How does reactive armor work on tanks?

How does reactive armor work on tanks?

Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. Essentially all anti-tank munitions work by piercing the armour and then either killing the crew inside, or disabling vital mechanical systems, or both.

Can ERA stop Apfsds?

Kontakt-5 is a type of second-generation explosive reactive armour (ERA) originating in the Soviet Union. It is the first type of ERA that is effectively able to defeat modern armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds.

How does Active Protection System work?

A hard-kill active protection system detects, engages, and destroys or neutralizes an incoming threat before it can hit a protected vehicle, actively firing some type of projectile to intercept the threat.

How does an anti-tank round work?

High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is a type of shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armour. The jet’s effect is purely kinetic in nature; the round has no explosive or incendiary effect on the target.

How does Kontakt 5 work?

Kontakt-5 provides protection against APFSDS by using a combination of more powerful explosives charges and thick coverplates – this results in shattering of the penetrator or bending of the rod. However more modern types of APFSDS can defeat Kontakt-5 ERA without being destroyed or strongly deformed.

How does plate tectonics affect reactive armor?

As the plates bulge, the point of jet impact shifts with the plate bulging, increasing the effective thickness of the armour. This is almost the same as the second mechanism that explosive reactive armour uses, but it uses energy from the shaped charge jet rather than from explosives.

How effective is reactive armour on tanks?

Reactive armour created on the basis of the joint research was first installed on Israeli tanks during the 1982 Lebanon war and was judged very effective. The advanced Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour on this T-90 S is arranged in pairs of plates, giving the turret its prominent triangular profile.

What is electromagnetic reactive armor?

(March 2008) Electric reactive armour (also termed electromagnetic reactive armour, or colloquially as electric armour) is a newer reactive armour technology. This armour is made up of two or more conductive plates separated by an air gap or by an insulating material, creating a high-power capacitor.

What is explosive reactive armor (ERA)?

We will answer all these questions in this article. Explosive reactive armour (ERA) is a type of armour that is used in modern tanks and other armoured vehicles to protect them from projectiles that employ shaped charged warheads. An ERA is extremely effective on HEAT and HESH rounds.