New UKBTM ERA mounting patent
UKBTM continues to develop more designs to provide MBTs with additional side protection against shaped charges. One of the more well-known protective measures was integrating soft-bag ERA on T-72B3 and T-80BVM MBTs. The bags would contain shaped moulds which held the ERA slabs in a fixed position. As of 2023, UKBTM has publicly released a new patent for one of their new design approaches to provide MBTs with more side protection. The design still follows the same concept as soft-bag ERA but now utilizes a steel case container to hold the ERA in place. Image 1 The entire package is mounted to the top ledge of the side skirts using 2 clamps. The ERA container is attached to a holding plate which serves 2 purposes. As depicted in Image 2, the mount can swing up and down, allowing the container to be lifted on a fixed axis. Image 3 (diagram 2) shows 3 variable mounting angles based on the mounting line. This directly represents the front side skirt segment on T-72B3M, T-80BVM and T-90M M