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M1 Abrams
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====Armor==== {{further|Chobham armor}} {{multiple image | perrow = 2 | total_width = 300 | image1 = M1 Abrams Hull Front Special Armor.jpg | image2 = M1 Abrams Turret Bustle Side Special Armor.png | image3 = M1 Abrams Hull Side Special Armor.jpg | image4 = M1 Abrams Gun Shield Special Armor.jpg | footer = Configuration of M1 Abrams Chobham Special Armor. Clockwise from the top left: hull front, turret bustle side, gun shield, hull side. }} [[File:M1A Abrams im Taunus.jpg|thumb|Tankers drive an M1A1 Abrams through the [[Taunus|Taunus Mountains]] north of [[Frankfurt]], [[Germany]] during Exercise Ready Crucible in February 2005.]] [[File:Trident Juncture 18 - U.S. Marines advance on Folldal 4871351.jpg|thumb|U.S. Marines with the 2nd Tank Battalion, [[2nd Marine Division (United States)|2nd Marine Division]], advance on their eastern objective defended by opposing [[Spanish Army|Spanish forces]] during [[Exercise Trident Juncture 2018|Exercise Trident Juncture]] 18 near Dalholen, [[Norway]], 3 November 2018.]] In addition to conventional [[rolled homogeneous armor]] (RHA), the Abrams uses a secret British-developed Chobham [[composite armor]]. The M1 Abrams composite armor (referred to as "special armor" by the U.S. Army){{sfn|Green|Stewart|2005|p=18}} is most substantial at the front of the hull, where it is {{convert|2|feet}} at its thickest.{{sfn|Green|Stewart|2005|p=102}} The front of the hull is armored with composites. The Abrams turret features composite armor across both the front and the sides.<ref name="Special Armor classification">{{cite report |author1=PEO Close Combat Vehicles |title=Special Armor Security Classification Guide |date=16 February 1988 |url=https://static.warthunder.ru/upload/files/CIA-RDP91B00390R000300220014-8_18526c536b61b903b78d1571c3476c70.pdf |access-date=1 January 2024 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228070557/https://static.warthunder.ru/upload/files/CIA-RDP91B00390R000300220014-8_18526c536b61b903b78d1571c3476c70.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The armor is much thicker on the Abrams than on previous tanks. This is not a reflection of any weakness of Chobham armorβpound-for-pound Chobham is better at stopping shaped charges and kinetic projectiles. Rather, unlike RHA, Chobham is optimized against shaped charge projectiles. Effective shaped charges, particularly [[anti-tank guided missiles]], were a relatively new battlefield innovation. Lacking a breakthrough advance in novel armor material to negate shaped charges, previous tank designers had simply not found it practical to add the amount of RHA required to defeat shaped charges.{{sfn|Kelly|1989|pp=111β140}} While the exact composition of the Abrams' composite armor remains a state secret, a generalization about how it works can be gleaned from what has been publicly said about it. It consists of ceramic blocks set in resin between layers of conventional armor.{{sfn|Green|Stewart|2005|p=96-97}}{{refn|group=nb|name=Chobham|Chobham could also incorporate nylon micromesh and/or [[titanium]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hambling |first1=David |title=Breakthrough ballistics |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2001/oct/11/physicalsciences.technology |access-date=1 January 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=11 October 2001}}</ref>}}{{sfn|Zaloga|2019|p=6}} The ceramic acts as a [[non-explosive reactive armor]] (NERA), disrupting [[shaped charge]]s. The NERA plates shatter on impact with the projectile, disrupting the penetrating jets of shaped charges; or in the case of kinetic rounds eroding the projectile.{{sfn|Green|Stewart|2005|p=96-97}} For the M1 Abrams base model, military historian [[Steven Zaloga]] estimates the frontal armor at 350 mm vs APFSDS and 700 mm vs HEAT warhead in the book, ''M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 1982β1992'' (1993).<ref>{{harvnb|Zaloga|Sarson|1993|pp=9β10}}: Zaloga gives another set of figures in this book {{convert|350|mm|abbr=on}} against APFSDS and {{convert|700|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT.</ref> In ''M1 Abrams vs T-72 Ural'' (2009), he uses Soviet estimates of {{convert|470|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS and {{convert|650|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT for the base model Abrams. He also gives the Soviet estimates for the M1A1, {{convert|600|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS, and {{convert|700|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT.<ref name="T-72vsM1">{{harvnb|Zaloga|2009|p=15}}: Author mentions that a Soviet report estimated the protection of the basic M1 to be equivalent to {{convert|470|mm|abbr=on}} steel armor against armor-piercing rounds and equivalent to {{convert|650|mm|abbr=on}} steel armor against shaped charge warheads.</ref> Armor protection against [[Kinetic energy penetrator|kinetic energy rounds]] was improved by implementing a new special armor incorporating [[depleted uranium]] (DU). This was introduced into the M1A1 production starting October 1988.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|2015|p=245}} but at the expense of adding considerable weight to the tank, as depleted uranium is 1.7 times denser than [[lead]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2860759.stm |title=BBC: US to use depleted uranium |work=BBC News |date=18 March 2003 |access-date=9 June 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519090657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2860759.stm |archive-date=19 May 2009}}</ref> The DU is applied to the backing plate of the turret armor arrays. The first M1A1 tanks to receive this upgrade were tanks stationed in Germany. US-based tank battalions participating in Operation Desert Storm received an emergency program to upgrade their tanks with depleted uranium armor immediately before the onset of the campaign. M1A2 tanks uniformly incorporate depleted uranium armor, and all M1A1 tanks in active service have been upgraded to this standard as well.<ref name="Clancy">{{cite book |last1=Clancy |first1=Tom |title=Armoured Warfare: A Guided Tour of an Armoured Cavalry Regiment |date=1996 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |isbn=978-0-00-255525-8 |page=58 |url=https://archive.org/details/armouredwarfareg0000clan |access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref> This variant was designated as the M1A1HA (HA for Heavy Armor).<ref name="Zaloga_Sarson_11">{{harvnb|Zaloga|Sarson|1993|p=11}}</ref> The M1A1 AIM, M1A2 SEP and all subsequent Abrams models feature depleted uranium.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=August 2006|title=The Army's Future Combat Systems Program and Alternatives |url=https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/74xx/doc7461/08-02-army.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/74xx/doc7461/08-02-army.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|journal=Congressional Budget Office Study|page=67}}</ref> Each Abrams variant after the M1A1 have been equipped with depleted uranium armor of different generations. The M1A1HA uses first-generation armor, while the M1A2 and M1A1HC use second generation depleted uranium. The M1A2 SEP variants have been equipped with third-generation depleted uranium armor combined with a graphite coating. For the M1A1HA, Zaloga gives a frontal armor estimate of {{convert|600|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS and {{convert|1300|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT in ''M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 1982β1992'', nearly double the original protection of the Abrams.<ref name="Zaloga_Sarson_11" /> In ''M1 Abrams vs T-72 Ural'', he uses different estimates of {{convert|600|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS and {{convert|700|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT for the front hull and {{convert|800|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS and {{convert|1300|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT for the front of the turret.<ref name="T-72vsM1" /> The protection of M1A2 SEP is a frontal turret armor estimate of {{convert|940-960|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS and {{convert|1320-1620|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT, glacis estimate of {{convert|560-590|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS and {{convert|510-1050|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT, and lower front hull estimate of {{convert|580-650|mm|abbr=on}} vs APFSDS and {{convert|800-970|mm|abbr=on}} vs HEAT. The M1A2 SEPv3 increased the LOS thickness of the turret and hull front armor; total armor protection from this increase is not known.<ref name=autogenerated1/> In 1998, a program was begun to incorporate improved hull, turret, and side armor into the M1A2. This was intended to offer better protection against rocket-propelled grenades that were more modern than the baseline RPG-7. These kits were installed on about 325 older M1A2 tanks in 2001β2009 and were also included in upgraded tanks.{{sfn|Zaloga|Sarson|1993|p=48}} [[File:Abrams XM32 tile installation.jpg|thumb|right|A U.S. Army M1A1 with XM32 tiles instead of XM19 reactive armor in 2017]] The Abrams may also be fitted with explosive [[reactive armor]] over the track skirts if needed (such as the Tank Urban Survival Kit)<ref name=Army_TUSK_upgrades/> and [[slat armor]] over the rear of the tank and rear fuel cells to protect against [[Anti-tank missile|ATGMs]]. The 105 mm M1 Abrams does not use [[spall liner]]s, though three 105 mm rounds on the turret basket floor are covered with [[spall]] protection covers on the M1 tank variant.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Michael |title=M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank: The Combat and Development History of the General Dynamics M1 and M1A1 Tanks |date=1992 |publisher=Motorbooks International |isbn=0-87938-597-9 |pages=42, 67 |url=https://archive.org/details/m1abramsmainbatt0000gree/page/66/mode/2up?q=spall |access-date=28 December 2023}}</ref>
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