Posted on 03/21/2010 9:51:50 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
of electrical energy to repel projectiles away from an armored vehicle, British scientists say. Researchers at the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory, better know as "Dstl" and located at four sites in England, say it is possible to corporate material known as supercapacitors into armor that would turn a vehicle into a kind of giant battery, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Dstl is the research and development arm of the Ministry of Defense.
The report said when a threat from an incoming projective is detected, the energy in the supercapacitor can be rapidly pushed into the metal plating on the outside of the vehicle. That produces a strong electromagnetic field.
The researchers say this would produce a momentary "force field" which in theory could repel incoming projectiles. Although the force field would last for only a fraction of a section, correctly timed it could repel a projectile, such as a rocket-propelled grade, the report said.
Scientists claim this would produce a momentary "force field" capable of repelling the incoming rounds and projectiles.
The supercapacitor would then be rapidly recharged.
The idea is similar to force fields in science fiction that produce an invisible deflector around a vehicle or object.
(Excerpt) Read more at spacewar.com ...
The military must be testing the force field in my area. I have suspected a couple of ducks had been so equipped.
That was my line of thinking.
I don't think so. I believe the point is that smaller projectiles can be deflected by the existing physical armor. The electric force field is only activated by larger projectiles.
Anything big enough to defeat the ordinary armor is very difficult to make rapid-fire. Remember, the whole point of an RPG is that it is man-portable but can defeat armored vehicles. There are no automatic-fire RPGs.
They don't cover this point but RPGs are very slow compared to bullets and KE rounds. Maybe you only activate for slow incoming.
THAT there is FUNNY, I don’t care who you are!
Rough night - time to get some sleep and now I can.
Someone must be working on a proximity shell that delivers.....a VIRUS!
OUTSTANDING! Thanx for the laugh!
Think "volley-fire". It's the same technique we used with the M72 LAW.
The unanswered question is "how fast can it recharge the super-capacitor and be ready to repel another round?" The article says it would be "rapidly recharged", but "rapid" is undefined, and presumably would be highly classified.
Not only that, but what danger would this pose to friendly troops protecting the armor vehicles flanks or the crew of the vehicle. Not all scenarios are in wide open fields. Many engagements take place in urban terrain or heavily wooded areas where Infantry would be needed to provide security against the guerilla with a mine.
Don't get me wrong, this is good technology, but there are many aspects that need to be worked out before fielding such a system.
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