Mine protection modern armored vehicles. Solutions and examples of implementation
Throughout the relatively short stories armored vehicles (BTT) of the ground forces, which is about a hundred years old, the nature of the conduct of hostilities has changed several times. These changes were of cardinal nature - from “positional” to “maneuverable” war and, further, to local conflicts and counter-terrorist operations. It is the nature of the alleged hostilities that is decisive in the formation of requirements for military equipment. Accordingly, the ranking of the main properties of BTT has changed. The classic combination of "firepower - protection - mobility" has been repeatedly updated, complemented by new components. At present, the point of view has been established, according to which security is given priority.
The significant expansion of the nomenclature and capabilities of the means of combatting BTT has made its vitality an essential condition for the accomplishment of the combat mission. Ensuring the vitality and (in a narrower sense) security of BTT is based on an integrated approach. There can be no universal means of protection against all possible modern threats, therefore various protection systems are installed on the BTT objects that complement each other. To date, dozens of designs, systems and protective systems have been created, ranging from traditional armor to active protection systems. Under these conditions, the formation of the optimal composition of complex protection is one of the most important tasks, the solution of which determines to a large extent the perfection of the machine being developed.
The solution to the task of integrating protective equipment is based on the analysis of potential threats in the intended conditions of use. And here it is necessary to return again to the fact that the nature of the hostilities and, consequently, the “representative anti-tank outfit” have changed dramatically.
comparing, say, with the Second World War. The most dangerous for BTT at the present time are two opposite (both in terms of technological level and methods of use) groups of tools - high-precision weapon (WTO), on the one hand, and means of close combat and mines - on the other. If the use of the WTO is typical for highly developed countries and, as a rule, leads to fairly quick results on the destruction of enemy BTT groups, then the widest use of mines, improvised explosive devices (SBU) and hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers from various armed formations is long-lasting. In this sense, the experience of US combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is very indicative. Considering such local conflicts as the most characteristic of modern conditions, it should be recognized that mines and melee weapons are the most dangerous for BTT.
The threats posed by mines and improvised explosive devices are well illustrated by generalized data on the losses of US vehicles in various armed conflicts (Table 1).
The analysis of the loss dynamics makes it possible to state unequivocally that the mine action component of the complex protection of BTT is especially relevant today. The provision of mine protection has become one of the main problems facing the developers of modern military machines.
To determine ways to ensure protection, first of all, the characteristics of the most likely threats should be assessed - the type and power of the mines and explosive devices used. Currently, a large number of effective anti-tank mines, differing, including, the principle of action, have been created. They can be equipped with push-type fuses and multi-channel sensors - magnetometric, seismic, acoustic, etc. The warhead can be either the simplest high-explosive or with striking elements of the “shock core” type, which have high armor-piercing ability.
The characteristics of the military conflicts in question do not imply that the enemy has “high-tech” mines. Experience shows that in most cases mines are used, and more often SBU, of a high-explosive action with radio-controlled or contact fuses. An example of an improvised explosive device with the simplest fuse of the push type is shown in fig. 1.
Recently, in Iraq and Afghanistan, cases of the use of improvised explosive devices with striking elements of the “shock core” type have been recorded. The appearance of such devices is a response to the increased mine action protection of the BTT. Although, for understandable reasons, it is impossible to manufacture a high-quality and highly efficient cumulative assembly with “hand-made tools”, however, the armor-piercing ability of such SSUs is up to 40 mm of steel. This is quite enough for a reliable defeat of lightly armored vehicles.
The power of the used mines and SBU depends largely on the availability of certain explosives (BB), as well as on the possibilities of their laying. As a rule, IEDs are manufactured on the basis of industrial explosives, which at the same power have much greater weight and volume than “combat” explosives. The complexity of the hidden tab of such cumbersome IEDs limit their power. Data on the frequency of use of mines and IEDs with various trotyl equivalents, obtained as a result of summarizing the experience of US combat operations in recent years, are given in Table. 2.
An analysis of the data presented shows that more than half of the explosive devices used in our time have TNT equivalents 6 — 8 kg. It is this range that should be considered the most probable and, therefore, the most dangerous.
From the point of view of the nature of the lesion, there are types of undermining under the bottom of the car and under the wheel (track). Typical examples of lesions in these cases are shown in Fig. 2. In case of explosions under the bottom, the integrity of the hull and the destruction of the crew are very likely both due to dynamic loads exceeding the maximum permissible and due to the impact of the shock wave and splinter flow. When explosions under the wheel, as a rule, the mobility of the machine is lost, but the main factor in the destruction of the crew are only dynamic loads.
Approaches to the provision of mine protection of BTT are primarily determined by the requirements for the protection of the crew and only secondly by the requirements for maintaining the machine’s working capacity.
The preservation of the performance of internal equipment and, as a result, technical combat capability, can be achieved by reducing the impact loads on this equipment and its attachment points. Most
critical in this regard are the components and assemblies mounted on the bottom of the machine or within the maximum possible dynamic deflection of the bottom during undermining. The number of equipment attachment points to the bottom should be minimized as much as possible, and these nodes themselves should have energy-absorbing elements that reduce dynamic loads. In each case, the design of attachment points is original. At the same time, from the point of view of the bottom structure, to ensure the operability of the equipment, it is necessary to reduce the dynamic deflection (increase rigidity) and to ensure the maximum possible reduction of the dynamic loads transmitted to the attachment points of the internal equipment.
The preservation of the performance of the crew can be achieved under certain conditions.
The first condition is to minimize the dynamic loads transmitted during the blasting on the attachment points of the crew seats or the landing force. In the case of mounting the seats directly on the bottom of the machine, practically all the energy imparted to this bottom section will be transferred to their attachment points, therefore
extremely efficient energy-absorbing seat assemblies are required. It is important that providing protection at high power charge becomes doubtful.
When mounting seats to the sides or roof of the case, where the zone of local “explosive” deformations does not extend, the attachment nodes transmit only that part of the dynamic loads that apply to the body of the machine as a whole. Given the significant mass of combat vehicles, as well as the presence of such factors as suspension elasticity and partial energy absorption due to local deformation of the structure, the accelerations transmitted to the sides and the roof of the hull will be relatively small.
The second condition for the preservation of the crew’s working capacity is (as in the case of internal equipment) the exclusion of contact with the bottom at maximum dynamic deflection. This can be achieved purely constructively - by obtaining the necessary gap between the bottom and the floor of the habitable compartment. Increasing the rigidity of the bottom leads to a reduction in this necessary clearance. Thus, the performance of the crew is provided by special shock-absorbing seats fixed in places remote from the areas of possible application of explosive loads, as well as by excluding the contact of the crew with the bottom at maximum dynamic deflection.
An example of the integrated implementation of these approaches to the provision of mine protection is the relatively recent class of armored vehicles MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected - “protected from undermining and ambush attacks”), which have increased resistance to the effects of explosive devices and small arms fire (Fig. 3) .
It is necessary to pay tribute to the high efficiency shown by the USA, with which the development and supply of large quantities of similar machines to Iraq and Afghanistan were organized. This task was assigned to quite a large number of companies - Force Protection, BAE Systems, Armor Holdings, Oshkosh Trucks / Ceradyne, Navistar International, etc. This predetermined a significant differentiation of the MRAR fleet, but allowed them to be delivered in the required quantities in a short time.
The common features of the approach to providing mine protection on automobiles of these companies are the rational V-shaped form of the lower part of the hull, the increased strength of the bottom through the use of thick steel armor plates and the mandatory use of special energy-absorbing seats. Protection is provided only for the habitable module. Everything that is “outside”, including the engine compartment, either has no protection at all, or is poorly protected. This feature allows you to withstand the undermining
sufficiently powerful IEDs due to the easy destruction of the “outer” compartments and assemblies while minimizing the transmission of impact on the habitable module (Fig. 4); Similar solutions are being implemented on both heavy machines, for example, Ranger from Universal Engineering (Fig. 5), and on light , including IVECO 65E19WM. With obvious rationality in conditions of limited mass, this technical solution still does not provide high survivability and preservation of mobility with relatively weak explosive devices, as well as bullet shelling.
Simple and reliable, but not the most rational from the point of view of mass, is the use of steel plates to protect the bottom. Lighter bottom structures with energy absorbing elements (for example, hexagonal or rectangular tubular parts) are still very limited.
Cars of the “Typhoon” family (Fig. 6) developed in Russia also belong to the MRAP class. Practically all currently known technical solutions for ensuring mine protection are implemented in this family of vehicles:
- V-shaped bottom,
- multi-layer bottom of the habitable compartment, anti-mine pan,
- internal floor on elastic elements,
- crew location at the maximum possible distance from the most likely place of explosion,
- aggregates and systems protected from direct weapons impact,
- energy absorbing seats with seat belts and head restraints.
The work on the Typhoon family is an example of cooperation and an integrated approach to solving the problem of ensuring security in general and anti-mine resistance in particular. The leading developer of the protection of cars created by the automobile plant "Ural" is JSC "Research Institute of Steel". The development of the overall configuration and layout of the booths, functional modules, as well as energy absorbing seats was carried out by OAO Evrotechplast. To perform a numerical simulation of the impact of the explosion on the design of the car, specialists of Sarovsky Engineering Center LLC were involved.
The current approach to the formation of mine protection includes several stages. At the first stage, a numerical simulation of the impact of the explosion products on the draft design is performed. Next, the external configuration and the overall design of the bottom, mine pallets are clarified and their structure is worked out (the structures are also worked out first by numerical methods, and then tested on fragments by real undermining).
In fig. 7 provides examples of numerical modeling of the impact of an explosion on various structures of mine action structures made by NII Steel as part of work on new products. After completion of the detailed design of the machine, various options for its detonation are modeled.
In fig. 8 shows the results of numerical modeling of the Typhoon car explosion, performed by Sarov Engineering Center LLC. According to the results of the calculations, necessary improvements are made, the results of which are already being verified by real tests for demolition. Such multistage allows to evaluate the correctness of technical solutions at various stages of design and, in general, reduce the risk of constructive errors, as well as choose the most rational solution.
A common feature of the modern armored vehicles being created is the modularity of most systems, including protective ones. This allows you to adapt new models of BTT to the intended conditions of use and, conversely, in the absence of any threats to avoid unwarranted
costs. With regard to mine protection, such modularity makes it possible to quickly respond to possible changes in the types and capacities of explosive devices used and effectively solve one of the main problems of protecting modern BTT with minimal costs.
Thus, the following conclusions can be made on the problem under consideration:
- one of the most serious threats to BTT in the most typical local conflicts today are mines and IEDs, which account for more than half of the losses of equipment;
- to ensure high mine action protection of the BTT, an integrated approach is needed, which includes both layout and design, "circuit" solutions, as well as the use of special equipment, in particular, energy-absorbing crew seats;
- BTT samples with high mine protection have already been created and are actively used in modern conflicts, which allows analyzing the experience of their combat use and identifying ways to further improve their design.
The significant expansion of the nomenclature and capabilities of the means of combatting BTT has made its vitality an essential condition for the accomplishment of the combat mission. Ensuring the vitality and (in a narrower sense) security of BTT is based on an integrated approach. There can be no universal means of protection against all possible modern threats, therefore various protection systems are installed on the BTT objects that complement each other. To date, dozens of designs, systems and protective systems have been created, ranging from traditional armor to active protection systems. Under these conditions, the formation of the optimal composition of complex protection is one of the most important tasks, the solution of which determines to a large extent the perfection of the machine being developed.
The solution to the task of integrating protective equipment is based on the analysis of potential threats in the intended conditions of use. And here it is necessary to return again to the fact that the nature of the hostilities and, consequently, the “representative anti-tank outfit” have changed dramatically.
comparing, say, with the Second World War. The most dangerous for BTT at the present time are two opposite (both in terms of technological level and methods of use) groups of tools - high-precision weapon (WTO), on the one hand, and means of close combat and mines - on the other. If the use of the WTO is typical for highly developed countries and, as a rule, leads to fairly quick results on the destruction of enemy BTT groups, then the widest use of mines, improvised explosive devices (SBU) and hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers from various armed formations is long-lasting. In this sense, the experience of US combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is very indicative. Considering such local conflicts as the most characteristic of modern conditions, it should be recognized that mines and melee weapons are the most dangerous for BTT.
The threats posed by mines and improvised explosive devices are well illustrated by generalized data on the losses of US vehicles in various armed conflicts (Table 1).
The analysis of the loss dynamics makes it possible to state unequivocally that the mine action component of the complex protection of BTT is especially relevant today. The provision of mine protection has become one of the main problems facing the developers of modern military machines.
To determine ways to ensure protection, first of all, the characteristics of the most likely threats should be assessed - the type and power of the mines and explosive devices used. Currently, a large number of effective anti-tank mines, differing, including, the principle of action, have been created. They can be equipped with push-type fuses and multi-channel sensors - magnetometric, seismic, acoustic, etc. The warhead can be either the simplest high-explosive or with striking elements of the “shock core” type, which have high armor-piercing ability.
The characteristics of the military conflicts in question do not imply that the enemy has “high-tech” mines. Experience shows that in most cases mines are used, and more often SBU, of a high-explosive action with radio-controlled or contact fuses. An example of an improvised explosive device with the simplest fuse of the push type is shown in fig. 1.
Table 1
Recently, in Iraq and Afghanistan, cases of the use of improvised explosive devices with striking elements of the “shock core” type have been recorded. The appearance of such devices is a response to the increased mine action protection of the BTT. Although, for understandable reasons, it is impossible to manufacture a high-quality and highly efficient cumulative assembly with “hand-made tools”, however, the armor-piercing ability of such SSUs is up to 40 mm of steel. This is quite enough for a reliable defeat of lightly armored vehicles.
The power of the used mines and SBU depends largely on the availability of certain explosives (BB), as well as on the possibilities of their laying. As a rule, IEDs are manufactured on the basis of industrial explosives, which at the same power have much greater weight and volume than “combat” explosives. The complexity of the hidden tab of such cumbersome IEDs limit their power. Data on the frequency of use of mines and IEDs with various trotyl equivalents, obtained as a result of summarizing the experience of US combat operations in recent years, are given in Table. 2.
Table 2
An analysis of the data presented shows that more than half of the explosive devices used in our time have TNT equivalents 6 — 8 kg. It is this range that should be considered the most probable and, therefore, the most dangerous.
From the point of view of the nature of the lesion, there are types of undermining under the bottom of the car and under the wheel (track). Typical examples of lesions in these cases are shown in Fig. 2. In case of explosions under the bottom, the integrity of the hull and the destruction of the crew are very likely both due to dynamic loads exceeding the maximum permissible and due to the impact of the shock wave and splinter flow. When explosions under the wheel, as a rule, the mobility of the machine is lost, but the main factor in the destruction of the crew are only dynamic loads.
Rice 1. Improvised explosive device with push type fuse
Approaches to the provision of mine protection of BTT are primarily determined by the requirements for the protection of the crew and only secondly by the requirements for maintaining the machine’s working capacity.
The preservation of the performance of internal equipment and, as a result, technical combat capability, can be achieved by reducing the impact loads on this equipment and its attachment points. Most
critical in this regard are the components and assemblies mounted on the bottom of the machine or within the maximum possible dynamic deflection of the bottom during undermining. The number of equipment attachment points to the bottom should be minimized as much as possible, and these nodes themselves should have energy-absorbing elements that reduce dynamic loads. In each case, the design of attachment points is original. At the same time, from the point of view of the bottom structure, to ensure the operability of the equipment, it is necessary to reduce the dynamic deflection (increase rigidity) and to ensure the maximum possible reduction of the dynamic loads transmitted to the attachment points of the internal equipment.
The preservation of the performance of the crew can be achieved under certain conditions.
The first condition is to minimize the dynamic loads transmitted during the blasting on the attachment points of the crew seats or the landing force. In the case of mounting the seats directly on the bottom of the machine, practically all the energy imparted to this bottom section will be transferred to their attachment points, therefore
extremely efficient energy-absorbing seat assemblies are required. It is important that providing protection at high power charge becomes doubtful.
When mounting seats to the sides or roof of the case, where the zone of local “explosive” deformations does not extend, the attachment nodes transmit only that part of the dynamic loads that apply to the body of the machine as a whole. Given the significant mass of combat vehicles, as well as the presence of such factors as suspension elasticity and partial energy absorption due to local deformation of the structure, the accelerations transmitted to the sides and the roof of the hull will be relatively small.
The second condition for the preservation of the crew’s working capacity is (as in the case of internal equipment) the exclusion of contact with the bottom at maximum dynamic deflection. This can be achieved purely constructively - by obtaining the necessary gap between the bottom and the floor of the habitable compartment. Increasing the rigidity of the bottom leads to a reduction in this necessary clearance. Thus, the performance of the crew is provided by special shock-absorbing seats fixed in places remote from the areas of possible application of explosive loads, as well as by excluding the contact of the crew with the bottom at maximum dynamic deflection.
An example of the integrated implementation of these approaches to the provision of mine protection is the relatively recent class of armored vehicles MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected - “protected from undermining and ambush attacks”), which have increased resistance to the effects of explosive devices and small arms fire (Fig. 3) .
Figure 2. Characters defeat armored vehicles under blasting under the bottom and under the wheel
It is necessary to pay tribute to the high efficiency shown by the USA, with which the development and supply of large quantities of similar machines to Iraq and Afghanistan were organized. This task was assigned to quite a large number of companies - Force Protection, BAE Systems, Armor Holdings, Oshkosh Trucks / Ceradyne, Navistar International, etc. This predetermined a significant differentiation of the MRAR fleet, but allowed them to be delivered in the required quantities in a short time.
The common features of the approach to providing mine protection on automobiles of these companies are the rational V-shaped form of the lower part of the hull, the increased strength of the bottom through the use of thick steel armor plates and the mandatory use of special energy-absorbing seats. Protection is provided only for the habitable module. Everything that is “outside”, including the engine compartment, either has no protection at all, or is poorly protected. This feature allows you to withstand the undermining
sufficiently powerful IEDs due to the easy destruction of the “outer” compartments and assemblies while minimizing the transmission of impact on the habitable module (Fig. 4); Similar solutions are being implemented on both heavy machines, for example, Ranger from Universal Engineering (Fig. 5), and on light , including IVECO 65E19WM. With obvious rationality in conditions of limited mass, this technical solution still does not provide high survivability and preservation of mobility with relatively weak explosive devices, as well as bullet shelling.
Fig. 3. MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) class armored cars have increased resistance to explosive devices and small arms fire
Fig. 4. The separation of the wheels, the power plant and outdoor equipment from the habitable compartment when the vehicle is blown up on a mine
Fig. 5. Heavy armored vehicles of the Ranger family of the Universal Engineering company
Fig. 6 The Typhoon family car with a high level of mine resistance
Simple and reliable, but not the most rational from the point of view of mass, is the use of steel plates to protect the bottom. Lighter bottom structures with energy absorbing elements (for example, hexagonal or rectangular tubular parts) are still very limited.
Cars of the “Typhoon” family (Fig. 6) developed in Russia also belong to the MRAP class. Practically all currently known technical solutions for ensuring mine protection are implemented in this family of vehicles:
- V-shaped bottom,
- multi-layer bottom of the habitable compartment, anti-mine pan,
- internal floor on elastic elements,
- crew location at the maximum possible distance from the most likely place of explosion,
- aggregates and systems protected from direct weapons impact,
- energy absorbing seats with seat belts and head restraints.
The work on the Typhoon family is an example of cooperation and an integrated approach to solving the problem of ensuring security in general and anti-mine resistance in particular. The leading developer of the protection of cars created by the automobile plant "Ural" is JSC "Research Institute of Steel". The development of the overall configuration and layout of the booths, functional modules, as well as energy absorbing seats was carried out by OAO Evrotechplast. To perform a numerical simulation of the impact of the explosion on the design of the car, specialists of Sarovsky Engineering Center LLC were involved.
The current approach to the formation of mine protection includes several stages. At the first stage, a numerical simulation of the impact of the explosion products on the draft design is performed. Next, the external configuration and the overall design of the bottom, mine pallets are clarified and their structure is worked out (the structures are also worked out first by numerical methods, and then tested on fragments by real undermining).
In fig. 7 provides examples of numerical modeling of the impact of an explosion on various structures of mine action structures made by NII Steel as part of work on new products. After completion of the detailed design of the machine, various options for its detonation are modeled.
In fig. 8 shows the results of numerical modeling of the Typhoon car explosion, performed by Sarov Engineering Center LLC. According to the results of the calculations, necessary improvements are made, the results of which are already being verified by real tests for demolition. Such multistage allows to evaluate the correctness of technical solutions at various stages of design and, in general, reduce the risk of constructive errors, as well as choose the most rational solution.
Fig. 7 Pictures of the deformed state of various protective structures in the numerical simulation of the impact of an explosion
Fig. 8 Picture of the pressure distribution in the numerical simulation of the explosion of the car "Typhoon"
A common feature of the modern armored vehicles being created is the modularity of most systems, including protective ones. This allows you to adapt new models of BTT to the intended conditions of use and, conversely, in the absence of any threats to avoid unwarranted
costs. With regard to mine protection, such modularity makes it possible to quickly respond to possible changes in the types and capacities of explosive devices used and effectively solve one of the main problems of protecting modern BTT with minimal costs.
Thus, the following conclusions can be made on the problem under consideration:
- one of the most serious threats to BTT in the most typical local conflicts today are mines and IEDs, which account for more than half of the losses of equipment;
- to ensure high mine action protection of the BTT, an integrated approach is needed, which includes both layout and design, "circuit" solutions, as well as the use of special equipment, in particular, energy-absorbing crew seats;
- BTT samples with high mine protection have already been created and are actively used in modern conflicts, which allows analyzing the experience of their combat use and identifying ways to further improve their design.
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