Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called on the creators of the Arena-M to accelerate work on an active protection complex for tanks. Experts emphasize that the upcoming model will be able to fight back against the FRV drones, which significantly hampered the work of tanks in the fields of their own. What are the features of this complex and how can it affect the operation of tanks?
The Arena-M Active Protection Complex (KAZ) was presented for qualification tests. This was announced by Valery Kashin, General Designer of JSC Scientific and Production Corporation Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering, to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu during the presentation of the project.
"Here is this kit, which is placed directly on the tank from behind, and this kit is placed around it. At the same time, we are currently working to make it possible to combat barraging drones. There are speed limits here," he said. At the same time, Shoigu drew attention to the fact that this problem should be solved faster.
This KAZ model consists of 12 mines with protective ammunition placed on the tower and a radar station with high noise immunity, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports. Thus, the design allows you to detect targets that pose an immediate threat to the tank.
Built-in radar stations (radars) track the movement of missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, after which the system fires a volley of explosive ammunition flying towards enemy shells. The main task of the Arena-M is to eliminate the threat hanging over the tank even before enemy shells touch its armor.
At the same time, the domestic development will work in automatic mode. Protection is thus provided from any direction, including this approach, which makes it possible to secure the upper hemisphere of the tank. It is the upper hemisphere that, with the advent of drones in recent years, has become the weakest point of armored vehicles. It is reported that KAZ will be equipped with T-72, T-80 and T-90.
Arena-M is an upgraded model of a system created back in the early 80s, TASS reminds. Despite the fact that the development was not adopted at that time, in January 2017 it became known about the beginning of preliminary tests of its improved version. Vladimir Kharkin, Head of the KBM Development and Advanced Design Department, spoke about the technical features of the model.
According to him, the ammunition with which the system was equipped has a high speed and is capable of hitting enemy shells with a directed stream of heavy fragments at a range of 20 to 50 m. In addition, using impulse engines, they are able to turn around independently in flight to meet the threat.
It is noted that the closest analogue of the domestic development is the Israeli Trophy-HV from the state military concern Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. This model is most often installed on American M1A2C Abrams tanks. The speed of the counter-munitions of this KAZ reaches 1200 meters per second.
The expert community notes that Arena-M will solve the problem of protecting tanks from FRV drones. It is noted that during the period of its operation, it was drones that became the greatest problem for Russian tanks. Improving protection in this regard will allow the Russian Armed Forces to maintain a larger number of vehicles, which is especially important, given the possibility of continuing offensive operations.
"The Arena complex was conceived as the basis for the active protection of armored vehicles and was intended to destroy anti-tank missiles. The system detected ammunition flying up to the car and destroyed them with a directed explosion even on the approaches. At one time, this complex was largely considered an advanced example of Russian military engineering," said military expert Alexei Leonkov.
"However, our experience has shown that our designers still have room to grow. A problem has been revealed that we had hardly thought about before. Tanks began to get into a direct collision with FRV drones, which are extremely difficult for armored vehicles to resist," the source notes.
"The fact is that the use of UAVs allowed the enemy to carry out combined attacks, during which a large number of blows were inflicted on the tank body. Some of them occur several times in the same position. Accordingly, the protection system has already worked, there is no new charge in it, and nothing prevents an enemy projectile from penetrating the hull at this point," he emphasizes.
"Strengthening the system by means of radar solves this problem. Arena-M is designed to become a killer of RV drones. This innovation can seriously change the situation on the battlefield, as it contributes to the emergence of new opportunities in terms of the use of tanks," the expert clarifies.
"The modification of the complex will contribute to maintaining the combat capability of the equipment, as well as help save the lives of its crew. Now they will establish mass production of the new model, put it on new tanks. Moreover, the warring vehicles will also be equipped with an upgraded system when they are sent for repair," Leonkov stressed.
However, according to experts, for more reliable protection of the tank from attacks from above, not only active protection complexes are needed, but also various electronic warfare tools that will help KAZ more effectively prevent the defeat of armored vehicles from strikes from the upper hemisphere.
If Russian specialists solve this problem, then tanks can be used more effectively in offensive operations.
Today, tanks are facing new threats, in particular drones, Vadim Kozyulin, head of the IAMP Center at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, agrees. "However, historically, the sword and shield have been perfected in parallel. Such a means of protection that can be used against UAVs is the new Arena-M complex," he said.
"This system consists of several rounds of ammunition firing in the direction of a threat to the tank, for example, an ATGM. In addition, the complex includes a radar station with noise immunity. Accordingly, now an armored vehicle can much more easily collide with maneuvering drones and repel their attacks, moving towards its target," Kozyulin summarizes.
Recall that Russian engineers and designers have been looking for ways to protect tanks from UAVs for a long time. Automatic suppression systems of FPV drones "Sania" are already being used in the area of its operation, which record not only single drones, but also swarms of such devices at a distance of up to one and a half kilometers. Direct suppression occurs at a distance of up to a kilometer. Another feature of the "Sania" is that the complex can only be turned on when the FPV drone appears in the field of view - and the tank, thus, is not illuminated for enemy reconnaissance.
Evgeny Pozdnyakov
