HIGH-G POWER SOURCES FOR THE US ARMY HSTSS PROGRAM

Under the Hardened Subminiature Telemetry and Sensor System (HSTSS) pr ogramme, the US Army has been developing gun-hardened telemetry device s and subsystems for the testing of smart weapon systems. These device s will be able to withstand accelerations in excess of 100 000 g and r adial accelerations in excess of 25 000 g. Under this programme, recha rgeable lithium-ion polymer battery technology and primary lithium/man ganese dioxide technology are being developed for ballistic telemetry applications. To date, prototypes of these batteries have survived acc elerations well over 100 000 g. This report provides the current statu s of these developments and reviews battery designs and testing regime s.