Cate's Research-Investigation Bureau

At this year's "Army-2024" military expo, several state contracts were signed. One of these contracts involves retrofitting T-90M MBTs with T09-A6-1 "Arena-M" active protection systems.   For over 20 years, the "Arena" APS series has been in limbo. As it was installed on vehicles such as T-72s, T-80s, and BMP-3s, no signs of small-scale procurement or customer acquisition were seen.   Since the contract has only been confirmed, it is difficult to determine how many T-90Ms will receive this APS. Besides this recent news, a production patent was filed more than 2 years ago for a T-90M equipped with "Arena-M" Patent drawings of T-90M with "Arena-M" The last thing to do is wait and see if it comes to fruition.  Taken from:  TASS Patent

The introduction of larger calibre cannons in the Soviet Union during the 1950s created a major problem, being that long barrels would tend to strike the ground in front and get either damaged or fully blocked by debris, this obstruction could cause barrel bloating or even catastrophic failure. This problem was primarily associated with the lack of vertical stabilization for cannons at the time. This became apparent with early production T-54s fielding the D-10T, which at the time was not stabilized and when traversing terrain with various dips, would often strike the ground.  From 1952 up until 1957, various muzzle protectors were designed and tested for the T-54. One of the designs was a device that was mounted on the end of the D-10T and had open slits, which prevented the barrel from being directly blocked by stuck debris.  T-54 barrel strikes the ground during the obstacle course. The barrel was shortened to 855mm. 1957.  T-54 with experimental muzzle protector....