sabots

A sabot is a detachable carrier that surrounds a projectile to make it compatible with a gun barrel of a larger diameter. The sabot provides a proper bore fit, gas seal, and stabilization during acceleration, while a subcaliber projectile sits inside it. After leaving the muzzle, the sabot is discarded and the projectile continues on its trajectory, typically at much higher velocity than a conventional round would allow from the same bore.

In modern artillery and armored fighting vehicles, sabots are most commonly associated with armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot rounds (APFSDS). These rounds use a long, dense penetrator (often made of depleted uranium or tungsten alloys) encased in a plastic or light-metal sabot. The sabot carries the penetrator through the bore and engages the rifling, then separates in flight, allowing the slender penetrator to strike at very high velocity with minimal cross-sectional area.

Sabots are also used with other subcaliber projectiles to enable training, testing, or specialized applications. In some semi-automatic or automatic systems, sabots can be used to fire subcaliber rounds from larger-caliber guns, increasing effective range or reducing wear on the barrel.

Materials for sabots vary, but polymer plastics are common because of their light weight and ability to seal the bore, while some designs use composite or metal components to improve strength or muzzle breakaway characteristics. The overall goal of a sabot is to maximize velocity and penetration while shedding unnecessary weight and diameter once the projectile is launched.