US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Other

Stewart Gilman

Leon Manole

Anthony P Farina

Ernest Lee Logsdon

Brian C Wong

Kevin Stoddard

Joseph D Wu

William Rice

James C Lee

Ernest L Baker

Vladimir M Gold

Mark Young

Anthony J Sebasto

William J Poulos

Anthony Vella

Mohan J Palathingal

Daniel Vo

Eric P Scheper

John J Dineen

Ernest L Logsdon, Jr

Andrew Gowarty

Robert Nodarse

Andrew Perich

David Pfau

Francis Renner

Nick Zuback

Manuel Munoz

Mark Nicolich

Paul Valenti

Peter Ngai

Erinn Harbeck McCarthy

Steven Kelley

Remi Chian

Melissa Wanner

Robert Marchak

Floyd Ribe

Samuel A Lafontaine

Donald Chin

Frank Renner

A single multipurpose ammunition projectile/warhead is provided, which has the capability of clearing a variety of different types of hardened targets. The single projectile of this invention may be used for breaching steel reinforced concrete walls; may be used against light armor targets; may be used for defeating bunkers; and may also be used for antipersonnel applications. Huge savings in time, money, inventory and logistics are realized through utilizing only this one multipurpose ammunition against all these types of targets. This multipurpose projectile, among other superb capabilities, is able to puncture an eight inch double steel reinforced concrete wall timed to then have its warhead explode into fragments. This allows fragmentation in a more effective, nearly ideal direction. The projectile warhead of made of extremely thick walled 300M steel; with the projectile center of gravity to be located equidistant between a pair of bourrelets, for increased stability.

Multipurpose target breaching warhead

Demolition projectile

A finless projectile provides improved ease of use, aerodynamics, muzzle velocity, drag, target, and excursion accuracy, structural integrity, terminal effectiveness and safety, at lower cost. The finless projectile includes a slug, a forward projectile body, an aft projectile body, an obturator, and a pad. The finless projectile is a full bore projectile that defines a hollow core, but does not include a sabot nor does it carry explosives. The finless projectile functions by kinetic energy transfer from the projectile to the target by deforming the target. The center of gravity of the finless projectile is forward of the center of pressure to provide static stability to the finless projectile.

Aerodynamically stable finless projectile

Described are flameless tracer munitions that are expelled from land mines or in hand thrown devices, which are used to mark an enemy person, vehicle body, or tires on the vehicle, with materials that emit infrared (IR) light, or heat emitting materials, or with a visible ink or a dye. The subjects are then identified and pursued because of the ink or seen with infrared reading or heat seeking devices. The devices are both long duration (several hours) and also have high light intensity tracing and marking. These munitions are non-impact and non-lethal; are non-toxic, and biodegradable.

Land mine, and hand thrown, weapon which dispenses marking chemicals

A rod sleeve made of smart material sleeves and/or steel sleeves with smart material rings surrounds the rod of a kinetic energy projectile. The rod may be made of DU, tungsten, or other material. Smart materials are materials such as nickel-titanium (nitinol) and copper aluminum nickel (CAN) that can be trained to change to one or more particular shapes at predetermined temperatures. The change in shape occurs on a molecular level, almost instantaneously. The rod sleeve can be made all or in part from smart material. The smart material is trained to shrink at cold temperatures and expand at hot temperatures. The sleeve may then be heated and expanded to allow the sleeve to be pressed on the rod. As the sleeve cools, it compresses and provides required support to rod during gun launch of the kinetic energy projectile. The sleeve heats up while traveling down range due to the aero-ballistic heating of the sleeve material. At this higher temperature, the sleeve expands. Upon projectile impact with the target, the sleeve minimally penetrates the target, allowing the rod to slip supported through the sleeve and penetrate the target. The sleeve supports the rod as it penetrates the target but does not inhibit its penetration, remaining behind as the rod continues to penetrate the target.

Sleeve for structurally supporting a penetrator of a kinetic energy projectile

A finless cone-nosed, ogival-nosed, or combination ogive-cone nosed training projectile is statically stable, yet has adequate spin rate to compensate for aerodynamic or mass asymmetries. In addition, the training projectile can be fired from smooth bore or rifled cannons of various calibers, including 120 mm and 105 mm. Spin torque and stability augmentation are provided by a radially angled slotted tail flange attached to the rear of the training projectile, providing high performance and improved accuracy at low cost for use in training exercises. The training projectile has a higher static margin than conventional devices, and provides the ability to train personnel with a training projectile that achieves flight ranges similar to its matching tactical projectile, and has improved accuracy.

Finless training projectile with improved flight stability over an extended range

A flameless tracer/marker provides heat mark chemicals with optional chemlucents chemicals that can be carried and delivered by a projectile to mark a target. This marking payload may be carried by small, medium and large caliber projectiles that are part of ammunition items including 20 and 40 mm grenade launched, 90 mm, 105 and 120 mm tank, 60, 81 and 120 mm mortar and 105 and 155 artillery ammunition. This ammunition is gun launched and the projectiles can provide a heat trace to the target and/or upon impact with the target the projectile breaks or shatters and leaves a heat signature on the target for up to several hours. Included with these heat chemicals may be optional chemlucents. This heat mark may be placed into a lethal and non-lethal projectile. This allows heavy and light armor targets, vehicles, buildings and personnel to be marked without extensive damage to the target and without seriously injuring a person. The target may now be heat marked and chemlucent marked.

System and method for a flameless tracer/marker utilizing heat marking chemicals

An energetic sabot allows part of the sabot to burn away at a controlled rate, adding propellant energy to the gun while at the same time completely support the projectile rod. The energetic sabot is thicker or larger at shot start to support the projectile without breaking. As the energetic sabot travels up the gun tube, the energetic sabot then thins out or otherwise decreases in mass as the force on the energetic sabot decreases. The weight of the projectile consequently decreases as it travels up the gun tube, allowing the gun gases to push a lighter projectile, giving the projectile a higher velocity. Due to its continually decreasing weight in the gun tube, the projectile experiences greater acceleration and exits the gun with a higher muzzle velocity. A secondary effect comes from increased pressure in the gun tube from the gases relinquished in the burning of the sabot, further increasing the velocity of the projectile. This higher velocity in turn leads to greater projectile velocity at target impact, and thus a greater penetration depth. The energetic sabot is 'doped' with energetic materials by sprinkling either explosive, propulsive, or pyrotechnic agents between layers of the composite material in the energetic sabot. These agents ignite upon propulsion; their composition is determined from their burn rates. The burn rate may be designed proportional to the decrease in chamber pressure; the less pressure in the tube, the more material that can be relinquished.

Sabot for reducing the parasitic weight of a kinetic energy projectile

A non-lethal marker projectile that provides site identification capability of a target upon impact includes a rear base made of plastic and a front end extending longitudinally from the rear base. The front end defines a space therein and includes an outer surface having a rear portion attached to the base and a nose portion. The front end also includes a breakable container system located in the space which contains separated chemiluminescent reagents which when mixed produce light. The front end further includes a foam filler which surrounds the breakable container system and which fills the space. The container system breaks on a setback impact that is exerted during firing and initial launch, causing the chemiluminescent reagents to mix and be absorbed into the foam filler, such that upon impact of the projectile with the target, the foam filler marks the target with the mixed chemiluminescent reagents diffused therein.

Marker projectile

Small, medium and large caliber ammunition housing multiple projectiles are traced by means of a tracing/marking system utilizing chemlucent chemicals. The tracing/marking system also provides target marking when using small, medium and large caliber ammunition. Multiple projectiles are coated in a chemlucent chemical (referenced as the coating) and placed in the ammunition. Additionally, a liquid chemlucent chemical in a separate container is placed in the ammunition. When launched or fired from a gun or munition, the separate container breaks and the coating and the chemlucent chemicals combine, emitting light. The present system applies to multiple projectiles that are either launched in a scatter pattern from a gun or dispersed in a scatter pattern after the housing of the ammunition opens up outside the gun after firing. For military ammunition, the tracing/marking system may use buckshot, steel balls, or tungsten balls. The tracing/marking system may also use various shaped projectiles such as stars, cubes, balls or flechettes. The chemlucent chemicals used by the tracing/marking system are non-flammable, biodegradable, and non-toxic.

System and method for a flameless tracer / marker for ammunition housing multiple projectiles utilizing chemlucent chemicals

A system and method for improving the process of mechanical translation of projectiles by a spring mechanism that is built of a smart material and that is activated by an electric pulse, to provide a controlled translation of a projectile before firing or, in case of pre-firing termination, in order to restore the projectile to its original position after translation. The pre-firing translation using the spring mechanism provides a more controlled process and reduces the risk associated with the conventional propulsion charge translation design. The ability to return the projectile to its initial state after translation affords a significant advantage over the conventional propulsion charge design since it enables the projectile firing to be terminated even after translation, unlike in the conventional design whereby the projectile firing is irreversible upon a mechanical translation by setting off the propulsion charge.

System and method for effecting mechanical translation of projectiles in cased telescoped ammunition using smart material

A long-range training cartridge meets current US Army requirements. The long-range cartridge design enables its sub-projectile to be range limited to less than 8000 meters when fired at a 10-degree gun elevation. The long-range training projectile includes a three-piece aluminum or steel sabot with a similar exterior profile to the kinetic energy tactical sabot. The sabot encapsulates a light-weight sub-projectile comprised of a steel rod and an aluminum fin or cone. Since the sub-projectile is encapsulated in the sabot, it will not be subjected to differential pressures associated with interior ballistic gun gasses. As a result the sub-projectile will therefore have less bending and better flight characteristics. The sub-projectile meets the guidelines for target accuracy and precision at ranges beyond 3000 meters.

Long range training cartridge

A flameless tracer and marker for small munitions and canon caliber projectiles incudes non-toxic, environmentally friendly chemiluminescent materials which are maintained in separate compartments is described. The munitions when fired glow intensely for several minutes and mark a target area upon impact.

Flameless tracer ammunition

The present invention uses aerodynamic heating caused by air-friction during flight of a training projectile. The training projectile includes a nose, a body and a tail section. The body has a forwardmost end secured to the nose, and a rearwardmost end secured to the tail. Air friction during flight causes deployment of &ldquo;passive&rdquo; shape memory alloy (SMA) aerodynamic members in an assembly to induce drag of the training projectile thereby limiting an effective range of the projectile.

Training projectile using shape memory alloy members

An aerodynamic device, such as a projectile includes an elongated forebody, and an aft section secured to the forebody. The aft section acts as a d control device, and includes a connecting member that extends integrally in a conically shaped flared section, for generating a lift force to help stabilize the projectile during forward flight. The aft section further includes a flange that extends from the flared section, and that provides velocity decay and optimal drag, in order to limit the projectile flight and descent within a predetermined safety or emergency range. The flared section is defined between an innermost edge positioned adjacent to the connecting member, and an outermost edge positioned adjacent to the flange. The flange includes a forward facing wall that extends from the outermost edge and that has a height 'H' that controls the amount of drag on the projectile, such that the outer diameter of the aft section is less than, or equal to the inner diameter of the gun barrel from which the projectile is fired.

Training projectile

Growing community of inventors

Budd Lake, NJ, United States of America

Stewart Gilman