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From: masticol@paul.rutgers.edu.UUCP
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk
Subject: War Games (was Future Police Speculations Needed)
Message-ID: <2039@sabbath.rutgers.edu>
Date: Wed, 4-Nov-87 01:24:47 EST
Article-I.D.: sabbath.2039
Posted: Wed Nov  4 01:24:47 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 6-Nov-87 20:38:11 EST
References: <1463@haddock.ISC.COM> <1824@trex.rutgers.edu> <23473AE4@PSUVMA> <7731@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP> <586@daisy.UUCP>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 23

In article <586@daisy.UUCP> david@daisy.UUCP (David Schachter) writes:

> However, what about non-passive 
> armor?  A gizmo which "sees" the incoming round and reacts, either to
> knock it down or to provide a counter-force, in between the bullet and
> the armor wearer?

The Israelis invented it, the Russians swiped it, and the Americans
steadfastly refuse to believe in it. It's called "reactive armor", and
it's intended to neutralize conventional antitank rounds. Most
armor-piercing missiles and ammunition work by vaporizing a shaped
charge of U-238 (used because of its high density, and because there's
little demand for it otherwise), which forms a directional plasma jet
and pierces armor on impact. Reactive armor consists of
chain-mail-like webbing, with each link bearing a tiny box full of
high explosive.  When an armor-piercing round strikes, the HE explodes
and disrupts the plasma jet, rendering the round ineffective.
Installation consists of draping it around a tank, or whatever.

Not a smart weapon, but very effective - it's rendered a couple of billion
dollars' worth of our hyperfancy hi-tec firecrackers worthless. The
Warsaw Pact has it installed on their tanks; the U.S. army is still
"evaluating."