N102-149 TITLE: Novel Materials for Small and Medium Caliber Projectiles

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Materials/Processes, Weapons

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: .50 Cal, 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, Close In Weapon System

RESTRICTION ON PERFORMANCE BY FOREIGN CITIZENS (i.e., those holding non-U.S. Passports): This topic is "ITAR Restricted." The information and materials provided pursuant to or resulting from this topic are restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120 - 130, which control the export of defense-related material and services, including the export of sensitive technical data. Foreign Citizens may perform work under an award resulting from this topic only if they hold the "Permanent Resident Card", or are designated as "Protected Individuals" as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). If a proposal for this topic contains participation by a foreign citizen who is not in one of the above two categories, the proposal will be rejected.

OBJECTIVE: Develop and evaluate candidate novel materials that demonstrate improved target damage, improved lethality and improved battle damage indicators.

DESCRIPTION: The current small and medium caliber weapon systems utilize projectile that rely strictly on kinetic energy to provide damage to the target. The ability to couple that kinetic energy with a material that provides a significant chemical energy release (such as a reactive material) is desirable for increased weapon performance in addition to enhanced battle damage indicators. There are several challenges associated with this tasking such as: material strength, material density, and energy release over the velocity range of 2500 ft/s - 3500 ft/s. Research and development is required to develop novel materials and innovative processes to achieve the mechanical properties (of the projectile) necessary to survive launch, penetrate the target, and deliver the chemical energy in a way that improves the lethality of the round

PHASEI: Conduct research and development pertaining to the investigation of the structural, mechanical and chemical properties of candidate novel materials. Begin modeling effort to characterize material survivability during gun launch, material break up, and energy release on target impact.

PHASE II: Generate scaled samples of materials identified in Phase I to evaluate and measure the chemical energy output and the ability of the candidate materials to withstand gun launch. Perform ballistic and target impact analysis of candidate solutions. Update launch and impact model to reflect test data. Perform an assessment of each material�s ability to increase battle damage indicators over status quo.

PHASE III: Build full scale assets from the most promising candidate solutions. Provide samples for further testing at Navy facility. Test launch survivability, ballistics, target damage and BDI compared to existing assets. Transition will be contingent upon the choice of the most appropriate caliber(s) for technology transition. The contractor will work with the applicable Navy Program Office in qualifying new projectile configurations. Qualifications will include Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) assessments, test firings and Insensitive Munitions (IM) assessments and/or testing, as required. Any impact to IM will be coordinated with the PEO IWS IM Coordinator.

This technology could potentially be applied to larger caliber weapons but will require investigation of the impact of a scaled up approach from the small/med caliber size to larger projectiles. An analysis will need to be conducted that address performance of larger projectiles, cost of larger masses of the novel materials and the costs to scale the manufacturing process.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Law Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security. Increase round performance and even battle damage indicators could prove useful in law enforcement and DHS operations. Less rounds to complete an operation and a "hit" indication would be a few of the benefits.

REFERENCES:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_material

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M230_Chain_Gun

4. Advanced Energetic Materials, Committee on Advanced Energetic Materials and Manufacturing Technologies, National Research Council. National Academy of Sciences, 2004. http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10918.html

KEYWORDS: projectile; reactive material; small caliber gun; medium caliber gun; incendiary; bullet

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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