Knowra Vehicle armour Vehicle armour Vehicle armour is protective material and structure fitted to vehicles to resist bullets, shell fragments, mines, and other attacks. Its design balances protection against weight, space, and mobility.
Rolled homogeneous armour : A uniform steel plate produced by rolling and heat treatment, used as a baseline armour material. Its thickness and hardness provide a straightforward benchmark for comparing vehicle protection.
Main battle tank : A heavily armed and armoured tracked combat vehicle designed for direct engagement with enemy forces. Its armour is concentrated around the crew and fighting compartment while weight limits shape its design.
Active protection system : A system that detects and intercepts or disrupts incoming threats before they strike a vehicle. It supplements physical armour by engaging threats outside the vehicle's surface.
Landship : An early British term for the tracked armoured fighting vehicles developed during the First World War. The first tanks brought armour onto the battlefield as a means to cross defended ground.
Armour–mobility trade-off : The design compromise between a vehicle's protective mass and its speed, range, and terrain performance. Every increase in passive protection must be weighed against the vehicle's ability to move and operate.
Composite armour : Armour made from layers or combinations of different materials, such as ceramics, metals, and polymers. Layered materials can defeat threats that penetrate a single metal plate.
Infantry fighting vehicle : An armoured combat vehicle that transports infantry and supports them with weapons from or near the battlefield. It must protect both its crew and carried troops without the mass of a tank.
Vehicle camouflage : The use of colors, patterns, materials, or shapes to make a vehicle harder to detect or identify. Avoiding detection can prevent an attack rather than trying to survive its impact.
Mark I tank : The first tank used in combat, introduced by the British at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Its steel plating illustrates the early balance between protection, weight, and mechanical limits.
Ceramic armour : Armour that uses hard ceramic materials to fracture or erode penetrators, often backed by other materials. Its low mass and strong performance come with challenges in damage tolerance and repair.
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