HPEM-PROTECTED VEHICLE WITH HIDDEN ANTENNA

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle with an HPEM (High Power Electromagnetics) system. The HPEM system includes an HPEM antenna for emitting HPEM pulses.

[0002] The following is known from practice regarding HPEM: Existing concepts for protecting vehicles are based on soft-kill solutions (disrupting, jamming the attacking object) with the help of HPEM or hard-kill solutions (defending the objects with projectiles).

[0003] HPEM pulses can be used to ward off threats, such as a drone attacking the vehicle. Such a system is particularly suitable for short-range and very close-range protection (NNbS) of the vehicle.

[0004] The current solution consists of retrofitting clearly visible HPEM antennas to the vehicle's outer skin. Previous HPEM protection concepts against small drones (equipping the vehicle with the HPEM system) therefore provide for clearly visible antennas on the vehicle's exterior. EP 2 500 749 A1 discloses a vehicle with an HPEM system.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide improvements with regard to vehicles with such HPEM systems.

[0006] The object is achieved by a vehicle according to patent claim 1. Preferred or advantageous embodiments of the invention and other categories of invention emerge from the further claims, the following description and the attached figures.

[0007] The invention is based on the assumption that the vehicle typically has at least one add-on part, and that the add-on part is attached to the vehicle's outer shell. "Typically" is to be understood as follows: The invention assumes an existing vehicle or a corresponding vehicle type or a vehicle of this type that conventionally—i.e., without applying the invention to it—has a corresponding "conventional / usual" add-on part, e.g., a smoke canister. The "conventional / usual" add-on part is also assumed to be known. The invention can then be used to convert an existing vehicle or to create a new vehicle that corresponds to the previous vehicle type.

[0008] The vehicle according to the invention contains an HPEM system. The HPEM system has at least one HPEM antenna. This antenna is configured or serves to transmit HPEM pulses.

[0009] The vehicle contains at least one dummy attachment. The dummy is modeled after the (known, conventional) attachment. The dummy has a consistent external appearance compared to the conventional / conventional attachment. In other words, an observer cannot tell from external inspection that it is not the conventional attachment, but rather a replica of it in the form of the dummy. The conventional attachment and the dummy are therefore externally identical or have the same external appearance.

[0010] The dummy contains at least one of the antennas or the dummy is one of the antennas, thus representing one. The dummy is attached to the outer shell of the vehicle instead of the normally present attachment part or in addition to the normally present attachment part.

[0011] "Instead" is therefore to be understood as meaning that other vehicles of the same vehicle type have the conventional attachment. However, a vehicle according to the invention does not contain this attachment, but instead contains the dummy. In other words, based on a specific vehicle / type, at least one of the attachments is modified to resemble a dummy, or in addition to the conventional attachment, a dummy with the same appearance is mounted on the vehicle.

[0012] The vehicle is in particular a land vehicle and / or a watercraft.

[0013] According to the invention, an HPEM protection concept / the HPEM system providing this capability can be integrated particularly advantageously into a vehicle. The HPEM system or its antenna is not or only with difficulty visible from the outside. This can provide a tactical advantage.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle or vehicle type typically has several of the add-on parts. Only some (i.e., one or more) of the add-on parts are replaced by one of the dummies. In particular, the number of add-on parts remains the same for a conventional vehicle / vehicle type; only one or more of the add-on parts are replaced by dummies with HPEM antennas. Thus, in terms of the vehicle / vehicle type, vehicles equipped with HPEM antennas are externally indistinguishable from those with only conventional add-on parts.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the HPEM system is a self-protection system for the vehicle. The system is particularly a system for close-range and very short-range protection. According to the invention, the vehicle is thus effectively and tactically advantageously protected.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle is a military vehicle. The invention can be used particularly effectively for such vehicles, particularly with regard to tactical advantage.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle is an armored vehicle.

[0018] In particular, this concerns a tank, e.g., a main battle tank, especially an MGCS (Main Ground Combat System). For armored vehicles, appropriate close-range and short-range protection is particularly important, which is particularly advantageously realized by the invention.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, the dummy has a shell. The shell is made of a material permeable to the HPEM pulses. The antenna is located, in particular, within the shell. However, the shell can also be part of the antenna. In this case, too, a suitable material is selected. In particular, the material of the shell differs from the material of the usual attachment (the shell). However, if the usual material is already a suitable material, a corresponding material adaptation in the dummy is not necessary. Thus, despite the presence of the dummy, the HPEM pulses can be radiated unhindered by the antenna.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the usual attachment and thus also the dummy (since it cannot be distinguished) has a basic shape that corresponds to a basic shape of the antenna, in particular if the antenna is to be accommodated in a casing.

[0021] This basic shape is, in particular, a right circular cylinder. This allows the antenna to be housed particularly effectively in the mock-up / shell, which then has the same basic shape as the attachment. The "basic shape" doesn't necessarily refer to the external appearance down to the last detail, but rather simply the basic geometric character of the attachment / mock-up, such as a cylinder, cuboid, cube, triangle, pyramid, etc.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the attachment is a smoke grenade (smoke grenade, smoke grenade, smoke grenade) of a smoke grenade system (smoke grenade system) of the vehicle. Certain vehicles are typically equipped with a series of such smoke grenades, for example, eight (four on the left, four on the right). According to the invention, two of the smoke grenades (one on the left, one on the right) can then be replaced by a dummy smoke grenade each, for example, to integrate the antennas of the HPEM system on both sides of the vehicle.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the antenna contains an HPEM resonator or the antenna is an HPEM resonator. Such resonators can be particularly well concealed in appropriate dummies.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the add-on part is typically attached to the vehicle or corresponding vehicle type via a bracket. The dummy add-on part is then also attached to the vehicle via the usual, unchanged bracket. Alternatively, the bracket is replaced by a dummy bracket, and the dummy add-on part is attached to the vehicle via the dummy bracket. The dummy bracket is then also modeled after the bracket while maintaining the same external appearance. In other words, an overall dummy is formed that replicates the usual add-on part and its usual bracket. The overall dummy can then also be integrated as a single component.

[0025] A supply line (power and / or signals) from the HPEM system (e.g., from a generator or a source / controller) to the antenna is then formed by the mount or its dummy mount, or runs in / within the mount or its dummy mount. The supply line thus runs from the vehicle interior to the antenna. This allows the antenna supply line to be integrated into the vehicle in a particularly unobtrusive manner, or even invisible from the outside.

[0026] The object of the invention is also achieved by a method according to patent claim 11. The method serves or is designed for equipping a vehicle with a HPEM system. Both the corresponding vehicle and the HPEM system have already been explained above. In the method, the above-described dummy of the add-on part is created by replicating the usual add-on part. The dummy has also already been described above. The dummy is attached to the outer shell of the vehicle instead of the usual add-on part or in addition to it.

[0027] The method and at least some of its possible embodiments as well as the respective advantages have already been explained in connection with the vehicle according to the invention.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment of the method, the fitting is carried out by retrofitting an existing vehicle. In this case, at least one of the dummies is additionally attached to the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, an existing attachment is removed from the vehicle and replaced with the dummy. The same optionally also applies to the aforementioned optionally available brackets or dummy brackets.

[0029] The invention is based on the following findings, observations, and considerations and also includes the following preferred embodiments. These embodiments are sometimes referred to as "the invention" for simplicity. The embodiments may also contain parts or combinations of the above-mentioned embodiments or correspond to them and / or may also include previously unmentioned embodiments.

[0030] The invention is based on the idea of ​​proposing an HPEM (High Power Electromagnetics) NNbS (short-range and very close-range protection) within the framework of electromagnetic protection concepts for vehicles, for example for the future MGCS (Main Ground Combat System).

[0031] A basic idea of ​​the invention is to integrate the antennas / resonators of a corresponding HPEM system into replicas (dummy) of the smoke canisters mounted on the suspensions of the existing smoke grenade system. This significantly simplifies the challenging placement and attachment of the necessary antennas.

[0032] The invention is based on the consideration that additional space must be created to attach additional antennas to the outer skin of the vehicle. Due to the minimal remaining space budget on military vehicles, it is difficult to make space available. In addition, additional mounts must be integrated and it must be ensured that existing functions of the vehicle, e.g. the operational capability of the weapon system, are not impaired. Integrating the protection concept (of the antennas) into an existing system avoids the disadvantages of complex integration and thus reduces costs. In addition, the protection can be made invisible or only with difficulty from the outside. A tactical advantage can be achieved because the protection is indistinguishable or hardly distinguishable from conventional smoke screens,.

[0033] The invention offers the following advantages: The HPEM-NNbS protection concept can be easily integrated into all common military vehicles, as the smoke grenades are standardized across NATO. The system is easily adaptable to slightly different dimensions in standards outside the alliance. Thanks to decades of use of smoke grenade systems, installation concepts for virtually any military vehicle exist, which can be readily accessed. This saves time and money and easily enables possible expansion. Furthermore, the protection can be designed to be invisible from the outside, thus offering tactical advantages.

[0034] The invention is based on the following observation or consideration: The DS resonators known from practice or existing / currently common as the radiating element of the HPEM-NNbS protection concept can be adapted so that they can be concealed within the dimensions of a standard smoke dome (i.e., in a dummy replicating the standard smoke dome). The outer shell of the smoke dome (or its dummy) must be made of a non-conductive material to allow the unattenuated passage of the emitted electromagnetic waves. If a threat, such as an approaching small drone, is detected, the system is activated and electromagnetically disrupts or destroys the approaching object. This prevents landing on or at the vehicle, and the vehicle is protected against detonation by explosive charges attached to the drone.

[0035] Existing mounts or concepts for smoke grenade systems can be used for installation. These are available for all common military vehicles. This eliminates the need for time-consuming and costly redesign and qualification.

[0036] The emitted electromagnetic fields are harmless in terms of personal safety and pose no direct danger to nearby personnel in the event of a false alarm. By integrating the system into the existing smoke grenade system, it can be made difficult to detect from the outside.

[0037] According to the invention, a resonator integrated into the fog pot is thus obtained.

[0038] According to the invention, for the short- and very short-range protection of military vehicles against small drones, conventional or known resonators manufactured as electromagnetic active agents can be integrated into the existing smoke canisters of the smoke grenade system and are therefore indistinguishable from the outside from conventional smoke canisters.

[0039] Further features, effects, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and the accompanying figures. Each of these figures shows a schematic diagram: Figure 1 shows a section of a vehicle equipped according to the invention in perspective view, Figure 2 shows the dummy from Figure 1 in symbolic side view, Figure 2 shows a section through Figure 2a , Figure 3 an attachment and an HPEM antenna in perspective view.

[0040] Figure 1shows a section of a vehicle 2. Vehicle 2 is a military vehicle, here an armored vehicle, here a main battle tank.

[0041] The vehicle 2 or the corresponding vehicle type typically has a smoke grenade launcher 4 as follows. This contains a total of eight smoke grenade launchers 6, with four of the smoke grenade launchers 6 arranged on the left side of the vehicle and four on the right side. Figure 1 shows the four smoke canisters 6a-d on the right side of the vehicle. Each of the smoke canisters 6 forms an attachment 8 of the vehicle 2, which is attached to an outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2.

[0042] The Figure 1The vehicle 2 shown was created by converting a conventional corresponding vehicle 2 from the vehicle 2 or vehicle type described above. For this purpose, the add-on part 8 (thus no longer shown) in the form of the smoke canister 6c (therefore placed in brackets in the figure) was replaced by a dummy 12 of the add-on part 8, i.e. the smoke canister 6c. The vehicle 2 therefore usually has eight of the add-on parts 8, although only some of them, namely the smoke canister 6c and one of the smoke canisters 6 (not shown) on the other side of the vehicle, are replaced by one of the dummies 12 each.

[0043] The dummy 12 has a constant or unchanged external appearance compared to the replaced and the remaining attachments 8 or smoke canisters 6a, b and d, and is therefore optically replicated externally.

[0044] The dummy 12 contains a (see Figure 2b) HPEM antenna 14. The HPEM antenna 14 is part of an HPEM system 16, which is not shown in detail here and with which the vehicle 2 is equipped. The HPEM system 16 or antenna 14 is used to emit HPEM pulses 18, which are only symbolically indicated here in the form of arrows. The HPEM system 16 or pulses 18 provide short- and very short-range protection for the vehicle 2 by combating attacking, electromagnetically sensitive objects, such as small drones, with the HPEM pulses 18. The HPEM system 16 is therefore a self-protection system for the vehicle 2.

[0045] In the present case, the dummy 12 is attached to the outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2 instead of the conventionally present attachment 8 in the form of the smoke canister 6c. The remaining attachments 8 in the form of the smoke canisters 6a, b, d are present unchanged compared to other conventional vehicles 2.

[0046] Each of the smoke canisters 6 is attached to the vehicle 2 or its outer shell 10 via a bracket 20. The dummy 12, on the other hand, is attached to the outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2 via a dummy bracket 22. The dummy bracket 22—like the dummy 12 with respect to the attachment 8—is also a replica of the bracket 20 while maintaining the same external appearance.

[0047] Figure 2a shows in symbolic representation the dummy 12 from Figure 1 without the vehicle 2. The dummy 12 is externally, i.e., indistinguishable from any of the other smoke canisters 6 or the usual smoke canisters 6 of the vehicle 2 or of vehicles of this type. It has the same dimensions and therefore standard dimensions and is thus compatible with the usual or existing mounts 20 on the vehicle 2 for the smoke canisters 6.

[0048] Due to its standard dimensions, the dummy 12 is also compatible with the existing brackets or usual brackets 20 or dummy brackets 22 on the vehicle 2, as shown in Figure 2a This allows the dummy 12 to be installed cost-effectively on vehicle 2.

[0049] Figure 2b shows a section through Figure 2a, i.e., through the dummy 12 and here also through the dummy mounting 22. It can be seen that an HPEM resonator 24, here a DS (damped sinusoidal) resonator, is concealed in the "fog can" in the form of the dummy 12. The HPEM antenna 14 is designed here in the form of a resonator 24. "Hidden" because it is not visible externally, but rather appears as a "fog can" thanks to the dummy 12. A cable feed in the form of a feed line 26 to the HPEM antenna 14, which is only symbolically indicated here by dashed lines, runs inside the dummy mounting 22. The feed line 26 forms a cable feed from a pulse generator (not shown) installed inside the vehicle 2 to the HPEM antenna 14. This results in a design as a dislocated and synchronized system.

[0050] A shell 28 of the dummy 12 is made of a material permeable to the HPEM pulse 18, which differs from the usual material of the smoke pots 6, namely metal.

[0051] Figure 3 shows the usual fog pot 6c, i.e. the attachment 8, which is mounted on the vehicle 2 in Figure 1 was removed and replaced by the dummy 12. This and the dummy 12 not shown here have a basic shape 30, here that of a right circular cylinder. Figure 3 also shows the HPEM antenna 14, before it was installed in the dummy 12, in the form of the resonator 24. The antenna 14 also has the same basic shape 30 and can therefore be accommodated in the dummy 12 or its casing 28 in a particularly space-filling and effective or space-saving manner.

[0052] The vehicle from Figure 1was created as follows: When equipping vehicle 2 with the HPEM system 16, the vehicle 2 is used as the starting point, which usually contains the add-on part 8 in the form of the smoke canister 6c, wherein the add-on part 8 is attached to the outer shell 10. The HPEM system 16 has the HPEM antenna 14 for emitting the HPEM pulses 18. During the process, the add-on dummy 12 was created. This is done in such a way that the dummy 12 replicates the add-on part 8 while maintaining the same external appearance, and the dummy 12 contains the antenna 14. The dummy 12 was then attached to the outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2 instead of the usually present add-on part 8 in the form of the smoke canister 10. For this purpose, the dummy 12 could either be inserted into the actually existing conventional holder 20 of the smoke canister 6c, in other words, the original holder 20 of the smoke canister 6c could continue to be used.Alternatively, and in this case, the bracket 20 was also replaced by the dummy bracket 22.

[0053] Vehicle 2 from Figure 1 can also be created by converting an existing vehicle 2. In this case, the existing smoke canister 6c, and if necessary also the mounting bracket 20, are removed and replaced by the dummy 12, and if necessary also the dummy mounting bracket 22. Reference symbol list

[0054] 2Vehicle 4Smoke generator 6,6a-dSmoke canister 8Attachment 10Outer shell (vehicle) 12Dummy (attachment) 14HPEM antenna 16HPEM system 18HPEM pulse 20Mounting bracket 22Mounting dummy 24HPEM resonator 26Supply line 28Shroud (dummy) 30Basic shape

Claims

1. Vehicle (2), wherein the vehicle (2) usually has at least one attachment part (8) which is attached to its outer shell (10), - with a High-Power Electro-Magnetics System (HPEM) (16) which has at least one HPEM antenna (14) for emitting HPEM pulses (18), characterized in that the vehicle has at least one dummy attachment part (12) which simulates the attachment part (8) with a consistent external appearance and which contains or is at least one of the antennas (14), - wherein the dummy (12) is attached to the outer shell (10) of the vehicle (2) instead of the usually existing attachment part (8) or in addition to it.

2. Vehicle (2) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle (2) usually has several of the attachment parts (8) and only part of the attachment parts (8) are each replaced by a dummy (12).

3. Vehicle (2) according to either of the preceding claims, characterized in that the HPEM system (16) is a self-protection system for the vehicle (2).

4. Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle (2) is a military vehicle.

5. Vehicle (2) according to Claim 4, characterized in that the vehicle (2) is an armoured vehicle.

6. Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a cover (28) of the dummy (12) is made of a material permeable to the HPEM pulses (18).

7. Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment part (8) and the dummy (12) have a basic shape (30) that corresponds to a basic shape (30) of the antenna (14).

8. Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment part (8) is a smoke grenade (6, 6a-d) of a smoke launching system (4) of the vehicle (2).

9. Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the antenna (14) contains or is such an HPEM resonator (24).

10. Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment part (8) is usually attached to the vehicle (2) via a bracket (20), and the dummy (12) is also attached to the vehicle (2) via the bracket (20) or a dummy bracket (22), which simulates the bracket (20) with a consistent external appearance, and a supply line (26) of the HPEM system (16) to the antenna (14) runs in the bracket (20) or its dummy (22) or is formed thereby.

11. Method for equipping a vehicle (2) with an HPEM system (16), wherein the vehicle (2) usually has at least one attachment part (8) which is attached to its outer shell (10), wherein the HPEM system (16) has at least one HPEM antenna (14) for emitting HPEM pulses (18), characterized in that at least one dummy attachment part (12) is provided which simulates the attachment part (8) with a consistent external appearance, and which contains or is at least one of the antennas (14), - the dummy (12) is attached to the outer shell (10) of the vehicle (2) instead of the usually existing attachment part (8) or in addition to it.

12. Method according to Claim 11, characterized in that the equipping is carried out in the form of a retrofit on an already existing vehicle (2), wherein at least one of the dummies (12) is additionally attached to the vehicle (2) and / or at least one originally existing attachment part (8) is removed from the vehicle (2) and is replaced in each case by one of the dummies (12) .