Problem: Besides up-armoring, how do you protect a Humvee from being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade?

Restrictions: You have until January,when limitless defense spending ends. Until then, none to speak of.

Result: A successful November launch of a missile that detects when you are about to be hit by an RPG, then pops out the top and races to blow the RPG up FIRST.

This is known as the Active Protection System, avoiding confusion with the older Passive Protection System, which was basically a guy on top yelling ‘INCOMING!’

Although I’m sure the nearby blast is less troubling for the occupants than the direct RPG hit, I can’t help but feel sorry for anyone near the side of the car - whoever is working the drive-thru window at Baghdad Taco Bell is probably not going to appreciate the active part of the Active Protection System. This is especially true if they trigger a false alarm by handing the driver a Fiesta Burrito with Fire sauce too quickly.

(In the video, watch as the RPG is launched from center foreground, little hard to see)