Multi-factor warhead

Abstract

FIELD: military technology.SUBSTANCE: design of multi-factor warheads placed in guided loitering munitions or FPV drones. The multi-factor warhead contains a detonating device and a body made of aluminum alloy, in the front part of which a cumulative charge with a copper lining and a conical-hemispherical lens are located, and in the rear part - an explosive charge and an initiating charge. The lens is made of a reactive material and is located in an aluminum alloy housing between the cumulative and explosive charges. Casting mixtures or pressed compositions are used as a bursting charge. On the outer side of the aluminum alloy body there is a steel shell with crushing localizers in the form of annular grooves of conical cross-section.EFFECT: invention makes it possible to ensure the destruction of armored and lightly armored targets with a cumulative jet followed by a behind-the-barrier barothermal and incendiary action, as well as the combined destruction of lightly armored, unarmored and special equipment and manpower with a cumulative, fragmentation and high-explosive incendiary action.6 cl, 16 dwg

Description

[0001] Technical field

[0002] The invention relates to the field of military technology, namely to the design of multi-factor warheads placed in controlled loitering munitions or FPV drones.

[0003] Technology Level

[0004] A cumulative-fragmentation warhead is known [1], consisting of a front cumulative warhead in a housing, an inert insert installed in the bottom of the housing, and a rear fragmentation warhead with an explosive charge in a housing with a bottom, installed behind the front cumulative warhead, and a detonating device installed on the outer surface of the bottom of the fragmentation warhead. The housing of the fragmentation warhead is made with preliminary notches to increase the effectiveness of the fragmentation action in the radial direction and is located inside the housing of the cumulative warhead between the bottoms of the cumulative and fragmentation warheads.

[0005] The disadvantage of this design is the complex system for transmitting the detonation impulse from the detonating device to the front and rear warheads to form an axial shaped-charge jet and a circular high-explosive fragmentation field, as well as the complex structural and layout of the fragmentation warhead behind the shaped-charge warhead. This does not ensure an incendiary effect beyond the barrier.

[0006] This drawback is absent from the invention for a cluster munition striking element [2]. In it, the explosive charge and cumulative liner are located in an inner steel casing with fragmentation localizers in the form of annular grooves on the outer surface. The inner casing, in turn, is installed in an outer casing made of aluminum alloy. This increases fragmentation efficiency without reducing the cumulative effect. Also, as in the previous patent, an incendiary effect beyond the barrier is not provided.

[0007] A known munition warhead [3] comprises a casing, a shaped charge, an initiation system, and a zirconium liner designed to form the projectile. The liner is made of varying thickness and is conical or spherical in shape, with a thicker central portion.

[0008] This design achieves good fragmentation and incendiary effect behind the barrier thanks to the use of a zirconium shaped-charge liner. However, a drawback of this design is the low penetration capability of the projectile (the penetration depth of normal-grade medium-hard armor steel at a distance of 200 mm is 70 mm) and insufficient fragmentation effect from the outside of the barrier.

[0009] A cluster fragmentation warhead with a cumulative device for forced flow of detonation products into the space behind the obstacle is known [4], comprising a belt stabilizer, a detonator, a steel body with a given fragmentation, a main explosive charge, a conical shaped cumulative liner, a cutoff device for the tail elements of the cumulative jet with a central hole, an additional explosive charge with a central hole, an additional initiation unit with a time delay system and a fluoroplastic gasket. Upon encountering an obstacle, the detonator of the warhead generates a signal to initiate the main explosive charge, which, in turn, initiates the additional initiation unit with a time delay system.When the main charge compresses the shaped-charge liner, it forms a shaped-charge jet that freely penetrates the coaxial central holes of the cutoff and secondary charge, penetrating the fluoroplastic gasket and the barrier. After the delay time has elapsed and the shaped-charge jet has created a hole in the barrier, the secondary explosive charge detonates. The detonation products of the charge with the central hole, penetrating the hole punched in the barrier, generate an air shock wave in the space behind the barrier, creating an overpressure field there. The casing, with its specified fragmentation, provides a circular fragmentation field capable of killing personnel and unarmored vehicles in the area.

[0010] While possessing undoubted multifunctionality such as cumulative, fragmentation and behind-the-barrier action due to the forced introduction of detonation products into the behind-the-barrier space, this combat element does not provide an incendiary behind-the-barrier action due to the use of condensed explosive, and also has a low penetrating effect and fragmentation damage radius.

[0011] This drawback is absent in the cumulative-fragmentation-incendiary warhead for equipping small single-use multi-rotor strike UAVs (FPV drones) [5]. This design was chosen by the authors as a prototype.

[0012] The warhead comprises a preemptive device providing an optimal focal length for forming a cumulative jet, a housing, a cumulative liner on which an insert made of reactive material is installed. The insert is a heterogeneous system in the form of a polymer-composite material of a Ni-Al-Ti-B metal mixture with a combustion temperature of 2000-2350°C, an explosive charge inside the housing, an initiating device in the bottom of the housing, and a cylindrical active lens made of reactive Ni-Al-Ti-B material with a combustion temperature of 2000-2350°C. The cumulative liner is conical in shape with a diameter of 55-75 mm at the base, and the active lens is installed inside the explosive charge behind the liner. On the part of the housing where there is no cumulative liner, grooves with a depth of 0.5-0.7 times the thickness of the housing wall are made. The pre-emptive device is made with a length of 2-3 times the diameter of the explosive charge.

[0013] This ammunition significantly expands the range of functional capabilities of weapons, since the insert and active lens included in its design made of reactive material, after the detonation of the explosive charge, form powerful high-temperature flows of reacting substances that affect the affected objects with optical radiation, enhanced high-explosive action and behind-the-barrier action after the barrier is penetrated by a cumulative jet, and compact fragments from the casing with adjustable fragmentation ensure the defeat of manpower, including in personal armor protection equipment, unarmored and lightly armored vehicles.

[0014] The disadvantages of the technical solutions adopted in this ammunition design are:

[0015] - when the explosive charge is detonated, the active lens made of reactive material does not have a barrier effect due to its location at a significant distance from the top of the lining;

[0016] - A conical insert (liner) made of reactive material glued to the base of the liner reduces armor penetration by "shading" the shaped-charge liner's generatrix by the liner's height. This fact was established by comparative experimental studies detonating a shaped-charge charge with and without the liner glued to the liner. The "shaded" area of ​​the shaped-charge liner's generatrix does not contribute to the formation of the cumulative jet: the penetration depth is directly proportional to the length of the liner's generatrix, obscured by the insert.

[0017] - the use of the insert leads to the destruction of the jet, does not provide the necessary continuity of the cumulative jet, since its formation involves not only the lining material, usually copper, but also particles of the reactive material, which, being a foreign body, destroy the cumulative jet into fragments;

[0018] - the velocities of fragmentation of the casing during the detonation of the ammunition are not optimal due to the breakthrough of detonation products through the localizers of fragmentation of the casing into fragments, made in the form of annular grooves of rectangular cross-section on the outer surface of the casing: the maximum velocities of the leading fragments in this design are even less than the velocities of fragments from the casing of natural fragmentation.

[0019] Disclosure of the essence of the invention

[0020] The objective of the claimed invention is to create a multi-factor warhead for guided loitering munitions or FPV drones. It is designed to engage armored (from the upper hemisphere) and lightly armored targets with a cumulative jet followed by an incendiary effect behind the barrier, as well as for the combined engagement of lightly armored, unarmored, and special-purpose equipment and personnel with a cumulative, fragmentation, and high-explosive incendiary effect.

[0021] The technical result of the claimed invention is an increase in the fragmentation, high-explosive incendiary and barrier-incendiary action without reducing the main cumulative action of the multi-factor warhead.

[0022] The specified technical result is achieved in that the multi-factor warhead contains a detonating device and a housing made of aluminum alloy, in the front part of which a cumulative charge with a copper lining and a lens of a conical-hemispherical shape are placed, in the rear part - an explosive charge and an initiating charge, wherein the lens is made of a reactive material (RSM) and is located in the housing of the aluminum alloy between the cumulative and explosive charges, cast mixtures or pressed compositions are used as an explosive charge, and on the outer side of the housing made of aluminum alloy there is a steel shell with fragmentation localizers in the form of annular grooves of a conical cross-section.The steel shell is cylindrical or cylindroconical in shape, and the annular grooves on the steel shell are located on the outer surface. The ratio of the annular groove pitch on the steel shell to its thickness is 2.341-2.844, the cone angle of the annular groove at the apex in the steel shell is 90°, and its depth is 0.666-0.834 times the thickness of the steel shell. The ratio of the thickness of the steel shell to the thickness of the aluminum alloy body in the area of ​​the bursting charge is 1.37-1.83.

[0023] In the warheads of close-combat grenade launchers, an inert lens made of PCB or AG-4V (AG-4S) type molded material is used in the shaped charge design to regulate the detonation wave's impact on the copper lining and produce a continuous cumulative jet. Using a PCM lens instead of an inert lens increases the explosive, barothermic, and incendiary effects of the device without reducing its primary cumulative effect. For example, comparative armor penetration tests (5 rounds each) of D-mm caliber grenade launchers with a PCM and PCB lens showed comparable results—the average value was 6.17D and 6.31D, respectively, resulting in a ~2.3% reduction in armor penetration.

[0024] The cumulative and bursting charges can be made from the same type of pressed material or from different types of materials: the cumulative charge is made from pressed explosive, and the bursting charge can be made from, for example, casting mixtures of condensed or plastisol compositions.

[0025] The use of the reactive material in the lens allows for an increase in the barrier effect with the introduction of high-temperature flammable materials into the warhead compartment without a significant reduction in the main cumulative effect, and does not lead to a complication of the design of the product compared to other methods of introducing flammable materials, for example, as in [5] (here, in the warhead, at the base of the cumulative lining, an insert made of reactive material is glued in), since it is an integral part of the cumulative charge.

[0026] Guaranteed transport of high-temperature incendiary particles into the barrier space is achieved by positioning the conical tip of the lens at a small distance from the tip of the copper lining (no more than 4-15 mm). When the explosive charge detonates, the detonation pulse, bending around the lens, first transfers the detonation to the cumulative charge to form a cumulative jet. Then, after a slight delay (due to the difference in densities of the explosive charge and the shaped charge), it reacts with the lens's shaped charge. The detonation products of the explosive charge accelerate the high-temperature shaped charge particles axially following the cumulative jet into a low-pressure zone and, penetrating the barrier, exert a combined behind-the-barrier effect. Due to the small distance between the conical tips of the lining and the lens, the shaped charge particles are guaranteed to penetrate through the resulting hole or breach in the barrier.This phenomenon is especially effective when the diameter of the base of the copper lining of the ammunition is from 80 mm to 115 mm.

[0027] In the proposed technical solution, the lens, as an integral part of the shaped charge, not only regulates the detonation wave's arrival at the copper lining, as in the standard version, but also serves as an additional source of increasing the total active payload mass in the warhead. When this munition detonates, the RSM not only penetrates the barrier but also acts radially, expanding the radius and effectiveness of the high-explosive incendiary effect.

[0028] The steel shell is designed with fragmentation localizers in the form of annular grooves of conical cross-section and is located outside the aluminum alloy body. (A more precise definition is available in scientific literature: a shell with controlled fragmentation is the explosive separation of the shell into fragments, in which the destruction contour is partially defined. During the explosion, fragmentation of the released rings along the circumference is random, and in fact, a natural fragmentation spectrum is formed, but more uniform (controlled), since saber formation is excluded.)

[0029] Making annular grooves on the steel shell from the outside with a ratio of the pitch on the steel shell to its thickness within the range of 2.341-2.844, the cone angle of the annular groove at the apex in the steel shell of 90° and its depth within the range of 0.666-0.834 of the thickness of the steel shell, as well as the ratio of the thickness of the steel shell to the thickness of the aluminum alloy body in the area of ​​the bursting charge within the range of 1.37-1.83 makes it possible to ensure the creation of a specific, adjustable configuration (shape) and the velocity of fragments during the explosion of ammunition.

[0030] These statements have been confirmed by tests of D-mm caliber warhead models in an armored shell and shield target environment in accordance with industry GOSTs. The following results were obtained: the total number of fragments according to the armored shell data (from the steel shell only) is 1,422 pcs.; the total number of fragments that penetrated a shield with a 1 mm thick steel sheet is 838 pcs., which, converted to a sphere, is 2,644 fragments; the average penetration velocity of a steel sheet by fragments at a distance of 5 m is 2,490 m / s (the maximum velocity of the leading fragments reaches 3,041 m / s).

[0031] When the pitch ratio of the annular grooves is within 2.341-2.844, the cone angle of the annular groove at the apex in the steel shell is 90° and its depth is within 0.666-0.834 of the thickness of the steel shell, the effect of annular cumulation is revealed with the formation, along with fragments of controlled fragmentation, of damaging elements in the form of compact fragments of cumulative fragmentation.

[0032] The placement of a steel shell over an aluminum alloy casing increases the speed of fragmentation, since during an explosion, the energy of the explosive charge is first spent on overcoming the plastic deformation of the aluminum alloy casing and its destruction, and only then do the explosion products begin to act on the inner surface of the steel shell to fragment it into fragments.

[0033] The "Shell" component design features optimized steel shell thickness, annular groove pitch and depth, and groove opening angle on the outer surface of the steel shell. This allows for a large number of compact, elongated fragments in the 0.25g to 3g weight range, delivering high fragmentation performance against a wide range of targets. It can be manufactured in a cylindrical or cylindrical-conical shape and installed externally on existing warheads of close-combat grenade launchers, thereby expanding the ammunition's functionality.

[0034] The combination of a cumulative-fragmentation high-explosive incendiary warhead in a single round combines several types of destructive effects, significantly increasing the versatility and effectiveness of such ammunition. A single round can attack various target types, from armored vehicles to buildings and infantry, increasing combat flexibility by inflicting damage at multiple levels and thereby increasing the likelihood of successfully destroying (suppressing) a target or inflicting maximum damage.

[0035] Brief description of drawings

[0036] Fig. 1 shows the general view of the multi-factor warhead, and Fig. 2 shows a design variant, where:

[0037] 1 - warhead;

[0038] 2 - detonating device;

[0039] 3 - aluminum alloy body;

[0040] 4 - fairing;

[0041] 5 - cumulative charge;

[0042] 6 - bursting charge;

[0043] 7 - PCM lens;

[0044] 8 - copper cladding;

[0045] 9 - pressure ring;

[0046] 10 - initiating checker;

[0047] 11 - bushing;

[0048] 12 - steel shell (cylindrical shape - Fig. 1; cylindrical-conical shape - Fig. 2).

[0049] Fig. 3-9 show the results of tests of a multi-factor warhead for action behind a barrier on the roof of an MT-LB through a 1 m high “brazier” at an angle of 45° (Fig. 3, 4 - target situation; Fig. 5, 6 - video frames of the explosive action of a multi-factor warhead; Fig. 7 - view of the “brazier” sheet after the test; Fig. 8 - dimensions of the hole in the hatch after the passage of a cumulative jet; Fig. 9 - dimensions of the hole in the steel witness sheet on the floor in the fighting compartment of the MT-LB (height of the fighting compartment is 1.5 m).

[0050] Fig. 10-16 show the results of tests of the multi-factor warhead for behind-the-barrier action on the roof of the MT-LB through a 40-mm armor plate at an angle of 45° (Fig. 10, 11 - target situation; Fig. 12, 13 - video frames of the explosive action of the multi-factor warhead; Fig. 14, 15 - the front and back sides of the armor plate after the passage of the cumulative jet, respectively; Fig. 16 - the dimensions of the hole in the steel witness sheet on the floor in the fighting compartment of the MT-LB.

[0051] Multi-factor warhead 1 for equipping guided loitering munitions or FPV drones operates as follows: upon encountering an obstacle, detonation device 2 is triggered, which transmits a detonation impulse through initiating charge 10 to bursting charge 6. After detonation of bursting charge 6, the shock wave, bending around lens 7 of the RCM, causes the cumulative charge 5 to detonate. The previously formed shock wave from the bursting charge 6 passes through lens 7 with some delay (due to the difference in densities of the RCM and the bursting charge) and compresses copper lining 8 together with the shock wave from the cumulative charge 5 and, thereby, ensures the formation of a cumulative jet. The detonation products of the explosive charge 6 accelerate high-temperature particles of the RCM following the cumulative jet into the low-pressure zone and, penetrating the barrier, exert a combined behind-the-barrier effect.The choice of the lens shape (conical-hemispherical) and the distance between the conical vertices of the copper lining and the lens ensures guaranteed penetration of high-temperature PCM particles through the resulting hole or breach in the barrier.

[0052] The explosion causes high pressures to act on the inner surface of aluminum alloy casing 3, causing its walls to expand. This pressure also exerts pressure on the inner surface of steel shell 12 through the outer surface of aluminum alloy casing 3. Due to the placement of steel shell 12 on top of aluminum alloy casing 3, the expansion of the walls along the length of the aluminum alloy casing occurs unevenly. In the area of ​​the steel shell, the energy of the detonation products is additionally expended on the deformation of dissimilar materials with different physical and chemical properties. The accumulated energy thus contributes to an increase in the velocity of the fragments of the steel shell after their destruction.

[0053] After overcoming the plastic deformation of the aluminum alloy casing 3 and its destruction, the detonation products begin to press on the inner surface of the steel shell 12. Intense stresses arise in the wall material, concentrated by the annular grooves of conical cross-section. This results in the steel shell separating into rings along the grooves. Further expansion of the rings leads to their spontaneous fragmentation into fragments within a narrow range of mass groups (depending on the wall thickness of the steel shell and the pitch of the annular grooves) without saber formation.

[0054] Implementation of the invention

[0055] The implementation of the proposed technical solutions in a multi-factor warhead for equipping guided loitering munitions or FPV drones has resulted in a highly effective weapon, which is designed with physically diverse damaging factors and makes it possible to neutralize threats from various types of targets with a single munition, thereby increasing the flexibility of response in combat situations.

[0056] The developed warhead has cumulative, fragmentation, high-explosive incendiary and barrier-breaking barothermal and incendiary effects, has been introduced into serial production and supplied to the troops.

[0057] Source of information

[0058] 1 Patent RU 2235277 C2, IPC: F42B 12 / 10, 1 / 02, published 08 / 27 / 2004.

[0059] 2 Patent RU 2488072 C1, IPC: F42B 12 / 22, 12 / 24, 12 / 28, 12 / 66, published 20.07.2013, Bulletin No. 20.

[0060] 3 Patent RU 2663855 C1, IPC: F42B 1 / 28, 1 / 032, 12 / 10, published 10.08.2018, Bulletin No. 22.

[0061] 4 Utility model RU 182868 U1, IPC: F42B 12 / 16, published 05.09.2018, Bulletin No. 25.

[0062] 5 Utility model RU 234985 U1, IPC: F42B 12 / 24, published 06 / 17 / 2025, Bulletin No. 17.

Claims

1. A multi-factor warhead containing a detonating device and a housing made of aluminum alloy, in the front part of which a cumulative charge with a copper lining and a lens of a conical-hemispherical shape are placed, in the rear part - an explosive charge and an initiating charge, characterized in that the lens is made of a reactive material and is located in a housing made of aluminum alloy between the cumulative and explosive charges, cast mixtures or pressed compositions are used as an explosive charge, on the outer side of the housing made of aluminum alloy there is a steel shell with fragmentation localizers in the form of annular grooves of a conical cross-section.

2. The warhead according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the steel shell is made cylindrical or cylindrical-conical in shape, and the annular grooves on the steel shell are located on the outside, while the ratio of the pitch of the annular groove on the steel shell to its thickness is 2.341-2.

844.

3. The warhead according to paragraph 2, characterized in that the cone angle of the annular groove at the apex in the steel shell is 90°, and its depth is 0.666-0.834 of the thickness of the steel shell.

4. The warhead according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the ratio of the thickness of the steel shell to the thickness of the aluminum alloy body in the area of ​​the explosive charge is 1.37-1.

83.

5. The warhead according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the copper lining at the base has a diameter of 80 to 115 mm.

6. The warhead according to paragraph 1, characterized in that the distance between the tops of the copper lining and the lens is from 4 to 15 mm.

Images