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New armored vehicles to destroy RPGs in midair
Rocket-propelled grenades, probably best known for their supporting roles in various Michael Bay movies, are a real and ever-present danger to armored vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's a tough problem: How do you stop an explosive that's about to hit your Humvee in a tenth of a second? You don't — you let DARPA's Iron Curtain system do it for you.
Mounted atop a vehicle, the Iron Curtain has three essential parts: a radar to detect the incoming RPG, an optical sensor that can scan the weapon and determine the best place to strike within half an inch, and an explosive countermeasure that destroys the RPG a fraction of second before it hits. The nature of the countermeasure prevents the RPG warhead from exploding properly; check out the video after the jump that shows a Iron Curtain-equipped Humvee being blasted five times with RPGs with virtually no damage.
The U.S. Army just approved $8 million in funding for the system, and plans are underway to test Iron Curtain in the field in July 2010. We're impressed with the potential efficacy of this system, but wonder if the same result could be achieved with something less sophisticated (and cheaper). Equipping every armored vehicle with a radar-driven search-and-destroy system just sounds a little pricey, and some say that special cloth shielding could also be an effective RPG stopper.
Via Danger Room
By T at 8:00 PM ON 11/30/09
I'm very curious as to what is being used to disable or (as said in the video) "dud" the explosive.
By Neotyguy at 8:40 PM ON 11/30/09
Wow, we are making some pretty good advances in military tech recently.
Now we just need to get robot vehicles to do the work for us.
By hals at 10:04 AM ON 12/01/09
This looks expensive and clumsy. How does the system distinguish between an RPG and a person exiting or entering the vehicle? What happens if the RPG is fired at the radar box or rail?
By crickets at 11:22 AM ON 12/01/09
@hals
it's probably not a lot more expensive than the armored humvees and troops currently lost to RPG fire. sure, there's the upfront cost of development but I think it hold out the promise of saving money AND lives.
as for it's effectiveness, it's one thing to hit the side of a barn and another to hit the wind-vane on top of it. the assembly is a small target and should be effective in the same way body armor remains effective without covering the head or limbs.
By Jonny at 12:41 PM ON 12/01/09
Yawn. The US army was offered the Rafael trophy system which uses EM or a variety thereof to create an anti-RPG bubble around said vehicle but the US Army chose to wait for a non-Israeli system. Don't ask me why?
By BoredGuyAtWork at 1:29 PM ON 12/01/09
Not quite something new, this technology has already been in use on planes and missle defense installations. Really the only change here is the mounting bracket, but i guess it's good to seem the army making use of what it already has. From what i understand it's basically just a small lazer that triggers the detinator.
By thisisonlyatest at 10:44 PM ON 12/01/09
I wonder if this can be adjusted to repel trolls and tools?
Also, what no troll has said yet is something I just have to say:
I remember this episode of Future Weapons. This is the Artis, LLC design where they use blast pressure to break open the RPG fuse device and thus render it harmless. This is old!
By Kevin at 9:16 AM ON 12/02/09
@Jonny
The trophy doesnt use EM. It's a shotgun like explosive which shreds any incoming missiles/rockets. It's much more prone to friendly fire than the design the US was backing from raytheon, the Quick Kill which is a precision system.
By IVox at 2:09 PM ON 12/23/09
print bucks more!
By Bo Esman at 3:47 PM ON 01/17/10
You must check out the LEDS (Land Electronic Defence System) system from Saab Avitronics
on your cellphone!
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Bo Esman:
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