Patent ID: 8020483

Claim:
A reactive armor module for protecting a target from an incoming projectile, comprising: at least one armor cassette comprising a front base plate, a rear base plate, and at least one layer of energetic material sandwiched therebetween, said front base plate and said rear base plate configured, upon impact of said projectile with said energetic material, to be propelled in opposite directions; at least one substantially solid, non-energetic auxiliary plate facing said at least one armor cassette and being positioned essentially along the expected trajectory of either said front or said rear base plate, and spaced apart from both said at least one armor cassette and from said target, said at least one non-energetic auxiliary plate configured such that when said front or rear base plate is propelled towards said at least one non- energetic auxiliary plate, the velocity of said base plate is reduced upon collision with said at least one non-energetic auxiliary plate; and a casing holding said at least one armor cassette and said at least one non-energetic auxiliary plate, said casing having at least an external wall, positioned externally of both said at least one armor cassette and said at least one non-energetic auxiliary plate, so that said incoming projectile impacts said external wall prior to either of said at least one armor cassette and said at least one non-energetic auxiliary plate, wherein said at least one non-energetic auxiliary plate is configured for displacement along said trajectory with the propelled base plate with which collision took place, at a reduced velocity.