Hard kill solutions include
ARENA, TROPHY which actually falls include a special category as a "close in" hard kill solution. Soft Kill systems though normally paired with hard kill solutions (Example here are the ABRAMS that rely on soft kill plus, smoke grenades and the advanced DU armor package.) act very similar to
ECM on the advanced jets of the last 20 years or so, about when these systems first became available. These in some cases will automatically launch smoke grenades. Hard kill ones have been around a little longer as ref one touches with a system put on the
T-55. It should be noted in the "real world" the tank turret will automatically be slewed in the direction of the threat to point the most protected part of the turret to the threat, launch countermeasures (grenades, chaff etc.) and target and shoot at the aggressor while stationary or on the move.
https://www.benning.army.mil/magazin...996_3/pf03.pdf
Under this search with google atgw "soft kill" and "hard kill" solutions for armor protection look for the below...
Terms of Reference (TOR) - Under Secretary of Defense for ...
http://www.acq.osd.mil/mibp...Active..._CPP_Oct06.doc on first page 3rd or 4th one down.
Excerpt taken from ref. 2 above...
"Active Protection Systems (APSs) for Vehicles
Active protection systems are survivability concepts intended to provide protection to armored vehicles that equals or exceeds that of massive, passive armors at only a fraction of the vehicle weight. Conceptually, an APS can improve survivability by defeating incoming anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), RPGs, tank-fired high-explosive antitank missiles, tank-fired kinetic energy (KE) rounds, indirect fire — including bomblets and mortars, and guided top-attack threats. Vehicle armor must still provide protection against threats that cannot be addressed by the APS. These threats include small arms, mines and explosive fragments, including the residual shrapnel effects resulting from an active protection engagement.
The operational concept of active protection requires the application of advanced sensor, data processing, armor, and weapon technologies as an integrated system on the vehicle. Active protection system's components will include threat detection, tracking systems, signal processing systems, countermeasures systems and base armor, used for structural and residual threat defeat.
A variety of sensors including radar, IR and laser detection systems will be employed on board the vehicle to provide the capability of detecting and tracking multiple munition and directed-energy weapon threats. A typical sensor subsystem includes a threat warner, or cueing sensor, and a tracking sensor.
The threat warner identifies a threat and then, through data processing, hands it over to the tracking sensor. The tracking sensor then determines the incoming threat’s size, shape and vector. Signal and information processing technologies use the tracking data to enable the selection of countermeasures automatically or by the vehicle commander, calculate the firing solution and deploy the countermeasure.
The critical component of an APS is its countermeasure. Countermeasures include not only active protection but electronic devices, obscurants, decoys, and other technologies for hit and detection avoidance. Upon detection of a threat, the system enables the vehicle commander to select the most appropriate countermeasure or defensive tactics to avoid a hit (when engaging anti-tank missiles or threats at medium/long range). Or, the system automatically activates countermeasures, when necessary (primarily against high velocity missiles and kinetic energy threats or RPGs at short range.
The development of an enhanced commander's decision aid (CDA) is being pursued, for optimal utilization of the new defensive measures. Such systems will feed from the vehicle's sensors, as well as from off-board data sources, and will rapidly process the information, classify threats and recommend appropriate countermeasures.
Active Protection Systems commonly consist of an array of soft- and hard-kill techniques.
Soft-kill methods, similar to Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM) in aircraft, seduce and confuse an incoming missile, by using decoys, smoke and electro-optical signals, infrared or laser jamming."
Regards,
Pat
