Quick Kill
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(August 2010) |
| Quick Kill | |
|---|---|
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Raytheon[1] |
| Specifications | |
Quick Killis anactive protection system(APS) designed to destroy incominganti-tank missiles,rockets, and grenades. The Quick Kill system is designed and produced byRaytheonfor theU.S. Army.The Quick Kill system was part of theUnited States Army'sFuture Combat Systems.
Design
[edit]Quick Kill detects incomingRPGsand anti-tank missiles with anactive electronically scanned arrayradar. Once its speed, trajectory, and intercept point are computed, Quick Kill vertically launches a smallcountermeasuremissile. This kind of system is similar to the one that the Israeli Army uses for its ground forces. The system features two types of missiles: a smaller one for defense against close range weapons such as RPGs, and another, larger one to intercept longer range, faster anti-tank missiles or shells.[2]The countermeasure missile intercepts the incoming threat and destroys it with afocused blastwarhead. The Quick Kill missile has 360-degree capability and a reload capability, with each launcher typically containing 4 missiles. It can be used stationary or on the move with a wide range of vehicles fromarmored personnel carriersto airbornehelicopters.It is likely that theHumveeorJLTVwould not be suitable for the Quick Kill APS, due to the blast pressures generated when the incoming warhead detonates, which is likely to buckle lightly armored vehicles.[3]The system's vertical launch countermeasure is unique in its ability to engage threats fired from any angle or elevation, providing all weather, full 360-degree hemispherical vehicle and crew protection with each countermeasure. The system has demonstrated its ability to defeat multiple threat types by defeating two simultaneous threats.[4]Strengths of the Quick Kill include its reliable radar and interceptors that launch upward before diving, directing their blasts downward rather than sideways, reducing the chance of wounding accompanying troops; however, being basically a miniaturizedmissile defensesystem, the system is expensive and complex.[5]
Testing
[edit]On Feb 8, 2006, Raytheon issued a press release stating that their "Quick Kill System [was] the first active protection system (APS) to destroy a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) at close range, using a precision launched warhead with a focused blast "during live fire testing done the day before.[6]However, this was not the first time an Active Protection System (APS) successfully engaged an incoming munition. The SovietDrozd active protection systemwas equipped to Soviet tanks in the early 1980s, and saw significant use in theSoviet–Afghan Waron older model tanks. Later, during a 1995 special armor conference in Kubinka, a Soviet T-72 tank fitted with an updated version of APS (most likely theArena Active Protection System) protected against KONKURSATGMsandRPG-type weapons.[7]
Controversy
[edit]There was some controversy when the United StatesOffice of Force Transformation(OFT) planned to battle-test the more mature, but Israeli-madeTrophy active protection systemon severalStrykerarmored personnel carriers headed forIraqin early 2007. The effort was scuttled by the US Army in favor of waiting for the Quick Kill system to be developed.[8]In 2006–2007, theInstitute for Defense Analysisfound Quick Kill to be relatively immature and had significant development risks. Important components such as the radar were not yet fully developed and testing of the system as a whole was on hold while the warhead was redesigned. They also found Trophy, which uses a shotgun-like kill mechanism, to be the most mature of the 15 systems they analyzed.
Status
[edit]According to a U.S.Government Accountability Officereport issued June 8, 2007, the Army estimated that Quick Kill could be available for prototype delivery to current force vehicles in fiscal year 2009 and tested on anFCSvehicle in 2011.[9]Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, a top Army acquisition official, testified to Congress that Quick Kill would be ready to "hang on a vehicle in about 2008" and that the Army was already beginning to do integration work to put the system on theStryker;this was roughly the same time frame as Trophy. Sorenson also said they were concerned about Trophy's high weight, high power draw, lack of reload capability (which it now has), lack of 360 degree protection (also a problem that was taken care of), and higher probability ofcollateral damageto civilians. Raytheon reported May 22, 2007 that it had delivered its radar on time and on budget.Jane's Defence Weeklyreported on Oct 18, 2007 that the US Army had ordered design changes to the Quick Kill system after some rocket motors in an APS interceptor showed 'splittage' in recent testing that summer.
In December 2012, the Quick Kill active protection system defeated an extended set of threats, including one of the most lethal RPG threats by destroying it in mid-flight. The system used the same radar technology that warns Forward Operating Bases of incoming rocket and mortar attacks. The testing is in preparation for formal government evaluations in early 2013 to demonstrate the system's unique RPG-defeat capabilities.[4]
References
[edit]- ^"Raytheon: Active Protection System".
- ^"'Quick Kill' Active protection System to Protect Current, Future Combat Vehicles"Archived2009-01-22 at theWayback Machine,Defense Update, Online Defense Magazine. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ^“Active Protection” Speeds Up.,Defense Tech, Updated 2006-03-15. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ^abQuick Kill Active Protection System defeats one of the most lethal armor-piercing Rocket Propelled Grenades- Raytheon press release, January 9, 2013
- ^Missile Defense For Tanks: Raytheon Quick Kill Vs. Israeli Trophy- Breakingdefense, 9 March 2016
- ^"Raytheon's Quick Kill Achieves a First; Decimates 'Enemy' RPG in Test with Precision Launched Munition.",Raytheon Company (2006-02-08). Press release. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
- ^"Cold War Armor After Chechnya: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RUSSIAN T-80"[permanent dead link],Warford, Maj. James M., ARMOR magazine Nov-Dec, 1995 [PDF]. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
- ^"Experts contradict Pentagon on anti-RPG tests",Ciralsky, Adam; Myers, Lisa; and the NBC News Investigative Unit. Updated 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
- ^"Defense Acquisitions: Analysis of Processes Used to Evaluate Active Protection Systems",US Government Accountability Office Report [PDF], 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2010-10-13.