Military tanks have traditionally been very heavily armoured and therefore limited to a maximum speed of about 35mph.
Today’s invention is a tank which is soft-skinned and thus light enough to move very fast and not require enormous tracks.
Instead of an overall coat of plating, the main gun carries a multi-layer composite shield.
Sensors on the vehicle detect incoming missiles (as currently happens with systems like this) and direct the gun turret to spin around so that the shield can be powered outwards along the barrel in time to act as an offset-detonation ‘skirt’.
This movement might best be generated by using railgun-type magnetic coils attached to the outside of the barrel.
The turret might accommodate two barrels and shields in order to provide better coverage for the entire vehicle.
Make it symmetrical so that you have a shield at each side
+ less movement needed
+ shield may be smaller
+ faster positioning
+ better balance
2 cents đŸ˜‰
Rob
Thanks Rob, as ever, your 2 cents is worth a lot more.
I was thinking that I wanted a very heavy shield close to the turret that could spin around with relatively low moment of inertia, ie fast, and only then be powered outwards to detonate incoming missiles. I’m sure there is an optimal solution and operating procedure somewhere between our two solutions. Just so long as I don’t have to test drive it!