As the name suggests, underbody protection is used to protect the underbody of a vehicle. Especially in off-road use, this area is exposed to a lot of stress from the terrain and environmental conditions, i.e. water, snow, gravel, sand, wood and much more. In military operations, there are also dangers from mines or IEDs (improvised explosive devices). It is therefore important to ensure that the underbody protection, including the underride guard system, is as good as possible.
Underbody protection for special vehicles
An underbody protection system with underride protection is used to provide special protection for the underbody due to the high requirements in special vehicle construction. Underbody protection as part of the vehicle armoring for occupant protection usually consists of specially designed and precisely adapted protective plates or deflectors made of resistant materials for this purpose. These protect the underbody off-road, fend off projectiles and shrapnel that could penetrate the safety cell of the special vehicle in the event of a conflict and deflect the blast pressure around the vehicle. An underride protection system at the front of the vehicle combined with high ground clearance keeps many special military vehicles mobile even on steep inclines in mountainous terrain.
Of course, the underbody and the components installed underneath the vehicle also need to be protected when it comes to spray water, salt water, road salt and the like instead of booby traps. There are anti-corrosion waxes or other solutions for underbody protection, which usually consist of PVC, fillers, plasticizers and other substances. Older protective agents in particular also consist of bitumen. Mixtures for underbody protection are available in spray cans, in buckets or for use with guns and are sometimes applied evenly in several layers when the vehicle is jacked up. Such underbody protection with military approval remains intact even under high loads and thus also protects the technology outside of combat use.
