Addressing the issue of collateral damage caused by the structural design of explosive reactive armor (ERA) containers to close-combat units, this study combines simulation with experimental validation to focus on the damage intensity and range of ERA package side strips on target plates at different distances and positions during the defense against long-rod penetrators. Simulation analysis shows that the main collateral damage of the explosive reactive armor is the side strip of the cartridge flying in the normal direction of the target plate, and the fragmentation speed is about 760m/s. The experimental results show that collateral damage is relatively minor to the rear-side but concentrated primarily on the frontal-side. Under the action of explosion, the flight path of the side strip of the plate cartridge is stable, and the degree of collateral damage caused by it is the greatest. The flight path of the side strip is mainly in the range of the vertical scattering Angle of about 33° and the horizontal scattering Angle of about 31°. The distance attenuation of shock wave is much greater than the velocity attenuation of fragment, making debris the primary factor in collateral damage. The fragment speed range is 700m/s∼800m/s, the diameter (or length) of the penetrated hole is about 8mm∼20mm, and the fragment size is about 6mm∼10mm