A military patent filed 12 years ago but kept secret until now has been
unveiled by the German and British patent offices (DE 3715807 and GB 2329234).
The Franco-German Research Institute in Saint-Louis, France, designed a
protection system for tanks or helicopters that launches metal grids at incoming
shells or missiles to throw them off track. A patchwork of grids, each fitted
with coils, is mounted across the vehicle surface. Each grid is sandwiched
between coils of opposite polarity. When a shell or missile is detected by
radar, a high-voltage pulse from a battery creates opposing magnetic fields that
strongly repel the relevant grid, launching it to intercept the shell. Tests
showed that grids could intercept incoming missiles as far away as 100
metres.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Google shouldn’t be pressuring schools to use its AI
91ɫÇéƬ
Technology
Australia’s social media ban faces high court challenge
News
Technology
The nuclear waste repository in Finland designed to outlast modern civilisation
Features
Technology
How did the biggest crypto heist in history just happen?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles