Tank Munitions Development
Picatinny played a major role in giving our Army's tanks their preeminent world
reputation; our expertise in warhead development is without a doubt the primary reason
that U.S. tank munitions have the ability to defeat any armor in the world.
Kinetic Energy Projectiles are perhaps the oldest form of antiarmor weaponry. While
full-caliber, hardened steel shot remained in the tank ammunitions inventory for many
years, Picatinny began looking at an alternative type of KE shot in which a sub-caliber,
spin-stabilized penetrator was launched by a pot-type sabot. Much of the technology was
transferred to Picatinny's tank cannon in all calibers from 76mm to 120mm. The latest
models of the KE penetrator are more than two feet long and concentrate all their energy
in an area of about a square inch.
Picatinny began to research upgrades to the penetrator in the early 1950s. They
eventually led to the revolutionary development of accurate, long-rod, fin stabilized
penetrators encased in aluminum sabots that filled the full diameter of the inside of the
barrel and were capable of defeating the heaviest tank armor. By the mid 1960s,
Picatinny's efforts concentrated on a very high pressure, smoothbore cannon in a 120mm
caliber and on experimental fin stabilized projectiles. These used a variety of sabot
designs and a new penetrating material, depleted uranium (DU). There were difficulties
with sabot integrity and excessive gun wear, but the program showed that very high
pressures were feasible, that such pressures were essential to greatly improved
performance and that DU could be used as a structural material as well as an efficient
penetrator.
The primary effort at Picatinny during that time period was the development of the
XM578 kinetic energy round for the new 152mm cannon. A strategy was devised that
called for combining ultra-lightweight plastics with titanium sabot components, with the
DU material that acted as both a structural material and as the penetrator body. These
were combined with a plastic driving and sealing band that allowed insertion of the much
longer KE cartridge several feet down the rifled bore of the new cannon.
In the mid-1970s, it became evident that the latest generation armor was impervious to
tungsten carbide penetrators. Picatinny engineers had been working on improving the
properties of DU, an especially dense metal, and saw potential for its use in the 105mm
M774 cartridge. In conjunction with the Department of Energy's Battelle Pacific
Northwest Laboratories, Picatinny developed the unique material purity and heat
treatment process necessary to produce a hard, touch U3/4Ti, Uranium/Titanium alloy
penetrator.
The next evolution of 105mm KE cartridge was the M833. This projectile incorporated a
longer monolithic DU penetrator, which made it go faster and reduced the weight of the
sabot by making longitudinal cuts. This gave the projectile the strength it needed on
launch and the penetration necessary to defeat the threat. As effective as this cartridge
was, threats became even more sophisticated and it was replaced with the M900 Depleted
Uranium projectile. Currently in its fourth generation, this cartridge is the Army's
primary antiarmor 105mm tank ammunition, and is also used by the Marine Corps. The
M900 can penetrate the frontal slope of enemy armor systems and has excellent accuracy
at all combat ranges because of the penetrator and sabot design.
In the 1970's the Army also set about the long and difficult process of deciding what kind
of new tank it needed. Picatinny was an active member in the design, development and
fabrication of ammunition to support the tank, which was to become the M1A1 and
M1A2 Abrams. Two types of ammunition were developed for the M1A1 Abrams tank;
kinetic energy (KE) and multipurpose (MP) rounds. KE ammunition is used to defeat the
heavy frontal armor of main battle tanks; the MP rounds are used against lightly armored
vehicles, helicopters, buildings, bunkers and infantry.
The M829 was the first in a series of 120mm armor piercing cartridges developed at
Picatinny. At the time, the M829 provided the M1A1 tank with the greatest killing
potential of any fielded NATO tank. The M829 is no longer in production but did lead to
the development of future rounds (the M829A1, M829A2 and the M829E3).
Advances in high-energy propellants, lighter sabots, penetrators of increased mass and
length, sabot designs, subprojectiles and fin designs culminated in the fielding of the
M829A1. It was nicknamed "The Silver Bullet" by Operation Desert Storm tank crews
because it was widely regarded as the most effective tank fired antiarmor weapon in the
world.
The M829A2 was an enhanced round with increased velocity and improved terminal
effects. To attain the increased performance, engineers at Picatinny used new composite
material technology and a new propellant with a higher loading density. This in
combination with other contributing technologies increased muzzle velocity to
approximately 100m/second greater than the M829A1 while operating at a slightly lower
pressure. The M829A2 KE munition is compatible with all standard NATO smoothbore
120mm tank cannons.
The latest version of the 120mm tank ammunition is the M829E3 KE round. The
M829E3 also features a high-performance propellant which will substantially increase the
lethality and accuracy of the Abrams main battle tank at extended ranges. The improved
performance comes at the same low cost as the M829A2 rounds and provides the Army
an affordable way to maintain superiority in armored battle on the 21st century battlefield.
As in so many other areas of technology, Picatinny has led the way in the development of
tank ammunition. Through innovation and perseverance, the engineers at Picatinny
overcame the U.S. Army's late start in tank development and made the M1A2 Abrams
main battle tank the premier tank in the world. Picatinny has a proven fifty-year history
of resolving complex technical issues and is committed to continued success in this area
in the future.
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