On the modern battlefield, the threat posed by swarms of drones and precision guided weapons poses a huge challenge to the survival and safety of armored vehicles. Recently, the US Army spent $107.8 million to upgrade over 380 active armored vehicles with the new generation of integrated defense systems. This system integrates active defense, signal management, and top reinforcement armor technologies, mainly to deal with unmanned aerial vehicles and precision guided weapons that may appear on the battlefield, and improve the survivability of armored vehicles. Armored defense technology evolution: Armored vehicles refer to tracked or wheeled military vehicles with armored protection, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored command vehicles, and other types. Since the deployment of troops during World War II, armored vehicles have played an important role in covering infantry, transporting supplies, and attacking positions with their strong protective capabilities. For a long time after the end of World War II, the survival of armored vehicles relied almost entirely on the thickness of their armor, and their defense concept can be summarized as "using thickness to overcome rigidity", mainly resisting direct attacks from large caliber armor piercing shells and anti tank missiles in the horizontal direction. For this reason, designers continuously increase the thickness of armor or use inclined armor to achieve equivalent thickness. The front armor of heavy tanks during World War II was as thick as 102 millimeters, which is a concentrated embodiment of this design concept. During the Cold War, as the power of anti tank weapons continued to upgrade, the marginal benefits brought by the "thickening" of armored vehicles decreased, and the weight of armor became a huge burden. In this context, the development of armor technology has shifted towards "material composite, lighter and harder", giving birth to composite armor. Composite armor is a new type of armor composed of metal (such as steel, titanium alloy) and non-metal materials (such as ceramics, Kevlar fibers) in a specific structure. It mainly utilizes the differences in physical properties of different materials to achieve bulletproof effect by consuming or deflecting impact energy layer by layer during projectile penetration. In recent years, the large-scale use of drones and precision guided weapons has completely changed the form of battlefield threats. Drones can hover, dive, and launch attacks on ground armored vehicles from any angle; Precision guided weapons use lasers, infrared radiation, or radar to pinpoint weak areas of armored vehicles and carry out precise strikes. Faced with these threats, traditional armored defense technologies are almost powerless to cope. Armor defense technology is no longer limited to armor itself, but is beginning to develop towards diversification and systematization to adapt to the changes in modern battlefields. In the modern battlefield dominated by drones and precision guided weapons, armored vehicles rely on four major "defense shields" to respond to threats. Proactively warn and intercept. Active early warning and interception technology uses high-precision radar, photoelectric/infrared sensors, and laser warning devices to form a 24/7, omnidirectional monitoring network, which can detect and track incoming threats in real time. Once the target is confirmed, the system can automatically make a decision within milliseconds to launch interception or jamming missiles for interception or deception. The Israeli "spoils of war" active defense system is a representative of this technology. Statistics show that the success rate of the system's actual interception exceeds 90%. This system is capable of soft/hard damage to incoming targets in the air and is the main means of improving the survivability of armored vehicles. Traditional defense upgrade. As the defense foundation of armored vehicles, traditional armor defense technology has never stopped developing. Taking composite armor as an example, modern composite armor combines advanced ceramics, lightweight high-strength alloys, and nanomaterials, possessing stronger resistance to bullets and explosions. In addition, the emergence of bulletproof coatings and explosive reactive armor has become an important supplement to traditional armor defense technology. The bulletproof coating utilizes the toughness and difficulty of penetration of the coating to "bounce" incoming shells; Explosive reactive armor disrupts incoming missiles by detonating inert explosives on the armor. The advantages of traditional armor defense technology are high reliability, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and no need for complex maintenance, which can function normally even in electromagnetic interference environments. Signal shielding stealth. Drones and precision guided weapons search for and capture targets through thermal signals (infrared), electromagnetic signals (radar), and optical features. Signal shielding stealth technology reduces the risk of being discovered and locked by the other party by hiding these signal features. The signal shielding stealth technologies adopted by modern armored vehicles include infrared stealth, radar stealth, visual/acoustic camouflage, and electronic signal management. Tests have shown that infantry fighting vehicles equipped with signal shielding stealth technology have a significantly reduced probability of being detected by thermal imaging devices at night. Vehicle roof protection. The lethal strike method for drones and precision guided weapons is the "top-down" strike. Drones can hover over armored vehicles to drop bombs, and precision guided weapons can maneuver through guidance during flight to strike the weakest armor roof. Vehicle top protection technology includes the installation of top armor, mesh protective structures, etc., which can effectively respond to the threat of "falling from the sky" and make up for the weaknesses of traditional defense. The complexity of modern battlefields requires the defense system of armored vehicles to have a high degree of adaptability. For example, signal stealth technology is crucial for long-distance maneuvering or covert infiltration in open areas; In urban street battles and encounters, active defense systems are the key to responding to drone or rocket attacks; Top protection is essential in areas where enemy air power is active. In high-intensity electronic warfare environments, the reliability and anti-interference ability of passive armor are the ultimate guarantee. In actual combat, a single defense method is difficult to deal with complex threats, and the combination of multiple defense technologies can enhance the comprehensive protection capability of armored vehicles. According to simulation data from the US military, armored vehicles equipped with comprehensive protection have a 50% higher survival rate on the battlefield compared to single protection vehicles. A typical protection combination includes: active warning interception combined with signal shielding stealth, top protection coordinated with passive armor. The former can reduce exposure risks while ensuring timely response to threats; The latter is capable of withstanding "top-down" attacks while ensuring the safety of the entire vehicle. It is worth noting that multiple defense technologies may bring compatibility issues during the fusion process. For example, the requirement for signal shielding stealth to reduce electromagnetic radiation conflicts with the strong detection signals emitted by active defense systems. Installing top protective armor will increase the radar signal of the armored vehicle, making it easier to expose. Under the modern "kill net" woven by drones and precision guided weapons, the survival of armored vehicles is no longer about competing for armor thickness, but a comprehensive, intelligent, and systematic transformation. The upgrade plan of the US Army is just a microcosm of the global armored defense technology upgrade. The core competitiveness of the next generation armored survival system will depend on whether technological breakthroughs can be achieved in terms of technological compatibility, weapon coordination, and multi-mode switching. This defense revolution, which concerns the survival of "iron armor", will profoundly affect the future form of land warfare in terms of its evolutionary trajectory and practical performance. (New Society)