This invention relates to improvements in kinetic energy rod warheads.
Destroying missiles, aircraft, re-entry vehicles and other targets falls into three primary classifications: “hit-to-kill” vehicles, blast fragmentation warheads, and kinetic energy rod warheads.
“Hit-to-kill” vehicles are typically launched into a position proximate a re-entry vehicle or other target via a missile such as the Patriot, Trident or MX missile. The kill vehicle is navigable and designed to strike the re-entry vehicle to render it inoperable. Countermeasures, however, can be used to avoid the “hit-to-kill” vehicle. Moreover, biological warfare bomblets and chemical warfare submunition payloads are carried by some threats and one or more of these bomblets or chemical submunition payloads can survive and cause heavy casualties even if the “hit-to-kill” vehicle accurately strikes the target.
Blast fragmentation type warheads are designed to be carried by existing missiles. Blast fragmentation type warheads, unlike “hit-to-kill” vehicles, are not navigable. Instead, when the missile carrier reaches a position close to an enemy missile or other target, a pre-made band of metal on the warhead is detonated and the pieces of metal are accelerated with high velocity and strike the target. The fragments, however, are not always effective at destroying the target and, again, biological bomblets and/or chemical submunition payloads survive and cause heavy casualties.
The textbook by the inventor hereof, R. Lloyd, “Conventional Warhead Systems Physics and Engineering Design,” Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics (AIAA) Book Series, Vol. 179, ISBN 1-56347-255-4, 1998, incorporated herein by this reference, provides additional details concerning “hit-to-kill” vehicles and blast fragmentation type warheads. Chapter 5 of that textbook, proposes a kinetic energy rod warhead.
The two primary advantages of a kinetic energy rod warheads is that 1) it does not rely on precise navigation as is the case with “hit-to-kill” vehicles and 2) it provides better penetration then blast fragmentation type warheads.
The primary components associated with a conventional kinetic energy rod warhead is a hull, or a housing, a single projectile core or bay in the hull including a number of individual lengthy cylindrical projectiles, and an explosive charge in the center of the projectiles. When the explosive charge is detonated, the projectiles are deployed to impinge upon a re-entry vehicle, missile or other target hopefully destroying it and all the submunitions such as biological warfare bomblets or chemical warfare submunition payloads it carries.
A center core explosive charge in conjunction with an aimable rod warhead may result in a complex design, may occupy an inordinate amount of space, and add mass to the warhead.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an aimable kinetic energy rod warhead with imploding charges for isotropic firing of penetrators.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a higher lethality kinetic energy rod warhead.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a kinetic energy warhead which deploys the penetrators in a circular or elliptical isotropic pattern to effectively destroy missiles, aircraft, re-entry vehicles and other targets.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a kinetic energy warhead which eliminates the need for a center core charge explosive.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a kinetic energy warhead which reduces the mass of the warhead.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a kinetic energy warhead which simplifies the design of the warhead.
It is a further object of this invention to provides such a kinetic energy warhead which reduces the amount of space required by the explosive charges.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a kinetic energy rod warhead with penetrators shapes which have a better chance of penetrating a target.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a kinetic energy rod warhead with penetrators shapes which can be packed more densely.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a kinetic energy rod warhead which has a better chance of destroying all of the bomblets and chemical submunition payloads of a target to thereby better prevent casualties.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a kinetic energy rod warhead which provides an isotropic patter of penetrators which make the warhead appear larger than it actually is.
This invention results from the realization that isotropic firing of the projectiles of a kinetic energy rod warhead can be affected by the inclusion of a core in the hull which includes a plurality of individual penetrators therein, explosive charge sections in the hull located about the core, and a detonator for each of the explosive charge sections which are detonated to implode the core creating shock waves which interact with the center of the core and result in rebound energy that deploys the penetrators in an isotropic elliptical or circular pattern about the axis of the warhead.
This invention features an isotropic kinetic energy rod warhead with imploding charge for isotropic firing of penetrators including a hull, a core in the hull, including a plurality of individual penetrators, explosive charge sections in the hull about the core, and a detonator for each explosive charge section arranged to implode the core and isotropically deploy the penetrators.
In one preferred embodiment, the kinetic energy rod warhead may include a shield between each explosive charge section. The isotropically deployed penetrators may form a circular isotropic pattern. The isotropically deployed penetrators may form an elliptical pattern. The penetrators may be tungsten rods. The hull may be the skin of a missile. The penetrators may be lengthy metallic members. The penetrators may be made of tungsten, titanium, or tantalum. The penetrators may have a cylindrical cross section. The penetrators may have a non-cylindrical cross section. The penetrators may have a star-shape cross section, a cruciform cross section, flat ends, a non-flat nose, a pointed nose, or a wedge-shaped nose. The detonators may be chip slappers.
This invention also features a method of isotropically deploying the penetrators of a kinetic energy rod warhead, the method including the steps of: disposing a plurality of individual penetrators in the core of a hull surrounded by explosive charge section, and detonating the charge sections to implode the core and isotropically deploy the penetrators.
In one preferred embodiment, all the charged sections may be detonated simultaneously to create a circular spray pattern of penetrators. In other designs, a select subset of opposing charge sections may be detonated simultaneously to create an elliptical spray pattern of penetrators.
Other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, in which:
Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Thus, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.
As discussed in the Background section above, “hit-to-kill” vehicles are typically launched into a position proximate a re-entry vehicle 10,
Turning to
The textbook by the inventor hereof, R. Lloyd, “Conventional Warhead Systems Physics and Engineering Design,” Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics (AIAA) Book Series, Vol. 179, ISBN 1-56347-255-4, 1998, incorporated herein by this reference, provides additional details concerning “hit-to-kill” vehicles and blast fragmentation type warheads. Chapter 5 of that textbook proposes a kinetic energy rod warhead.
One idea behind the subject invention is a warhead designed to deploy penetrators (rods or projectiles) in the trajectory path of a target by detonating various combinations of explosive charge sections located about the hull of a kinetic energy warhead to create an implosion effect which acts on the core section of the warhead with penetrators therein. The resulting rebound energy created from the implosion effect on the core section ejects the penetrators in an isotropic pattern about the axis of the warhead. The shape of the isotropic pattern of penetrators is determined by selecting which explosive charge sections are simultaneously detonated.
In one embodiment of this invention, kinetic energy warhead with imploding charges for isotropically firing projectiles 100,
As shown in
In the prior art, isotropic deployment was possible but only with an explosive charge disposed in the center of a single set of projectiles. That design, in some cases, was somewhat complex, resulted in the explosive charge occupying an inordinate amount of space adding mass to the kinetic energy rod warhead and also resulted in less projectiles and hence less lethality. This prior art design in conjunction with an aimable kinetic energy device also requires added detonators and logic.
A unique feature of warhead 100 with explosive charge sections 124-138 located about core 104 is that the need for a complex center core explosive charge is eliminated, hence simplifying the design of warhead 100. The overall mass of warhead 100 is thus reduced as is the amount of space required by the explosive charge sections, hence providing more space for projectiles 106 which increases the lethality of warhead 100.
In some engagements that have a very small miss distance the predictor fuze may not know the exact location to deploy the rods (e.g., projectiles). In accordance with the subject invention, warhead 100 is designed to implode or pinch the rods (projectiles 106) away from warhead 100 without the need to add additional hardware to achieve such deployment.
In another embodiment of the subject invention, kinetic energy rod warhead 100′,
Thus far, the penetrators (projectiles) have been shown to be lengthy cylindrical members but that is not a limitation of the subject invention. Non-cylindrical cross section penetrators (projectiles) may provide improved strength, weight, packaging efficiency, penetrability, and/or lethality. For example, penetrator 106′,
The penetrator (projectile) shapes disclosed herein have a better chance of penetrating a target and can be packed more densely. As such, the kinetic energy rod warhead of this invention has a better chance of destroying all of the bomblets and chemical submunition payloads of a target to thereby better prevent casualties.
The result of the kinetic energy rod warhead 100 with isotropically deployable projectiles, but lacking a large center explosive core, is a kinetic energy rod warhead design which is extremely versatile as discussed above. Further details concerning kinetic energy rod warheads and penetrators (projectiles) are disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/938,022 filed Aug. 23, 2001; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/162,498 filed Jun. 2, 2002; application Ser. No. 10/301,420 filed Nov. 21, 2002 entitled KINETIC ENERGY ROD WARHEAD WITH ISOTROPIC FIRING OF THE PROJECTILES; and application Ser. No. 10/301,302 filed Nov. 21, 2002 entitled TANDEM WARHEAD. See also the application filed on an even date herewith entitled KINETIC ENERGY ROD WARHEAD DEPLOYMENT SYSTEM by the same inventor. All of these applications are incorporated by reference herein.
The method of isotropically deploying the penetrators of a kinetic energy warhead of this invention includes the steps of: disposing a plurality of individual penetrators 106,
Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance with the invention. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having”, and “with” as used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively and are not limited to any physical interconnection. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application are not to be taken as the only possible embodiments.
Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims:
This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/406,828 filed Aug. 29, 2002. This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/938,022 filed Aug. 23, 2001. All of these applications are incorporated by reference herein.
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