PERFORMANCE MODES FOR MULTI-STAGE WARHEAD SYSTEMS

ADVANCES IN ARMOR TECHNOLOGY HAVE PROGRESSED BEYOND THE PERFORMANCE OF CURRENT CHEMICAL ENERGY WEAPONS SYSTEMS. SYSTEMS INCORPORATING TANDEM WARHEADS HAVE SHOWN PROMISE IN DEFEATING PROPOSED ARMOR THREATS. THE KEY TO A TANDEM WARHEAD SYSTEM'S PERFORMANCE IS THE FRONT STAGE. SUCCESSFUL FRONT STAGE DESIGNS WILL SOFTEN THE TARGET, ALLOWING THE REAR STAGE TO PENETRATE DEEP INTO THE TARGET. FRONT STAGE DESIGN UTILIZING A HIGH VELOCITY JET CONCEPT HAS SHOWN SUCCESS. COPPER HAS BEEN THE PRIMARY MATERIAL USED IN DESIGNS TO DATA. ALTERNATE MATERIALS WITH HIGH DENSITY AND HIGH SOUND SPEED WOULD BE DESIRABLE. MOLYBDENUM, WITH A DENSITY OF 10.3 G/CM3 AND A SOUND SPEED OF 5.124 KM/S, IS IDEAL. MOLYBDENUM DESIGN HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED WITH A TIP VELOCITY NEAR 12.0 K/S. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL INVESTIGATE THE USE OF MOLYBDENUM AS THE LINEAR MATERIAL FOR A FRONT STAGE WARHEAD IN A TANDEM SYSTEM.