|
Protection against IED in general, and particularly shaped charge
based IEDs rely on several layers, including "soft
kill", passive, and
active defenses:
Electronic Protection
A mobile electronic jammer is part of Elisra's
EJAB family of
electronic jammers, designed to disrupt and deny remote
activation of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Covering a wide
frequency band from VHF, UHF and high cellular bandwidths, EJAB
encounters all types of remote-controlled applications, from simple
RC transmitters to the most sophisticated cellphones and wireless
devices. The jammer can operate as stand-alone systems, and have
proved themselves through years of combat operations in Lebanon and
the current conflict, where they were they have successfully
protected combat vehicles, convoys, and fixed facilities as well as
protection of EOD teams and isolation of terrorist attack scenes.
Passive Protection
Lightweight composite
armor suits offer some protection for soft vehicles against IED,
fragmentation and small arms. Since basic IED charges have low
penetration efficiency, one of the most important add-on protections
for target vehicles are ballistic plate, made of steel or composite
materials and blast mitigation material which absorbs the blast
effect. Flexible composite fabric liners applied inside the fighting
compartment of armored vehicles can also absorb much of the melted
metal spall generated when a shaped charge penetrates through the
main armor, therefore limiting the internal damage and casualties.
For further protection, heavier ceramic protection is used.
 These
materials can be designed to withstand attacks of shaped charges
munitions. Another passive protection method is "caging", frames of
slat armor used with the
US Army Stryker armored vehicle in Iraq. This cage encircles the
vehicle's hull adding all-round protection, by causing the incoming
RPG to 'defuse' between the cage and main armor. A similar system is
already used by the IDF as part of the armor protection of D-9
Dozers, heavy APCs and newly up-armored M113.
Standoff Laser Defeat Systems
HIgh power, directed
energy from a laser is capable of rapidly clearing unexploded
ordnance and defeating IEDs by inducing a low-order burning or deflagration
reaction in the explosive fill at safe stand-off ranges (see photos
above). THOR developed
by RAFAEL uses powerful, air cooled laser, and a coaxial 12.7mm M2
heavy machine gun firing single bullets like a sniper rifle, acting
as a standoff disrupter, destroying fusing, thick-cased munitions
and booby traps.
Active Protection
Explosive Reactive armor
(ERA) is utilized as an effective add-on protection, with
modules conforming of thin explosive sheath covered by oblique metal
plates. The explosive is activated when sensing an impact of an
explosive charge, which raises the metal plate into the plasma jet,
disrupting its formation and eliminates its energy before it hits
the main armor. Among the most advanced protection systems are the
Active Protection Systems (APS).
Latest among these is the Israeli designed
Trophy Active Defense System
(ADS) which the US Army plans to introduce with every new and
existing combat vehicle it fields in Iraq. The Trophy system has
three elements providing – Threat Detection and Tracking, Launching
and Intercept functions. The Threat Detection and Warning subsystem
consists of several sensors, including flat-panel radars, placed at
strategic locations around the protected vehicle, to provide full
hemispherical coverage. Once an incoming threat is detected,
identified and verified, the Countermeasure Assembly is opened and
launched automatically into a ballistic trajectory intercepting the
incoming threat at a relatively safe distance.
Start -
Previous
 |
