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A more complete hemispheric protection
is the Russian Arena E – developed by the Russian company KBM.
The system is designed to protect the tank from attacks of
anti-tank guided missiles launched from the ground and by attack
helicopter and lightweight anti-tank grenades (such as RPG). The
system weighs between 1 – 1.3 tons (depending on the coverage and
configuration) and uses a fixed, omni-directional radar, that
covers a sector of 220 – 290 degrees around the tank. The
protective charges are housed in a "belt" of 22-26 protective
charges (depending on the turret size and shape), each positioned
to cover a specific sector. Once an incoming threat is detected by
the radar, the system ejects a charge above and sideways from the
tank, to a position best suited for intercepting the target. As
the charge explodes, it throws a deadly hail of fragments
downward, to shutter and destroy the incoming projectile. The
system is capable of engaging incoming missiles, at speeds ranging
from 70 to 700 meters per second. The system creates a virtual
"cone" shaped shield at a radius of 20-30 meters from the tank,
and its response time, from target detection to destruction is
0.07 seconds. When the system is triggered, a warning signal is
activated, to warn infantrymen that may be following the tank to
open some distance or take cover. The status of the Arena E system
is unclear, although the system was seen in public since the mid
1990s, it is believed that funding problems delayed final
development and deployment of the system.
While Arena-E provides an effective protection
against many types of anti-tank threats, from RPGs to fast
missiles such as Hellfire and TOW, it cannot defeat fast missiles
(such as HVM) and tank projectiles, such as HEAT shaped
charge projectiles and APFSDS penetrators. Different
countermeasures are being examined to defeat these threats,
including the deployment of steel bars, which are accelerated into
the projected flight path of the incoming projectile. The kinetic
energy discharged from the collision between the steel bar and the
projectile can disintegrate or destabilize the projectile, shift
it from its course, or cause it to hit the target at angles that
do not facilitate effective penetration. |
