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#1 2004-06-12 07:52:38

smurf975
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From: Netherlands
Registered: 2004-05-30
Posts: 402
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Re: Brits invent tank "Forcefield" - 'electrical armour'

From http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/08/19 … tric/]this source. However I already so something like this one TV some years ago but it was still in development.

Boffins invent grenade vaporising ‘electric force field’
By John Leyden
Published Monday 19th August 2002 10:29 GMT

Boffins at Britain's Ministry of Defence have invented an electric 'force field' designed to protect armoured vehicles against anti-tank grenades.

The 'electrical armour' is designed to vaporise copper projectiles released from grenades on impact before they are able to penetrate a tank's inner hull, the Daily Telegraph reports. The idea is to make tanks less vulnerable to anti-tank launchers, such the RPG-7, which is commonly and cheaply available in the world's trouble spots, such as Afghanistan.

When armaments like RPG-7 grenades hit a tank, a "shaped-charge" warhead blasts a jet of hot copper into a target at around 1,000mph - capable of slicing through a foot of conventional solid steel armour.

The new electric armour is based on a highly charged capacitor connected to two separate metal plates on the tank's exterior. The outer (armour-plated) plate is earthed while the insulated inner plate is live.

When the crew of a tank feel they are under danger, they switch on current to the inner plate, using the tank's internal power supply.

If the tank is unfortunate enough to be hit by a grenade, the jet of copper produced will penetrate both the outer plate and the insulation of the inner plate completing a circuit, which results in the discharge of the capacitor and the vaporisation of most of the copper.

The Telegraph reports that despite the high charge generated by the system, the "electrical load on the battery is no more than that caused by starting the engine on a cold morning".

It sounds bizarre, but the paper reports that in a recent demonstration an armoured personnel carrier protected by the system withstood repeated attacks by rocket grenades that would normally have destroyed it many times over.

Boffins hope to develop the armour further and fit it in Britain's next generation of tanks and armoured personnel carrier. The Pentagon is also reportedly showing a keen interest in work on the technology.

You may ask what this has to do with this forum, well I thought  rocket propelled grenade (RPG) = space junk + small meteors


Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?

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#2 2004-06-12 08:40:40

Gennaro
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From: Eta Cassiopeiae (no, Sweden re
Registered: 2003-03-25
Posts: 591

Re: Brits invent tank "Forcefield" - 'electrical armour'

Seems like the tank will be able to endure for a bit longer into the future, then. Especially important are the implications from APC target tests. This might mean the HEAT threat from above has found a practical way to be countered.

You may ask what this has to do with this forum, well I thought  rocket propelled grenade (RPG) = space junk + small meteors.

Sorry, I don't get it.

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#3 2004-06-12 08:42:21

smurf975
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From: Netherlands
Registered: 2004-05-30
Posts: 402
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Re: Brits invent tank "Forcefield" - 'electrical armour'

You are right, thinking about it the projectile must be made of a conductive material.


Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?

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#4 2004-06-12 10:16:45

Dook
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From: USA
Registered: 2004-01-09
Posts: 1,409

Re: Brits invent tank "Forcefield" - 'electrical armour'

Sounds neat but RPG's that hit U.S. M1 Abrams tanks in the current Iraq war only took off the paint.

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#5 2004-06-12 10:59:14

John Creighton
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From: Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: 2001-09-04
Posts: 2,401
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Re: Brits invent tank "Forcefield" - 'electrical armour'

I wonder if this technology would work well for lighter vehicles such as the hum v


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#6 2004-06-12 11:18:34

John Creighton
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From: Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: 2001-09-04
Posts: 2,401
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Re: Brits invent tank "Forcefield" - 'electrical armour'

This probably wouldn’t work well against kinetic energy weapons.


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