Small low-cost energetic components for the Miniature Kill Vehicle (MKV)

In this phase I SBIR program, Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. (ACR) proposes the development of an innovative manufacturing technique for combination of energetic materials that can be manufactured into lightweight, fine-featured structural components for the DACS systems to enhance the lethality of a miniature kill vehicle. The proposed technique will leverage ACR's experience with gel-casting slurries into fine-featured molds. ACR will blend energetic materials and cast components of different sizes suitable for the miniature kill vehicle designs. These parts will have a porosity of 20-30% with the porosity increasing to 40-50% after the binder burnout phase. This porosity will then be infiltrated with a low melting temperature metal providing structural strength. This reaction would increase the lethality of the miniature kill vehicles by at least 50-75%. The advantage of this approach is that any of the DACS that are not fired would contribute to the enhanced lethality that is being planned to be achieved with miniature DACS systems.