"How do you strip ERA?" Topic

A little while back I asked about the effects of HESH on ERA and the conclusion was reached that it would strip large chunks of ERA off and possibly cause secondary damage on to the bargin.

I know ERA is protected from small arms fire but there must be a way to strip it off. Would a 50. cal do the job? how about standard HE?

What is the best way to strip ERA off so you can get at the armour beneath?

Adjustable spanner or a wrench.

I would think .50 cal. API would do the trick. SLAP might have enough kinetic energy on its own to do so as well.

Salvo fired AT4/RPG should do, too.

40mm HEDP from a Mk19!

What lion in the stars said. 40mm from Mk19. You get 'bonus' points if there are enemy dismounts or soft skin vehicles in the area at the time.

Mini gun? Nothing like a quick hose of 7.62 at 6k rds a minute to rip things apart.

50 API would have a chance of burning the charge out of a block hit or a Mk19 would probably do a decent job at detonating the armor blocks but I doubt 50 SLAP would do more than put smalish holes in the blocks.

Hmm, I'm not sure I'd want to fire any weapon at a tank that's not capable of killing it. You may as well put up a banner that says, "Here I am, kill me".

Hoser

Why bother when you can aim for section not covered by ERA? Like…say… Engine. A Molotov to the engine decking should burn it up and either start a larger fire or overheat and seize up the engine, thus rendering tank useless for the time being. Or a bundle of grenades, grenade launcher or other explosive to take off the tracks. Sometimes just taking the vehicle out of action long enough is the difference you need to affect a serious tactical change.

The counterpoint being that depending on what's under the ERA, the Mk19 may well be able to shred that, too.

Then again, Mk19 usually comes with a side of Javelin missiles, for *really* ruining the day of tankers.

Yea, some top attack love from a javelin.

Javelin would work, but I'm one to assume that in these situations you have only what would normally be available to a second rate militia or have to cobble something together out of current supplies. I don't see an average squad just carrying one along for funsies.

Volley fire LAWs, RPGs or ATGMs, the first hit strips the second penetrates.

I have also heard .50 cal and the MK19 does the job well but I can't say for certain.

…cobble something together out of current supplies

That's what I did! The Mk19 is usually on the PL's truck in a Stryker platoon, which also comes with at least two Javelin launchers (PL's truck hauls Weapons squad).

Troops might complain about the weight of a Javelin system, but it's a lot better than enough LAWs to take out a T72!

In the 80s, the US Army developed a high velocity 76mm gun that fired a 3 round burst specifically for defeating ERA. Then we realized ERA wasn't that big of a deal. A 120mm sabot won't even notice the ERA, while a TOW 3 will still kill the target. And if you are using a LAW against the front of a tank, you are already in deep doodoo, no matter what kind of armor it has.

I thought the main purpose of ERA was to defeat light hand held anti tank weapons and medium ATGMs. Was it ever capable of defeating a tank round of any kind?

ERA was designed to defeat shaped-charge warheads, no matter what their launcher was. 105mm and 120mm guns have HEAT rounds, therefore ERA could defeat some tank guns.

Yeah, an MBT's main gun will far out range many weapons … worse case you'd have to take a couple of shots to KO an MBT a long range … You want to kill enemy AFVs at as long a range as possible to attrite them as they close in your positiions … But as Cold Steel said, in many cases the ERA don't matter …

You use artillery – this was the plan during the Cold War. DPICM has a HEAT warhead that is ideal for stripping away ERA, especially on the top surfaces of the tank. And you can still get the Mobility Kill by hitting engine decks or tracks….

FA is a Grunt's best friend … as soon as contact is made that is one of the first calls, is to your FST/FO !!!