Stealth ground vehicle
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Czo%C5%82g_lekki_PL-01_%2801%29.jpg/220px-Czo%C5%82g_lekki_PL-01_%2801%29.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Tank%2C_Bovington_training_grounds%2C_Dorset_%282%29_-_geograph.org.uk_-_587794.jpg/300px-Tank%2C_Bovington_training_grounds%2C_Dorset_%282%29_-_geograph.org.uk_-_587794.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Gepanzertes_Transportkraftfahrzeug_%28GTK%29_Boxer_in_Zeithain.jpg/300px-Gepanzertes_Transportkraftfahrzeug_%28GTK%29_Boxer_in_Zeithain.jpg)
Ground vehicles usingstealth technologyhave come to fruition at various times in history.
The SwedishStridsvagn 103was designed with a low profile to decrease chances of being detected.
TheChieftainSID (Signature Integration Demonstrator) was a first British effort in stealth tank technology.[1][better source needed]
TheChallenger 2features a redesigned hull and turret offering lowerradar cross sectionover its predecessor.[2]More recently, the joint U.S./BritishFuture Scout Cavalry Systemconcept was experimented with and appeared in prototype form before being canceled.[3]Other vehicles, particularlyunmanned 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.
TheArmored Gun Systemprogram of the 1980s attempted to create a stealth vehicle.[4]One of the competitors, theStingray light tanklater became Thailand's light tank. TheM1A2 Abramswas also originally supposed to incorporate stealth.[5]The U.S.Future Combat Systems manned ground vehiclesfamily also incorporated a reduced cross section but was canceled in 2009.
GIATused anAMX-30to 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.[citation needed]
Active camouflage(seeAdaptiv) is a method of concealing ground vehicles from enemy infrared sensors. This system has been used on the SwedishCV90120-T Ghostprototype,[6]and the PolishPL-01derived 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]
TheGTK Boxerfeatures a gap between primary and adaptive armor that reduces infrared signature.[8]
References
[edit]- ^"UNIQUE ID 2137: CHIEFTAIN SID TANK".Preserved Tanks.Retrieved27 April2023.
- ^Spencer Tucker (2004)."5".Tanks: an illustrated history of their impact.Bloomsbury Academic. p. 182.ISBN1-57607-996-1.Retrieved10 August2010.
- ^"Future Scout and Cavalry System (FSCS) Tactical Reconnaissance Armoured Combat Equipment Requirement (TRACER) Armored Scout and Reconnaissance Vehicle (ASRV)".GlobalSecurity.org.Retrieved10 August2010.
- ^Freeman, Carl (5 April 1991)."The Army Needs a Strategic Armored Gun System--Now!"(PDF).
- ^Nick Nichols (May 1988).Tanks for Tomorrow - Popular Mechanics.
- ^Hjønnevåg, Steffen (28 August 2020)."Cv90120".Retrieved21 February2022.
- ^Watts, John; Rotti, Christian (6 August 2018)."Stealthier Tanks Are on the Way".Archived fromthe originalon 29 January 2022.
- ^Rolf Hilmes:Kampfpanzer Heute und Morgen. Bautechnologie der Kampfpanzer.Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart,ISBN978-3-613-02793-0,S. 329.