DEVELOPMENT OF MULTI-FORMATION MODE SFF WARHEAD FOR ENHANCED ARMOR LETHALITY

CURRENT TOP-ATTACK ANTI-ARMOR MUNITIONS CONTAINING SELF-FORGINGFRAGMENT (SFF) WARHEADS ARE DEDICATED DESIGNS THAT ARE INTENDED TO DEFEAT A SPECIFIC TYPE OF TARGET AND ARE GENERALLY LESS EFFECTIVE AGAINST OTHER TARGETS. THUS ONE TYPE OF WARHEAD DESIGN IS PRESENTLY USED AGAINST HARD TARGETS, SUCH AS TANKS, AND A DIFFERENT TYPE IS USED AGAINST SOFT TARGETS, SUCH AS ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIERS OR TRUCKS. OUR PROPOSAL IS A NOVEL SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM WHICH WILL ENABLE A SINGLE WARHEAD, AND THEREFORE A SINGLE MUNITION, TO BE EFFECTIVE AGAINST A FULL RANGE OF TARGETS. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY FIRING A SINGLE WARHEAD IN DIFFERENT MODES AGAINST DIFFERENT TARGETS, POSSIBLY DEPENDENT ALSO ON STANDOFF. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN FUSING AND SENSOR TECHNOLOGY WILL PERMIT THE MUNITION TO ASSESS THE TYPE OF TARGET BEING ENGAGED AND ITS STANDOFF, AND TO SELECT THE APPROPRIATE FIRING MODE. BY GENERATING THE OPTIMUM PENETRATING SFF FOR EACH POSSIBLE TARGET-STANDOFF COMBINATION, LETHALITY IS INCREASED AND BEHIND ARMOR EFFECTS ARE MAXIMIZED. THE PROPOSED STUDY WILL 1) FURTHER DEVELOP AND EXPERIMENTALLY DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS NEW CONCEPT AND 2) ANALYZE THE INCREASE IN LETHALITY THAT THIS APPROACH SHOULD YIELD.