Ukrainian Leopard 1A5DK Tanks Strengthened with Nizh and Kontakt-1 ERA

The Ukrainian Leopard 1A5DK tanks were strengthened by Nizh and Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor.

Ukrainian armored vehicles’ researcher Andrii Tarasenko has published a corresponding photo on his Telegram channel.

The Nizh explosive reactive armor was evidently installed on the upper and lower frontal parts of the Leopard 1A5DK. Meanwhile, the Kontakt-1 ERA was fitted on the tank’s turret, the turret’s roof, and possibly on both sides of the vehicle.

In addition, it is noticeable that reactive armor is installed on the sides of the tank’s hull, but the type is unknown.

It is worth noting that the Nizh and Kontakt-1 ERA were adapted to the K1 container, so it is impossible to distinguish them visually. It is also noticeable that the bottom of the containers on the upper glacis plate was thickened, and the lower glacis plate received spaced armor.

The Leopard 1A5DK can be distinguished from other tanks by its distinctive welded turret with spaced armor.

The installation of explosive reactive armor should increase the survivability of tanks during combat operations.

Nizh ERA

The third-generation Nizh ERA was developed by Ukrainian enterprises in 1997-1998, and adopted by the Ukrainian army in 2003.

Read more in the article “Reactive armor of armored vehicles: experience in use in the Russian-Ukrainian war”

This ERA affects the attacking ammunition, creating an oncoming shaped charge.

It occurs when detonating elongated shaped charges (i.e., “shaped charges knives”) laid in modules of reactive armor.

Such an impact is able to destroy or destabilize the attacking ammunition, significantly reducing its striking characteristics.

Before the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian army mounted Nizh ERA on T-64BM Bulat and Т-84 tanks.

Modules of Nizh KhSChKV-34 and KhSChKV-19 ERA are designed in the form of parallelepipeds in the sizes of 250x125x36 mm or 250x125x26 mm, weighing 2.8 kg and 2.1 kg, respectively.

Inside them are installed profiled-shaped elements called “knives,” the total number of which reaches 7 units.

Kontakt-1 ERA

Kontakt ERA belongs to the first generation and was developed in 1982 by the Soviet Scientific Research Institute of Steel.

Each container includes two 252×130×10 mm ERA panels. A single panel is 5.4 mm thick with a 260g explosive liner. The container weighs 5.3 kg.

The full complement’s weight varies from 1.2 to 2 tons depending on the number of containers used. The ERA panels can be easily removed from the bolted containers, and in particular, they are removed when the tank is stored.

At the same time, they cross the trajectory of the shaped charge, constantly affecting it. Thus, the energy of the jet is consumed to penetrate these plates, and the lateral impulse from the collision destabilizes the jet.

In the case of ERA element penetration with a shaped charge, two protection elements inside the housing of each such element would detonate.

Due to the action of the ERA elements, the armor penetration characteristics of the HEAT ammunition are reduced. This helps protect armored vehicles from significant damage from light anti-tank weapons.

Ukrainian modernization of Western tanks

In July 2023, Militarnyi reported that Leopard 2А4 tanks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces were equipped with explosive reactive armor.

The Kontakt-1 ERA containers were installed on the front and side projections of the turret and the sides of the hull of the Leopard tank.

Meanwhile, the nose of the combat vehicle’s hull is not equipped with additional protection.