Will the bars above the turret from the 3rd generation ATGM help? Discuss
Table of contents
- How does cumulative work?
ammunition?
- Why a roof?
- Why are anti-cumulative screens latticed?
- About visors
- As a result
At one time in the photographs we were shownRussian tanks with welded-on "visors" on top, and although no one openly commented on this "modernization", experts of all stripes regarded it as an impromptu defense against the potential impact of Javelin anti-tank systems. Or maybe it's just more convenient to carry luggage, well, like in the good old days - a trunk on the roof of a Zhiguli with sacks of white cabbage on it.
In any case, the sofa brigade of the operationalthe purpose of the entire Internet has spread srach on the topic - will ersatz screens made of shit and sticks from the corner and fittings protect from American anti-tank missiles, or is this all that Russia is capable of, which means defeating it is easy?
So, visors…
How does cumulative ammunition work?
In general, it is no secret that the American complexJavelin strikes armored vehicles in the upper projection, which can be seen in dozens of videos on YouTube. At the same time, do not forget that tanks torn to shreds are not the result of an American ATGM hit, it’s just that in such cases the tanks are stuffed with explosives in advance and this, as it were, imitates the detonation of ammunition, which, of course, does not always happen.
Nothing in the warhead of the Javelin missilenothing special - this is a cumulative ammunition, which means "directed explosion". Or, to simplify it very much, the explosives are located in such a way that the explosion does not spread in all directions, but in a direction - a jet that pierces the tank's armor, creating hyper-high pressure per square centimeter of the plane, exceeding the yield strength of metals ... and-and-and the tank is broken.
A short but very informative video (narrated by the late Andrey Yaroslavtsev)
Despite the terrible explosion that we seefrom the outside, it does not pose a significant threat to the crew and equipment of the tank - the hole punched by the cumulative jet, as a rule, reaches several centimeters in diameter. Accordingly, the tank crew does not fall under the thermobaric effect.
Something else happens:the metal squeezed out by the cumulative jet is destroyed with the formation of small hot fragments and fractions. It is they who hit tankers (again, not always lethally) and equipment. But having hit the ammunition, the factions can cause it to detonate - then the complete destruction of the vehicle occurs (but this is far from a 100% probability even with a successful hit).
The principle of operation of early PG-7V grenades for RPG-7
An explosive charge that generates a cumulative jet is located in the form of a "cumulative funnel" - this is how a cumulative effect is created, that is, the energy of the explosion receives a direction. Remember, this is important.
Why a roof?
The cumulative jet has a certain "length", andif the layer of homogeneous armor is thick enough, or if the warhead is blown up at a sufficient distance, the tank can only get away with a funnel in the metal (during the Second World War they were called "witch suction") - the cumulative jet will not be enough to penetrate the armor. Hence the development of dynamic protection (DZ).
Dynamic Defense has come a long waydevelopment: from shielding away from armor, to creating an additional layer of small containers with explosives that generate a "counter-explosion" and significantly reduce the cumulative effect. This often works in countering PG-7V ammunition for RPG-7 grenade launchers and analogues.
But these are the methods of the Soviet school of tank building, andhere in NATO tanks, an additional layer of armor was used - for example, with ceramic blocks. But with the development of ATGMs, the development of remote sensing systems also took place, and today the Malachite complex for the T-14 Armata tank is already the fourth generation. We will not torment, this article is not about that.
Dynamic protection Contact-1, characteristic “cubes” on late Soviet tanks
When designing the ATGM Javelin IIIgeneration, the main feature of which was the principle of "fire and forget", an important factor was lightness and portability. The calculation after the shot should leave the launch site as quickly as possible, because the active protection systems of modern tanks will be able to quickly identify it and send a “response”. In many ways, therefore, its caliber and power of the warhead are noticeably inferior not only to the Russian Kornet ATGM, but also to the more ancient American TOW complex.
But the missile with a homing head receivedthere are much more maneuvering capabilities, so you can hit the tank not at the well-protected forehead or almost equally protected side, but at the thin roof in the “upper attack” mode, which is also more difficult to strengthen with dynamic protection (because in this area there are hatches, panorama and other equipment).
More about Javelin and a selection of angles of his work
Yes, a thin layer of tank roof armor will not create enough damaging elements, but this may be quite enough to disable the crew and equipment inside the turret.
Why are anti-cumulative screens latticed?
Everything is simple.The first generations of cumulative grenades had a contact fuse. That is, they hit the screen, exploded prematurely at a distance from the main armor, and thanks to this, the cumulative jet did not have enough length to penetrate the armor to its full thickness. But then the power of the ammunition was increased, and solid screens could no longer parry them.
The grating screen made of strong steel strips does notcauses premature detonation of the cumulative ammunition. The steel strips are deformed when the ammunition hits, but then the deformation of the “cumulative funnel” also occurs - it collapses and the formation of a cumulative jet does not occur. In general, the ammunition does not work as it should, or does not work at all.
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Photo: This is how the lattice screen should look like
Later fuses began to be made inertial.This means that the detonation of the warhead does not occur due to an impact and the fuse in the tip being triggered, but when the grenade/missile comes to a complete stop. And the destruction of the cumulative funnel does not occur.
With even higher power of such ammunitionThe screen needs to be separated from the main armor by at least 1.5 meters, but this no longer makes it difficult to use armored vehicles normally - the dimensions are too large and interfere with urban space, and on rough terrain the screens can be damaged/damaged.
In short, the screens more or less workagainst very outdated types of anti-tank grenades such as RPG-7 (PG-7V). More advanced types, and even more so ATGMs, are not afraid of any screens (well, or they turn an armored car into a house with a palisade). Therefore, we see them more often in the hot spots of the Middle East, and in European exercises (and military operations) there are no screens on equipment. Well, they also protect well from armor-piercing incendiary ones - they distort the trajectory of such bullets.
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APC Stryker in Iraq
Therefore, today the only reliable protection againstcumulative grenades, any ATGMs (and also sub-caliber armor-piercing ones) became active defense systems using oncoming anti-missiles (KAZ). No type of shielding or dynamic protection works. But KAZ is a completely new technical level, expensive and difficult.
What are these visors?
About visors
So, we know how the Javelin rocket works, where it hits and why. We know how the lattice screen works against HEAT munitions. Will the visors help in the end, or not?
Barred screens are not effective for protecting the forehead andsides. They are inefficient, not because they don't quite work, but because they significantly limit the technique - in other words, it's not worth it. But on the roof, they are not so restrictive, they can be placed at a considerable distance from the main armor. Yes, camouflage and visual visibility will suffer ... but not directly critical.
Soft frame and low height - this is unlikely to stop the Javelin
Only now the lattice screen works reliablywhen it is a factory design - the plates are strong, form a strong and rigid frame. And it is precisely the plates that meet the cumulative projectile with an edge. Relatively soft steel of building reinforcement (round in cross section), welded by a conscript with a crust of a welder of the 3rd category, Javelin will stupidly break through, as if there was nothing in his way.
Tanks with such visors are in no way protected from American 3rd generation ATGMs.
The idea itself is, in fact, logical and not withoutcommon sense - at a considerable distance from the roof (and you can’t weld it close, tankers also need to climb + external equipment) the visor will not allow the Javelin to work “as it should”.
But it should be implemented on a completely differentlevel - we need ready-made factory structures made of special metal in compliance with the necessary calculations of the angles of inclination. The effectiveness of those that are shown to us in the photo is extremely doubtful - it seems that our military implemented the recommendations of specialists in the way we often do.
Such visors are more credible, but still not enough height and the onboard projection remains vulnerable in case of a sharper angle of attack.
But, in fairness, the Ukrainian video allegedlyexercises to test the Russian "know-how" - a complete profanation. And the point is not even that the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly set fire to the tower on purpose (the fire could really be kindled so that the homing head could see the thermal signature of the target). The visor-lattice is welded extremely low: firstly, it is much less than the safe distance of the screen (from 1.5 meters), and secondly ... well, how to climb into this tower?
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But those videos are not only remarkable for this"invention". Many photos and videos show strange pipes on the side. These are false heat traps for the homing heads of the Javelin missile - a piece of pipe taken aside (it is complete, for overcoming water barriers) is equipped inside with a composition that emits noticeable heat, which should lure the missile, and it would work “into the ground”.
But besides the fact that such a "piece" in a real battlequickly touches something and falls off, it does not allow the normal use of caponiers and shelters. Plus, the big question is, how long is the chemical composition that produces “false” heat calculated for?
Good height of the canopy screen for an attack on the roof + thermal decoy
As a result
There is only one result - while everything is plus or minusadvanced military powers are already quite successfully using KAZ in practice, our defense industry is not able to equip the tank fleet with them at least partially (Western district, for example). Neither the Arena, nor at least elements based on Afghanite, and this is while the Israeli Trophy is fighting the second dozen and is already being put on the BMP.
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