The Strategypage is a comprehensive summary of military news and affairs.
 News As History - November 22, 2009




New Strategy - Wargames at Discount Prices
1.Modern Air Power: War Over the Middle East
2.Commander: Napoleon at War
3.Close Combat: Watch am Rhein
4.Gallic Wars
5.Fast Action Battle: The Bulge

100+ Computer and Board games all with free shipping.
 
 
 
Military History | How To Make War | Wars Around the World Rules of Use
How to Behave on an Internet Forum
Photo Gallery Discussion Board
Sign In   Return to Topic Page
Subject: Missile Mystery
    10/31/2003 3:39:27 PM
The U.S. Army is not saying much about the "mystery projectile" that went through the side skirts and side armor of an M-1A1 tank last August 28th. Whatever it was just barely missed the tanks gunner (it went through the back of his seat and grazed part of his flak jacket) and put a pencil size hole nearly 50mm deep into the four inch thick armor on the other side of the tank. The damage may have been done by a projectile, not a shaped charge (which uses a jet of super-hot plasma to burn a hole in armor and put a quantity of plasma and molten metal inside the tank.) No known RPG would do that kind of damage. But some Western anti-tank rockets generate a different kind of plasma jet that might create the kind of damage done. A U.S. 25mm armor piercing shell (fired from the gun mounted on the M-2 Bradley armored vehicle) uses a small penetrator, but that penetrator is of depleted uranium, which burns like a flare once it is inside its target. One major unknown is the large number of portable anti-tank weapons (especially Russian and Chinese models) that have not been tested against the M-1 tank. It's not unusual for new weapons to have unpredictable effects once they are first used in combat. Until the army releases more information, if they have any, the mystery lingers.
 
Quote    Reply

Email Me When A New Comment Is Made
Show Only Poster Name and Title     Sort in Reverse Order Posted

Pages: 1 2
xinjiang    RE:DEW   11/9/2003 12:38:24 AM
I meant a magnetized projectile, not a ferrous one.
 
Quote    Reply

crna_zvezda    RE:pyroscopic DU   11/9/2003 3:07:07 AM
well if it is a chinese technology, ther are at least two problems. Russia and Nth. Korea. Both countries are currenly helping china on it's anti-western weapon programs. So maybe the surprises aren't over yet!
 
Quote    Reply

mrmeangenes    RE:Missile Mystery   11/9/2003 9:45:47 AM
My understanding ( from the not-always-reliable Marine Corps Times ) is that it was the latest model Russian RPG warhead ( which, of course, Iraq is not supposed to have been able to buy !)
 
Quote    Reply

   RE:Missile Mystery   11/9/2003 11:26:08 AM
It's not widely known but a South African arms dealer was caugth just prior to the Iraq conflict selling still unnamed weopon systems to Iraq. Subsiquently some of the captured RPG's shown on TV to have been captured by US forces are much more mordern than the typical rpg7 systems. The systems that were captured were more reminisant of LAW, ALCOTAN or the South African FT5. Has the US released any detail of the more mordern RPG systems they have captured?
 
Quote    Reply

crna_zvezda    RE:Missile Mystery   11/10/2003 9:22:42 AM
on the arms sales, please find the exact Un embargo list to support the fact that teh thermobaric PG-7 warhead sold wasn't allowed. Then if indeed the warhead was under embargo what is possible to do against one of the two only terminator states in this world? But i doubt it since the RPG is classified as a small arm.
 
Quote    Reply

sentinel28a    RE:Missile Mystery   11/10/2003 2:07:29 PM
Zvezda--what do you mean by "terminator states"? That made me think of California, but I'm sure that's not what you meant!
 
Quote    Reply
Pages: 1 2



StrategyWorld.com© 1998 - 2009StrategyWorld.com. All rights Reserved. StrategyWorld.com, StrategyPage.com, FYEO, For Your Eyes Only and Al Nofi's CIC are all trademarks of StrategyWorld.com Privacy Policy