Deeply Buried Hardened Target Fuze

The purpose of this proposal is to assess the use of Micro Power Radar (MPR) to aid in the detection of voids during hard target penetration. Current smart fuzes use algorithms based on accelerometers output. This is problematic due to the mechanical noise introduced by impact, and the uncertain behavior demonstrated by penetrators under nearly identical test impacts. The addition of non-inertial sensors to the warhead could ameliorate the problems faced by current fuzes. Based on emitting and detecting very low amplitude and short voltage impulses, MPR has a sensitive window for accurately detecting reflections from boundaries between different materials. This should prove useful in detecting voids in targets. Beyond using MPR for smart fuzes, it could be applied to munitions testing or other impact testing in the commercial sector.