Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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WIDE AREA DISPERSAL WARIEAD
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention relates to a warhead designed to simultaneously address
multiple potential or actual threats.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are several scenarios where multiple potential or actual threats in a
given volume of space are to be targeted. Conventional hit-to-kill and other
missiles
and warheads cannot typically be used to address multiple threats or targets
in a given
volume of space. Background information regarding hit-to-kill and other
weapons is
disclosed in textbooks by the inventor hereof: "Conventional Warhead Systems
Physics and Engineering Design" (1998) and "Physics of Direct Hit and Near
Miss
Warhead Technology" (2001), both incorporated herein by this reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a warhead designed to
address multiple potential or actual threats simultaneously.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a warhead which can
be
used in conjunction with a conventional kill vehicle wherein the warhead is
deployed
first to address multiple potential threats and the kill vehicle is deployed
second to
target actual threats.
The subject invention results from the realization that by packaging a large
number of small munitions in a housing and designing an internal explosive
charge to
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have a conical shape, the munitions are deployed into a hemispherical dome
shaped
pattern to more comprehensively address multiple potential or actual threats.
The subject invention, however, in other embodiments, need not achieve all
these objectives and the claims hereof should not be limited to structures or
methods
capable of achieving these objectives.
This subject invention features a warhead comprising a housing defining a
cavity, an explosive charge in the housing, and a large plurality of
individual
munitions in the cavity of the housing about the explosive charge. The
explosive
charge is configured to deploy the munitions upon detonation into a
hemispherical
dome shaped pattern.
Typically, the warhead housing includes a cylindrical body with first (base)
and second (nose) end plates attached to the ends thereof. The nose end plate
is
preferably dome shaped. The preferred explosive charge is conical in shape
tapering
from a larger first end at the base to a smaller second end at the nose. It is
also
preferred to include a buffer material such as foam about the explosive
charge.
In one example, the housing is toroid in shape. The munitions can be made
from materials including glass, metal, tungsten carbide, a phenolic material,
and
explosive materials and typically there are 1,000,000 or more small spherical
munitions in the housing. The explosive charge may be an insensitive
explosive. The
housing typically has a wall thickness of less than 2 mils.
In one example, the munitions include a munition core and a plurality of
particles adhered to an external surface of the munition core designed to
release from
the munition core upon impact of the munition with a target. The munition core
may
be made of a dense material such as a tungsten carbide composition. The
particles
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can be micro particle in size and can be made of a brittle material such as
glass.
Typically, the particles are attached to the munition core with an adhesive.
A warhead in accordance with the subject invention includes a housing
defining a cavity, an explosive charge in the housing, and a plurality of
individual
munitions in the cavity of the housing about the explosive charge. The
munitions
include a munition core and a plurality of particles attached to an external
surface of
the munition core designed to release from the munition core upon impact of
the
munition with a target. One example of a warhead in accordance with the
subject
invention includes a housing defining a cavity and a nose and a base of the
warhead, a
large plurality of individual munitions in the cavity of the housing, and an
explosive
charge in the housing having a conical shape tapering from a smaller first end
proximate the nose of the housing to a larger second end proximate the base of
the
housing to deploy the munitions upon detonation into a hemispherical dome
shaped
pattern.
A warhead =in accordance with the subject invention includes a housing having
a longitudinal axis, an explosive charge in the housing extending along the
longitudinal axis thereof and having a conical shape, and a large plurality of
individual munitions in the housing about the explosive charge.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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:
Fig. 1 is a schematic three-dimensional exploded partially cut-away front view
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of one embodiment of a warhead in accordance with the subject invention;
Fig. 2 is a side view showing the munition pattern created in a volume of
space when the warhead shown in Fig. 1 is deployed;
Fig. 3 is a three-dimensional partial schematic front view of another
embodiment of a warhead housing in accordance with the subject invention;
Fig. 4 is a schematic three-dimensional exploded front view of another
embodiment of a warhead in accordance with the subject invention including the
toroid shaped housing shown in Fig. 3;
Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the toroid shape warhead of
Fig. 4 being carried by a traditional rocket powered vehicle;
Fig. 6 is a graph showing the number of munitions as a function of the number
of objects hit for a computer stimulation of three test cases involving the
warhead
shown in Fig. 1 assuming a large pattern radius;
Fig. 7 is a schematic three-dimensional view showing one example of a
munition in accordance with the subject invention;
Fig. 8 is a schematic conceptual view showing the individual particles
associated with the munition shown in Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 is a schematic conceptual view of one embodiment of a munition core
for the munition shown in Fig. 7; and
Figs. 1 OA-1 OD are highly schematic side views showing the deployment of the
munition shown in Fig. 7 at a single target.
DISCLOSURE OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Aside from the preferred embodiment or embodiments disclosed below, this
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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. If only one
embodiment is
described herein, the claims hereof are not to be limited to that embodiment.
Moreover, the claims hereof are not to be read restrictively unless there is
clear and
convincing evidence manifesting a certain exclusion, restriction, or
disclaimer.
Warhead 10, Fig. 1 includes housing 12 defining a cavity therein filled with a
large plurality of individual munitions 14 about lengthy centrally located
explosive
charge 16. Explosive charge 16 is configured to deploy the munitions upon
detonation into a hemispherical dome-shape pattern as shown in Fig. 2 to
address
multiple potential or actual targets T.
In one example, cylindrical housing 12 is 3-5 feet long, 3 feet in diameter
and
has first 18 and second 20 end plates. First end plate 18 constitutes the base
of
warhead 10 and is typically secured to housing body 22 after munitions 14 and
explosive charge 16 are disposed therein. Second end plate 20 may be integral
with
body 22, is typically dome shaped, and constitutes the nose of the warhead.
Thin
(e.g., 1 mil) aluminum may be used for housing 12 rendering it expendable upon
detonation of explosive charge 16.
Munitions 14 maybe sma11.15" diameter spherical particles made of brittle
material such as tungsten carbide, glass, or a phenolic material or they may
also be
made of metal or even explosive materials. Typically, there are between 1-5
million
such munition particles disposed in housing 12. In another embodiment, the
munitions are composite in design as discussed if fra.
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Explosive charge 16 may be an insensitive explosive such as PBXN109. The
preferred explosive charge is conical in shape having a 1/2" diameter
proximate base
30 and a 1/4" diameter proximate nose 32. In this way, there is more explosive
material at base end 30 than at nose end 32 creating a differential velocity
of the
particles along the longitudinal axis L of the warhead. In one example,
explosive
charge 16 is 3 feet long. Detonator 34 is typically a safe and arm initiation
device.
Foam buffer liner.36 may be disposed about explosive charge 16 to mitigate
shock
when explosive charge 16 is detonated by detonator 34. Foam buffer 36 may be
conical in shape to conform to conical shaped explosive charge 16.
Warhead 10, Fig. 2 is carried by a carrier vehicle such as a missile or other
rocket powered vehicle into a position in space in front of multiple potential
targets T,
Fig. 2. The conical shaped centrally disposed explosive charge, when
detonated,
creates a differential velocity between the munitions as shown in Fig. 2 so
that the
munitions proximate base 30 are deployed at ahigher rate as shown in Fig. 2
than the
munitions proximate nose 32. Conical shaped explosive charge 16, Fig. 1 thus
creates
a hemispherical dome shaped pattern 40, Fig. 2 of munitions 20 feet in radius
or
greater to address targets T when warhead 10 is deployed to a position in
space in
front of the trajectory path of a volume of targets as shown in Fig. 2. The
spray
pattern shown in Fig. 2 can spread thousands of feet generating multiple hits
on
targets T. When brittle material such as glass is used for munitions 14, they
shatter
upon impact with a target and break up into smaller particles which embed
themselves.
Alternative housing 12', Fig. 3 is toroidal in shape as shown and includes
cavity 60 which is filled with munitions 14 as shown in Figs. 4-5. Toroid
shaped
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explosive charge 16' in this embodiment is also conical in shape due to the
conical
shape of cavity 60, Fig. 3. In this way, warhead 10' can be carried by vehicle
62, Fig.
with rocket motor 64. A foam buffer material (not shown) may be incorporated
in
this design about explosive charge 16' as well to generate an impedance
mismatch so
the munitions do not shatter upon detonation of explosive charge 16'.
Fig. 6 shows that in computer simulation, if approximately 1 million
munitions are present in warhead 10, Fig. 1, at least one munition will strike
each of
30 targets in a large radius.
In one embodiment, munitions 14 in housing 12, Fig. 1 or 12', Figs. 2-5 are
composite in configuration and are configured as shown for munition 14', Fig.
7.
Small particles 70, Fig. 8 in accordance with the subject invention are glued
or
otherwise adhered to the external surface of munition core 72, Fig. 9
resulting in
novel munition 14', Fig. 7. Particles 70 may be micro particle in size 400
microns in
diameter, for example, and munition core 72 may be 1.25 inches in diameter.
But,
munition core 72 may be of various sizes and spherical in shape or any other
shape.
The same is true for particles 70: they may be spherical in shape but they
also could
be other shapes or random shapes or even flakes.
In accordance with the subject invention, the core 72 carries the many smaller
particles to enhance the particle density upon impact. The smaller momentum
particles 70 are typically epoxied on core 72 and fracture off during impact
of the core
with a target. Such a munition can be used for soft targets because the core
has the
overall mass to penetrate and provide a hole for the smaller particles to go
through.
The smaller particles then create a dense spray pattern upon release from the
core.
Munition 14', Fig. 1 0A is shown propelled to impact target 76 along path P.
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When munition 14' impacts target 76, Fig. l OB, the particles 70 break off
munition
core 72 as shown in Fig. 10C and create an exit opening generally larger than
the
entrance opening as shown in Fig. 10D.
The munition of the subject invention can also be used to destroy items or
structure internal to target 76 but not necessarily directly in the direct
path P, Fig. 10A
of munition 14'. Unintended collateral damage which can occur in the case
where
munitions include explosives is minimized in accordance with the subject
invention.
For example, the munition core can be made of a dense material such as a
tungsten
carbide composition and the particles are made of a more brittle material such
as
glass. An adhesive such as an epoxy may be used to adhere the particles to the
munition core. The final selection of the particles or the munition is
determined by
the kill requirements. The requirements are based on target thickness, impact
velocity
and target vulnerability.
In one embodiment, munition core 72, Figs. 7 and 9 was a tungsten carbide
composition.15" in diameter. Particles 70 constituted 500-1,000 glass spheres
each
400 microns in size attached to core 72 by an epoxy. The shockwave S produced
when core 72 strikes a target causes particles 10 to dislodge from core 72 and
form
the spray pattern shown in Figs. 10C-10D.
The size, shape and composition of the core, however, as well as the size,
shape, number, and composition of the particles will vary depending on the
specific
implementation, the deployment method, the lethality desired, and the type of
target
to be penetrated.
In this way, the warhead of the subject invention is designed to address
multiple potential or actual targets. The warhead may be used in conjunction
with a
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conventional kill vehicle wherein the warhead of the subject invention is
deployed
first to address multiple potential threats and the kill vehicle is deployed
second to
target any actual threats revealed when the individual munitions of the
warhead
strikes the potential threats.
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.
In addition, any amendment presented during the prosecution of the patent
application for this patent is not a disclaimer of any claim element presented
in the
application as filed: those skilled in the art cannot reasonably be expected
to draft a
claim that would literally encompass all possible equivalents, many
equivalents will
be unforeseeable at the time of the amendment and are beyond a fair
interpretation of
what is to be surrendered (if anything), the rationale underlying the
amendment may
bear no more than a tangential relation to many equivalents, and/or there are
many
other reasons the applicant can not be expected to describe certain
insubstantial
substitutes for any claim element amended.
