T-90 vs. Abrams
General information
Tanks The T-90 and M1A1 Abrams are typical representatives of the Soviet and Western schools of tank building, which incorporate various design and technological ideas. The T-90, a deep modernization of the reliable and well-proven T-72 tank, was created after the collapse of the USSR and incorporated all the best features of Soviet tanks. The tank is armed with a modernized version of the 125 mm 2A46M4 smoothbore gun as its main weapon. The tank's armor has increased almost threefold compared to the first modifications of the T-3 and includes both powerful passive armor, with special "semi-active" type armor, and built-in "active" dynamic protection, which ensures a high level of armor without exceeding the weight restrictions determined by strategic mobility indicators.
The tank is powered by an economical and reliable diesel engine B92S2. With the transition to the production of a new type of welded turret, the possibilities for enhancing the armor have increased even more. The T-90 layout is characterized by high density, typical of the domestic school of tank building. This has both advantages and disadvantages. The dense layout allows you to create a highly protected vehicle with a low silhouette and a small area of the longitudinal and transverse section with a relatively low weight. Accordingly, a smaller internal volume (for the T-90 tank 11,8 m3 and 13 for the T-90S) requires less armor. The disadvantage of the dense layout is the cramped crew members, it is difficult for crew members to replace each other if necessary.
The M1 Abrams tank was created primarily not as a breakthrough tank, but as an anti-tank weapon, the task of which was to stop, or at least delay the waves of Soviet tanks rushing to the English Channel. The tank was created in close cooperation with German tank builders, but with American specifics. As the main weapon on the tank, starting with the M1A1 modification, a 120 mm M-256 cannon is installed, which is a slightly modified version of the German Rh-120 cannon. The armor of the first modifications of the tank includes multi-layer composite armor "Chobham" created in Great Britain. On later modifications, armor using uranium ceramics of the first and second generations is used.
The layout of the МХNUMX tank “Abrams” is typical for the western approach to tank building, as a result of which the reserved volume of the tank was 1 М19.7, which is almost 3 times the figure for T-2.
The gas turbine engine AGT-1500 installed in one is installed as a power plant of the tank.
block with automatic hydromechanical transmission.
The disadvantage of M1 is the limited ability of the commander to independently search for a target, the slight increase and the lack of stabilization of the field of view of the M919 sight do not allow to confidently detect and identify targets when the tank is moving.
This deficiency was eliminated only on the M1A2 modification. On the M1X2, the commander's panoramic thermal imaging device is installed, the T-90 tanks, like their predecessors, also possess such a panoramic device for searching for targets and pointing the weapon, however, without a thermal imaging channel.
Firepower and ammunition
M1A1 / M1A2
The main armament of the M1А1 / М1А2 is the МХNUMX 120-mm smoothbore gun. Starting speed when using the M256A829 2 shot m / s.
The rate of fire is up to 8 shots per minute.
Today, the main anti-tank weapons of the M1A1 Abrams are the M829A1 and M829A2 armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles. Production and delivery to the troops of the new M829A3 projectile, which poses a serious threat to the T-90 tank, has also begun. Developments are underway to create the TERM guided projectile, however, they are still far from complete.
М829А3
T-90
The main armament of the T-90 is the 125-mm upgraded smoothbore gun-launcher. 2A46M-2 (4)
Initial speed when using a shot 3BM-44М 1750 m / s.
Rate of fire - 6-8 rounds per minute
The main anti-tank weapons of the T-90 also include armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles (3BM-42 and 3BM-42M) and the Reflex-M guided weapons system with rockets 9M119M and 9M119M1 which ensure the destruction of M1A1NA tanks in all areas of the frontal projection at a distance of up to 5000 m. The destruction of the M1A2 tank is ensured only in weakened zones, which make up to 40% of the frontal projection. Modeling of a head-on battle of tank companies (10 T-90 tanks against 10 M1A1 tanks) showed that, starting to fire TUR from a distance of 5000 m, the T-90s manage to destroy up to 2000-2500% of enemy tanks by a distance of 50 - 60 m. Naturally, this is possible only if the terrain allows it.
In addition, the development of perceptual complexes that implement the principle of "shot and forget" and the defeat of the tank is not in a powerful frontal armor, but in thin sections of the roof of the tower and hull.
In terms of the development and introduction of new armor-piercing sub-caliber shells into the troops, there has been a lag in the last decade. The answer to the emergence of new threats was not given, so the defeat of the tank M1X2 at all distances from the first hit is not guaranteed. The industry is delaying the delivery to the troops of already developed ammunition, and the financing of work on new samples is disrupted.
Reservation
M1A1NA
Equivalent resistance against kinetic ammunition: 530-550 mm.
Equivalent resistance against cumulative ammunition: 750-800 mm.
M1A2 (1994)
Equivalent resistance against kinetic ammunition: 770 mm.
Equivalent resistance against cumulative ammunition: 1000-1200 mm.
The tower of the М1А1 tank consists of outer and inner steel armor plates connected by transverse stiffening ribs, between which special armoring packages of metallic and non-metallic materials are laid.
Due to the high density (density of uranium 19.03 g / cm3), these plates with extremely small thickness provide the “explosive” nature of the destruction of the elements of a cumulative jet.
T-90
Equivalent resistance against kinetic ammunition: mm 800-830 with Contact-5 protection
Equivalent resistance against cumulative ammunition: 1,150-1,350 mm with Contact-5 protection
Equivalent durability against cumulative ammunition is indicated for first generation monoblock combat units.
The T-90 tank turret armor is of the "semi-active" type. In the front part of the turret there are two cavities located at an angle of 55 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the gun, in which special armor packages of the "semi-active" type are placed. The structure of the armor with reflective sheets is a barrier consisting of 3 layers: a plate, a gasket and a thin plate. The effect of using "reflective" sheets can reach 40% in comparison with monolithic armor of the same mass. In addition, the tank also uses a complex of built-in dynamic protection "Contact-5" this type of ERA works both against cumulative weapons (KS) and against armor-piercing sub-caliber projectiles (BPS). The complex provides a powerful lateral impulse, allowing to destabilize or destroy the core of the BPS before it begins to interact with the main armor.
For the first time, the T-90 T-1-7 complex of optical-electronic countermeasures of the TSHU-1-1 was installed on a serial basis "Blind-XNUMX" is designed to protect the tank from damage controlled weapons with command semi-automatic guidance systems such as Tow, Hot, Milan, Dragon, laser homing heads such as Maverick, Hellfire, Copper-head, as well as artillery systems with laser rangefinders.
Vulnerable areas
М1 "Abrams"
An unacceptably large gap between the hull and turret armor. The gap is so large that it is possible to hit the Abrams turret even at a great distance. To do this, you can aim at the upper frontal plate located at a very large angle - if a ricochet occurs, then it will definitely hit the turret. In this case, neither the high armor of the frontal part of the hull nor the thick armor of the turret will help. Weak armor of the sides in the area of the engine-transmission and fighting compartments makes the tank vulnerable to small-caliber fire artillery, for example, the distance of confident destruction when using the BP projectile "Kerner" at an angle of 38 to 90 degrees will be up to 2000 meters (500 m for the BT projectile).
T-90
The vulnerable areas in the T-90 armor are the areas on both sides of the gun that are not covered by built-in dynamic protection and do not have special armor (in the place where the machine gun paired with the gun is installed). There is also a weakened area on the upper frontal part of the hull in the area of the driver's observation device. This is a design feature of all domestic tanks, starting with the T-64.
Information