DE102022004232A1 - HPEM protected vehicle with hidden antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

In a vehicle (2), the vehicle (2) usually having at least one attachment (8) which is attached to its outer shell (10), with an HPEM system (16) which has at least one HPEM antenna (14) for emitting HPEM pulses (18), with at least one attachment dummy (12) which is modeled after the attachment (8) with the same external appearance and which contains or is at least one of the antennas (14), the dummy (12) is attached to the outer shell (10) of the vehicle (2) instead of the attachment (8) which is usually present or in addition to it.In a method for equipping a vehicle (2) with an HPEM system (16), the vehicle (2) usually having at least one attachment (8) which is attached to its outer shell (10), the HPEM system (16) having at least one HPEM antenna (14) for emitting HPEM pulses (18), at least one dummy attachment (12) is created which is modeled on the attachment (8) while maintaining the same external appearance and which contains or is at least one of the antennas (14), and the dummy (12) is attached to the outer shell (10) of the vehicle (2) instead of the usually present attachment (8) or in addition to it.

Description

The invention relates to a vehicle with an HPEM system (High Power Electromagnetics). The HPEM system contains an HPEM antenna for emitting HPEM pulses.

• Bestehende Konzepte zum Schutz von Fahrzeugen basieren auf Softkill-Lösungen (Stören, Jamming der angreifenden Objekt) mit Hilfe von HPEM oder Hardkill-Lösungen (Abwehr der Objekte mit Projektilen).

The following is known from practice regarding HPEM:

• Existing concepts for protecting vehicles are based on softkill solutions (jamming the attacking object) using HPEM or hardkill solutions (defending the objects with projectiles).

With the help of HPEM pulses, threats such as a drone attacking the vehicle can be fended off. With such a system, short-range and very close protection (NNbS) of the vehicle is possible.

The current solution consists in the subsequent installation of clearly visible HPEM antennas on the outer skin of the vehicle. Previous HPEM protection concepts against small drones (equipment of the vehicle with the HPEM system) therefore provide for clearly visible antennas on the vehicle shell.

The object of the present invention is to provide improvements with regard to vehicles with such HPEM systems.

The object is achieved by a vehicle according to patent claim 1. Preferred or advantageous embodiments of the invention and other categories of invention emerge from the further claims, the following description and the attached figures.

The invention is based on the fact that the vehicle usually has at least one attachment and that the attachment is attached to the outer shell of the vehicle. "Usually" is to be understood as follows: The invention assumes an existing vehicle or a corresponding vehicle type or a vehicle of this type which conventionally - i.e. without applying the invention to it - has a corresponding "conventional / usual" attachment, e.g. a fog canister. The "conventional / usual" attachment is also assumed to be known. The invention can then be used to convert an existing vehicle or to create a new vehicle that corresponds to the previous vehicle type.

The vehicle according to the invention contains an HPEM system. The HPEM system has at least one HPEM antenna. This is set up or serves to emit HPEM pulses.

The vehicle contains at least one dummy attachment. The dummy is a replica of the (known, usual) attachment. The dummy has a consistent external appearance in relation to the conventional/usual attachment. In other words, an observer cannot tell from external inspection that it is not the conventional attachment, but rather a replica in the form of the dummy. The conventional attachment and the dummy are therefore externally identical or have the same external appearance.

The dummy contains at least one of the antennas or the dummy is one of the antennas and therefore represents one. The dummy is attached to the outer shell of the vehicle instead of the normally present attachment or in addition to the normally present attachment.

"Instead of" is to be understood as meaning that other vehicles of the same vehicle type have the conventional attachment. However, a vehicle according to the invention does not contain this attachment, but instead the dummy. In other words, starting from a certain vehicle/type, at least one of the attachments is modified to become a dummy or, in addition to the conventional attachment, there is a dummy that appears the same on the vehicle.

The vehicle is in particular a land vehicle and/or a watercraft.

According to the invention, an HPEM protection concept/the HPEM system that provides this can be integrated particularly advantageously into a vehicle. The HPEM system or its antenna is not or only with difficulty visible from the outside. This can provide a tactical advantage.

In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle or vehicle type usually has several of the add-on parts. Only a part (i.e. one or more) of the add-on parts is replaced by one of the dummies. In particular, with respect to the conventional vehicle/vehicle type, the number of add-on parts remains the same, only one or more of the add-on parts are replaced by dummies with HPEM antennas. With respect to the vehicle/vehicle type, the vehicles equipped with HPEM antennas are therefore externally indistinguishable from those with only conventional add-on parts.

In a preferred embodiment, the HPEM system is a self-protection system for the vehicle. The system is in particular a system for short-range and very close protection. According to the invention, the vehicle is thus protected effectively and in a tactically advantageous manner.

In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle is a military vehicle. The invention can be used particularly effectively for such vehicles, in particular with regard to the tactical advantage.

In a preferred embodiment, the vehicle is an armored vehicle. In particular, this is a tank, e.g. a battle tank, in particular an MGCS (Main Ground Combat System). For armored vehicles, appropriate short-range and very close-range protection is particularly important, which is particularly advantageously implemented by the invention.

In a preferred embodiment, the dummy has a casing. The casing is made of a material that is permeable to the HPEM pulses. The antenna is located in particular inside the casing. However, the casing can also be part of the antenna. In this case, too, a suitable material is selected for this purpose. In particular, the material of the casing differs from the material of the usual attachment (the casing). However, if the usual material is already a suitable material, a corresponding material adaptation in the dummy does not need to take place. Thus, despite the presence of the dummy, the HPEM pulses can be emitted unhindered by the antenna.

In a preferred embodiment, the usual attachment part and thus also the dummy (since it cannot be distinguished) has a basic shape that corresponds to a basic shape of the antenna, in particular if the antenna is to be accommodated in a casing.

This basic shape is in particular a straight circular cylinder. This means that the antenna can be housed in a particularly space-efficient manner in the dummy/shell, which then has the same basic shape as the attachment. The "basic shape" does not necessarily mean the external appearance down to the last detail, but merely the basic geometric character of the attachment/dummy, such as a cylinder, cuboid, cube, triangle, pyramid, etc.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the attachment is a smoke grenade (smoke grenade, smoke grenade, smoke grenade) of a smoke grenade system (smoke grenade system) of the vehicle. Certain vehicles are usually fitted with a series of such smoke grenades, for example eight (four on the left, four on the right). According to the invention, two of the smoke grenades (one on the left, one on the right) can then be replaced by a dummy smoke grenade each in order to integrate the antennas of the HPEM system on both sides of the vehicle.

In a preferred embodiment, the antenna contains an HPEM resonator or the antenna is an HPEM resonator. Such resonators can be particularly well concealed in corresponding dummies.

In a preferred embodiment, the attachment is usually attached to the vehicle or corresponding vehicle type via a bracket. The dummy attachment is then also attached to the vehicle via the usual, unchanged bracket. Alternatively, the bracket is replaced by a dummy bracket and the dummy attachment is attached to the vehicle via the dummy bracket. The dummy bracket is then also modeled after the bracket while maintaining the same external appearance. In other words, an overall dummy is then formed that replicates the usual attachment and its usual bracket. The overall dummy can then also be integrated as a single component.

A supply line (power and/or signals) from the HPEM system (e.g. from a generator or a source/control) to the antenna is then formed by the bracket or its dummy bracket or runs in/inside the bracket or its dummy bracket. The supply line therefore runs from the inside of the vehicle to the antenna. This means that the supply line to the antenna can be integrated into the vehicle in a particularly unobtrusive manner or so that it is not visible from the outside.

The object of the invention is also achieved by a method according to claim 11. The method serves or is designed to equip a vehicle with an HPEM system. Both the corresponding vehicle and the HPEM system have already been explained above. In the method, the dummy of the attachment explained above is created by replicating the usual attachment. The dummy has also already been described above. The dummy is attached to the outer shell of the vehicle instead of the usual attachment or in addition to it.

The method and at least some of its possible embodiments as well as the respective advantages have already been explained in connection with the vehicle according to the invention.

In a preferred embodiment of the method, the fitting is carried out in the form of a conversion on an existing vehicle. In this case, at least one of the dummies is additionally attached to the vehicle. Alternatively or additionally, an existing attachment is removed from the vehicle and replaced with the dummy. The same optionally also applies to the above-mentioned optionally available brackets or dummy brackets.

The invention is based on the following findings, observations and considerations and also has the following preferred embodiments. These embodiments are sometimes referred to as "the invention" for the sake of simplicity. The embodiments can also contain parts or combinations of the above-mentioned embodiments or correspond to them and/or possibly also include embodiments not previously mentioned.

The invention is based on the idea of proposing an HPEM (High Power Electromagnetics) NNbS (short and very close range protection) as part of electromagnetic protection concepts for vehicles, for example for the future MGCS (Main Ground Combat System).

A basic idea of the invention is to integrate the antennas/resonators of a corresponding HPEM system into replicas (dummy) of the smoke canisters on the suspensions of the existing smoke system. This significantly simplifies the challenging placement and attachment of the necessary antennas.

The invention is based on the idea that additional space must be created to attach additional antennas to the outer skin of the vehicle. Due to the minimal remaining space budget on military vehicles, it is difficult to make space available. In addition, additional mounts must be integrated and it must be ensured that existing functions of the vehicle, e.g. the operational capability of the weapon system, are not impaired. Integrating the protection concept (of the antennas) into an existing system avoids the disadvantages of complex integration and thus reduces costs. In addition, the protection cannot be made visible from the outside, or can only be made visible with difficulty. A tactical advantage can be achieved by making the protection indistinguishable or barely distinguishable from conventional smoke bombs.

The invention offers the following advantages: The HPEM-NNbS protection concept can be easily integrated into all common military vehicles, as the smoke grenades are standardized across NATO. The system can be easily adapted to slightly different dimensions in standards outside the alliance. Due to decades of use of smoke grenade systems, there are assembly concepts for almost any military vehicle that can be used directly. This saves time and money and makes possible any possible expansion. In addition, the protection cannot be easily recognized from the outside, thus offering tactical advantages.

The invention is based on the following observation or consideration: The DS resonators known from practice or existing/currently common as a radiating element of the HPEM-NNbS protection concept can be adapted so that they can be concealed in the dimensions of a standard smoke canopy (i.e. in a dummy modeled on the standard smoke canopy). The outer shell of the smoke canopy (or its dummy) must be made of a non-conductive material to allow the radiated electromagnetic waves to pass through without being dampened. If a threat, such as an approaching small drone, is detected, the system is activated and electromagnetically disrupts or destroys the approaching object. This prevents landing on or at the vehicle and protects the vehicle against explosions by explosive charges attached to the drone.

Existing brackets or existing concepts of smoke grenade systems can be used for assembly. These are available for all common military vehicles. This eliminates the need for time-consuming and costly redesign and qualification.

The emitted electromagnetic fields are harmless in terms of personal safety and pose no direct danger to nearby personnel in the event of a false alarm. By integrating the system into the existing smoke grenade system, it can be made difficult to detect from the outside.

According to the invention, a resonator integrated into the fog pot is thus obtained.

According to the invention, for the short- and very short-range protection of military vehicles against small drones, conventional or known resonators manufactured as electromagnetic active agents can be integrated into the existing smoke canisters of the smoke grenade system and are thus indistinguishable from conventional smoke canisters from the outside.

• 1 einen Ausschnitt eines erfindungsgemäß ausgerüsteten Fahrzeugs in perspektivischer Ansicht,
• 2a die Attrappe aus 1 in symbolischer Seitenansicht,
• 2b einen Schnitt durch 2a,
• 3 ein Anbauteil und eine HPEM-Antenne in perspektivischer Ansicht.

Further features, effects and advantages of the invention emerge from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention and the attached figures. Each of these shows a schematic principle sketch:

• 1 a section of a vehicle equipped according to the invention in perspective view,
• 2a the dummy from 1 in symbolic side view,
• 2 B a cut through 2a ,
• 3 an attachment and an HPEM antenna in perspective view.

1 shows a section of a vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 is a military vehicle, here an armored vehicle, here a battle tank.

The vehicle 2 or the corresponding vehicle type usually has a smoke grenade system 4 as follows. This contains a total of eight smoke canisters 6, with four of the smoke canisters 6 arranged on the left side of the vehicle and four on the right side. 1 shows the four fog canisters 6a-d on the right side of the vehicle. Each of the fog canisters 6 forms an attachment 8 of the vehicle 2, which is attached to an outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2.

This in 1 The vehicle 2 shown was created in comparison to the vehicle 2 or vehicle type described above by converting a conventional corresponding vehicle 2. For this purpose, the add-on part 8 (no longer shown) in the form of the smoke canister 6c (therefore placed in brackets in the figure) was replaced by a dummy 12 of the add-on part 8, i.e. the smoke canister 6c. The vehicle 2 therefore usually has eight of the add-on parts 8, whereby only some of them, namely the smoke canister 6c and one of the smoke canisters 6 (not shown) on the other side of the vehicle, are replaced by one of the dummies 12 each.

The dummy 12 has a constant or unchanged external appearance compared to the replaced and the remaining add-on parts 8 or smoke canisters 6a, b and d, and is therefore optically reproduced on the outside.

The dummy 12 contains a (see 2 B) HPEM antenna 14. The HPEM antenna 14 is part of an HPEM system 16, which is not shown here in more detail and with which the vehicle 2 is equipped. The HPEM system 16 or antenna 14 is used to emit HPEM pulses 18, which are only symbolically indicated here in the form of arrows. The HPEM system 16 or pulses 18 provide short- and very close-range protection for the vehicle 2 by combating attacking, electromagnetically sensitive objects, such as small drones, with the HPEM pulses 18. The HPEM system 16 is therefore a self-protection system for the vehicle 2.

In the present case, the dummy 12 is attached to the outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2 instead of the usually present attachment 8 in the form of the smoke canister 6c. The remaining attachments 8 in the form of the smoke canisters 6a, b, d are present unchanged compared to other conventional vehicles 2.

Each of the smoke canisters 6 is attached to the vehicle 2 or its outer shell 10 via a bracket 20. The dummy 12, on the other hand, is attached to the outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2 via a dummy bracket 22. The dummy bracket 22 is - like the dummy 12 in relation to the attachment part 8 - also a replica of the bracket 20 with the same external appearance.

2a shows in symbolic representation the dummy 12 from 1 without the vehicle 2. The dummy 12 is externally, ie from the outside, indistinguishable from one of the other smoke canisters 6 or the usual smoke canisters 6 of the vehicle 2 or of vehicles of this type. It has the same dimensions and therefore standard dimensions and is therefore compatible with usual or existing mounts 20 on the vehicle 2 for the smoke canisters 6.

Due to its standard dimensions, the dummy 12 is also compatible with the existing brackets or usual brackets 20 or dummy brackets 22 on the vehicle 2, as shown in 2a is indicated. This allows the dummy 12 to be installed on the vehicle 2 at low cost.

2 B shows a section through 2a , i.e. through the dummy 12 and here also through the dummy holder 22. Here it can be seen that an HPEM resonator 24, here a DS resonator (damped sinusoidal), is hidden in the "fog pot" in the form of the dummy 12. The HPEM antenna 14 is designed here in the form of a resonator 24. "Hidden" because it is not visible from the outside, but appears as a "fog pot" thanks to the dummy 12. A line feed in the form of a supply line 26 to the HPEM antenna 14, which is only symbolically indicated here with dashed lines, runs inside the dummy holder 22. The supply line 26 forms a line feed from a pulse generator (not shown) installed inside the vehicle 2 to the HPEM antenna 14. This results in a design as a dislocated and synchronized system.

A casing 28 of the dummy 12 is made of a material that is permeable to the HPEM pulses 18, which differs from the usual material of the smoke canisters 6, namely metal.

3 shows the usual fog canister 6c, i.e. the attachment 8, which is mounted on the vehicle 2 in 1 was removed and replaced by the dummy 12. This and the dummy 12, not shown here, have a basic shape 30, here that of a right circular cylinder. 3 also shows the HPEM antenna 14 before it was installed in the dummy 12, in the form of the resonator 24. The antenna 14 also has the same basic shape 30 and can therefore be accommodated in the dummy 12 or its casing 28 in a particularly space-filling and effective or space-saving manner.

The vehicle from 1 was created as follows: When equipping the vehicle 2 with the HPEM system 16, the vehicle 2 is used as the starting point, which usually contains the add-on part 8 in the form of the smoke canister 6c, with the add-on part 8 being attached to the outer shell 10. The HPEM system 16 has the HPEM antenna 14 for emitting the HPEM pulses 18. The dummy add-on part 12 was created in the process. This is done in such a way that the dummy 12 is modeled after the add-on part 8 while maintaining the same external appearance, and the dummy 12 contains the antenna 14. The dummy 12 was then attached to the outer shell 10 of the vehicle 2 in place of the usually present add-on part 8 in the form of the smoke canister 10. For this purpose, the dummy 12 could either be inserted into the actually existing conventional holder 20 of the smoke canister 6c, in other words the original holder 20 of the smoke canister 6c could continue to be used. Alternatively, and in this case, the holder 20 was also replaced by the dummy holder 22.

Vehicle 2 from 1 can also be created by converting an existing vehicle 2. In this case, the actually existing smoke canister 6c, and if necessary also the bracket 20, are removed and replaced by the dummy 12, and if necessary also the dummy bracket 22.

List of reference symbols

2

vehicle

4

Smoke grenade system

6,6a-d

Fog pot

8th

Attachment

10

Outer shell (vehicle)

12

Dummy (attachment)

14

HPEM antenna

16

HPEM system

18

HPEM pulse

20

bracket

22

Mounting dummy

24

HPEM resonator

26

Supply line

28

Cover (dummy)

30

Basic form

Claims (12)

Vehicle (2), the vehicle (2) usually having at least one attachment (8) which is attached to its outer shell (10), - with an HPEM system (16) which has at least one HPEM antenna (14) for emitting HPEM pulses (18), - with at least one attachment dummy (12) which is modeled after the attachment (8) while maintaining the same external appearance and which contains or is at least one of the antennas (14), - the dummy (12) being attached to the outer shell (10) of the vehicle (2) instead of the attachment (8) which is usually present or in addition to it. Vehicle (2) to Claim 1 , characterized in that the vehicle (2) usually has several of the add-on parts (8), and only some of the add-on parts (8) are replaced by a dummy (12). Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the HPEM system (16) is a self-protection system for the vehicle (2). Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle (2) is a military vehicle. Vehicle (2) to Claim 4 , characterized in that the vehicle (2) is an armoured vehicle. Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a casing (28) of the dummy (12) is made of a material permeable to the HPEM pulses (18). Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment (8) and the dummy (12) have a basic shape (30) which corresponds to a basic shape (30) of the antenna (14). Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment (8) is a smoke pot (6,6a-d) of a smoke throwing system (4) of the vehicle (2). Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the antenna (14) contains or is an HPEM resonator (24). Vehicle (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment (8) is usually attached to the vehicle (2) via a holder (20), and the dummy (12) is also attached to the vehicle (2) via the holder (20) or a dummy holder (22) which is modeled on the holder (20) while maintaining the same external appearance, and a feed line (26) of the HPEM system (16) to the antenna (14) runs in the holder (20) or its dummy (22) or is formed by it. Method for equipping a vehicle (2) with an HPEM system (16), the vehicle (2) usually having at least one attachment (8) which is attached to its outer shell (10), the HPEM system (16) having at least one HPEM antenna (14) for emitting HPEM pulses (18), in which: - at least one attachment dummy (12) is created which is a replica of the attachment (8) with a constant external appearance and which contains or is at least one of the antennas (14), - the dummy (12) is attached to the outer shell (10) of the vehicle (2) instead of the attachment (8) which is usually present or in addition to it. Procedure according to Claim 11 , characterized in that the fitting out is carried out in the form of a conversion on an already existing vehicle (2), wherein at least one of the dummies (12) is additionally attached to the vehicle (2) and/or at least one originally present attachment part (8) is removed from the vehicle (2) and replaced by one of the dummies (12).

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