BALLISTICALLY DELIVERED TARGET - ACTIVATED WEAPONS

THE PROPOSED STUDY HAS TWO OBJECTIVES: 1) DESIGN OF A NON-NUCLEAR, TARGET-ACTIVATED ANTI-MISSILE MUNITION OF MINIMUM COMPLEXITY IN BOTH ITS DESIGN AND OPERATION BUT WITH SUFFICIENT EFFECTIVENESS AND MINIMUM WEIGHT; AND 2) IDENTIFICATION OF THE CRITICAL TECHNICAL ISSUES WHOSE SOLUTIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE NEAR TERM, LOW RISK DEVELOPMENT OF A RELIABLE AND LOW COST WEAPON. THE STUDY WILL HAVE SIX SEGMENTS: 1) FORMULATION OF CANDIDATE DESIGNS, 2) KILL EVALUATION, 3) DOWNSELECTION OF CANDIDATE DESIGNS, 4) WEIGHT REDUCTION ANALYSES, 5) COUNTERMEASURE CONSIDERATIONS, AND 6) IDENTIFICATION OR CRITICAL TECHNICAL ISSUES. THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE EFFORT WILL BE IN SEGMENTS 1) AND 3). A NOVEL DESIGN OF A TARGET-ACTIVATED MUNITION FOR USE AGAINST IRBMS JUST LAUNCHED FROM CONCEALED MOBILE LAUNCHERS WILL SERVE AS A STARTING POINT FOR THE PROPOSED STUDY. IF SUCCESSFUL, THE STUDY COULD LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHLY VERSATILE, TARGETACTIVATED MUNITIONS WHICH 1) DEFEAT LAND-BASED MISSILES INDEPENDENT OF THE MEANS USED TO ASSURE THEIR PRE-LAUNCH SURVIVABILITY (E.G., MOBILITY AND SUPER HARD SILOS), AND 2) PIN DOWN ENEMY LAND-BASED BALLISTIC MISSILE DURING THE CRITICAL EARLY PORTION OF AN INVASION OF WESTERN EUROPE.