My input on a few recent posts.
Comments on the video: - Did anyone notice that the camera was pointing exactly at the point where the IED exploded? The first Stryker was allowed to pass and then the second vehicle was attacked; typical tactics. This prevents the retreat of the first vehicle and isolates it from the rest of the convoy.
The circled objects are other warheads that have missed the target. (IEDS are usually set-up in an array).
Because of doubts about the sources of information on Ogrish.com some forums ban links to this site.
IEDs are killing alot of american soildier.
More than 50% of deaths are caused by IEDS. For details see below summary of another anti-RPG system.
Are Mine protected vericles immune to this kind of attack. I am talking about those vericles suspended like 4 feet in the air by massive wheels and suspensions
No. This approach was OK for older anti-tank mines relying on blast and fragmentation, but not against massive IEDs or IEDs with SHAPED charged warheads.
They have turned out to be a good vehicle performing well in Iraq.
I read that the Americans are developing reactive armour for them and the slat armour has worked extremely well against RPG.
Two very different fish here. Reactive armour works well for armoured vehicles. The incoming projectile hits the reactive armour, which explodes disrupting the formation of the SHAPED charge generated penetration jet protecting the tank. For this system to work the vehicle needs to be well armoured to resist the explosion caused by the reactive armour. This system cannot be used on lightly armoured vehicles. (It also adds a lot of weight). Slat armour is used to trip the warhead before it makes contact with the target vehicle, so that the penetration jet cannot be formed and it just “copper plates” the outside of the vehicle.
New reactive armor? Hmm whatever it takes to protect your crew!
I saw a speech 2 days ago by Bush...saying that America has started to come up with new ways to defeat IEDs.......And the british Electric Armor is supposed to defeat HEAT rpg's speicifally those of the rpg-7.
Bfn42 i read that the electro armour can defeat the RPG and has also shown to be effective against Shaped charge roadside bombs and it can take multiple hits from what i understand it will be available early next decade.
The principle is similar to reactive armour in that the objective of the counter measure is to disrupt the formation of the penetrating jet. The outer layer is insulated from the inner layer (the hull) by an electrolytic material and a high voltage maintained by onboard capacitors charges the outer layer. An incoming projectile explodes on the outer layer, ionising the air; as the projectile starts to form (it does not need to be conducting) the high charge on the outer skin establishes a pathway to the inner skin. Huge currents begin to flow creating massive magnetic field that disrupts the formation of the penetration jet.
The Electromagnetic armour that the US is looking at:
http://www.uniteddefense.com/pr/pr_20050316.htm
The Electric armour the Brits are working on:
http://www.dstl.gov.uk/pr/press/pr2002/01-07-02.htm
Raytheon tests anti-RPG mini-missile
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Raytheon has tested a small vehicle-mounted missile that intercepted a rocket-propelled grenade in a simulation of an ambush on the streets of Iraq.
The test of the Quick Kill "hit avoidance system" could lead to a deployable counterpunch to the ubiquitous weapon employed against U.S. troops before the end of the year.
"Quick Kill's speed, precision and effectiveness are truly amazing," boasted Raytheon Combat Systems Vice President Glynn Raymer. "It offers our current force a level of battlefield protection that no one has ever seen before."
The Feb. 7 test carried out at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology test range involved an RPG fired at close range against a Stryker combat vehicle equipped with the Quick Kill system. The Stryker is a wheeled armored car that is projected as a mainstay of the Army's future order of battle; Stryker brigades have already been deployed to Iraq.
The Quick Kill includes a scanning radar that can detect an incoming threat and immediately vertically launches a precision-guided missile that pitches over, homes in on the RPG round, and then destroys it in the blink of an eye with minimal concussion and risk to the Stryker crew.
Raytheon called it the "equivalent of firing a weapon around a corner and hitting another weapon, while both speed through the air at hundreds of meters per second."
The company said it developed the system with its own funds and brought it from drawing board to field testing in about six months.
http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060208-102315-2822r
From Raytheon site.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/m...story/02-08-2006/0004277736&EDATE=Feb+8,+2006
Another Approach to Countering IEDs: In summary
50% of all US combat deaths in Iraq are due to IEDs mainly roadside bombs.
Two years ago a task force was set up to find a solution.
Ten months ago a prototype system demonstrated 90% effectiveness against a range of IEDs. Four months ago it was ready for deployment.
Developed by Ionatron, Inc. (Tucson, AZ), the JIN is a directed-energy-discharge system mounted on a remotely operated armored vehicle. The system uses high-voltage electrical discharges from a remote-controlled boom to prematurely detonate IEDs.
The Army wants $32M to carry out further development, because in their view it is not mature.
Now an Army 4 star general is in charge of the re-named Joint IED Defeat Organisation, with an expected budget of $3.2B per year.
The company currently can produce 17 units per month at a cost of £200,000 per unit.
The US Marine Corps has sidestepped the Army and shall deploy an early version of the system Feb 2006.
My congratulations to the USM for applying a little common sense, at 90% effectiveness the current system is not great, but it is much better than 0%; at £200,000 per unit, that’s cheap if it saves one life.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ied12feb12,0,288814.story?coll=la-home-headlines
IMHO: Our performance in countering IEDs in an urban environment is key to minimising US losses and in determing the outcome of conflicts in the near term.
