The Russian Armata and American Abrams are two of the world's most advanced and deadliest main
battle tanks. Which one of them is better and why? And even though some things about
these tanks such as armor composition are kept in high secrecy, we know a lot about these machines.
HISTORY
The current M1A2 Abrams is a significantly upgraded Cold War-era development. Its
predecessor, the original M1 Abrams, was adopted by the US Army back in 1980. The tank was named
in honor of General Abrams, commander of US forces during the Vietnam War. It replaced in
service the M60 Patton. Eventually, it proved to be a successful design and was produced in
large numbers. Throughout the years this tank was constantly improved, up-gunned, and up-armored.
The M1A2 SEP v2 is the current version, which forms the backbone of the US military armored
forces. A number of older Abrams tanks were converted to this standard. It is planned
that upgraded M1A2 series tanks will remain operational with the US military beyond 2050.
The Russian T-14 Armata is a more modern design. During the recent military conflicts, Russians
faced that their T-90 main battle tank could not maintain superiority over the modern Western
and Asian main battle tanks. A replacement was needed. Development of the new tank began in 2011
and was kept in high secrecy. The first batch of pre-production tanks was delivered in 2015.
The Armata was first publicly revealed during the same year.
Its full-scale production could begin in 2020-2021. It is planned that once in service, the
Armata will gradually replace the aging Russian T-72, T-80, and T-90 tanks that become outdated.
CONCEPT BEHIND THESE TANKS
During the last century, there were always significant differences between Russian and
Western tanks, their layout, and the way their systems operated.
The Abrams follows the lines of Cold War-era Western main battle tanks. It uses composite
armor, similar to the British Chobham. Frontal armor is reinforced with depleted uranium
armor mesh for a higher level of protection. Furthermore, the Abrams can be fitted with add-on
explosive reactive armor. Most of the ammunition is stored in the turret bustle with blow-out
panels. The tank is rather bulky, however, it is well protected against most anti-tank weapons.
The M1A2 is armed with a manually-loaded 120 mm smoothbore gun.
The tank has a modern fire control system with a high first-round hit probability.
The Abrams is operated by a crew of 4, including commander gunner and driver.
A unique feature of the Abrams tank is its gas turbine engine. It is a multi-fuel engine,
which can run on any grade of petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, or kerosene.
The engine has impressive performance and is running silent. However, it is troublesome to
maintain and has a very high fuel consumption compared with traditional diesel engines.
So basically the United States went for a technologically advanced,
bulky, yet very agile tank.
On the other hand, the Armata is a new-generation tank. It is a clean-sheet design with a number of
advanced features. It has little in common with the current T-90 and other older Soviet
tanks. Actually, it is the first Russian truly new production tank since the T-72, which was
adopted back in 1973. The design of the Armata focuses on heavier armor and crew survivability.
The exact technical specifications of the new Armata remain classified.
The Armata has an unmanned turret and is operated by a crew of 3. It is in line with the Russian
tank-building concept, that the tank should be operated by a smaller crew in order to reduce
its dimensions and weight and improve protection. However, this new tank has a new layout. All
crew members are seated at the front of the hull in a well-protected armored capsule.
The gun is loaded automatically and ammunition is separated from the crew compartment.
The design of the Armata focuses on heavy armor and crew survivability.
ARMOR PROTECTION
The Abrams is one of the most protected tanks in the world. It uses composite armor,
reinforced with depleted uranium armor mesh. Also, it can mount add-on explosive reactive armor.
The tank is well protected against most known anti-tank weapons.
The US Army aims to put a cutting-edge defensive technology, called active protection system,
on its Abrams tanks. It is designed to destroy approaching anti-tank rockets
and anti-tank guided missiles. This technology increases the overall survivability of the tank.
So far the Abrams tanks were not fielded in combat with such a protection system.
Also, the Abrams tanks are fitted with a countermeasures system,
which interrupts infrared and laser guidance of anti-tank missiles.
The Russian Armata uses newly-developed base armor, made of steel, ceramics,
and composite materials. Also, the Armata has a new Malakhit add-on explosive reactive armor
that is claimed to be of a new generation. The protection level of the Armata tank
remains classified. It might be one of the most protected tanks in the world.
It has been reported that the Russian Armata will be fitted with a new Afganit
active protection system. However, in 2018 it appeared that there are setbacks
with the development of the Afghanit. By 2018 prototypes of this system were
not completed and were not ready for testing. This tank also has a new countermeasures system
that reduces the chance of being hit by anti-tank-guided missiles.
Overall in terms of protection, none of these two tanks has an advantage over the other.
CREW SURVIVABILITY
The crew of the Abrams is well protected and has some chances of surviving once the armor
is penetrated. Most of the ammunition is stored in a turret bustle with blow-out panels. The bustle
is separated from the fighting compartment. If the bustle is hit, ammunition detonates without
killing the crew. Some rounds are stored inside the hull in protective containers.
The Interior of the Abrams is lined with Kevlar liner for protection against spalling.
The Russian Armata tank was also built with crew survivability in mind. All of its crew
members are seated in a well-protected armored cell. It is the world's first production tank
with a completely unmanned turret and with such a crew layout. The crew is completely separated
from the automatic loader and ammunition. The tank has improved resistance to damage.
It can operate even with penetrated armor, as far as the crew cell is intact.
Overall the Russian Armata might be slightly superior in terms of crew survivability
due to its protected crew cell and entirely isolated ammunition.
GUN
The Abrams is armed with a 120 mm/L44 smoothbore gun. Even though it is not the most advanced tank
gun available on the market today, it packs a formidable punch. It is accurate and has a
range of effective fire in excess of 4 km. Its effective range was successfully demonstrated
during numerous military conflicts throughout the world. The gun is loaded manually by the gunner.
The M1A2 Abrams was one of the first tanks with a hunter-killer engagement capability.
The tank commander uses a panoramic sight to search for targets.
Once the target is selected the gun is laid on the target automatically
and the gunner completes al the aiming and firing processes. During that time commander looks for
the next target. Such an engagement method allows to acquire and engage targets faster.
Currently, similar target acquisition systems are present on most main battle tanks.
The Russian Armata is armed with a new 125 mm smoothbore gun. It has a longer range and is
more accurate than previous Russian tank guns. The new tank gun is superior to that of the T-90 tank.
It has more muzzle energy than the gun of the Abrams. However, at longer ranges,
the Russian tank guns were traditionally not as accurate as Western tank guns. In
order to cope with this drawback, the Armata can launch long-range anti-tank guided missiles in
the same manner as ordinary projectiles. This missile has a range of up to 5 km
and can also target low-flying helicopters. The gun is completed with an autoloader. This feature
allowed to reduce the crew to 3 men. The Armata is fitted with a brand new fire control system.
So far it is unclear how accurate is the gun of the Russian Armata is,
in order to compare it with the Abrams.
MOBILITY
The American Abrams tanks are powered by a gas turbine engine, developing 1 500 hp. Basically,
it is a modified helicopter engine, adapted for use on tanks. It is compact for its power output.
So even though the Abrams is heavy and bulky, this tank is surprisingly nimble due to its
powerful engine. It is much faster than many other tanks and has superior cross-country performance.
Furthermore, its gas turbine unit has more advantages over traditional diesel engines,
typically used on tanks. It is a multi-fuel engine, which can run on kerosene, diesel,
petrol, or aviation fuel. It can start at extremely cold temperatures.
Also, the engine is remarkably quiet. Due to this feature, the Abrams have even been nicknamed the
Whispering Death. The gas turbine engine has servicing intervals significantly longer than
those of diesel engines. However, the gas turbine engine has a number of drawbacks.
Notably, it is troublesome to maintain and has a very high fuel consumption compared with diesel.
The Russian Armata is powered by a new turbocharged diesel engine, developing 1 200
hp. It is a new-generation engine, that is much more compact and powerful than previous Russian
tank engines. This engine is not yet proven and might have a number of teething problems. However,
this Russian diesel is way more fuel-efficient and easier to maintain than the American gas turbine.
The Abrams accelerates faster than the Armata and has superior cross-country performance. However
overall in terms of engine power and mobility both tanks have their own strengths and weaknesses.
OVERALL
Overall the new Russian tank is on par with the US Abrams tank. In some areas it is
slightly superior to the Abrams, however, it has got no cutting-edge superiority.
The Abrams have technical superiority in mobility and cross-country performance.
This tank is a proven design, that recommended itself well during numerous military conflicts.
The Armata has the advantage of survivability and crew protection.
Though this tank is still a raw design, that will likely to have numerous teething problems.