ramming

Ramming is the act of deliberately driving or colliding with a target using a body or object with significant force. It can involve a physical ram, a weaponized tool, or a vehicle, and is observed in biological, historical, and modern contexts.

In animals, ramming describes head-to-head or horn-to-horn impacts used for dominance or defense, most notably among rams, goats, and other horned species.

In naval history, ramming referred to the tactic of striking an enemy ship with the ship’s prow, often equipped with a reinforced ram. Classical fleets such as the Greeks and later Romans employed rams to puncture hulls. The tactic declined with the advent of gunpowder and armor, and modern warships rarely rely on ramming, though some incidents and prototypes persisted into the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In contemporary times, vehicle-ramming attacks involve deliberate strikes by a person or vehicle to injure pedestrians or cause casualties. These acts are treated as assault or terrorism in many jurisdictions and prompt security and law-enforcement responses.

From a physics standpoint, the damage from ramming depends on momentum and energy transfer upon impact. Design measures in ships and vehicles aim to mitigate harm by absorbing energy and altering impact direction.