I guess if you want to make any vehicle Ukrainian, all you need to do is festoon it with Kontakt ERA:
I find it amusing that they are already calling out specific differences in M1A1s slated to go to Ukraine.
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I saw this on another site. WTF? First, we don’t even know what type of Abrams will be sent to Ukraine yet. Second, I doubt they will have add-on Kontakt ERA on it.
Bigger pics.
It apparently has the SCWS for the “Polish” version too.
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Not to be a party-pooper, but the placement of the ERA is theoretically wrong.
The reason for Chobham composite sandwich armor in the glacis is so that the M1 doesn’t need ERA as Chobham composite sandwich armor is excellent in repelling HEAT rounds and ATGMs. ERA on the M1 Abrams turret roof seems more appropriate.
Sure, the M1 Breacher has ERA on the front turret face, but no one said that the M1 Breacher has Chobham armor on the turret and hull fronts.
I’m not saying that it might not be real one day, just that “seeing it is believing it in Real Life.”
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My guess is this is going to be a “choose your own adventure” kit. With 200+ ERA bricks, you can theoretically cover the entire turret top AND hull. Or put them on the bottom of the hull and on the exhaust…
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How dare they. That’s like putting ball fringe on a '57 Chevy. Destroying the beautiful lines of a classic tank like that.
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Back in my day, we walked in the snow, uphill, both ways, and didn’t have any dagnabbit ERA blocks! Hey you kids, get off my lawn!!…
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Hilarious! 
It appears to me they just threw in a whole bunch of additional parts to its existing M1A1 kit and say 2 in 1 “limited edition”. Or “what if” edition and give me money.
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Seriously…
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Now the Pentagon will send them TUSK versions just to mess with the model companies.
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Well? The Ukrainians are already getting BUSK ERA packages for their M2A2 ODS-SA, so it’s a matter of time before we provide their Abrams with TUSK I ERA packages.
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I hope that we do. It’s a harsh battlefield and we should be giving the Ukranians the most survivable and lethal M1 variant available for export.
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I think that’s what they’re doing … with the Leopard kits too…
my guess is the Challanger II are next.
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With those big, flat, sides on the Chally 2 turret. Those ERA bricks will look like the side of a British residential flat.
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How are those track blocks attached to the turret front?
Ken
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Probably studs welded on to the front glacis, then bricks bolted on as usual.
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If you look really close, it looks like there are tie down straps coming down off the top of the turret securing the track
On the link for the RFM Abrams, towards the bottom they have links for some Tamyia reissues for this year, and one of the offerings is a Ukrainian M1A1 complete with the old chevron style tracks. LOL.
Yup, already mentioned here:
My vote would have been contact 5 added to the turret like a T90M, much cooler look. Would look closer to a Leo2A5 with a pointed edged front turret.
there is a video showing a turret off an early M1 taking a direct hit from a 5" APC round at roughly 300 yards. Hit was hard, but no penetration. Later one M1 tank got bogged down in the sand in Iraq, and was attacked by T72’s. They shot several SABOT’s, and failed to penetrate it. In the end the M1 had several deep gouges in it, and there was at least one dead T72 laying nearby. I doubt that KONTAK is gonna do much but add weight
gary