Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 45:00-45:26

Why explosive reactive armor is unattractive at sea

Explosive reactive armor offers protection on paper but creates an uncomfortable combination of explosive modules and persistent saltwater corrosion.

ArmourCorrosionExplosive Reactive ArmourShip Survivability
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Question

Should a modern battleship use explosive reactive armor to improve protection without excessive weight?

Short answer

No. Saltwater corrosion and large numbers of exposed explosive modules are a poor combination aboard a warship.

Notes

A viewer proposes combining nuclear power, composite protection, and explosive reactive armor to make a tough ship without excessive weight. The objection concerns the explosive reactive armor. Saltwater would continually expose its explosive components to a corrosive environment. That is the reason for rejecting this part of the proposal.