Editing Shaped charge (section)

===Modern military===
{{Further|High-explosive anti-tank}}
[[File:Obus 501556 fh000021.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Sectioned [[high-explosive anti-tank]] round with the inner shaped charge visible]]

The common term in military terminology for shaped-charge [[warhead]]s is [[high-explosive anti-tank]] (HEAT) warhead. HEAT warheads are frequently used in [[anti-tank guided missile]]s, unguided [[rocket]]s, gun-fired projectiles (both spun ([[Spin-stabilisation|spin stabilized]]) and unspun), [[rifle grenade]]s, [[land mine]]s, [[bomblet]]s, [[torpedo]]es, and various other weapons.

====Protection====
During [[World War II]], the precision of the charge's construction and its detonation mode were both inferior to modern warheads. This lower precision caused the jet to curve and to break up at an earlier time and hence at a shorter distance. The resulting dispersion decreased the penetration depth for a given cone diameter and also shortened the optimum standoff distance. Since the charges were less effective at larger standoffs, [[spaced armour|side and turret skirts]] (known as ''Schürzen'') fitted to some German tanks to protect against ordinary [[anti-tank rifle]]s<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q7rrMe15jhwC&q=when+was+schurzen+introduced%3F%3F&pg=PT15 |title=Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.G, H and J 1942–45 |author1=Hilary L. Doyle |author2=Thomas L. Jentz |author3=Tony Bryan |date=2001-11-25 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |name-list-style=amp |isbn=9781841761831 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> were fortuitously found to give the jet room to disperse and hence also reduce HEAT penetration.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

The use of add-on [[spaced armor]] skirts on armored vehicles may have the opposite effect and actually ''increase'' the penetration of some shaped-charge warheads. Due to constraints in the length of the projectile/missile, the built-in stand-off on many warheads is less than the optimum distance. In such cases, the skirting effectively increases the distance between the armor and the target, and the warhead detonates closer to its optimum standoff.<ref>WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH, D-69451 Weinheim (1999) - Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics 24 - Effectiveness Factors for Explosive Reactive Armour Systems - page 71</ref> Skirting should not be confused with [[cage armor]] which is primarily used to damage the fusing system of [[RPG-7]] projectiles, but can also cause a HEAT projectile to pitch up or down on impact, lengthening the penetration path for the shaped charge's penetration stream. If the nose probe strikes one of the cage armor slats, the warhead will function as normal.