Force Fields and Tanks.... Welll.. kinda.

[FirstMateJack]

http://media2.foxnews.com/040606/040606_fr_tobin_300.swf

Not a true force field....Pretty cool anyway, You can see flak from the target's direction. Probably a simple shotgun attached to a radar and camera.

[Archon]

It's possible, but I doubt it. if it were only a shotgun, then it would be limited in which directions it would protect, unless they mounted many of them, in which case it would be unwieldy, expensive, and very apparent. I would say it would work with something more along the lines of either magnetism or resonance, since those can go in all directions.

[FirstMateJack]

I thought something like that at first (laser, soundwaves?), but it doesn't work underwater, all of those do...more or less (laser and sound not so much). and you can see flak flying toward it in the slow-mo pictures.

just mount more cannons, won't add that much extra weight.

who knows!! they'll probably tell us in a few years.

Kudos to you Israel!

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

In some of the shots it looks like the rocket is passing through some sort of screen. probably just the low-res of the file, but weird

[Archon]

But FMP, the flak you see doesn't pass the RPG until after it blows up. Sound waves don't travel the same way underwater as they do through the air, so that would also explain that. Also, keep in mind that they didn't necessarily say that it doesn't work underwater, only that it wouldn't work on our ships. It could be that the "field" interferes with the systems on our own ships somehow. If it is really resonance, that would explain it. Even if it isn't set to resonate metal, it could still seriously interfere with sonar, which, when facing submarines would be too counterproductive to be worth it.

[Harbinger]

Now, that's cool. Chalk one up for the R&D boys.

[FirstMateJack]

But FMP, the flak you see doesn't pass the RPG until after it blows up. Sound waves don't travel the same way underwater as they do through the air, so that would also explain that. Also, keep in mind that they didn't necessarily say that it doesn't work underwater, only that it wouldn't work on our ships. It could be that the "field" interferes with the systems on our own ships somehow. If it is really resonance, that would explain it. Even if it isn't set to resonate metal, it could still seriously interfere with sonar, which, when facing submarines would be too counterproductive to be worth it.

You've never shot a shotgun. The plug in the shell comes out and flys completely seperately, and much much slower, than the shot. It's purpose is to seperate the powder from the shot.
That is completely normal and a tell-tale sign of a shotgun.

Not saying it isn't sound.. But something hitting it is definitely not sound, It makes sense that it would be a shotgun.

[Spriggan]

if it was a shotgun wouldn't it detonate the explosive in the RPG?

[Archon]

It did detonate the explosive in the RPG, Sprig.

And yes, FMJ, I have shot a shotgun before. That plug is called the wad, and I realize that it is visible when you shoot a shotgun. However I have yet to see a wad that glows bright yellow, unless it is a tracer shell. Once again, it is possible that it is a shotgun, but far from definite.

[FirstMateJack]

Right, when it boils down to it, nothing is for sure.

Who knows. they say it is top secret.. so if it it some kind of shotgun... it's not going to be normal, at all.

[Spriggan]

It did detonate the explosive in the RPG, Sprig.

No what I'm talking about is if it's exploding at full force, which I don't think it is, why is 3/4 of the rocked still intact?  If it detonated wouldn't the whole thing go up?

[FirstMateJack]

there are three main types of warheads for an RPG, the infantry (HE), armor (HEAT) and specialized.

HE works the same as a regular grenade...with a rocket on the back. it makes a moderate explosion and throws shrapnel all over the place.

The HEAT (most common, since they are mostly used against tanks) explodes forward, shooting molten copper or other similar metal, forward in a small line, this is hot enough to penetrate medium/weak armor and fill the tank with molten metal, killing the crew. Most modern tanks are pretty strong against these sort of attacks anyway, this (new system in the topic) is an added benefit.

The final, specialized, just shoot phosphorous, smoke, tear gas etc... The newest form is a fuel air bomb. They are used for everything from illumination and riot control to taking out bunkers and tanks formations.



All said and done, you really wouldn't take out the rocket portion of the RPG, since the infantry make to small an explosion, and the armor explode forward anyway. Since all the explosives are only in the small portion of the head, the rest is fuel for flight.

[Skar]

Having been shot at by RPGs I can definitely say that if the "force field" detonates the RPG's warhead that close to the vehicle it's supposed to be protecting, count me out.  Having it explode that close would suck almost as much as if it made contact in the case of the infantry round and in the case of the HEAT round would suck MORE for any supporting personnel or vehicles near the targeted tank.  Your best bet when someone's shooting RPGs at you is that they miss and the damn thing flies by without hitting anything and therefore doesn't detonate.

Hopefully the "force field" actually does something useful besides just making it easier for the RPG gunner to get a detonation near his target.

[FirstMateJack]

I was discussing this on a blog with some other people, We have come to the personal conclusion that being anywhere in the vicinity would suck, as you both have an explosion coming at you with all the shrapnel or metal or whatever they packed into it, as well as whatever it is that is being thrown at the warhead from the tank (Because something is being fired at it).

It pretty much puts you in the cross fire, as an infantry.

It is certainly a tank protection service. As always, the infantry are more expendable.