Desperate measures: Russian tanks equipped with DIY reactive armour

Due to a shortage of reactive armour tiles, Russian tank operators are attempting to create them in field conditions. We explain how they do this and whether it could work.

Reactive armour tiles are crucial for Russians to protect tanks from handheld anti-tank weapons or FPV drones with single-charge PG-7VL anti-tank grenades. However, it’s worth noting that newer anti-tank solutions with dual-stage warheads can overcome older single-layer reactive armour without much difficulty.

Recent footage from the front indicates that the Russians are not producing enough reactive armour tiles, and some Russian tank crews are making them themselves in field conditions using available materials. Below are pictures from the production of such improvised reactive armour tiles.

A Russian spreads plastic explosive material from a UZP-77 mine-clearing charge onto what appears to be a copper plate and then uses a hammer to attach another metal plate, creating a sort of "explosive sandwich."

The Russians have published schematics of Kontakt-1 tiles online and called for their mass production by any private company. However, their assembly by tank crews at the front line represents a new level of desperation.

Structurally, old-type reactive armour tiles like Kontakt-1 are straightforward since they are just basic steel plates filled with very stable (hard to detonate) explosive material that only explodes under specific conditions.

The purpose of reactive armour tiles is to cause the premature detonation of a cumulative warhead, combined with dispersing the cumulative jet through the shock wave and fragments resulting from the tile's detonation. The name reactive armour comes from how it functions, i.e., explosive reactive armour.

For example, it can stop a PG-7VL grenade warhead capable of penetrating 50 centimetres of steel armour with a combination of 10 centimetres of armour and a reactive armour tile. The main armour must withstand the tile explosion, so it cannot be used on anything, like mounting on UAZ Buchankas.

However, it’s important to note that production requires suitable raw materials. Not every explosive material suits this (TNT is a wrong choice), and the assembly process must be precise. Severe material shortages and production errors, such as gaps between the explosive material and the plate, might result in a cumulative warhead instead of creating a protective tile.