A FIELD-STUDY OF A HYPERVELOCITY SOLID-PROPELLANT ELECTROTHERMAL 105-MM LAUNCHER

The operation of a Solid Propellant Electrothermal Chemical(SPETC) lau ncher was tested extensively in support of the US Army Space and Strat egic Defence Command (USA SSDC) requirement for integrated field tests of components for a proposed Hypervelocity Weapon System (HVWS). Effo rts were undertaken to translate ballistic results obtained earlier wi th a 105 mm SPETC launcher at Soreq NRC Israel for field use. A 105 mm firing fixture was used in the study. Forty-nine field firings were c arried out in the 105 mm launcher without a single failure of the elec trothermal fixture. Controlled pressure vs time profiles and velocitie s in the range of 1800 - 2030 m/s were obtained at pressures of the or der of 450-550 MPa and accelerations of up to 64 kgee. This was achiev ed using projectile masses from 3.8 - 5.2 kg and various power pulses up to 1.8 MJ. An ensemble of 14 firing experiments indicates that the SPETC process is highly repeatable, The interior ballistic process is smooth and applicable to high gee sabot separation tests. The SPETC la uncher was found to be very reliable, robust and flexible with a high potential. for future weaponization.