Lockheed Martin Corporation

Advanced Acoustic Concepts, LLC

Lockheed Martin Corpora Tion

Antonio Paulic

John Walter Rapp

Jyun-Horng Fu

Robert James Howard

Lance Benedict

Robert M Krass

John Granier

Terry Q Miller

Benjamin Gary Conaway

Alex Fu

A supercavitating cargo round comprises an energetic payload and an electronic payload. The electronic payload includes programmable circuitry suitable for implementing a digital delay of arbitrary length. The supercavitating cargo round is programmable while in a barrel or loader of a weapon.

Supercavitating cargo round

A weaponized UUV has a sliding barrel and accessible breech. The barrel slides in response to the firing of a projectile, and moves a first distance un-arrested, providing time for the projectile to clear the barrel. After the projectile clears the barrel, a recoil mechanism engages the barrel, transferring the recoil load to the hull of the UUV.

Weaponized UUV with floating barrel and externally accessible breech

A broach recoil mechanism includes an arresting cartridge and a broach having plural cutting surfaces. The broach is disposed on the exterior of the barrel of a weapon. As a projectile is fired from the barrel, the barrel recoils, moving toward the arresting cartridge. The broach engages the arresting cartridge, shaving off pieces thereof, slowing progress of the barrel while transferring the recoil load to the hull of a unmanned underwater weapon containing the weapon.

Broach recoil mechanism

An article comprising an electronic safe-arm and fire (ESAF) device for a supercavitating cargo round (SCR) includes discrete electronics, a high-voltage capacitor, a high-voltage switch, and an exploding foil initiator. The discrete electronics includes digital-delay timer circuits, discrete logic circuits, accelerometers, and circuitry for enabling the high-voltage switch. In a method for implementing the safe and arm protocols, sensor readings from sensors on a weaponized UUV are obtained and, when certain conditions are achieved, remove inhibit signals are forwarded to a controller onboard the UUV. When such signals are received in a specified order, and within certain optional specified time delays, the controller arms the ESAF within the SCR. After the SCR fire and leaves the barrel on the UUV, the ESAF monitors certain acceleration/deceleration conditions unique to supercavitation, and applies same to determine whether to detonate the SCR's energetic payload.

Electronic safe arm and fire device and method

A supercavitating projectile is disclosed that has deployable fins. The fins are pivotally coupled to the body of the projectile. The fins have two primary states: stowed within a recess at the surface of the projectile and deployed to a radially-extended position relative to the body of the projectile. The fins deploy as the projectile leaves its launch tube. The fins function as a control surface, interacting with the wall of the vapor cavity in which the supercavitating projectile travels.

Projectile having deployable fin

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a submunition is contemplated having a submunition body, an explosive payload housed within said submunition body and an elongated delay member housed within the submunition body, the elongated delay member coated with at least one reactive material that provides a controlled time delay between submunition impact and detonation of the explosive payload. The submunition may also comprise an elongated pendulum having a hollow core sized to receive said elongated delay member, the elongated pendulum adapted to be movable between a locked position that mitigates likelihood of inadvertent detonation of the explosive payload and an unlocked position that enables detonation of the explosive payload.

Mine-defeating submunition

A mine defeating projectile includes a housing defining an inner cavity, a plurality of channels extending through a front surface of the housing and to the inner cavity, and a plurality of cutout sections extending through as side wall thereof. The projectile further includes a fragmentation sleeve disposed in the inner cavity of the housing and a slider sleeve disposed in the inner cavity of the housing abutting an aft end of the fragmentation sleeve. The slider sleeve includes an explosive train and the slider sleeve is frangibly attached to the housing. The projectile further includes a finned section attached to an aft end of the housing. The finned section defines a protrusion for initiating the explosive train. The protrusion is spaced apart from the explosive train.

Mine-defeating projectile

A drag-stabilized water-entry projectile having a projectile body, one or more drag-stabilizing elements, such as fins, flares or canards, and one or more attachment members adapted to hold the one or more drag-stabilizing elements to the projectile body. The one or more attachment members are coated with a thermally reactive material. A projectile and cartridge assembly has a shear pin, a projectile having a first cutout portion, the cutout portion sized to receive the shear pin. The assembly also includes a sabot configured to house the projectile and having a second cutout portion, the second cutout portion sized to receive the shear pin. The cutout portion is positioned to provide an offset region between an aft end of the projectile and a base of the sabot.

Drag-stabilized water-entry projectile and cartridge assembly

A surface ship, deck-launched anti-torpedo projectile is disclosed. The projectile has a blunt-end nose to create a cavitating running mode. The nose has a gradual, stepped, right-circular cylindrical or conic geometry. In some embodiments, the projectile includes a plurality of tail fins that are dimensioned and arranged to be within the generalized elliptical cavity that shrouds the projectile in the cavitating running mode.

Surface ship, deck-launched anti-torpedo projectile

A ballistic-acoustic transducer system includes a processor and one or more acoustic sensors. The sensors are positioned in a body of water and are in communication with the processor. The system is configured such that acoustic energy generated by a non-explosive projectile as it impacts the water, enters the water, and sinks through the water, is sensed by the one or more acoustic sensors, and the processor is configured to process the acoustic energy sensed by the one or more acoustic sensors.

Ballistic-acoustic transducer system

Some embodiments of the invention provide a dart that contains an HE payload, two time-delay fuses, one providing a relatively longer delay and the other providing a relatively shorter delay and two triggering mechanisms for triggering the fuses. The first triggering mechanism, which triggers on contact with a mine lid, triggers the relatively shorter time-delay fuse. The second mechanism, which triggers on overburdening exposure to water, sand, or soil, triggers the relatively longer time-delay fuse.

Counter-mine dart

An apparatus and method for sealing the barrel of an underwater gun between firings is disclosed. The apparatus clears the barrel and/or prevents water from entering the barrel based on pressure variations.

Underwater gun comprising a passive fluidic barrel seal

An apparatus and method for sealing the barrel of an underwater gun between firings is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an adapter that attaches to the barrel and includes a physical adaptation that is capable of sealing the barrel. In some embodiments, the physical adaptation is actuated to un-seal the barrel via combustion gases from firing of a round.

Underwater gun comprising a barrel adapter including a barrel seal

An apparatus for sealing the barrel of an underwater gun between firings is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a magnetically-attractable water-impermeable disk. Via operation of a drive system, the disk is movable between a sealing position, wherein it prevents water from entering the barrel by moving into alignment with the first bore, and a firing position, wherein the first water-impermeable disk moves out of alignment with the first bore.

Underwater gun comprising a plate-type barrel seal

An anti-mine dart includes a body containing an explosive payload and having a flyer-plate port. The dart is operable responsive to the payload being detonated to propel through the flyer-plate port a flyer plate having sufficient energy to detonate an explosive material surrounding the dart. The darts may include a plurality of explosive payloads, flyer-plate ports and flyer plates. The darts may be formed in a stack arrangement within a missile such that the flyer-plate port of each dart is not aligned with the flyer-plate ports of any of the adjacent darts in the stack arrangement. The darts may contain a simplified safe-and-arm mechanism or no safe-and-arm mechanism at all.

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Arlington, VA, United States of America

Antonio Paulic