How did Chobham armour provide greater protection than steel armour alone?

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Kuwait: U.S. 1st Armored Division M1A1 Abrams tanks — tank M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks of the U.S. 1st Armored Division moving across the desert in northern Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, February 1991.

Chobham armour provided superior protection compared to traditional homogeneous steel plates by utilizing a multilayered design. Unlike simple steel armour, which relied primarily on thickness to resist penetration, Chobham armour incorporated nonmetallic materials, such as ceramics, alongside steel layers.1

This composite construction was specifically engineered to be significantly more effective against shaped-charge warheads, which had become a major threat to tanks. By integrating these diverse materials, the armour could better dissipate the energy of incoming projectiles, offering enhanced survivability that simple steel could not match. Following its successful development in Britain, this technology became the standard for modern main battle tanks, such as the M1 and Leopard 2, replacing the reliance on basic steel plating.1