Active Protection Systems: The Future of Defense Against Missiles and Rockets

Active Protection Systems

Active protection systems are an emerging technology designed to protect armored vehicles from anti-tank missiles and rockets. These systems use sensors to detect incoming projectiles and then actively intercept them using hard-kill methods like explosives or soft-kill methods like smoke screens. By defeating threats in flight before they can hit the target, active protection provides a much higher level of protection than traditional passive armor alone.

How Active Protection Systems Work

Most active protection systems use a combination of radar, optical sensors, and small interceptor missiles or charges to detect and destroy incoming fire. The sensors continuously scan the airspace around the protected vehicle, looking for threats. When a potential missile or rocket is detected, the on-board computers calculate its trajectory and predict the impact point.

If Active Protection Systems determines a direct hit is likely, the system launches an interceptor weapon. Hard-kill systems like the Israeli-developed Trophy and Russian Arena use small rockets mounted on the vehicle. When commanded, these rockets intercept the incoming fireball in mid-air through a direct collision. The interceptor's explosive warhead destroys the threat before impact.

Soft-kill systems like the Russian Shtora take a different non-violent approach. Upon detecting a threat, they eject smoke pots mounted on the sides of the vehicle. The rapidly expanding smoke screen obscures optical, thermal, and laser sensors on incoming fire, tricking them into missing the target or flying harmlessly past it. Either method allows protected vehicles to survive attacks that would destroy passive armored vehicles.

Applications of Active Protection Across Different Platforms

While active protection was initially developed for defending heavily armored tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, the technology is now being adapted for lighter vehicles as well. Systems like the Iron Fist are small enough to protect light tactical trucks and armored personnel carriers. By defeating rocket-propelled grenades and similar weapons, they allow these thinner-skinned platforms to operate safely in high-threat areas.

Many militaries are also placing active protection systems on combat engineering vehicles like bulldozers and excavators. Defeating antitank missiles lets these unarmored support assets complete tasks like route clearing and terrain manipulation even under fire. The U.S. Army is one customer that has equipped its Buffalo engineered vehicles with active defense.

Naval vessels present unique active protection challenges due to their complex three-dimensional threat environment. Systems like the American RFCM and Russian Kashtan address this with rapid-firing autocannons that can simultaneously engage multiple inbound air, surface, and shore-launched weapons. When integrated with advanced radar and sensors, they give ships a robust last-line self-defense option.

Airplanes and helicopters also benefit from active protection technology. Directional infrared countermeasures like FLARES decoy heat-seeking missiles, while laser dazzlers aimed from the aircraft blind incoming missiles' seekers. On the ground, active tank defense provides close-in security for fixed-wing aircraft and rotary-wing platforms during operations at forward bases. Defeating nearby fire lets both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft refuel, rearm, and carry out other vulnerable surface tasks.

Countering the Threat Evolution With Advanced Sensors

To remain effective, active protection systems must constantly evolve to defeat improving threats. Terrorist groups and other lower-tech forces are fielding guided antitank rockets with advanced sensors that make them harder to decoy or intercept. This is driving the development of next-generation active protection with boosted sensors of their own.

One example is the upcoming Trophy-N system for the Merkava Mk. 4 main battle tank. It adds a multi-spectral sensor capable of precisely guiding hard-kill interceptors against rockets even on cluttered modern battlefields. Israeli companies like Rafael are also enhancing their active defense portfolio with laser-based threat defeat options. These use high-energy beams to damage or destroy incoming warheads before the interceptor even engages.

Russia likewise continues advancing its arena and Adis-A active protection technologies. Newer versions add dual-band sensors and ai-assisted intercept trajectory planning for complex intercepts. The U.S. relies mainly on non-kinetic systems so far due to treaty restrictions, but the Modular Active Protection System in development features sophisticated radiofrequency and electro-optical detectors to optimize soft-kill performance. Regardless of technology used, enhanced sensors ensure today's and tomorrow's active protection stays one step ahead of evolving rocket and ATGW technologies.

Active protection systems provide unmatched close-in defenses against anti-armor fire compared to traditional passive armor alone. By detecting, tracking and intercepting incoming fireballs before impact, they allow even lighter armored platforms to thrive in modern high-threat environments. As threats progress, so too must active protection'ssensors and hard- and soft-kill mechanisms. With continuous upgrades, this nascent technology promises to revolutionize survivability for armored vehicles, naval ships, fixed-wing aircraft and more already operating on the future battlefield. Paired with advanced active protection, existing and new platforms can more confidently handle evolving threats for decades to come.

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