A new method of attacking hard and buried targets using a boosted penetrator warhead has been successfully demonstrated by Lockheed Martin, which plans to integrate the technology on future long-range cruise missiles such as the Revolutionary Approach To Time-critical Long-Range Strike (RATTLRS) system, writes Guy Norris.
Lockheed says the penetrator/missile body was suspended from a fixture and dropped” during the test at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro. “As it dropped, the penetrator was ejected out of the front of the body using a small discharge pressurisation device.”
Jim Pappafotis, director of advanced programmes at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control says: “We made a simple alteration to the cruise missile body that allows us to use the properties of the warhead along with kinetic energy to penetrate the target. The nose of the missile opens like a clamshell, allowing the warhead’s booster to provide the required velocity.” Lockheed adds that the test also “successfully demonstrated the ability to propel the warhead from the main airframe without altering the airframe’s flightpath or angle of flight.”
Future tests will include a warhead sled test in 2006, plus additional work yet to be defined to evaluate if the unique dispenser will affect the operation of the propulsion system. Lockheed envisages the cruise missile carrying the weapon close to the target, where, upon reaching the local area, the penetrator will be deployed and boosted towards the target.
The US Navy-led RATTLRS demonstration programme aims to develop technology for a high-speed cruise missile under a joint project with Lockheed, NASA and the US Air Force.
Source: Flight International
