How thick is modern MBT armor (DR 2000)?

BraselC5048 · 12-18-2014, 05:47 PM

From another thread, I know that a modern top-of-the-line Main Battle Tank has DR 2000 or so. That's not what I'm looking for. What I'm wondering is how many inches thick it is, physically. Mostly for comparison to my starship armor.

Or to work around it the other way, I want middle-of-the-road starship armor to be DR 2000, same as a MBT. I've also decided what it's made of, for radiation protection, namely layers of carbon composite (I 'think' it was high lithium carbon composite) (for neutrons) and steel (for mass for X-rays). Most of the weapons going against it will be directed energy weapons, as in lasers and nuclear shaped charges, so having to burn through something made of carbon will do a pretty good job of stopping it. Making it out of solid steel, DR 70 per inch, would be something like 2ft 4" think, which seems thicker than what a tank would have, and is too think for my starships. If an Abrams is less than DR 2000, then DR of the starship can go down too.

Perhaps about 8" thick for medium cruisers (armor value 8, DR 2000), and 12" thick for the most heavily protected battleships? (DR 3000?) Or just 1" thick per point of armor value, which ranges from 0 (no armor) to 12?

That would be DR 250 per inch, which seems high, although I don't know what exact kind of composite armor modern western tanks are made of, or what it's DR would be. Then again, it's classified anyway. Maybe 1.5" x armor value thick?

12-18-2014, 05:47 PM	#1
BraselC5048 Join Date: Oct 2012	How thick is modern MBT armor (DR 2000)? From another thread, I know that a modern top-of-the-line Main Battle Tank has DR 2000 or so. That's not what I'm looking for. What I'm wondering is how many inches thick it is, physically. Mostly for comparison to my starship armor. Or to work around it the other way, I want middle-of-the-road starship armor to be DR 2000, same as a MBT. I've also decided what it's made of, for radiation protection, namely layers of carbon composite (I 'think' it was high lithium carbon composite) (for neutrons) and steel (for mass for X-rays). Most of the weapons going against it will be directed energy weapons, as in lasers and nuclear shaped charges, so having to burn through something made of carbon will do a pretty good job of stopping it. Making it out of solid steel, DR 70 per inch, would be something like 2ft 4" think, which seems thicker than what a tank would have, and is too think for my starships. If an Abrams is less than DR 2000, then DR of the starship can go down too. Perhaps about 8" thick for medium cruisers (armor value 8, DR 2000), and 12" thick for the most heavily protected battleships? (DR 3000?) Or just 1" thick per point of armor value, which ranges from 0 (no armor) to 12? That would be DR 250 per inch, which seems high, although I don't know what exact kind of composite armor modern western tanks are made of, or what it's DR would be. Then again, it's classified anyway. Maybe 1.5" x armor value thick?