[PSA] AFV "Armor" Recognition 101

[radek]

AFV - armored fighting vehicle - is the general class for all motorized, small rifle resistant, vehicles.

If you don't know/not sure what type you are facing, and it's not a car, call out an AFV, or "armor"

 

common sub-classes encountered in AWE theaters

 

APC - armored personnel carrier 

Role: fast, safe movement of forces in the rear, reconnaissance tasks, NBC troop protection.

Generally armed with medium caliber MGs. usually carry 8-14 dismounts (squad).

Protects from MG fire. 12.7/.50 AP and all RPGs are a threat.

 

Opfor include soviet BTR (8-wheeled transporter), BRDM (4-wheeled recon). Note, russian APCs have an advanced tire pressure control system, which allows them to move with flat tires, until the wheel is completely destroyed (simulated by RHS mod)

Blufor counterparts are M113, AAV, LAV, MRAP

 

 

 

IFV - infantry fighting vehicle

Role: enables infantry to keep up with MBT movement, carry/fire heavy armament and/or AA/AT rockets.

Armored front-line vehicles for mechanized infantry teams (6-8). Tracked, for true all-terrain movement. generally armed with large caliber MGs.

Resistant to 12.7, partially to 20mm. 30/40 AP and small RPGs will usually deliver a kill.

 

opfor: BMP (infantry - "pekhota") or the smaller BMD (paratroopers - "dessant" ) families.

blufor: M2 bradley

 

 

 

 

MBT - main battle tanks

Role: fast flanking attack of AT forces, support infantry by fighting enemy tanks. Note, since ww2 there are no real tank classes, so "tank" means MBT.

It has tracks and a big cannon. Also armed with coaxial MG, optionally independent medium MG.

Completely resistant to 12.7 and even 20mm. 30/40 AP may cause damage to engine from side/rear and tracks/MGs. only large RPGs are a real threat.

 

This is the soviet/russian "T" line (ww2 T-34/85, slow T-55, decent T-64 and T-72. top of the line are T-80 and T-90)

Blufor: 105mm Merkava and 120mm M1/Leopard2 lines.

 

 

 

You may also encounter the AA gun ZSU "Shilka", which boasts a nasty quad 23mm cannon (4000 rounds per minute which can and will be pointed at infantry). Or if Zeus really hates you a MRLS (multiple rocket launch system) BM-21 "Grad", which brings a battery of 40(!) 122mm rockets launched at once, designed to purge large areas. These are 'vintage' models designed more than 50 years ago, having very light to none armor, but their brute destruction force is not to be neglected.

 

 

[kman]

Nice round-up Radek.

 

Do you also have some stats on their armor an vulnerability zones?

It seems that unlike vanila ARMA, AWE mods do care where you hit the vehicle - often BRD survives suprising amount of AT where other times it goes down after just one.

 

 

[Cebi]

@kman

Vanila ARMA have weak spots on MBTs. Slammer passenger hatch and Varsuk sides of ammo rack on the turret are one of those. Not sure about Kuma. That beast can take even Scalpel ATGM missile and live...turret ring maybe? Also front, side and rear armor have different config values.

 

You can also kill crew inside Marshall by shooting at the side of a turret with high caliber ammo (12,7 apfsds preferably).

 

For more details on how damage and armour is handled by arma 3 you can refer to Tank config guidelines

 

And if you really want to be smart as a fox read this: Arma 3 Damage Description

 

Now you can do a research and look for engine placement, ammo storage, fuel tanks on vehicles you want to kill and hope that a mod defined their location and RHA values correctly

[radek]

@kman the actual models of vehicles (arma and rhs) are not published (the files are garbled to prevent copying, duh), so we don't know for sure. only live fire tests can be made.

 

@cebi i already went through the damage description when analyzing bullets, it's ... a bit messy

 

PS fuel tanks are not really weakspots. fuel does not burn well (!) A car won't explode from bullet hits. It's really hard to ignite, you need a high temp, oxygen, and/or durable flame (like a molotov, HE round, or better, a flare). The dangerous vapors are kept out of the tanks by over-pressurizing them with other gases (which also act as extinguishers). Tanks are well protected and you can soak them in napalm. Even when external tanks start to burn, and the auto-extinguishing systems don't work, you just let them burn out and go on.

 

Fuel is even deliberately placed as inert armor i.e. the merkava main tank is right in front of the crew. It's thickness partially protects as armor. compared to steel (eRHA) 15% against kinetic penetrators (sabot) and 45% against HEAT.

 

Exhausts (and engine grills) are a real weakspot, because a hit there might cause an engine fire.

[Cebi]

@radek

I know how fuel behaves . But please don't mix game mechanics and real life behaviour as it might become quite difficult to distinguish it in a discussion. Arma 3 fuel tanks do not give any protection and maybe they are just simply part of hull hp.

 

Basically what I meant is that if you want to know how to effectively kill an MBT in a mod you need to find specifications of the vehicle and internal layout. When you obtain this info you can then test it in the arsenal.

[radek]

I would not be so sure they are not relevant, as they are part of the fire geometry model, which interacts with projectiles, before they reach the hitpoints.

 

see the barrel drums and side tanks on this Arma2 T-90 model