Lethality of contemporary Russian APFSDS rounds against NATO’s main battle tanks

Manev, Nikola and Nikolov, Elenior (2022) Lethality of contemporary Russian APFSDS rounds against NATO’s main battle tanks. Contemporary Macedonian Defence, 22 (42). pp. 115-123. ISSN 1409-8199

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Abstract

Rising tensions in NATO - Russian relations challenge stability in Europe. A hypothetical conventional engagement between the two sides would see massive use of armor and main battle tanks (MBTs). So far, the only proven means to stop a large, armored force is by employing tanks of your own, with armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds as the ultimate kinetic energy (KE) tank-killing asset. While current guns and propellants are at the design limit for muzzle velocities, enhancements
to this ammunition continue through modifications to the projectile’s Length/diameter ratio. Recent development has focused on creating “long-rod” KE projectiles which have increased penetrating power due to their length and mass. Russian technological advances of this ammunition type have been substantial and aimed at out-guning their NATO counterparts. The Svinets 1 (3BM59) and 2 (3BM60) and the Vacuum 1 (3BM69) and 2 (3BM70) projectiles are the latest in this line of development and likely pose a threat to NATO armor. Based on currently available data, evaluating these projectiles against an RHA (rolled homogenous armor) plate at different ranges and angles of impact, simulating different thicknesses of NATO’s MBTs armor will allow us to evaluate their lethality and answer which side will have a potential edge over their opponents in conventional warfare.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Engineering and Technology > Materials engineering Engineering and Technology > Mechanical engineering Engineering and Technology > Other engineering and technologies
Divisions:	Military Academy
Depositing User:	Nikola Manev
Date Deposited:	11 Dec 2024 11:11
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 11:11
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/35210

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