Following some testing, the T-90M tank was finally equipped with the kinetic energy-piercing 3BM-60 Svinets-2 ammunition.
The T-90M main battle tank, which has officially entered the new generation of kinetic energy-penetrating rounds known as 3BM-60 Svinets-2 with many amazing benefits, was just photographed on the Ukrainian battlefield and released in the Russian press.
The most recent Russian tanks were still firing 125 mm smoothbore cannons with projectiles smaller than the 3BM-42 Mango, which saw official service with the Soviet Army in 1986.
The 3BM-42 Mango piercing rounds have an integrated ballistic cap, a special vibration reduction mechanism, and two cores (piercing rods) made of high-strength tungsten alloy with a serial structure. These components work together to prevent the round’s texture from being destroyed too soon before it hits the target.
The 3BM-42 Mango rounds have a muzzle velocity of 1,700 m/s, and when fired from a distance of 2,000 m at a contact angle of 0 degrees, they penetrate 500 mm of uniform steel (RHA) behind explosive reactive armor (ERA).
The 3BM-42 Mango round travels at a speed of around 1,000 m/s when hitting the target when fired from a distance of 2,000 m, according to the manufacturer. It takes the 570 mm rod just over 1/2000 of a second to penetrate through the ERA’s outer layer, which is too little time for the drug block to explode and knock the rod out.
The 3BM-42 Mango piercing round, which is regarded as being relatively antiquated, will be much less effective if it comes into contact with sophisticated 3rd generation explosive reactive armor like Nozh or Nozh Relikt.
In response to the aforementioned circumstance, the Tekhmash Company has officially released the 3BM-44-1 Mango-M kinetic energy penetrating round. This is an updated version of the 3BM-42 Mango, and Home Technology Corporation Rostec countries announced an increase in armor-piercing ability of 20%.
The kinetic energy piercing ammunition 3BM-44-1 Mango-M can be used with any automatic loader found on vintage T-90 and T-72 main battle tanks without needing to be modified.
It should be noted that the recently manufactured T-90S/SK or T-90M tanks are outfitted with a new generation loader, compatible with kinetic-piercing bullets with longer rods. To capitalize on this advantage, Russia has introduced a sub-caliber round known as Svinets.
With a muzzle velocity of 1,850 m/s and a penetration length of up to 740 mm, this upgraded round has more kinetic energy than Mango and can take out even the most heavily fortified tanks.
The Svinets-piercing round is available in two different iterations: the 3BM-60 Svinets-2 depleted uranium core and the 3BM-59 Svinets-1 conventional tungsten carbide core.
The 3BM-42 Mango round has a penetration depth of 230 mm at 2,000 meters and a 60-degree angle of contact, 280 mm at 3BM-44-1 Mango-M, and 300 mm at 3BM-60 Svinets-2, according to test data.
According to the evaluation, next generation kinetic energy rounds will allow Russian tanks remain strong on the contemporary battlefield and avoid being outclassed by Western adversaries, particularly when they are about to confront M1 Abrams or Leopard 2 on the Ukrainian battlefield.
The Svinets-2 ammunition does, however, have one drawback: because it has a subpar Uranium core, which melts when it collides with the steel shell at high speed, it can seriously pollute the environment by dispersing radioactive dust.
