CUTTER CHARGE WARHEAD FOR DEFEAT OF REACTIVE ARMOR

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ARMOR TECHNOLOGY AND THE INTRODUCTION OF EFFECTIVE APPLIQUES HAVE GREATLY INCREASED THE DIFFICULTY OF MUNITION DESIGN. WARHEADS CAPABLE OF DEFEATING THESE ADVANCED ARMORS MUST BE DEVELOPED. IMPROVEMENTS IN UNITARY WARHEADS, SUCH AS INCREASING THE DENSITY OF THE LINER IN A SHAPED-CHARGE DEVICE, ARE CURRENTLY BEING RESEARCHED. TWO-STAGE CONCEPTS RECENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION MAY ALSO OFFER IMPROVEMENTS IN PERFORMANCE, BUT ARE NOT EASILY INCORPORATED INTO A MISSILE SYSTEM. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF A CUTTER CHARGE WARHEAD CONCEPT THAT WILL GREATLY INCREASE THE CAPABILITY OF A HIGHEXPLOSIVE WARHEAD TO DEFEAT MODERN ARMORS WITHOUT INCREASING SYSTEM COST OR COMPLEXITY. THE CUTTER CHARGE IS A SIMPLIFIED TWO-STAGE WARHEAD THAT CONSISTS OF A MAIN WARHEAD WITH A LINEAR SHAPED-CHARGE CUTTER CHARGE DEVICE IN FRONT. THE CUTTER CHARGE OPENS A LARGE HOLE IN THE ARMOR PLATING OR APPLIQUE AND THE JET FROM THE MAIN CHARGE FOLLOWS THROUGH. DYNA EAST CORPORATION IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE CUTTER CHARGE WARHEAD CONCEPT.