Of great interest are the so-called. active protection complexes (KAZ) for armored vehicles. This equipment is intended for the timely detection and destruction of enemy anti-tank weapons flying up to the combat vehicle. The complex of active protection means independently monitor the surrounding space and, if necessary, shoot the so-called. protective ammunition. In recent years, the domestic industry has been actively promoting on the market KAZ of the Arena family, intended for installation on main tanks and other armored vehicles of Russian production.
KAZ "Arena"
The first version of the Arena complex was created in the eighties by the Kolomna Machine Building Design Bureau. The development of the system was supervised by N. I. Gushchin. Initially, the promising KAZ was intended for installation on the main T-80 tanks. For a number of objective reasons, the first public demonstration of the new system took place only in 1997. The Arena complex attracted the attention of specialists and became the topic of numerous controversies that have not ceased to this day.
Tank T-72 with KAZ "Arena". Photo Kbm.ru
Shown in the late nineties KAZ "Arena" consisted of several main systems. The complex included detection and control equipment, means of destruction, as well as control and testing equipment. All means of the complex were proposed to be installed on existing tanks, which made it possible to significantly increase their survivability in real combat conditions.
The operating principle of the Arena system looked relatively simple. Before entering the battle, the crew of the combat vehicle turns on the KAZ, after which it works in a fully automatic mode and solves all tasks to protect against flying anti-tank ammunition. The radar station of the complex monitors the environment and detects approaching objects of a certain size and speed. If the speed and dimensions of such an object correspond to an anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade or a guided missile, a protective fragmentation ammunition is fired. The ammunition destroys a dangerous object with a directed stream of fragments.
The situation is monitored using a multifunctional radar station. This device is located in a characteristic polygonal casing, placed on the roof of the tower of the protected vehicle. The design of the antenna unit allows you to monitor the entire protected sector. Depending on the type of basic armored vehicle, KAZ "Arena" can intercept anti-tank ammunition in a sector with a width of 220-270 °. In addition, due to the rotation of the tower, full-fledged all-aspect protection is provided.
KAZ "Arena" on the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle. Photo Kbm.ru
The radar of the Arena complex has a target detection range of 50 m. This range is sufficient for timely detection of a threat and response to it by launching a protective ammunition. The response time of the systems is declared at the level of 0.07 s.
The processing of information from the radar station is carried out by a computer located inside the base armored vehicle. All units of the complex, installed inside the tank hull, occupy no more than 30 cubic meters. dm. Due to the high speeds of the weapons, all stages of combat work are performed automatically and without the participation of the crew. The task of the tankers is only the timely activation of all the necessary systems.
To destroy incoming missiles or grenades, special protective fragmentation ammunition is used. On the cheekbones and sides of the tower of the base vehicle, a set of special launching devices is mounted that shoot protective ammunition. Depending on the dimensions of the armored vehicle, the ammunition of the active protection complex consists of at least 22 protective ammunition.
After the shot, the protective ammunition is removed several meters from the armored vehicle and is detonated. When detonated, fragments are formed, the trajectory of which intersects the trajectory of the incoming ammunition. The destruction of a grenade or rocket occurs due to mechanical damage to the structure and the initiation of the detonation of the warhead. The detonation occurs at a considerable distance from the armored vehicle, due to which the cumulative warhead cannot cause serious damage to it.
Model of the T-90 tank with the modernized Arena complex. Photo Gurkhan.blogspot.ru
The complex's automation not only detects incoming objects, but also selects potentially dangerous targets. This takes into account the dimensions of the detected object, its speed and flight path. Shooting of protective ammunition is carried out only upon detection of a relatively large object moving at a speed of 70 to 700 m / s and capable of hitting the protected vehicle. Thus, the consumption of protective ammunition is excluded when a vehicle is fired from small arms or small-caliber artillery. In addition, KAZ takes into account the enemy's missteps and does not try to destroy an ammunition flying by or an object that has entered the radar's field of view, but moving away from an armored vehicle.
The launching devices of the complex are located in such a way that the sectors of action of adjacent protective ammunition slightly overlap each other. This, among other things, makes it possible to repel multiple attacks from the same direction.
Due to the use of fragmentation protective ammunition, active protection systems pose a serious danger to the infantry accompanying the tanks. The design of the launchers and protective ammunition of the KAZ "Arena" is designed in such a way that all the fragments that did not hit the threatening object enter the ground at sharp angles at a distance of no more than 25-30 m from the base vehicle. Thus, for safe interaction with tanks or other equipment, infantrymen must be at a sufficient distance from it.
The Arena complex of the first version was quite compact and lightweight. For the installation of its indoor units, a volume of no more than 30 cubic meters is required. dm. The total weight of the entire system, depending on the number of protective ammunition, ranges from 1 to 1.3 tons. Thus, the installation of active protection systems has almost no effect on the characteristics of the vehicle.
The tower is close-up, individual elements of the KAZ are visible. Photo Gurkhan.blogspot.ru
The first carriers of the KAZ "Arena" were supposed to be tanks of the T-80 family. In 1997, this complex was first introduced as part of the equipment of the T-80UM-1 tank. In the future, it was decided to modify the complex for use on other types of armored vehicles. This resulted in projects for the installation of the "Arena" on the T-72 tank and the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle. All of these projects are based on the same ideas, and their differences lie only in the composition and layout of some systems. On the roof of the tower of the armored vehicle, a stand with the antenna unit of the radar station is mounted. On the frontal and side parts of the tower, launchers for protective ammunition are mounted. In addition, complex control systems are installed inside the fighting compartment. The exact location of the various elements depends on the type of base machine.
Since the end of the nineties, the Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau, together with other defense industry enterprises, has presented several prototypes of armored vehicles equipped with the Arena KAZ. Such a modernization of combat vehicles was of certain interest to potential customers, but no one wanted to purchase the proposed systems. The Russian Ministry of Defense and the military departments of some foreign countries did not order the Arena complexes.
This decision of the military was associated with some serious disadvantages of the complex in the existing version. For example, concerns were expressed about the safety of infantry escorting tanks. Destroying enemy ammunition with targeted shrapnel, the active defense complex can injure or kill friendly soldiers. At the same time, the infantry, for one reason or another, does not always have the opportunity to move away from armored vehicles to a safe distance.
In addition, the design of the radar antenna unit became the reason for the claims. It was proposed to mount this most important element of the complex on the roof of the tower, which entailed a lot of problems. So, a large unit on the roof of the tower increases the overall dimensions of the armored vehicle and increases its visibility, which can negatively affect survivability in combat. The second problem of the complex is the lack of serious protection of the antenna unit. According to some reports, elements of this product can be damaged even by small arms fire. Thus, the key element of the KAZ has insufficient survivability, and its damage makes all other devices useless and deprives the armored vehicle of the required protection.
Modernization of KAZ "Arena-E"
The existing shortcomings of the "Arena" system led to the fact that at the moment no one wanted to acquire it. However, the failure did not lead to a work stoppage. At the end of the 2000s, Kolomna specialists began to develop a project for a deep modernization of the complex, the purpose of which was to eliminate the existing shortcomings. The result of this was the emergence of a new KAZ, which differs in the layout of the units on the outer surface of the tower of the base vehicle.
Upgraded complex on a tank. Photo Vestnik-rm.ru
In 2012, at the exhibition "Technologies in Mechanical Engineering", a mock-up of the main T-90S tank with the modernized Arena-E KAZ was presented for the first time. The proposed armored vehicle differs from the existing samples in a different composition of protective equipment and its layout. Later, a full-fledged sample of the tank was presented, equipped with new equipment. In recent years, this machine has been a permanent exhibit at various domestic exhibitions.
The biggest complaints from specialists and potential customers were caused by a large antenna unit. In the new project, this unit was abandoned, which seriously degrades the real characteristics of the machine. A single radar antenna unit was divided into several small devices, which were distributed along the outer surface of the tank turret. The use of a multi-module radar station made it possible to maintain an almost all-round view of the space, but did not lead to a noticeable increase in the projection of the vehicle.
Another layout innovation concerns the placement of launchers for protective ammunition. In the basic Arena project, these devices are located along the perimeter of the armored vehicle turret and are responsible for protecting certain sectors. The new project involves the use of blocks in which several starting devices are combined. Like the individual radar antennas, the launcher blocks are distributed over the tower roof and provide protection against attack from different angles. The layout, presented in 2012, had four blocks, each containing at least three protective ammunition.
Launch blocks close-up. Photo Mark Nicht / Otvaga2004.mybb.ru
The exposition of the Russia Arms Expo 2013 exhibition included a full-fledged model of the tank equipped with the modernized Arena-E KAZ. This sample had some noticeable differences from the layout presented in 2012. In the new version, the tank receives four blocks of launchers, mounted in two casings on the sides of the turret. At the same time, a multi-module radar station is preserved, the elements of which are located in different parts of the tower.
According to available data, the modernized Arena-E complex retains all the main characteristics of its predecessor. As before, it is capable of independently detecting targets at ranges of up to 50 m, determining the degree of danger of a flying object and giving a command to shoot protective ammunition. The defeat of a missile or other anti-tank ammunition is carried out at ranges up to 30 m from the tank. In addition, the possibility of two consecutive triggering of starting devices in one protection sector is declared.
The modernized version of the KAZ "Arena" was presented several years ago, but, as far as is known, has not yet reached mass production. Potential customers have not yet expressed a desire to purchase these systems and install them on their tanks. At the same time, the proposed complex may really interest the military of Russia and other countries. For example, in 2014, a variant of installing the complex on T-72B3 tanks was presented. Equipment of this type is actively used by the troops, and now it can be equipped with active defense systems. However, so far the military department has not talked about its plans to acquire such equipment.
