Stealth ground vehicle

Ground vehicles using stealth technology have come to fruition at various times in history.

PL-01 stealth tank
The Challenger 2 incorporates stealth technology.
The GTK Boxer of the German Army incorporates visual, thermal and acoustic stealth technology.

The Swedish Stridsvagn 103 was designed with a low profile to decrease chances of being detected.

The Chieftain SID (Signature Integration Demonstrator) was a first British effort in stealth tank technology.[1]

The Challenger 2 features a redesigned hull and turret offering lower radar cross section over its predecessor.[2] More recently, the joint U.S./British Future Scout Cavalry System concept was experimented with and appeared in prototype form before being canceled.[3] Other vehicles, particularly unmanned ground vehicles, may unintentionally have an undetectably low radar signature due to their small size. Various coatings and radar absorbing layers of material are available for combat vehicles.

The Armored Gun System program of the 1980s attempted to create a stealth vehicle.[4] One of the competitors, the Stingray light tank later became Thailand's light tank. The M1A2 Abrams was also originally supposed to incorporate stealth.[5] The U.S. Future Combat Systems manned ground vehicles family also incorporated a reduced cross section but was canceled in 2009.

GIAT used an AMX-30 to create a prototype called the Démonstrateur Furtif Chenillé (Tracked Stealthy Demonstrator). Cold air is constantly pumped between the armor and the outer non-metallic skin layer to reduce infrared signature.

Active camouflage (see Adaptiv) is a method of concealing ground vehicles from enemy infrared sensors. This system has been used on the Swedish CV90120-T Ghost prototype,[6] and the Polish PL-01 derived from it.

Another way of reducing heat signature is replacing combustion engines with electric propulsion. SAIC and Lockheed Martin are developing the first U.S. electric tank prototype.[7]

The GTK Boxer features a gap between primary and adaptive armor that reduces infrared signature.[8]

References
  1. "UNIQUE ID 2137: CHIEFTAIN SID TANK". Preserved Tanks. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  2. Spencer Tucker (2004). "5". Tanks: an illustrated history of their impact. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 182. ISBN 1-57607-996-1. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  3. "Future Scout and Cavalry System (FSCS) Tactical Reconnaissance Armoured Combat Equipment Requirement (TRACER) Armored Scout and Reconnaissance Vehicle (ASRV)". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  4. Freeman, Carl (5 April 1991). "The Army Needs a Strategic Armored Gun System--Now!" (PDF).
  5. Nick Nichols (May 1988). Tanks for Tomorrow. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. Hjønnevåg, Steffen (28 August 2020). "Cv90120". Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  7. Watts, John; Rotti, Christian (6 August 2018). "Stealthier Tanks Are on the Way". Archived from the original on 29 January 2022.
  8. Rolf Hilmes: Kampfpanzer Heute und Morgen. Bautechnologie der Kampfpanzer. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-613-02793-0, S. 329.


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