Enablers for Future Warfighter Capabilities (Warhead Technologies)

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3 Enablers for Future Warfighter Capabilities (Warhead Technologies) Richard Fong Senior Research Scientist Warhead Technology (ST) U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey 1

4 Introduction Due to the uncertainty and asymmetric nature of future conflict, the U.S. Army must become more agile, adaptable, mobile and effective (more lethal yet also able to respond when necessary with non-lethal capabilities). To achieve this aim the army must continue to invest in science and technology to both maintain its innovative edge and to address warfighter capability gaps and needs. This requires sustained investment in advanced research for several critical component enabling technologies: Material science (for nano-technology, reactive materials for protection and munitions applications); Energetics (for enhanced lethality); Warheads (for smaller, lighter, highly lethal to less-thanlethal, scalable effects), Fuzing (for advanced munitions); Sensors (for mobility, protection and munition applications); and Power & Energy (for ground/air vehicle platforms [eg., lasers, batteries]) The building blocks for many of the systems of tomorrow exist today and can be leveraged or adapted for new purposes. Advanced warhead technology will enable innovative solutions 2

5 that enhance firepower, mobility and protection and could provide game changing warfighter capabilities. This includes developing lighter, lethal to non-lethal, scaleable warheads for advanced munitions, such as those that can be integrated into active protection systems (APS), which would significantly enhance the survivability of ground/air platforms or sea vessels from new and emerging threats such as armed-uavs. Other key component enabling technologies will provide new game changing technology warfighting capabilities for enhanced lethality, mobility and survivability for 2025 and beyond. What existing technologies will be used in new ways in 2025? ARDEC has several S&T efforts ongoing to adapt existing components and technologies to provide new Warfighting Capabilities. An Extended Range Artillery Armament System is in development that will be capable of launching a new family of Hyper-Velocity Unitary projectiles which will deliver Enhanced, Scalable, Lethal effects with high precision, even in a GPS denied environment, to ranges greater than 70 kilometers. This Unitary projectile design incorporates Multiple Explosively Formed Penetrators (MEFPs) for the first time in an artillery projectile while also leveraging enhanced fragmentation warhead designs and multi-point initiation technologies to produce 3

6 tailored Lethal Mechanisms that can defeat a full spectrum of targets while also minimizing collateral damage effects. Numerous Active Protection Systems (APS) have already been developed and demonstrated in the U.S. and other nations around the world. Recent battlefield performance of the Israeli fielded Trophy APS shows that it provides significant enhanced protection and survivability against the most lethal & feared ATGM threats. APS saves soldiers lives, so this capability will both improve and proliferate. The Army s S&T investment in Advanced Warhead Technology has and will continue to provide new defeat mechanisms which will enable APS interceptors to neutralize current threats and future emerging threats (including missiles, rockets, and unmanned aerial systems). A current example is ARDEC s successful development and demonstration of a Multiple Explosively Formed Penetrator (MEFP) warhead for an APS interceptor that successfully engaged a High Velocity Kinetic Energy (KE) Long Rod Penetrator, significantly reducing its Armor penetration capability by breaking the long rod penetrator into many small pieces, which can be stopped by lighter weight base armor packages. ARDEC also successfully repurposed automotive industry technology, successfully demonstrating a Non-Energetic Air Bag Munition concept that can defeat RPGs by intercepting and 4

7 initiating the RPG at a distance from the vehicle that significantly enhances vehicle and Soldier survivability. ARDEC recently completed a successful demonstration of a controlled fragmentation warhead to defeat RPGs for an OSD RRTO funded Helicopter APS program. The program objective was to show feasibility of a company proprietary guided mini-munition concept fired from the ALE-47 flare launcher into a very small basket to defeat RPGs. ARDEC was tasked to provide an extremely small (180 grams) warhead design capable of defeating RPGs when the mini-munition is guided into the very small basket. The ARDEC warhead design plus the successful demonstration of the guided mini-munition clearly showed the possibility of APS to enhance helicopter survivability. These and other warhead technologies can be adapted to provide enhanced survivability for Air, Sea, and Land platforms as well as for Fixed Site protection. What new technologies will be game changers in 2025? Looking towards the future, the US Army is already laying the groundwork for next generation of leap-ahead weapons systems that will revolutionize the way it fights the battles of tomorrow. Army S&T will continue to provide the technologies that will enable game changing warfighting capabilities in lethality, mobility and survivability against current and future 5

8 threats. Among the concepts that ARDEC is developing for enhanced lethality is a collaborative munition, which could potentially project large munition lethal effects from many smaller munitions that swarm and attack multiple targets. For example, these collaborative munitions would be able to communicate with each other, with one munition being used to fire multiple projectiles to destroy area or poorly located targets, while other munitions would project larger munition effects to defeat a single, harder target. Another concept ARDEC is currently developing is a hybrid munition that would be fired from existing weapon systems and transform into an UAV in-flight. This UAV would classify stationary and/or moving targets and would be capable of killing these targets in all battlefield environments. The hybrid munition concept includes GNC, sensors and a lethal payload. Tactical intelligence will be provided by sensors, while the GNC will offer precision placement of the munition on the selected target. The payload will provide enhanced lethal effects against personnel as well as light armor. This concept negates the effectiveness of protective measures such as defilade or protective barriers (e.g., walls). There are also demonstrated component technologies that would enable iron-man like capabilities to deliver game 6

9 changing technology for future warfighters. Due to the US Army s continued investment in advanced materials such as nano technology, it will be possible to produce ultra-lightweight body armor that could integrate electronic sensors, visual displays, and even advanced mini-guided munition technology for offensive and defensive purposes. Exoskeleton concepts and capabilities have been demonstrated to assist future warfighters in carrying heavy loads, as well as enhancing lifting capabilities. ARDEC is developing plans to integrate several key sensors, visual display and guided mini-munition technologies to demonstrate concept feasibility of iron-man like capabilities for our future Warfighters. To protect convoys operating in both rural and urban environments, research is also being conducted to determine the capabilities of ensuring warfighter survivability. This includes concepts such as a Leader/Follower principle for unmanned robotic platforms, in which one or several robotic platforms would act as shields (via APS) to provide 360 degree hemispherical protection to defend platforms carrying soldiers or supplies against all threats (including IEDs and mines). Not only will this system project lethality in a battlefield environment, but it will ensure that the warfighter will be more 7

10 maneuverable in the future and better able to effectively engage and destroy the enemy. Finally, the U.S. Army ARDEC is also exploring the concept of a multi-mission, multi-role modular weapon system. This system would be capable of firing a family of lethal/non-lethal or active protection interceptors to defeat incoming threats, thereby enhancing warfighter survivability. This system would also be able to be used for either fixed site or lightweight vehicle application as well as being adaptable to mission requirements. For example, the warfighter would be able to configure and carry the right mix of munitions to fulfill a variety of missions based on intelligence and CONOPS. A few examples of the potential uses of this innovative system include protecting Forward Operating Bases (FOB,) Contingency Operating Bases (COB), nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) contamination avoidance and naval port defense. Conclusion Due to the decades of investment in Army S&T in these key research areas, the resulting fundamental component technologies and materials have positioned the U.S. Army with the technology to provide superior warfighting capabilities. And while continued research in each of the other major component areas is vital, developing advanced warheads, which deliver the necessary 8

11 lethal effects to defeat or destroy a variety of threats, remains critical. Not only will new warhead technology significantly enhance the survivability of ground/air/sea platforms and defeat emerging armed-uav threats, but it will also enable future warfighters the ability to successfully fulfill their missions for 2025 and beyond. For the army to exist, it must be able to kill enemy targets. BIO Richard Fong is the Senior Research Scientist for Warhead Technology of the U.S Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), Picatinny, New Jersey with responsibility for the Army s research and development of Shaped Charges, Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) and Fragmentation warhead technology. This responsibility includes planning and executing novel warhead research and development programs and providing technical advice and consultation to other private and government agencies on warhead technology for major Army and DOD munitions development programs. He was selected to be a Senior Scientific and Professional (ST) position in November Over the last two decades, he has played an important and often critical role in essentially all of the advances in U.S. EFP Warhead Technology. His most significant accomplishments have been developing new Advanced EFP and Enhanced Fragmentation 9

12 warhead concepts and recommending design solutions critical for major U.S. Army anti-armor and anti-material weapon systems. As an internationally recognized technical authority in warhead technology and target defeat, Mr. Fong s contributions have raised U.S Army ARDEC s warhead design and development capabilities to world class leadership. Mr. Fong is a recognized expert in warhead technologies with over seventy publications and over 200 technical presentations. He has received ten U.S. patents in the field of warhead technologies, twelve Army Research and Development Achievement Awards, Meritorious Presidential Rank Award in 2007, and two best paper awards for Warhead Research and Development at the International Ballistics Conference. Education: 1. B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of New York, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification in