You guys know how sniper works? They camouflage themselves, and
interdict targets @ long range. Its pretty much how our SM1s
work.
Armored warfare these days is a mess. If you think that armored
warfare is like the Ardennes, huge clusters of tanks firing and
rushing, wrong.
The main objective of an armored force now, is simply to deny, or
gain control of advantageous terrain. The SM1s compensate armor for
range. Which means it will complish its mission via direct long
range fire from its maingun. But admit it, the guns on the SM1
ain't exactly "long ranged" either. It has probably improved range,
but not exactly long range. APFSDS rounds slow down over distance,
reducing penetration ability. Heat rounds have reduced penetration
ability BUT that stays constant regardless of range. Its really not
easy. But thats not gonna work when enemy tanks come knocking and
looking for full contact. Thats when armor counts.
About reactive armor. Reactive armor is a kind of armor technology
bent to foil shaped charge warheads. Shaped charged warheads travel
to its target, then explodes, sometimes shooting out a penetrator.
Shaped charge warheads includes, anti-tank missiles, HEAT rounds.
They have a constant penetration regardless of range as its the
explosion that drives fragments to penetrate the armor. *IMAGINE A
SHOTGUN flying at u, wearing a kevlar vest, then firing it into
your kevlar as the gun muzzle presses against it* OWww.
What is reactive armor? Its actually explosives placed on the
external side of the tank, exploding outwards. How does it counter
shaped charge warheads? Remember that shaped charged warheads uses
an explosive force to propell its fragments or penetrator thru the
armor. The reactive armor explodes as the shaped charge warhead
comes into contact with it, generating a counter explosive force in
the opposite direction of the shaped charged warhead. It will
effectively prevent penetration of the armor. Of course, its
Murphy's world out there, shit does happen.
After a section of the reactive armor explodes, it leaves behind a
blank patch, where a second hit in that area would generally Kill
the tank. Which is why mobility is a very important asset in
today's armored war.
Oh yeah, Reactive armor does NOT work well against Long rod
penetrators like APFSDS.
