Cage armor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cage armor also known as bar armor, slat armor, and standoff armor is a type of armor designed to protect against anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attacks. It functions by placing a rigid barrier around the vehicle which causes the shaped charge warhead, which uses a shaped explosion rather than kinetic energy, to explode at a relatively safe distance.[1] It can be defeated by tandem-charge designs such as the RPG-27 and RPG-29.[2]
[edit] Combat
In the Vietnam war, it was commonly used on the sides of patrol barges and boats. The CCB-18 is a surviving example of the Mobile Riverine Force which used such armor.[3] Wire fencing was also placed on vehicles such as the M113 to defeat RPGs. In modern times, this type of armor has seen use on the IDF Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer, the Force Protection Buffalo MPV MRAP Category III vehicle as well as the General Dynamics Stryker and the Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle,[4][1] M113 and the Leopard 2A6 main battle tank.[5] Advantages of cage armor over traditional plate armor include much lighter weight and maneuverability.[1] BAE has developed an extremely lightweight aluminium system called the LROD, already in use on the Buffalo MPV, which claims to weigh half the amount of comparable steel designs.[4] BAE has equipped several US Army RG-31s with a variant of the system which is a lightweight aluminum version called L-Rod™ and is developing the system for its RG-33 vehicles, the Caiman, and the JERRV. L-Rod™ is also the standard RPG solution for the Buffalo vehicles in the field.
