Air bags defeat RPG's

Strategy Page:

A U.S. manufacturer is trying to interest the U.S. Army in a new RPG defense system. The Tactical RPG Airbag Protection System (TRAPS) uses a vehicle airbag system, coupled with a cheap, small radar and microprocessor. The radar can recognize the flight profile of an RPG (a rocket that travels at about 150 meters a second) and activate the airbag. The RPG warhead hits the airbag and usually bounces off without even exploding. If it does explode, there is much less damage to the vehicle, than if the warhead had hit the vehicle itself. Since most RPG warheads are armor piercing, this would make it possible to put just enough armor on vehicles to stop bullets, and use several TRAPS units to protect against RPGs. The manufacturer (Textron) wants to get some TRAPS units into a combat zone, so it can be seen how the equipment operates under combat (not test) conditions.

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This sounds like a pretty cool and innovative idea, particularly in a situation like Iraq where the enemy is so weak that it can only pop off a few rounds before fleeing. It has the further advantage of being much lighter than steel plate armor which means the vehicle can be more stable and will need less fuel to operate.

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