A robust APS that is baked in from the start is likely to be a key component of the T-14 Armata, said David Johnson, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
With “the T-14 … you’re not trying to bolt on active protection,” Johnson said. “You’ve integrated it into the vehicle when you were designing it.”
While the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center is testing active protection systems, those would have to be integrated onto the Abrams. “The question here is how effective will it be when it’s bolted on,” he said...
The T-14 will have a number of other improvements including an unmanned turret, which will provide better protection for occupants, Johnson said. That will also permit the crew size to be reduced from four to three soldiers, allowing for a lighter system that will likely weigh substantially less than the Abrams, he noted.
“Three tanks worth of extra people give you the ability to field another tank in a manpower sense,” he said. It also means that the Armata will be able to traverse roads the Abrams can’t, he said...
Johnson said the system’s weight is due to the Army continually adding passive armor and underbelly kits for urban environments.