As one of the workhorse helicopter assets of allied military’s around the world, the Chinook CH-47 and variants carry more cargo and soldiers into battle than any other flying aircraft. It is known as a “battlefield multiplier” and its importance to combat logistics cannot be overstated.
Despite this tactical importance, military analysts can also tell you that the Chinook is also one of the most vulnerable choppers in the US arsenal. In Afghanistan, more CH-47D helicopters have been shot down than any other single type of aircraft. In the words of one US Ranger, “CH-47D’s fly really high and slow with no evasive maneuvers. They’re a huge target up there, like a train coming in for a landing.”
The CH-47D is but an extreme example of the risks faced by all hovering aircraft in the battlefield. It is with this challenge in mind that CPI engineers conceived of their unique battlefield defense system dubbed the CPI ARC system
Active Rotating Countermeasure (ARC) System for Helicopter Defense.
Unlike other RPG defense systems currently under development (Israeli Trophy, Rheinmetall ADS, etc..) the CPI ARC system utilizes a continuously rotating munitions head capable of delivering multiple non-lethal munitions into the path of oncoming rockets. Unique to the system is the turret: a continuously rotating launch platform which can house a wide variety of munitions, each customized for the same or multiple threat defeat profiles.
For RPG defense the launch munitions include what is referred to as a Rocket Towed Barrier (RTB). The barrier is essentially a kevlar parachute which expands into the path of the rocket once launched. The effect of the parachute is to either deflect or explode the RPG, effectively rendering it non-lethal without the risks of damage to the aircraft or friendly forces nearby. Because the platform holds close to two dozen rounds and is continuously spinning, it can detect and launch multiple countermeasures defeating multiple threats.
It should be possible to detect and defeat threats more rapidly using the ARC system. This means threat defeat further from the aircraft instead of relying on armor to protect personelle from explosions that often occur within 1 meter or less of the vehicle as in the case of the Trophy system. Existing detection systems can be tied into ARC but since it is continuously spinning, there is no need for the extreme turret movement and inertial damping required by gun based systems. Software identifies the threat vector and launches the next available countermeasure on the spinning turret. Since the parachute covers a wide surface area, there is no need to “hit a bullet with a bullet”. Nor do we worry about the fratricidal potential of shotgun type munitions, though these could be used with the ARC system as well if deemed more appropriate for certain threats in certain tactical situations.
For More Information Contact CPI Today
CPI is actively looking for a partner with which to license and develop this technology. Please send all inquiries to Mac Stuhler at mac@cpi-nj.com
To read more about this patented technology please go to https://www.cpi-nj.com/rpg-defense-for-the-us-military/rpg-defense-system/
Original content posted on https://www.cpi-nj.com/blog/rpg-helicopter-defense/
According to sources with combat experience, the RPG is most typically a “100-yard weapon”. Adversaries know that to be effective, the RPG needs to be fired at close range. The RPG-7’s maximum flight velocity is around 300 meters per second, so assuming roughly 100 yards to target, it could take as little as 300 milliseconds from launch to impact. Given that any (aimed) active defensive system must detect the inbound threat, classify it, process a response, and aim and launch the countermeasure before the threat makes contact; a realistic system design goal would require the aiming mechanism to be capable of addressing a threat from any direction in 100 milliseconds or less. There is presently no traditional “gun and gimbal” turret system that can aim this rapidly.
For RPG defense, a continuously-rotating countermeasure aiming and launching system provides a much faster response than a traditional “gun and gimbal” turret system. Many active RPG countermeasures are self-propelled munitions. They do not require robust gun barrels for launch. They may be launched from short tubes that are little more than storage capsules. Self-propelled munitions also do not produce significant recoil. We propose a design of a fast aiming-and-launch system in the form of a rotating drum. This drum-shaped countermeasure launch container houses multiple munitions, each in a short launch tube, in an outwardly-facing circular array. The circular array lies on a plane perpendicular to the drum’s axis. Given that the launch tube is only about as long as the munition itself, this circular array could be realized in a drum-shaped launcher whose overall diameter is slightly larger than twice the length of an individual countermeasure round. Rotating the drum about its axis creates a situation in which any point, or multiple points, on a planar azimuth of rotation are continuously brought into the line of fire of the munitions in the array. Any point within a full 360 degrees can be targeted in the time that it takes to rotate the nearest-available munition (array element) to that point. In one example, 8 countermeasure munitions are arranged in the outward-facing 360 degree circular array with munitions spaced equally every 45 degrees. In this example the drum must rotate (at most) 45 degrees in order to bring the nearest munition to any point around a 360-degree azimuth. Depending upon the rotational speed of the drum, the time required to bring munitions to bear could be on the order of milliseconds. The preceding description provides a rotational turret capable of firing 8 countermeasures. However a drum-shaped launcher suggests the possibility of superposing (stacking) multiple arrays of countermeasures. So a single drum-type launcher is capable of firing 16 or more defensive munitions prior to reloading and would not potentially require a second instantiation of the turret for multiple threat detection.
Further calculations on a drum that rotates about as fast as a ceiling fan (300 RPM), show that a countermeasure could be delivered to any point on the azimuth in 25 milliseconds or less. This is roughly the amount of time that it takes an RPG to cover about 7 meters.
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