Hard shell: to improve survivability armoured fighting vehicles will get heavier before they get lighter. The US Army's claim that its 70-tonne M1 Abrams is the 'most survivable main battle tank in the world' is being tested each day in Iraq. Yet the army has suffered more armoured vehicle losses in the continuing 'stabilisation' phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom than in the six-week 'combat' phase.

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Vehicles: aramour

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Hard shell: to improve survivability armoured fighting vehicles will get heavier before they get lighter. The US Army's claim that its 70-tonne M1 Abrams is the 'most survivable main battle tank in the world' is being tested each day in Iraq. Yet the army has suffered more armoured vehicle losses in the continuing 'stabilisation' phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom than in the six-week 'combat' phase.

The combination of lethality, mobility and protection provided by the M1 tank and M2/M3 Bradley fighting vehicle proved as decisive during the 2003 invasion of Iraq as it did during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm. Designed for classic armoured combat, these vehicles have the highest level of armour protection across the frontal arc. None of the 80 or so M1s 'knocked out' in Iraq has been penetrated through the frontal arc.

The threat to these and other coalition armoured fighting vehicles comes not from enemy tanks or sophisticated antitank missiles. The tactical initiative in Iraq is often with insurgents who choose when and where to strike. They use large improvised explosive devices (IED) and rocket propelled grenades (RPG) to attack the more vulnerable flanks and rear. Operations in former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Israel and Iraq have shown the need for all-round protection particularly when operating in urban environments.

Armour must offer protection against a range of threats, including medium and large-calibre kinetic energy rounds, shaped-charge warheads, explosively formed projectiles, high explosive squash head, shell fragments and small arms. All of these weapons are becoming more lethal.

The development of passive arm...

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