Opto-pyrotechnics to protect armored vehicles

To protect light and heavy armored vehicles such as the VBCI infantry fighting vehicle against incoming threats such as RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenade) and anti-tank missiles, France launched the SHarK (System Hard Kill) program in 2008.

SHARK is an active protection system using pyrotechnic countermeasures triggered by opto-pyrotechnic devices. The system detects threats at very short range (less than 15 m) and creates an explosion at a distance of 3 meters from the vehicle, destroying the threat with a very short response time of 0.1 seconds.

SEDI-ATI has worked on the <stronghttps://www.sedi-ati.com/multimode-wavelength-division-multiplexers-en/>optical fiber part of such a system, and is able to supply and control the complete optical line, from coupling the laser into the optical fiber, to checking the integrity of the line. In fact, we design hermetic optical links that include multimode multiplexers and are terminated by free-standing connectors. Hermetic sealing prevents the propagation of explosions within the system. The multiplexer prevents inadvertent ignition of the pyrotechnic initiator, and the free-standing connector prevents high laser power from damaging the optical fiber output.

The SHARK system can be described as a kind of intelligent shield capable of destroying a rocket or missile in mid-air. At the heart of the system is a trigger: the opto-pyrotechnic initiator. The opto-pyrotechnic initiator comprises 3 elements:

• At the beginning of the chain: a laser activated by a threat detection system.
• At the end of the chain: the pyrotechnic initiator, which triggers an explosion to destroy enemy munitions.
• In between: the optical fiber through which the laser pulse will travel to activate the initiator.

The program was launched by the French DGA (Direction Générale pour l’Armement). The program was led by TDA, a subsidiary of the Thales Group, with contributions from IBD Deisenroth Engineering, the original developer of this countermeasure system. In 2016, the French government validated the SHARK concept through intensive trials. Today, such an active protection system is widely deployed on French armored vehicles operating in urban terrain, where threats are fired at close range and the risk to non-combatants is high.