Active protection system
From the Multicrew Tank Combat wiki
An active protection system (APS) is a set of launchers that shoot down a round before it reaches the vehicle. A launcher fires at a round that comes within about 10 m of it and then reloads. A few systems fire closer: about 2 m on StrikeShield and Zaslon, and 15 m on the Panther top-attack launchers. HEAT, missiles, rockets and HE are destroyed where they are stopped. Solid shot keeps going with part of its penetration taken off. The system is a layer in front of ERA and the armour itself: a round it misses, or one it only weakens, still has to get past both.
What gets shot down
A launcher only fires at a round that is heading at the vehicle and travelling no faster than the system's limit. Anything faster goes straight through. The speed to compare is the one on the shell page.
| Round | Speed |
|---|---|
| APFSDS | 1,200 to 2,000 m/s |
| HEAT-FS | 700 to 1,500 m/s |
| ATGM | 100 to 1,030 m/s |
| Top-attack missile | 50 to 600 m/s |
| Infantry rocket | 50 to 740 m/s |
Rounds lighter than 1 kg, which covers machine-gun and autocannon fire, are ignored. Rounds heavier than 52 kg, such as the largest missiles and artillery shells, are ignored as well.
| System | Stops rounds up to | Solid shot loses | FPV drones | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanit | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Ignored | T-14 Armata, T-15 Armata |
| Afghanit (Light) | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Ignored | Kurganets-25 |
| Anti Top Attack drones | 550 m/s | 50% | Ignored | KF51 Panther, Panther EVO |
| Arena | 700 m/s | 30% | Ignored | Object 640 "Black Eagle" |
| Arena | 1,000 m/s | 30% | Ignored | BMP-3M Arena, T-80UM-1 "Bars" |
| Arena-M | 1,000 m/s | 30% | Targeted | T-90M |
| Drozd | 700 m/s | 30% | Ignored | Object 478BEM-1, T-55AD-1 |
| FrenchAPSThing | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Ignored | Leclerc S21 |
| GL6 | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Ignored | VT4, ZTZ96A, ZTZ99A |
| IronFist | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Targeted | Black Night, M2A4E1 |
| NK-Afghanit | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Ignored | Cheonma-2 |
| Shtandard | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Ignored | Burlak, Object 195 |
| StrikeShield | 2,000 m/s | 25% | Ignored | CV 90120-T, KF41 Lynx |
| StrikeShield Heavy | 2,000 m/s | 50% | Ignored | KF51 Panther |
| Trophy | 1,000 m/s | 10% | Targeted | Abrams X, K2, Leopard 2A8DK, M1A2 SEP V3, Merkava Mk.4M, Namer APC, Namer Tsrikhon |
| BM Oplot APS | 1,200 m/s | 40% | Ignored | BM Oplot |
| Type 10 APS | 2,000 m/s | 40% | Targeted | Type 10 |
What happens to a round the system catches depends on the round.
| Round | Result |
|---|---|
| Solid shot (AP, APFSDS, APDS, APCR) | Keeps going with the penetration loss in the table above |
| HEAT and tandem HEAT | Destroyed where it is stopped. A small blast with 10% of its explosive |
| HE, HESH and APHE | Destroyed where it is stopped. Bursts there with 90% of its explosive |
| FPV drone | Shot down as it enters the bubble, on the systems that target drones |
For example, Trophy stops rounds up to 1,000 m/s and takes 10% off solid shot. An APFSDS round is faster than that and is never engaged. A HEAT-FS round at 900 m/s is destroyed 10 m from the launcher. Iron Fist reaches 2,000 m/s, and the same APFSDS is engaged there: a 600 mm round arrives with 360 mm.
Against a vehicle with a system that stops HEAT, bring solid shot, or fire from a side the launchers do not cover. Against a system that reaches solid shot, the round still arrives, and the plate behind decides the rest.
Charges and coverage
Each launcher carries its own charges, and once they are gone it stays out. A launcher only covers an arc in front of itself, and where the launchers sit on the vehicle decides which sides are protected. When several launchers can reach the same round, the one closest to it fires.
| System | Launchers | Each launcher covers | Vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanit | 10 | 40° wide, -20° to 20° up | T-14 Armata, T-15 Armata |
| Afghanit (Light) | 20 | 40° wide, -20° to 20° up | Kurganets-25 |
| Anti Top Attack drones | 4 | 170° wide, -85° to 85° up | KF51 Panther, Panther EVO |
| Arena | 14 | 130° wide, -50° to 85° up | Object 640 "Black Eagle" |
| Arena | 32 to 34 | 26° wide, -5° to 15° up | BMP-3M Arena, T-80UM-1 "Bars" |
| Arena-M | 10 | 130° wide, -50° to 85° up | T-90M |
| Drozd | 4 | 25° wide, -6° to 20° up | Object 478BEM-1, T-55AD-1 |
| FrenchAPSThing | 4 | 180° wide, -15° to 55° up | Leclerc S21 |
| GL6 | 2 | 210° wide, -15° to 55° up | VT4, ZTZ96A, ZTZ99A |
| IronFist | 2 | 210° wide, -15° to 55° up | Black Night, M2A4E1 |
| NK-Afghanit | 12 | 40° wide, -20° to 20° up | Cheonma-2 |
| Shtandard | 10 to 14 | 40° wide, -20° to 20° up | Burlak, Object 195 |
| StrikeShield | 25 | 50° wide, -75° to 75° up | CV 90120-T |
| StrikeShield | 30 | 30° wide, -25° to 25° up | KF41 Lynx |
| StrikeShield Heavy | 50 | 40° wide, -25° to 25° up | KF51 Panther |
| Trophy | 2 to 3 | 240° wide, -20° to 85° up | Abrams X, M1A2 SEP V3, Merkava Mk.4M, Namer APC, Namer Tsrikhon |
| Trophy | 2 | 240° wide, -25° to 40° up | K2, Leopard 2A8DK |
| BM Oplot APS | 4 | 180° wide, -90° to 90° up | BM Oplot |
| Type 10 APS | 2 | 210° wide, -15° to 55° up | Type 10 |
For example, Trophy has two or three launchers with three charges each. Arena on the T-80UM-1 "Bars" has 32 launchers with one charge each: it keeps firing until the launchers facing the shooter are empty.
The launchers are tied to a radar on the vehicle. The launchers themselves cannot be damaged. The radar can be destroyed like any other module, and every launcher on it stops firing. An ammo crate refills launchers one charge at a time, listed under Protection. Crew in a vehicle with a missile warning system see an APS warning on their HUD with the direction each launcher fired in.
