Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1333129
Mk 2B. Thanks to unclassified materials and photographs shot at the factory, reportedly in 1984, one could assume that the armor came in a form of NERA - non-explosive reactive armor. Western-style special armor as such compris- es a series of inclined packages, each of which made out of two steel plates and an intermediary layer between them. The external layer is thicker and it is made out of steel exhibiting more plasticity. The internal layer is thin but made out of hard steel. Between them, one may find the intermediary layer, made out of polymer, elastomer, or rubber. Once the armor is hit by an effec- tor (for instance - shaped charge blast), should the external (thicker) plate be perforated, it is then deformed and shifted. The energy is dissipated, via the intermediary layer, and it reaches the thinner layer that is also moved. The shift creates a situation in which the blast energy is continuously hitting new material, with the energy becoming less cohesive and with the penetrator going through the armor suffering from lateral stress. Having armor as such inclined at an angle of at least 45 degrees (in relation to the vertical axis) is necessary for it to function properly. From the point of view of the currently available know-how, it could be said that a 10-30 mm steel plate layout with 4 mm intermediary layer (rubber, aramid-reinforced rubber), and a deform- ing steel plate - 1.5-4 mm thick, could create a 22% reduction in penetration capacity for the shaped-charge energy when considering a single NERA lay- er. Declassified photographs depicting the inner part of the Merkava Mk 2B wedges (1984) proves that protection layout as such was indeed utilized. It is clearly visible that the empty space inside (as the one in the case of the Merkava Mk I) has been filled in with an intermediary layer consisting of three plates and arranged in parallel to the lower and upper surfaces of the wedge. Interestingly, the NERA layers are placed inside a wedge made out of RHA. Was it an original idea developed by the Israeli industry? It could have been. ERA Blazer armor solution had been developed beforehand. Despite some disadvantages, it was quite effective. Development of that armor could have led the Jewish engineers towards NERA solutions. A similar type of evolution could have been witnessed in Germany as well. NERA/NxRA armor idea could have been transferred to Israel from Germany. The West Germans have developed several types of those for the Leopard 2AV and 2A0 MBTs. It is known that the states were working together, closely but covertly, on Photo source www.fragoutmag.com