Blast instrumentation for lethality assessment

A blast initiation detector (BID) was developed for use on Lance and Hera t argets to detect the first light from fragmenting warheads. The measured ti me of first light, in conjunction with the measured time of first fragment impact, provides a method for computing the standoff distance. The standoff distance is a key measure of interceptor performance. A high-speed sled te st afforded an opportunity to demonstrate and validate the BID/hit panel st andoff measurement for the first time under conditions of known geometry wi th a moving warhead. The BID/hit panel standoff distance estimate was in ag reement with the known geometric standoff distance to within approximately 2%. Lessons teamed from the BID are being used to develop a blast position detector that measures the time and spatial location of the blast.