BF Evo, future weapons
- Thread starter Reaverman
- Start date
The Old Soldier
Mongoose
Not to mention the heat. Too heavy, too hot.
A Chopper Shield
Firing massive Kevlar and steel nets at inbound rocket-propelled grenades could save helicopters in combat
Last January, a Black Hawk helicopter flying in rural Iraq burst into flames, killing all 13 soldiers on board. A few days later, a helicopter owned by a private security company crashed in Baghdad, killing five civilian contractors. Over the next few weeks, six more aircraft were shot down, leaving 11 more dead—one of the worst series of chopper disasters since the war began.
Although the Army won’t attribute any crash solely to an RPG—insurgents typically fire guns at the craft as well—the simple, unguided, shoulder-launched projectiles are widely believed to be the primary anti-chopper ordnance of the insurgency.
New Jersey inventor Richard Glasson thinks he can stop the attacks. He’s designed the first-ever anti-RPG system for aircraft: a volley of nets that catch the grenades before they hit. Glasson was inspired by Mark Bowden’s best seller Black Hawk Down, which recounts the 1993 killing of 18 U.S. soldiers in Somalia after an RPG brought down their chopper. “I couldn’t believe that such a low-tech weapon could take down a several-million-dollar aircraft,” he says. “That’s a spectacular outcome for a 40-year-old technology.”
More at: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/7bd4999bc5b82110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
How it Works
When sensors on the helicopter detect an incoming rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), tubes on the chopper fire between one and eight rockets toward the incoming RPG. Each rocket deploys a Kevlar-and-steel net, which inflates like a parachute as it flies, forming an impenetrable barrier between the helicopter and the grenade.
Firing massive Kevlar and steel nets at inbound rocket-propelled grenades could save helicopters in combat
Last January, a Black Hawk helicopter flying in rural Iraq burst into flames, killing all 13 soldiers on board. A few days later, a helicopter owned by a private security company crashed in Baghdad, killing five civilian contractors. Over the next few weeks, six more aircraft were shot down, leaving 11 more dead—one of the worst series of chopper disasters since the war began.
Although the Army won’t attribute any crash solely to an RPG—insurgents typically fire guns at the craft as well—the simple, unguided, shoulder-launched projectiles are widely believed to be the primary anti-chopper ordnance of the insurgency.
New Jersey inventor Richard Glasson thinks he can stop the attacks. He’s designed the first-ever anti-RPG system for aircraft: a volley of nets that catch the grenades before they hit. Glasson was inspired by Mark Bowden’s best seller Black Hawk Down, which recounts the 1993 killing of 18 U.S. soldiers in Somalia after an RPG brought down their chopper. “I couldn’t believe that such a low-tech weapon could take down a several-million-dollar aircraft,” he says. “That’s a spectacular outcome for a 40-year-old technology.”
More at: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/7bd4999bc5b82110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
How it Works
When sensors on the helicopter detect an incoming rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), tubes on the chopper fire between one and eight rockets toward the incoming RPG. Each rocket deploys a Kevlar-and-steel net, which inflates like a parachute as it flies, forming an impenetrable barrier between the helicopter and the grenade.
vitalis6969
Mongoose
Yeah, I can't wait to see a couple all wound around the rotors.. :roll:
-V
-V
A counter tactic to that defense is to fire several RPG rounds, delayed a second or two. After the first rounds are defeated the followup attack has a chance to hit. Sort of like the counter to armoring up the HMMWVs against an IED was to simply place three times the normal artillery rounds in the hole when setting up the IED. However, just because someone will find a way around your defense is no reason not to deploy it. It looks like it might work, but at least the net cannot deploy until the host missile clears the blade-wash.
As vitalis6969 said but with a twist, maybe it will give an idea to the bad guys to use a similar missile themselves that will itself tangle up the rotor blades and make the chopper drop out of the sky. :roll:
As vitalis6969 said but with a twist, maybe it will give an idea to the bad guys to use a similar missile themselves that will itself tangle up the rotor blades and make the chopper drop out of the sky. :roll:
captainsmirk
Mongoose
Hiromoon said:
You what?!
Lets see here, we our several-milion-dollar aircraft, which generally doesn't have much armour due to weight constraints. It has various bits of machinery that keep it in the air.
We take some form of rocket propelled explosive device (say a low-tech 40-year-old anti-tank weapon), which we proceed to fire at our mulit-million-dollar aircraft. Due to various physical effects connected with explosions the anti-tank weapon causes damage to the aircraft. Unfortunatley the fancy computer technology which makes the aircraft cost so much does little to protect it against explosions. The damage is likely to effect either the crew or the machinery that keeps the aircraft in the air. Net result the aircraft falls out of the air with unpleasent results for all on board.
No surprises there then...
Although if it works he's got a winner there...
Nick
emperorpenguin
Mongoose
anyone see "Future Weapons" the other night featuring Land Warrior?
emperorpenguin
Mongoose
Hiromoon said:I don't need to see a show on it...
it was very different to what I was expecting, very different to the in-game version too, though it'd be difficult to put in rules for the way it worked on screen
lastbesthope
Mongoose
Looks like the Mrymidon from the last S&P
LBH
LBH
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