BAE comes to the defence of US Marines

BAE Systems is to develop new vehicle armour for the US Marines. The UK defence group has won a three-year contract from the US Office of Naval Research to look into how electromagnetic armour (EMA) can be combined with other armour technologies to protect the Marine Corps’ ground vehicles better.

Advanced armour protection for tanks and other combat vehicles is a key area of US military research, especially if new technologies can reduce the need to add weight. EMA has emerged as a promising technology for defending vehicles from attack by shapedcharge warheads such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

Shaped-charge weapons create a high-energy jet of copper or other metal at the point of detonation, the force of which is too great for all but the thickest armour plating to resist. EMA defends against shaped-charge projectiles by creating a powerful magnetic force that disrupts the particles within the deadly jet, dispersing its energy and reducing its ability to penetrate vehicles.