Focusing a Thermobaric/High Explosive Blast Wave

The current weapon-fired breaching system is effective but is also bulky and expensive. A 40-mm, XM-320-compatible munition that focuses the blast over a 2 to 3-ft diameter area is needed, to breach doors and windows found in typical, non-hardened, civilian-type construction located in Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) settings. The munition must be effective and safe when deployed from a reasonable standoff distance, which is defined to be 15 to 40-m. Collateral damage must be minimized. To develop this munition, Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC), in collaboration with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), proposes a systems engineering approach, drawing upon our expertise with explosives, the use of explosives for breaching of civilian construction, computational design and modeling of novel explosive configurations, and experimental evaluation of explosives. We will devise and evaluate innovative approaches for shaping the blast wave, by considering the interaction of the explosive charge, the munition’s geometry and flight characteristics, the material used for the munition’s wall and base, and the standoff.