Paintball Arena: T-72B3 “Arena”

Today we’ll be taking a look at the Paintball Arena event’s main reward: a T-72B3 main battle tank with the Arena-E active protection system!

Vehicle History

The history of Russian active tank protection systems dates back to the mid-1960s, when development of a promising protection system under the working name “Dikobraz” (Porcupine) began. In the late 1970s, engineers succeeded in creating a prototype, which was later adopted as the world’s first mass-produced active protection system (APS), the “Drozd” (Drozd). The system’s purpose was to detect and destroy anti-tank weapons, like rocket-propelled grenades and guided missiles, incoming towards the tank before they made contact with the tank’s armor.

The next major step was the introduction of the “Arena” system in 1993. This system incorporated a new detection radar and counter-munitions with a directional fragmentation field. With the “Arena” system, radar sensors were combined into a cylindrical module on the turret roof, and launchers were positioned around the tank’s exterior, protecting designated sectors. The issue with the large sensor module was resolved in the next iteration of the system, the “Arena-M”. With this one, sensors were placed around the exterior of the tank’s turret, and the counter-munitions were equipped with orientation motors. The launchers were now grouped in a single area, and each counter-munition, after firing, instantly orientates itself toward the incoming projectile. The fragmentation field of these counter-munitions was generated with a velocity gradient, causing the fragments to first strike the anti-tank missile’s fuse and then the projectile body containing the main explosive charge.

The Arena-E APS (export designation Arena-M) was first demonstrated to the general public at the RAE-2013 exhibition in Nizhny Tagil, based on the T-72B3 MBT.

Introducing the T-72B3 “Arena”!

The grand reward of the Paintball Arena ground vehicle event is the Russian T-72B3 main battle tank with the “Arena-E” active protection system! With this one, you can expect excellent protection, an automatic loader, good armor-piercing shells, ATGMs, and advanced electronics. Let’s take a closer look!

The T-72B3 “Arena” is one of the few vehicles in the game equipped with an active protection system. The Arena-E active protection system has eight rounds, effectively defeating guided anti-tank missiles fired from both the ground and the air. This system complements the tank’s already good armor protection, which at the front consists of composite armor covered by integrated ERA.

Right off the bat, it’s clear that the T-72B3 “Arena” is very similar to the pre-top-of-the-line Soviet T-72B3A tank, however its armor is different. Why’s that? Firstly, the T-72B3 “Arena” does not have the T-72B3 UBKh armor package, meaning it retains the stock T-72B3 V-84-1 engine and Kontakt-5 ERA. And secondly, it carries less counter-munition rounds in its active protection system, having 8 instead of 12 found on the T-72B3A.

The T-72B3 “Arena” is set to be one of the best representatives of the T-72 family in the game. In addition to excellent protection, the tank boasts good mobility and a respectable top speed, a large-capacity automatic loader with a 7 second reload time, and a high-resolution thermal imager. The tank’s ammunition loadout includes a range of ammuniton: from HEATFS and HE, to two APFSDS rounds, including the 3BM60, as well as tandem ATGMs, which can also be used against helicopters at ranges of up to 6 km.