side closest to the top of the crater. The detonation wave “collapses” the funnel towards the axis of the projectile, and since the pressure of the explosion products (almost half a million atmospheres) exceeds the limit of plastic deformation of the lining, the latter begins to behave as a quasi-liquid. This process has nothing to do with melting; it is precisely the “cold” flow of the material.
A thin (comparable to the thickness of the shell) cumulative jet is squeezed out of the collapsing funnel, which accelerates to speeds on the order of the explosive detonation speed (and sometimes higher), that is, about 10 km/s or more. The speed of the cumulative jet significantly exceeds the speed of sound propagation in the armor material (about 4 km/s). Therefore, the interaction of the jet and the armor occurs according to the laws of hydrodynamics, that is, they behave like liquids: the jet does not burn through the armor at all (this is a widespread misconception), but penetrates it, just as a jet of water under pressure erodes sand.
Principles of semi-active protection using the energy of the jet itself.
Right: cellular armor, the cells of which are filled with a quasi-liquid substance (polyurethane, polyethylene). The shock wave of the cumulative jet is reflected from the walls and collapses the cavity, causing the destruction of the jet. Left: armor with reflective sheets. Due to the swelling of the back surface and the gasket, the thin plate moves, running into the jet and destroying it. Such methods increase anti-cumulative resistance by 30–40.
Layered protection
The first protection against cumulative ammunition was the use of screens (double-barrier armor). The cumulative jet is not formed instantly; for its maximum effectiveness, it is important to detonate the charge at optimal distance from armor (focal length). If a screen of additional metal sheets is placed in front of the main armor, the detonation will occur earlier and the effectiveness of the impact will decrease.
During World War II, tank crews attached thin metal sheets and mesh screens to their vehicles to protect them from Faust cartridges (there is a widespread story about the use of armored beds for this purpose, although in reality special meshes were used). But this solution was not very effective - the increase in durability averaged only 9–18%.
Therefore, when developing a new generation of tanks (T-64, T-72, T-80), the designers used another solution - multi-layer armor. It consisted of two layers of steel, between which was placed a layer of low-density filler - fiberglass or ceramics. This “pie” gave a gain of up to 30% compared to monolithic steel armor. However, this method was not applicable for the tower: for these models it is cast and placing fiberglass inside is difficult from a technological point of view.
The designers of VNII-100 (now VNII Transmash) proposed melting ultra-porcelain balls into the turret armor, the specific jet-damping ability of which is 2–2.5 times higher than that of armor steel. Specialists at the Steel Research Institute chose a different option: packages made of high-strength hard steel were placed between the outer and inner layers of armor. They took on the impact of a weakened cumulative jet at speeds when the interaction no longer occurs according to the laws of hydrodynamics, but depending on the hardness of the material.
Typically, the thickness of the armor that a shaped charge can penetrate is 6–8 calibers, and for charges with linings made of materials such as depleted uranium, this value can reach 10
Semi-active armor
Although it is quite difficult to slow down a cumulative jet, it is vulnerable in the transverse direction and can easily be destroyed by even a weak lateral impact. That's why further development technology was that the combined armor of the frontal and side parts of the cast turret was formed due to an open cavity at the top filled with a complex filler; The cavity was closed from above with welded plugs.
Turrets of this design were used on later modifications of tanks - T-72B, T-80U and T-80UD. The operating principle of the inserts was different, but used the mentioned “lateral vulnerability” of the cumulative jet. Such armor is usually classified as “semi-active” protection systems, since they use the energy of the weapon itself.
One of the options for such systems is cellular armor, the operating principle of which was proposed by employees of the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The armor consists of a set of cavities filled with a quasi-liquid substance (polyurethane, polyethylene). A cumulative jet, having entered such a volume limited by metal walls, generates a shock wave in the quasi-liquid, which, reflected from the walls, returns to the axis of the jet and collapses the cavity, causing braking and destruction of the jet. This type of armor provides a gain in anti-cumulative resistance of up to 30–40%.
Another option is armor with reflective sheets. This is a three-layer barrier consisting of a plate, a spacer and a thin plate. The jet, penetrating into the slab, creates stresses, leading first to local swelling of the rear surface and then to its destruction. In this case, significant swelling of the gasket occurs and thin sheet. When the jet penetrates the gasket and the thin plate, the latter has already begun to move away from the back surface of the plate. Since there is a certain angle between the directions of motion of the jet and the thin plate, at some point in time the plate begins to run into the jet, destroying it. Compared to monolithic armor of the same mass, the effect of using “reflective” sheets can reach 40%.
The next design improvement was the transition to towers with a welded base. It became clear that developments to increase the strength of rolled armor were more promising. In particular, in the 1980s, new steels of increased hardness were developed and ready for mass production: SK-2Sh, SK-3Sh. The use of towers with a rolled base made it possible to increase the protective equivalent of the tower base. As a result, the turret for the T-72B tank with a rolled steel base had an increased internal volume, the weight increase was 400 kg compared to the serial cast turret of the T-72B tank. The tower filler package was made using ceramic materials and high-hardness steel or from a package based on steel plates with “reflective” sheets. The equivalent armor resistance became equal to 500–550 mm of homogeneous steel.
When a cumulative jet penetrates a DZ element, the explosive contained in it detonates and the metal plates of the body begin to fly apart. At the same time, they intersect the trajectory of the jet at an angle, constantly substituting new areas under it. Part of the energy is spent on breaking through the plates, and the lateral impulse from the collision destabilizes the jet. DZ reduces the armor-piercing characteristics of cumulative weapons by 50–80%. At the same time, which is very important, the remote sensing device does not detonate when fired from small arms. The use of remote sensing has become a revolution in the protection of armored vehicles. There is a real opportunity to influence the penetrating destructive weapon as actively as it previously affected passive armor
Explosion towards
Meanwhile, technology in the field of cumulative ammunition continued to improve. If during the Second World War the armor penetration of cumulative shells did not exceed 4–5 calibers, then later it increased significantly. So, with a caliber of 100–105 mm, it was already 6–7 calibers (in steel equivalent 600–700 mm); with a caliber of 120–152 mm, armor penetration was raised to 8–10 calibers (900–1200 mm of homogeneous steel). To protect against these ammunition, a qualitatively new solution was required.
Work on anti-cumulative, or “dynamic” armor, based on the principle of counter-explosion, has been carried out in the USSR since the 1950s. By the 1970s, its design had already been worked out at the All-Russian Research Institute of Steel, but the psychological unpreparedness of high-ranking representatives of the army and industry prevented it from being adopted. Only the successful use by Israeli tank crews of similar armor on the M48 and M60 tanks during the 1982 Arab-Israeli war helped convince them.
Since technical, design and technological solutions were fully prepared, the main tank fleet Soviet Union was equipped with anti-cumulative dynamic protection (DZ) "Kontakt-1" in record time - in just a year. The installation of remote protection on the T-64A, T-72A, T-80B tanks, which already had fairly powerful armor, almost instantly devalued the existing arsenals of anti-tank guided weapons of potential enemies.
There are tricks against scrap
A cumulative projectile is not the only means of destroying armored vehicles. Much more dangerous opponents of armor are armor-piercing sabot shells (APS). The design of such a projectile is simple - it is a long crowbar (core) made of heavy and high-strength material (usually tungsten carbide or depleted uranium) with fins for stabilization in flight. The diameter of the core is much smaller than the caliber of the barrel - hence the name “sub-caliber”. A “dart” weighing several kilograms flying at a speed of 1.5–1.6 km/s has such kinetic energy, which when hit is capable of penetrating more than 650 mm of homogeneous steel.
Moreover, the methods of enhancing anti-cumulative protection described above have virtually no effect on sub-caliber projectiles. Contrary to common sense, the tilt of the armor plates not only does not cause a ricochet of a sub-caliber projectile, but even weakens the degree of protection against them! Modern “triggered” cores do not ricochet: upon contact with the armor, a mushroom-shaped head is formed at the front end of the core, playing the role of a hinge, and the projectile turns towards the perpendicular to the armor, shortening the path in its thickness.
The next generation of remote sensing was the Kontakt-5 system. Specialists from the Steel Research Institute have done great job, solving many contradictory problems: the explosive ignition had to give a powerful lateral impulse, allowing to destabilize or destroy the BOPS core, the explosive had to reliably detonate from the low-speed (compared to the cumulative jet) BOPS core, but detonation from bullets and shell fragments was excluded . The design of the blocks helped overcome these problems.
The cover of the DZ block is made of thick (about 20 mm) high-strength armor steel. When it hits, the BPS generates a stream of high-speed fragments, which detonate the charge. The impact of the moving thick cover on the BPS is sufficient to reduce its armor-piercing characteristics. The impact on the cumulative jet also increases compared to the thin (3 mm) Contact-1 plate. As a result, installing the Kontakt-5 ERA on tanks increases anti-cumulative resistance by 1.5–1.8 times and provides an increase in the level of protection against BPS by 1.2–1.5 times.
The Kontakt-5 complex is installed on Russian serial tanks T-80U, T-80UD, T-72B (since 1988) and T-90.
The latest generation of Russian remote sensing – the Relikt complex, also developed by specialists from the Steel Research Institute. In improved EDS, many shortcomings were eliminated, for example, insufficient sensitivity when initiated by low-velocity kinetic projectiles and some types of cumulative ammunition. Increased efficiency in protection against kinetic and cumulative ammunition is achieved through the use of additional throwing plates and the inclusion of non-metallic elements in their composition. As a result, armor penetration by sub-caliber projectiles is reduced by 20–60%, and thanks to the increased time of exposure to the cumulative jet, it was possible to achieve a certain effectiveness in cumulative weapons with a tandem warhead.
Dynamic tank protection is a device that weakens the impact of enemy anti-tank weapons using energy. Today they are installed on a large number of military equipment and effectively protect it from various threats. Moreover, the simplicity and low cost of installation can significantly increase the potential of even outdated machines.
Of course, there are disadvantages, for example, sensitivity to enemy fire and false alarms due to this, one-time use and a threat to allied personnel located in close proximity.
Dynamic protection of Russian tanks
It all started in the late 50s, when the Steel Research Institute developed the first samples, however, they limited themselves to testing. Created at that time T-64 had excellent protection and did not need additional, and lightly armored vehicles would have suffered as a result of their own imperfect armor.
At the end of 1982, the mounted dynamic protection Contact-1 went into production mass production. In 1985, the complex was put into service and equipped with the 4S20 element. It was received by T-55, T-62, T-64A, T-72B and T-80.
The first generation only worked against cumulative projectiles and was very imperfect, so in 1986 a new product of the second generation came into service - built-in dynamic protection Kontakt-5, installed on the T-72B, T-80U, T-80UD and T-90 when creating it. Unlike its predecessor, the complex also counteracts armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles.
In 2006, the third generation was put into service - the Relikt EDZ 4S23 dynamic protection, characterized by a modular design that greatly simplifies the replacement of necessary elements, and increased protection from ammunition various types and unification with Contact-5. This dynamic armor is installed on the T-72B2 Slingshot and T-90SM, although nothing prevents it from being installed on other tanks.
Dynamic protection has generated a lot of interest T-14 Armata. It is believed that a new generation of dynamic protection has been installed, capable of destroying enemy sub-caliber projectiles. The Russian MBT is covered by it not only in the usual places, but also in the area of the NLD and the roof of the hull. Representatives of Uralvagonzavod claim that it will surpass all known models. It is assumed that this is a dynamic protection Malachite, not yet known to wide circles of society.
Dynamic protection from Ukraine
Even before the collapse of the USSR in the KMDB named after. Morozov developed many of his own projects. The result of one of them was the dynamic protection Knife installed on BM Bulat and various modifications of the T-64, T-72. Distinctive feature are the matching mounting points and dimensions, which make it possible to replace the outdated Kontakt-1 on modernized tanks.
Tandem dynamic protection Doublet is installed on Stronghold and significantly exceeds Russian systems protection based on the results of some tests. When fired from a French tank Leclerc 120 mm BPS OFL 120F1, Doublet did its job perfectly, covering the armor plate from everything except the residual kinetic impact, which caused a bend of less than 20 mm.
Developments of other countries
In the mid-60s, development of similar systems began in Germany and it became known as Explosive Reactive armor, that is, explosive reactive armor. Reactive armor on tanks first appeared in the 1982 Lebanon War, when Israel equipped its M-48 and M-60 with the Blazer. This gave almost twofold increased protection. On a modern Israeli MBT Merkava 4 NERA containers are installed on the sides, protecting only from outdated RPG-7 and similar anti-tank weapons.
The Abrams ARAT dynamic protection is also not perfect and is located only on the sides of the TUSK modification hull.
I wonder what Leclerc is not equipped with such a system at all, since French engineers considered it too dangerous for the allies around the tank.
Reservation of the forehead of the German turret and hull Leopard-2, starting with modification A5, is significantly strengthened by overhead blocks with built-in dynamic protection.
China is strengthening its tanks with similar complexes, for example, the ZTZ-99 has built-in, and the newest MBT-3000 has mounted dynamic protection.
Other equipment
Lightly armored vehicles are completely unprotected from large-caliber projectiles and, especially, missiles. The most obvious way of development is to install dynamic protection, however, there are also difficulties.
When a charge is detonated, the armor sheet underneath can easily break due to its fragility, so special reactive armor systems had to be developed. For example, there is dynamic protection Cactus, installed on BMP-3. The American M2 Bradley is also equipped with a similar system. This makes it possible to bring the armor equivalent to a level of about 500 mm and significantly increase the survivability of the vehicle.
conclusions
Nowadays, reactive armor is becoming increasingly popular, since it allows you to significantly increase the protection of a combat vehicle with an insignificant increase in weight, ease of modernization and low monetary costs.
