Ukrainian 47th Brigade Releases Video of M1A1 Abrams Fully Covered in Kontakt-1 Reactive Armor.
8 Oct, 2024 - 10:01

This armor is particularly effective against HEAT missiles, widely used by Russian forces (Picture source: 47th Mechanized Brigade)
Built for intense operations, the M1A1 Abrams is equipped with a 120mm main gun, capable of delivering high-speed, accurate projectiles, along with 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine guns for close tactical support.
The tank’s advanced protective structure includes Chobham composite armor, bolstered with depleted uranium components for enhanced resistance to direct fire. However, its 63.5-ton weight and top speed of 67 km/h limit its maneuverability on challenging terrain, which is a critical constraint in Ukraine's wooded and urbanized areas.

Despite these defensive capabilities, the M1A1 Abrams tanks provided to Ukraine have faced substantial losses; approximately half of the delivered units have been destroyed or severely damaged in the conflict, highlighting the vulnerabilities of armored vehicles against modern threats.

The Kontakt-1 reactive armor, seen in the 47th Brigade’s video, was added to further enhance the Abrams’ defensive capacities. 

• Originating from Soviet designs, Kontakt-1 operates by triggering a controlled explosion upon impact with a shaped-charge projectile, using steel plates around explosive elements to disrupt the penetrative jet, thus reducing its impact power by up to 90% depending on the angle of impact.

This armor is particularly effective against HEAT missiles, widely used by Russian forces. The V-shaped configuration of Kontakt-1 blocks provides maximum frontal protection, a considerable advantage in urban combat or fixed defensive positions where tanks frequently encounter guided munitions.



Despite these defensive capabilities, the M1A1 Abrams tanks provided to Ukraine have faced substantial losses (Picture source: 47th Mechanized Brigade)


However, Kontakt-1 has notable limitations. While effective against shaped charges, it cannot shield the tank from kinetic projectiles such as APFSDS rounds, which penetrate without detonating the reactive armor. Additionally, against drones and loitering munitions that often bypass the armor to strike from above, Kontakt-1 proves less effective, exposing vulnerable sections. In multiple incidents, impacts have removed Kontakt-1 blocks, leaving key areas of the Abrams open to follow-up enemy fire. Consequently, Ukrainian forces must employ specific strategies to leverage these tanks’ potential while mitigating inherent risks.

The armor upgrade adds approximately 1.2 tons to the Abrams’ overall weight, slightly impacting mobility. This added load can potentially reduce range and speed, particularly on uneven terrain, which is a critical consideration in Ukraine, where rapid positional changes are essential to evade enemy precision strikes.

The release of this video underscores Ukraine’s efforts to optimize the Abrams’ usage by reinforcing its protection while highlighting the complex demands of modern warfare, where each piece of equipment is rigorously tested. Although Kontakt-1 provides additional battlefield defense, it remains only a partial solution to the diverse, sophisticated threats encountered in Ukraine today.

Field video -Ukraine’s Up-Armored, Drone-Jamming M-1A1 Abrams Tanks Are 

The Ultimate M-1A1s

 

Oct 7, 2024

After fighting in many of the bloodiest battles in Russia’s wider war on Ukraine for 15 months straight, the Ukrainian army’s elite 47th Mechanized Brigade finally rotated off the eastern front line early last month for a well-earned period of rest and reset.

• The brigade took with it the survivors of 31 American-made M-1 Abrams tanks that equipped the unit’s sole tank battalion. Those tanks have gotten some badly needed upgrades.

A video the 47th Mechanized Brigade posted on or around Monday depicts some of the unit’s surviving tanks in training. The 69-ton, four-person M-1s sport U.S.-made reactive armor blocks on their sides and Ukrainian-made reactive armor blocks on their turrets as locally-crafted anti-drone cage armor and drone-grounding radio jammers.

• Ukraine’s 2000s-vintage M-1A1 Situational Awareness models aren’t the best-protected Abrams—that honorific belongs to the latest U.S. Army M-1A2s—but the Ukrainian Abrams might be the most modified.

The modifications are tailored for defeating two main threats: anti-tank missiles and explosive drones.

1. The reactive armor explodes outward to deflect the missiles’ warheads.
2. The cage armor and jammer disable and block explosive drones. In piling mods onto its Abrams, the 47th Mechanized Brigade is doing its best to preserve the tanks it has left for as long as it can. The United States has obligingly shipped hundreds of surplus M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles in order to keep the 47th Mechanized Brigade’s assault battalions fully equipped with modern vehicles despite those battalions suffering heavy losses. Weirdly, the United States has not shipped replacement M-1s. Those first 31 Abrams, which arrived in Ukraine a year ago, are the only Abrams the Americans have pledged, despite there being literally thousands of the tanks in storage in the United States.

How many M-1s the 47th Mechanized Brigade has left is unclear. The analysts at the intelligence collective Oryx have tallied six destroyed Abrams and eight damaged or abandoned ones. It’s typical for tank units to try to tow away and repair immobilized vehicles, but it’s hard to say how many of its abandoned Abrams the 47th Mechanized Brigade managed to recover as it fought mostly rearguard actions in eastern Ukraine from last winter through the early fall. At most, the 47th Mechanized Brigade has 25 M-1s left. At a minimum, it might have just 17. But it’s a safe bet all the survivors now have the add-on armor and jammers. They’ll roll back into battle better-protected than ever—potentially delaying the day when the brigade has too few tanks to form a cohesive fighting force. If the 47th Mechanized Brigade gets more Abrams, they might not come from the United States—but from Australia. While the Americans haven’t signaled a willingness to transfer more tanks, the Australians are reportedly considering donating 59 surplus M-1A1SAs that recently retired from the Australian army. With 59 fresh Abrams, the 47th Mechanized could replenish its existing tank battalion—and possibly form a second battalion, too. Unless and until that happens, those 14 to 25 survivors of the original 31 Ukrainian M-1s will have to soldier on alone. Subscribe our channel