Advanced protection technology for ground combat vehicles

Area of Science:

• Military Engineering
• Defense Technology
• Vehicle Protection

Background:

• Adversaries counter advancements in combat vehicle protection by deploying larger explosive devices.
• The increasing demand for lighter-weight, rapidly deployable vehicles creates a tactical disadvantage against evolving threats.
• The cost of enhancing combat vehicles significantly outweighs the expense of deploying larger explosives, favoring adversaries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the escalating threat landscape for combat vehicles.
• To identify key technological areas for enhancing vehicle and crew protection.
• To propose a strategic approach for maintaining a tactical advantage in future operating environments.

Main Methods:

• Review of current and anticipated threats to military vehicles.
• Analysis of technological advancements in vehicle protection systems.
• Evaluation of the cost-benefit dynamics between vehicle upgrades and adversary threats.

Main Results:

• The current trajectory favors adversaries due to the lower cost of deploying larger explosives compared to vehicle upgrades.
• A gap exists between current protection measures and the anticipated threats beyond 2020.
• Synergistic integration of multiple protection technologies is identified as essential.

Conclusions:

• Effective combat vehicle protection requires a multi-layered strategy integrating detection, hit avoidance, penetration denial, and crew survivability.
• Future military vehicle survivability depends on a proactive and adaptive technological development approach.
• The strategic advantage shifts towards adversaries if protection advancements do not outpace threat escalation.