USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Howard S Leopold, Deceased

Fred L Menz

Louis J Montesi

Dual-mode capability is provided in a warhead initiation system having an itiation transfer assembly and two, end booster plates. The initiation transfer assembly comprises five, separate lines of mild detonating cord (MDC) swaged together at one end in an acceptor manifold. Two MDCs of equal length terminate at each of the booster plates and the fifth, shorter MDC is directed to the center of the aft booster plate via an initiation mode selector which controls detonation propagation along this cord. The safety and arming mechanism of the warhead ignites the acceptor manifold, causing simultaneous initiation of the five MDCs. In the normal mode, a launch signal causes the initiation mode selector to extend a control barrier across the path of the shorter, fifth MDC to prevent faster propagation of detonation to the aft booster plate, thus resulting in dual-ended initiation of the warhead when both end plates are simultaneously ignited by the equal-length MDCs. For single-ended initiation, the mode selector is not actuated, thus permitting the aft booster plate to initiate sooner than the forward plate via the shorter, fifth MDC.

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Silver Spring, MD, United States of America

Howard S Leopold, Deceased