T-72B vs LEOPARD 2AV | UNIQUE APFSDS vs NERA | 3BM26 Composite Armour Penetration Simulation

The simulation presents the unique 3BM26 APFSDS projectile impacting the composite turret cheek armour of the Leopard 2AV, at 2km. The Leopard 2AV’s armour array has been based on available sources, including a Polish magazine article: All plates have been modelled as High-Hardness Armour (HHA), ranging from 440BHN to 490BHN hardness (the 25, 30, and 35mm plates have been modelled as 440BHN hardness, with the 12mm ones being 490BHN). The NERA panels are angled at 60°, being HHA-Rubber-HHA in construction. Both NERA arrays have a 4mm rubber interlayer, with the forward NERA array having 4mm bulging plates, while the rear array has bulging plates. The bulging plates have been modelled as 500BHN HHA. Documents available online show that the turret was rated at ~350mm RHAe protection across a 60° frontal arc. This was supposedly determined through trials against a monolithic tungste