General Synopsis
The vehicle offers substantially more protection and carriage than a standard CV-90, or Bradley or Striker, while not being but somewhat heavier. This is in large part gained by the vehicle being substantially lighter weight, making use of lighter weaponry, such as the canon fired 40mm bofors, and using stronger, lighter more powerful modern ceramics over the MEXAS.
Also unlike the mexas, the vehicle utilizes chobham armor, perforated reactive armor, caged armor, sloped armor, and other ways of defeating light arms, tandem charges, and even high explosive rounds.
While brute force can in fact, deliver substantial damage to the vehicle, the vehicle is relatively protected from most anti-tank threats, except high powered tank canons, or multiple shots in the same general area.
Unlike most reactive armor, the reactive armor of the vehicle is beneath the armor, which helps prevents fragmentation from effecting nearby troops or by being set off by smaller light weight rounds or tandem charges.
Because the armor is perforated, this gives some distance between the reactive armor and the outside armor, which can stop light arms, such as .50 caliber machine gun rounds, even up to 25mm rounds. This armor also has several perforated layers of armor beneath it, increasing size somewhat, but not weight, increasing the strength of the armor somewhat. While the armor is
sloped, or curved, in many cases, the chobham armor beneath it is at a 90 degree strike face beneath the armor.
Despite usually possessing a 40mm bofors canon, a 120mm canon is also available, that gives the vehicle strategic anti-tank capabilities, and a 155mm howitzer canon. The vehicle is typically designed for light anti-vehicle and anti-aircraft, although it's AGM-114 missiles provide a tactical last resort against potential heavily armored targets. Additionally, the radar detection system can be utilized in conjunction with the tank's usual targeting system capabilities.
The vehicle, unlike the original CV90, is almost completely electronically controlled; as a result, the vehicle can be somewhat more compact. the turret is controlled electronically, without being manned, and the crew does not have an area to see outside the vehicle; instead, the tank relies heavily upon cameras and periscopes to see.
Chobham ArmorThe vehicle uses Chobham armor, similiar to the armor in the Abrams, although significantly weaker. Utilizing an aluminum matrix, instead of a steel one, the matrix for the armor is 2.9 times lighter weight than a similiar steel one, although significantly weaker.
Due to the improved ceramics and armor of the Advanced Modular Armor Protection, the vehicle has substantially more armor for a lighter weight and size than in the MEXAS system. However, the vehicle simply utilizes the same amount of armor, relatively speaking, in terms of weight, to achieve an even higher degree of protection; this armor is utilized in the Chobham design, increasing it's effectiveness.
The rubber backing for the material in order to prevent crack deflection, is similiar to the same material used on the M1 Abrams. This armor, by itself, is powerful enough to deflect 30mm rounds, and even 40mm bofors rounds, going up to 57mm bofors.
Beyond this however, the added benefit of the extra armor, improved strength with the chobham design, and other hard armor improvements, are relatively unknown, although it is maximized for it's max potential strength, given the materials.
The armor utilizes the effect of slat armor, or caged armor, with "urban survival kit" additions similiar to the Bradley, and uses the same high explosive reactive armor found on the Bradley series of tanks. Despite being around the same weight, the tank offers superior protection, although a significantly smaller crew and squad space.
Reactive ArmorUnlike the reactive armor on the Bradley, the reactive armor on the CV90 is beneath some of the out layer of homogenous rolled steel. While this armor can defeat light arms, such as standard NATO rounds and .50 caliber rounds, rounds that can pierce this outer layer meet the reactive armor beneath.
This helps prevents the reactive armor from being set off by lighter rounds. This also protects the armor from tandem charges, which often times carry a significantly smaller charge intended on setting off the single use reactive armor.
This armor is perforated, that is has a small space between the rolled homogenous armor and the reactive armor, helping to further defeat HEAT rounds somewhat, and providing even more protection by destabilizing rounds that may enter, in addition to reducing energy transfer to the high explosive armor.
Beneath this reactive armor is the rest of the rolled homogenous steel and the chobham armor.
The vehicle also has a Kevlar Spall liner to further protect from armor piercing tandem charges. However, the tandem rounds must defeat the outer layer of armor in order to detonate the reactive armor, which takes an incredibly powerful explosive to do, largely defeating most tandem rounds.
Automated Weapons SystemsThe vehicle uses almost entirely automated weapons systems. From the main weapons to secondary weapons to the missiles the vehicle utilizes automated, electronic systems designed to remove humans out of harm's way and be safely behind the protection of the armor. While a troop hatch exists, primarily the crew is intended to enter and exit from the troop hatch in the back of the weapon. Several cameras exist, which allow access to the outside world, in addition to various periscopes. These cameras are protected by ALON, which provides extreme protection against shrapnel and even .50 caliber rounds.
The vehicle also possess 8 electronically fired 120mm mortars, with 4 rounds each, each breech loaded, capable of providing both smoke screens and direct action capabilities. They are capable of using all 120mm and 81mm mortar rounds.
40mm cannonThe
CT40 cannon provides a substantial weight reduction over the traditional 40mm bofors cannon. The chain gun is incredibly reliable, being based off of a design that rarely jams or fails, and utilizes lighter weight, shortened telescopic 40mm cases.
This in turn allows for substantial weight savings in regards to the weight of the entire system. The vehicle usually uses two twin 40mm bofors canons, operating at roughly 200 RPM each, and carries roughly 2000 rounds, or 1000 rounds each. This equates to 5.5 tons for the entire weapons system, or about the same as the
L70 it replaces.
The vehicle is also capable of using the
AMOS 120mm firing system.
