Contact-5

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Indian T-90 with Kontakt-5 reactive armor

Kontakt-5 ( Russian Контакт-5 ) is reactive armor from the Soviet Union .

history

The reactive armor 4S20 Kontakt-1 developed by NII Stali was introduced into the Soviet armed forces in 1983. The T-80BW was the first to be equipped with it. As early as 1985, all battle tanks of the group of the Soviet armed forces in Germany were equipped with Kontakt-1. As a result, projectiles and anti-tank guided weapons with tandem hollow charges were developed in the west . In response, NII Stali developed reactive armor 4S22 Kontakt-5 . This was first observed in 1985 on a T-80U. Later the T-72B , T-84 and T-90 tanks were also equipped with Kontakt-5. In addition, the T-55 , T-62 and BMP-3 tanks can be equipped or upgraded with Kontakt-5.

According to the manufacturer, the Kontakt-5 is the first type of reactive armor that effectively protects armored vehicles against modern APFSDS projectiles and tandem shaped charges.

description

For the first time, the Kontakt 5 reactive armor type was used on the T-80U . The tile-like active elements are attached to the outside of the passive steel or composite armor . An active element contains plates consisting of combined layers of steel , ceramic and explosives. The plates themselves are arranged asymmetrically in the active element. When a projectile hits the reactive armor, the explosives explode and hurl the plates towards the projectile. The projectile effect is impaired or completely canceled. In contrast to the older Kontakt-1 reactive armor, Kontakt-5 is also said to be effective against tandem hollow charges and APFSDS projectiles.

A further development of the Kontakt-5 armor is the reactive armor of the type 4S23 / 4S24 Relikt . This should have twice the protective effect compared to Kontakt-5. Furthermore, there is the integral reactive armor of the cactus type from the same manufacturer.

Technical specifications

  • Dimensions of the 4S22 element: 10.5 × 23.0 × 7.0 cm
  • Weight of the 4S22 element: 10.35 kg
  • Total mass of the Kontakt 5 reactive armor: 2.8 - 3.0 t
  • Protective effect ( RHA equivalent):
    • against APFSDS: 250 mm
    • against shaped charge (HEAT): 600 mm