you are incorrect T-90 shooting 3bm60 can penetrate over 600mm 2000m at 0°
New Type98/99 MBT thread
- Thread starter Dongfeng
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3BM9: 140mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM15: 150mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM22: 170mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM26: 200mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM29: 210mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM32: 230mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM42: 230mm @ 2000m at 60 °
125-I: 245mm @ 2000m at 60 °
TAPNA: 270mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM42-2: 280mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM46: 290mm @ 2000m at 60 °
DTW-125: 300mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM60: 300mm @ 2000m at 60 °
3BM59: 315mm @ 2000m at 60 °
DTC10-125: 325mm @ 2000m at 60 °
DTC201-125: 360mm @ 2000m at 60 °
Technically it could be true since penetration isn't as simple as LOS.
An inclined surface imparts a side force on the penetrator which redirects some of its energy and causes it to break up faster than it would otherwise. Modern sabot design means the effect is minimized but it still has an impact.
So it is indeed possible to penetrate more of a flat surface than the equivalent LOS thickness of an inclined surface.
But the effect is small and hardly matters beyond semantics. Whether it penetrates 515mm @ 2000m @ 0 degrees or say 564, it's still not enough to be reliable against (supposedly) 600mm. At most you'll get a lucky penetration once in a blue moon.
Remember also that definitions of "penetration" may also vary. In the past, different nations had different criteria on how often it had to happen (e.g. 80% of hits) and whether "partial" penetrations counted.
I'm also not sure how the various nations test armor penetration these days. I know some of them just test against flat plates and calculate raw inclined thickness from that.