Anti-tank missile against armoured vehicles using countermeasures - a simulation study

A simulation study that evaluates the effect of multispectral waterfog as an obscuring countermeasure on an armored vehicle against the threat of an imaging IR guided anti-tank missile is presented. The model of the missile is based on data about the Javelin missile found in the open literature, other needed data were estimated. Missile simulations have been performed using both dynamically generated missile paths and ideal missile paths. The latter have been used for analyzing the sensitivity of the lock-on position. Some of the image sequences generated using ideal missile paths have also been used to investigate the target´s trackability. Simulations have been made using different height profiles for the missile path. For the different height profiles five different horizontal aspect angles have been used. The effects of the contrast of the multispectral waterfog and target movement have also been studied. The multispectral waterfog has not been optimized for the missile approach angle but the simulations show that it can still be effective against an imaging IR guided anti-tank missile. In addition to evaluating the effect of multispectral waterfog an evaluation method for the assessment of concealing or camouflaging measures are presented.