Kontakt-1

Kontakt-1 (Russian: Контакт-1; GRAU indice: 4S20) is an explosive reactive armour (ERA) created in 1982 by Soviet NII Stali to protect tanks from shaped charges.

This characteristic also prevents chain reactions for Kontakt-1, but it makes the system ineffective against kinetic energy penetrators.

According to the manufacturer, Kontakt-1 generally reduces penetration by 86% for Konkurs-type ATGMs, by 92% for rocket grenades, and by 52% for tank HEAT rounds.

According to the story, the USSR received an Israeli Magach tank following the war and managed to design its own ERA soon afterwards.

His last name sounds similar to the Israeli Blazer ERA, but there is no evidence that this is anything more than a notable coincidence.

In the late 1970s, Soviet armor was not strong enough against new Western guns and ammunition, so in 1982, a new ERA system was tested, and in 1985, the first Kontakt-1-equipped T-64BV was put into service.

[1] It is likely that the demonstration of Blazer effectiveness and the capture of the Israeli tank broke the prejudices of Soviet generals against carrying high explosives on the armor and opened the door for Kontakt-1 adoption.

Due to the modularity and installation simplicity, it's a common practice to put it on different vehicles in the field or factory conditions to increase protection.

[14] In 2018 Ukrainian UAM [uk] company claimed to produce Kontakt-1 and Kontakt-5 elements named 4S20U and 4S22U respectively, with brand-new explosives.