The advanced Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour on this Indian Army T-90S is arranged in pairs of plates with a triangular profile

Kontakt-5 is a type of second-generation[1] explosive reactive armour (ERA) originating in the Soviet Union. It is the first type of ERA that is able to significantly decrease the penetration of armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds.

Description

Operation of ERA

Introduced on the T-80U tank in 1985, Kontakt-5 is made up of "bricks" of explosive sandwiched between two metal plates. The plates are arranged in such a way as to move sideways rapidly when the explosive detonates. This forces an incoming kinetic energy penetrator or shaped charge jet to cut through more armour than the thickness of the plating itself since "new" plating is constantly fed into the penetrating body. A kinetic energy penetrator is also subject to powerful sideways forces which may cut the rod into two or more pieces. This significantly reduces the penetrating capabilities of the penetrator, since the penetrating force will be dissipated over a larger volume of armour.

Newer KE penetrators like the US M829A3 were "driven by the need to counter KE-effective explosive reactive armor (ERA)".[2]

Relikt was designed by the Russian army in response to the new developments. Relikt is the 3rd generation of Russian ERA, and is claimed to be twice[3][4] as effective as Kontakt-5. It can be installed on T-72B and T-90 tanks and was adopted in 2006.[5][6] The Russian Army T-72B3M main battle tank incorporates Relikt.[7] Developed by NII Stali, Relikt uses a completely new composition of explosives to achieve dynamics protection. Unlike Kontakt-1, it works equally reliably against both low-velocity and high-velocity missiles, doubling protection against shaped charges and increasing anti-tank guided missile protection by 50 percent.[8] Relikt defends against tandem warheads and reduces penetration of APFSDS rounds by over 50 percent.[9]

Kontakt-5 armour is employed by Russia, Ukraine, India (T-90S) and Serbia (on M-84AS MBT), among others.

Monolith which is often confused with the "Malachit" that was used on the Objekt.187 is the latest (4th) generation Russian explosive reactive armor, mounted on Armata project vehicles.

Operators

See also

References

  1. "Kontakt-5 ERA". fofanov.armor.kiev.ua. Archived from the original on 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  2. "M829E3 120 mm Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot- Tracer (APFSDS-T) Cartridge" (PDF). The Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  3. "Комплекс ДЗ типа "Реликт" для танков - БМПТ Рамка с ДЗ Реликт" [Relict-type electric protection system for tanks - BMPT Frame with Relict electric protection system]. niistali.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  4. "Встроенный комплекс динамической защиты типа "Контакт-V" - Универсальная ДЗ Контакт-5" [Built-in dynamic protection complex of "Contact-V" type - universal relay Contact-5]. niistali.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  5. "Комплекс ДЗ типа "Реликт" для танков" ["Relict" type security system for tanks]. niistali.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  6. "T-72BM 'Rogatka' & T-72M1 Modernised". Pakistan Defence. Feb 2, 2011. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  7. "Партия танков Т-72Б3 поступила в части Первой танковой армии в Подмосковье" [A batch of T-72B3 tanks arrived in units of the First Tank Army in the Moscow region.]. ria.ru (in Russian). 9 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  8. Russia to unveil new explosive reactive armour at Nizhniy Tagil arms expo Archived 2013-12-09 at the Wayback Machine – Topasianews.com, 27 July 2011
  9. "T-90MS Tagil Main Battle Tank | Military-Today.com". www.military-today.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  10. 국방일보 (2019-05-24). "차관급 다수 편성, 대외 협력시 격 더 올라가" [Deputy Defense Minister to take on higher profile in foreign cooperation]. 국방일보 [Defense Daily] (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  11. "두 개의 안테나·4색 위장 무늬… 디테일이 살아있다" [Two antennas, four-color camouflage pattern... The details are there]. 국방일보 [Defense Daily] (in Korean). 2021-06-22. Archived from the original on 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.