out of me, and I'm not even a soldier. Jesus.
2007-05-01 10:20:40 · 13 answers · asked by TJ 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
It was on the BBC news the other day about Challenger tanks. I don't know what the US lads use, but the footage they had, showed the explosive penetrating the armour. Christ!
2007-05-01 10:34:12 · update #1
If they can hit you.
If you've been watching those Haji vids with the Mujahidine, half of them are fake. Most of them you can see the vehicle keep driving. Then they leave the camera there showing all the trash they blew all of the road and make you want to think it's the truck. But if you look real closely, you can see the truck pulling out.
In reality, they are very poor. For every 200 they set off, they hit one vehicle. And for every 200 vehicles they hit, they slightly injure one person. For every 500 injuries they kill someone.
They are just bad and quite pathetic, to tell you the truth. Even though the shaped charges can potentially be deadly, if they don't hit you directly with them, then you're fine.
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Challenger is #2 next to the American M1 Abrams Tank.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzbllpi7A0E
They get all excited about making people in the tank mad. Notice how they kinda just make the armor move on it then it keeps going?
lol
2007-05-01 10:29:18 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋
Shape charges are nothing new, the MOD has known about them for many years but have not done a lot about protecting out boys.
In the second world war the Germans identified a potential problem with magnetic shape charges and as a result fitted most of there battle tanks with a type of concrete that prevented the magnets from working.
The Israeli army have taken the old Challenger tank and turned it round 180 degrees so that the engine sits at the front of the tank to offer additional protection to the crew from frontal attack.
It is not a major project in the big scope of things to up armour all the front line mobile vehicles to offer additional protection, but the UK government does not want to spend the money.
The current main battle tanks have very expensive high tech armour that can offer enhanced protection but it is limited due to high cost.
The South African army identified a major problem with land mines many years ago and designed all there armoured personnel carriers/lorries etc in such a way as to offer maximum protection to the crew.
In short the MOD did not develop equipment that is fit for purpose and they have buried there head in the ground over the unnecessary loss of life that has resulted from this.
2007-05-02 04:51:38 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Shaped charges have been around for a long time. APFSDS (Armour-piercing fin-stabilised dispensing sabot) was probably the precursor, but I stand to correction if I am wrong. I've done reservist military service (weekend warrior) but I was a cook!
If you have the guts as a nation, these things can be overcome. Apartheid South Africa was plagued by mines laid by various adversaries, and they developed a superb range of mine-resistant vehicles such as the Casspir and Buffel. The UK should buy some of the SA surplus for issue to our troops.
I understand that SA has used its experience in this field to produce a new APC called the Nyala, that is state of the art in this respect. Has the US and UK ordered any?
But why bother with Iraq. The Iraqis don't want us, it is a lost war that should never have been started. The States that border Iraq are capable, militarily, of keeping their border integrity - indeed, the Turks will evince a most robust response. UK and US should pull out instanter. If we are that desperate for oil, Saudi Arabia has a few drops of the stuff.
2007-05-01 17:36:30 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Someone, possibly in Iran, is producing sophisticated shaped explosives. Such explosive devices cannot be manufactured by terrorists in the field and must therefore be coming from a 'factory', most likely in Iran.
The makers of the shaped explosive devices, know the weaknesses of the Challenger Tank and have come up with a 'bomb' which will blow a hole in the tank's armour.
All of this points to a highly organised and sophisticated bomb making factory. This factory may very well be located in Iran.
Find the factory and blow it up.
2007-05-02 02:26:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah, they are not as hard to knock up as they say, the I.R.A used to make them, and the main part is the copper plug that goes molten after detonation the heat almost instantaneously degrades the integrity of the armour, and the directional force punches the plug through. Scary stuff.
2007-05-01 17:29:11 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Australians have a new vehicle called the Bushmaster that has a water tank that fits under the vehicle to prevent land mine damage. When molten metal hits water, it cools very quickly. The water is also their drinking water.
http://www.army-technology.com/projects/bushmaster/
2007-05-01 17:54:12 · answer #6 · answered by gregory_dittman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its Basicaly an improvised claymoore. Not That hard to make and they have been around for quite a while now.
2007-05-01 18:30:00 · answer #7 · answered by britishsoldier 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the Challenger is also supposedly the best armored tank around
2007-05-01 17:36:42 · answer #8 · answered by Nick F 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Challenger is "the best" tank, yeah what ever.
2007-05-02 04:28:55 · answer #9 · answered by Pinkflower 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Shaped charges? What do ytou mean?
2007-05-01 17:27:52 · answer #10 · answered by Clutch 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋