Wednesday, April 12, 2006

A Page Out of Buck Rogers

Somehow, I missed this report when it aired on Fox News a few days ago. Israeli scientists have developed a new system that provides added protection against rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles, by literally creating an invisible, defensive "shield" around their vehicles. RPGs are the second-leading killer of U.S. troops in Iraq, and according to correspondent Mike Tobin, the Pengaton is planning a combat test of system in the near future. Watch the video. The countermeasure system literally detects--and disables--an RPG in flight. Fascinating stuff.

Hat tip: Roger L. Simon.

1 comment:

Joe Katzman said...

Well, not really invisible, or a shield.

It uses slightly different technology than a Phalanx 20mm gun on a ship, but basically it's the same thing: an anti-missile weapon slaved to a radar and fire-control system. Trophy just takes advantage of Moore's Law (computers faster and smaller) and radar tech improvements to make itself small enough for a vehicle, and uses a shockwave generator or "hit to kill" projectile that's less likely to cause collateral damage than spraying a few thousand 20mm shells.