Web Page sponsored by MILLBROOK
Tel: +44 (0) 1525 408408
www.millbrook.co.uk/military
————————————————————————
20 Aug 14. Syria enhances T-72 protection. Syria has developed a new passive armour package to enhance the survivability of its Russian-supplied T-72M1 main battle tanks (MBT) against RPG-7 rocket propelled grenades. Photographs published on a pro-Syrian military Facebook page on 9 August show a T-72M1 with a locally designed bar/slat armour array fitted to its turret to provide increased protection against RPG-7 rounds through a full 360 degrees. The bar armour is on an all-welded frame positioned a short distance from the turret. It would appear that gaps have been left in the left side of the bar armour so that the sighting system for the 125 mm smooth bore gun is not obscured. Metal chains hang from this bar armour in a similar war to the ones that are fitted under the turret bustle of Israel’s Merkava MBTs. The hull of the T-72M1 has also been fitted with bar/slat armour around its hull sides and possibly across the rear arc as well. The upgraded Syrian vehicle is fitted with a slab of additional armour on the glacis plate, which already has laminate armour. More chains hang across the front of the tank where it would be difficult to fit bar armour without it coming off during cross country operations. Bar/slat armour is designed to neutralise the fuze of some types of high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds fired from the RPG-7. While its effectiveness depends on a number of factors, it is generally said to defeat 60% of RPG-7 rounds, as long as they are the older type with fuzes that can be neutralised by contact with the bars. At this stage, it unclear whether this is a prototype bar/slat armour installation or if the package has been deployed on Syrian Army T-72M1 for operations. Syria operates a large fleet of Russian supplied T-72M1 MBT with some these fitted with the standard Russian explosive reactive armour (ERA) package, which only provides protection over the frontal arc. The first-generation Russian ERA only provided protection against projectiles with a HEAT warhead, but the latest generation provides a much higher level of protection. Export T-72 MBT did not always have the same level of ballistic protection as the T-72s delivered to the Soviet Army. The T-72 MBT was also in many respects the second tier Soviet tank after the T-80. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
20 Aug 14. IDF wants more Namer APCs and Trophy protection systems. Senior army officials hope that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will acquire better-protected armoured vehicles and more active protection systems (APS) such as Rafael’s Trophy. Their comments came after seven members of the elite Golani Brigade were killed by an rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on their M113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) during Operation ‘Protective Edge’ against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Senior officers say they want far more Namer APCs, which have superior armour, to replace the thousands of M113s they currently have. They also say they want to equip more vehicles with the Trophy APS, which they credit with defending Merkava Mk 4 tanks against more than a dozen anti-tank missile strikes carried out by militants during Operation ‘Protective Edge’. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
22 Aug 14. Philippine Army to receive upgraded APCs next year. The Philippine Army is reportedly set to receive upgraded armoured personnel carriers (APCs) from Israel next year. Philippine Army spokesperson lieutenant colonel Noel Detoyato was quoted by The Manila Times as saying: “Delivery of all APCs is scheduled for the first quarter of 2015.” In June, the army awarded a PHP822m ($18.7m) contract to Elbit Systems for the upgrade of 28 APCs. The Israel-based company will arm the vehicles with 25mm unmanned turrets, 12.7mm remote-controlled weapon stations (RCWS), and fire-control systems (FCS) for 90mm turrets