Armour evolves to match the changing threat: in an age where a guerrilla armed with a recoilless grenade launcher can despatch anything from a main battle tank to a truckload of infantry, William Shakespeare's words *Now thrive the armourers* have never been more true. Armour technologies are evolving to protect everything from the tank to the foot soldier.

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Armour technology

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Armour evolves to match the changing threat: in an age where a guerrilla armed with a recoilless grenade launcher can despatch anything from a main battle tank to a truckload of infantry, William Shakespeare's words *Now thrive the armourers* have never been more true. Armour technologies are evolving to protect everything from the tank to the foot soldier.

The traditional threat that drove the development of vehicle armour was the high-velocity, kinetic-energy projectile fired from enemy tank guns and the shaped-charge warheads fitted to anti-tank guided missiles and infantry-operated recoilless rifles and grenade launchers (RPG). However, combat experience in the counter-insurgency and peace enforcement operations that form most current military operations being conducted by armed forces has shown that armour-piercing bullets fired from rifles or machine guns have become a major threat to the lighter combat vehicles used for these roles, as have the ubiquitous improvised explosive device, or roadside bomb.

As a result, while much of the current developments in armour are aimed at protecting tanks and armoured personnel carriers, there is a growing focus on armour schemes ...

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