From several photos of the Russian Main Battle Tank (MBT) involved in special operations in Ukraine, it appears that there is a kind of bag installed on the left and right sides of the tank hull. From its placement, it was clear that the bag-like device was part of the protection system.
But the question is, why is it installed in the form of protection like a bag? Which at first glance looks less convincing to be able to provide maximum protection.
Quoting from Topwar.ru (11/10/2022), several Russian MBTs involved in the war in Ukraine, such as the T-72B3, T-80BVM and T-90M, have been protected by a series of rectangular bags. It is stated that the bag is a form of dynamic protection which is also known as a "soft case" to face urban warfare.
On the urban battlefield, tanks are in a danger zone, especially vulnerable to being hit by anti-tank missiles/rockets. Topwar said that the soft case is not a sure-fire protection. "You can't just stick it like the side of a tank and expect it to bounce off the projectile without leaving a scratch on the armor."
However, learning from experience while fighting in Afghanistan and Chechnya, in order for dynamic protection to work one hundred percent, dynamic protection must be installed with a minimum horizontal angle.
Take for example the protection of the “Contact” type, when tilted within a distance of 30 – 40 degrees from the horizontal, this dynamic protection block can provide a cumulative projectile resistance of up to 400 – 450 mm. If placed vertically, the equivalent can only reach 100-200 mm. The difference is huge, a similar trend is shown by newer dynamic protection systems.
Soft Shell Protection
The answer to the question, about what should be done to provide maximum protection to the MBT? If it is not possible to block multilayer modules with overlapping tandem warheads, then a fairly effective solution is to set the onboard dynamic protection unit at a vertical angle. In this way, it is possible to protect the side projections of the tank from grenades and anti-tank missiles.
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| Components inside the soft case (vitalykuzmin.net) |
Work in this area has been going on for a long time, and the first proposals for this method of deploying protection appeared before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Initially, the bag model was not used, and can be seen in the BMPT Terminator model. It is actually a dynamic protection element that is 'stitched' into a cloth bag and rigidly fixed at an angle. The option, as a pilot project and actively promoted by D. A. Rototaev.
Tests of this "soft remote sensing" kit have shown that it is able to withstand the explosive effects of rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and in some situations, successfully withstand the effects of anti-tank missiles. And all the soft cases are mounted at right angles, for example for the BMPT, this tool looks like an “upgrade”, as long as it is seriously considered for use in urban combat.
From the evaluation, the use of this soft case can function well, such as increasing the resistance to cumulative ammunition, such as grenades and missiles, to at least 500 – 600 mm. At the same time, given the fact that the “pockets” are mounted above the onboard remote sensing standard, these numbers get even bigger.
For the cavalry crew, the installation of the soft case has become an encouraging factor, which shows that the Russian Ministry of Defense has responded to the needs on the ground. Of course there is still controversy over the adoption of this cloth bag-shaped soft case, as rumored to be easily torn and damaged, however, who would have thought that this soft case could actually save tank crews during a brutal battle.
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