Alliant Techsystems Inc.

Thiokol Corporation

Richard C Anderson

David W Endicott

Ralph S Tappan

Michael Gerard Crilly

Richard Brad Cragun

John E Delaney, Jr

Charles B Zisette

Robert D Ciccarelli

An assembly and process designed to neutralize a landmine having a case loaded with an explosive charge set to detonate upon actuation. The assembly includes a housing provided with a chamber loaded with a solid propellant. One of the ends of the housing is exposed to permit the loaded propellant to communicate the chamber with the outside atmosphere. The propellant is remotely ignitable via a remotely operable igniter. The first end of said housing is constructed and arranged and the solid propellant is present in an amount and composition suitable for generating, upon ignition of the solid propellant, a plume sufficient in burn time and temperature both to penetrate through the case of the landmine positioned in spaced relation to the first end and to initiate controlled burning of the explosive charge of the landmine so that detonation of the explosive charge is either avoided or reduced due to pre-detonation partial consumption of the explosive charge by burning.

Assembly and process for controlled burning of landmine without detonation

An infrared decoy flare having enhanced infrared intensity is disclosed. The flare includes a case in which an infrared illuminant composition is disposed. The bore diameter and length of the case are advantageously selected to be compatible with preexisting chaff dispensers and their cartridges located on aircraft. The illuminant composition, the nozzle throat area, the geometry of the illuminant composition, and the volume of the combustion chamber are selected such that combustion of the illuminant composition results in an unstable combustion condition during the first second of combustion, thereby increasing the peak intensity of the radiation emitted by the propellant. Preferably, the flare is configured such that the unstable combustion occurs during the first 0.2 to 0.5 seconds of combustion of the illuminant composition.

High-intensity infrared decoy flare

Growing community of inventors

Logan, UT, United States of America

Richard C Anderson