Combat Vehicle Hit Avoidance System Using Primary Armament
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Solution Overview
Problem
Active protection systems for combat vehicles are costly and limited by the number of interceptor missiles, necessitating a cost-effective solution to extend mission lifecycle and enhance vehicle protection.
Innovation Solution
A hit avoidance system that integrates a primary armament, secondary armament, and active protection system, utilizing airburst rounds and interceptor missiles to detect and counter incoming threats, with a controller determining the most effective countermeasure based on tracking data and available resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active protection systems use interceptor missiles to defeat incoming threats, then vehicle protection capability is improved, but cost and mission lifecycle are worsened due to expensive missiles and limited onboard quantity
Solution Approach 1:
The combat vehicle's primary armament is designed to serve dual functions: its normal combat role and its role as a hard-kill countermeasure for active protection. The controller enables the primary armament to fire rounds in response to detected threats, allowing the same weapon system to perform both offensive and defensive functions, thereby eliminating the need for dedicated interceptor missiles.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using specialized interceptor missiles with unique trajectories and warhead designs, the system replicates the protective function using standard combat rounds from the primary armament. These rounds are fired with calculated trajectories to intercept threats, copying the intercept function using readily available ammunition that can be replenished from standard supplies.
2Reliability
If active protection systems use interceptor missiles to defeat incoming threats, then vehicle protection capability is improved, but cost is worsened due to expensive interceptor missiles
Solution Approach 1:
The primary armament serves dual purposes as both a combat weapon and an active protection system countermeasure. By using the same armament for both offensive combat and defensive interception, the system eliminates the need for separate expensive interceptor missile systems, thereby reducing operational costs while maintaining protection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses inexpensive standard combat rounds from the primary armament as disposable countermeasures against incoming threats. These standard rounds are far cheaper than specialized interceptor missiles, and since the primary armament can be replenished from standard ammunition supplies, the system achieves cost-effective protection without requiring expensive dedicated interceptor munitions.
3Device complexity
If the combat vehicle relies solely on passive armor protection, then structure simplicity is maintained, but protection effectiveness is worsened against advanced enemy weapon systems
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the combat vehicle's primary armament with the active protection system, combining offensive and defensive capabilities into a single integrated system. The sensor system detects threats, the controller processes data and determines firing solutions, and the primary armament executes both combat and protective functions, creating a unified system that reduces overall complexity while enhancing protection effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where sensors continuously monitor for incoming threats, the controller processes threat data and calculates intercept trajectories, and the primary armament fires countermeasures. After firing, the system continues monitoring to assess whether the countermeasure was successful and whether additional responses are needed, creating a dynamic feedback-driven protection system that adapts to real-time threats.
Data Source
AI summary
A method including detecting a threat incoming to a vehicle, the vehicle having a plurality of countermeasures including a primary armament and an active protection system, communicating the detected threat to a controller, activating, with the controller, a first sensor in response to the detecting, the first sensor tracking the incoming threat and generating tracking data, routing, with the controller, the tracking data to a plurality of fire control processors, each of the plurality of fire control processors being associated with a respective one of the plurality of countermeasures, and the plurality of fire control processors simultaneously computing respective firing solutions using the tracking data, and determining, with the controller, a preferred countermeasure out of the plurality of countermeasures with which to counter the incoming threat.