HESHSC Round
High Explosive Squash Head Solid Core (HESHSC) rounds, sometimes referred to as 'doublers'or 'hybrid rounds, are an ordnance made for anti-armor purposes and used by nations on Earlorania.
History
Development
Starting in the late 2020s NGE, the armor of main battle tanks began to shift away from homogenous steel due to rapid innovations in armor piercing technology and the enlargement of main gun calibers, most notably, the widespread development and adoption of High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds. These HEAT rounds utilized a shaped charge to force explosive filler to melt a piece of metal in the round, turning it into a high-velocity jet of molten metal that could pierce through almost any conventional armor.
The widespread adoption of these rounds forced many armies to focus on composite armor and reactive plating to counter these new weapons. However, at the same time, kinetic-based armor-piercing projectiles shifted away from bullet-shaped rounds, evolving into long darts that were fin-stabilized, utilizing a discardable sabot to guide it through a barrel. These new Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot (APFSDS) rounds were able to travel faster than their predecessors and their contemporary HEAT rounds, while also reducing the effectiveness of sloped armor.
In the 2060s, however, MBTs had become much more advanced, being equipped with much thicker armor, more advanced composite armor, and better reactive platings. This combination of armor had reduced the effectiveness of HEAT and APFSDS rounds. In order to counter this and gain an edge in a rapidly intensifying Earlorania, the United Elementian Department of Advanced Tactical Research Development Projects (ATRDP) began work on a new round which would be able to circumvent newer armor.
Design
HESHSC rounds take heavy inspiration from the older, High Explosive Incendiary Armor Piercing (HEIAP) rounds. These rounds used an explosive filler that would detonate on contact with an object, weakening the armor and potentially sending shrapnel through the vehicle. The explosion would also be used to propel a kinetic projectile (usually resembling traditional AP rounds) into the tank.
Unlike HEIAP rounds, however, HESHSC rounds are equipped with an explosive plastic filling. When the rounds impacts its target, the aero cap breaks off, allowing for the insert padding to "squash" around the impact area along with the plastic explosive. This forms a disc around the impact and allows for much greater (and deadlier) spalling. This weakens the armor of the tank while also neutralizing reactive plating in its way. Once the explosive detonates, the force is also used to propel the kinetic penetrator dart into the tank, effectively firing it at point-blank range.
Because of the size and speed of the HESHSC rounds, conventional HEAT countermeasures are ineffective. Active protection systems that are designed to intercept slower-moving HEAT rounds and guided or controlled weaponry are unable to effectively track and engage the fast moving rounds. Slat armor that is commonly used to help redirect shaped-charge weaponry is simply torn through by the round's sheer mass, while even ERA plating struggles due the nature of the HESHSC rounds. While the molten jet of HEAT rounds are disrupted by the detonation of reactive armor, the explosion of the HESHSC rounds neutralizes the ERA, while the kinetic penetrator is unaffected.
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| 1.) Explosive Filler | |||
| 2.) Kinetic Penetrator | |||
| 3.) Inert Padding | |||
| 4.) Aero Cap | |||
| 5.) Nose Plug |
