Development of Reactive Material-Based Munitions for POL Targets

The objective of this proposal is to develop a new class of munitions adaptable with hypersonic platforms to provide the Air Force with defeat mechanisms against petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) facilities along with maritime targets. Strategic POL targets include crude oil wells, pumping stations pipelines, storage facilities and refineries to name a few. Based on the teachings of previous wars on the importance of petroleum products in any nation’s civilian and military infrastructure, advanced military strategies hinge on the tactical defeat of these targets to paralyze our adversaries. While these operations can neutralize an opponent, the strategic stepwise neutralization POL targets with minimal collateral damage is critical to ensure local victory and warfare momentum. As POL and maritime targets are notoriously difficult due to their intrinsic nature, current long range strike weapons fail in efficiency. Based on judicious technology, our proposed weapon system will take advantage of high density and high strength reactive materials (RMs) with a high energy density to enhance target penetration performance and provide incendiary effects capable of exploiting the lower flammability of the POL. While initiating the combustion of these fuels remains challenging in scenarios where collateral effects must be controlled, RM-based systems can be tailored to deliver high sustained temperatures. The proposed structural reactive material (SRM) will consist of alloyed elements capable of participating in an energetic (exothermic) chemical reaction that will radically alter weapons effectiveness, providing a high-performance multi mission air-delivered weapon. These reactive materials have been shown to ignite diesel fuel, burn or deflagrate explosives, and over-pressurize missile airframes and structures.