Dispersion warhead

A plurality of individual containers holding ammunition bodies are arranged within a dispersion warhead. A reaction engine is provided for each container or each of a group of containers. The reaction engines are mounted on the exterior surfaces of the containers, preferably on the container bottom. A rocket engine fueled with a body of solid fuel can be used as the reaction engine. Ignition means are provided at each end of the body of fuel. A centrally positioned detonating channel extends between the ends of the body of solid fuel. A slot-shaped continuous gas channel extends through the body of solid fuel between its ends and also extends laterally outwardly from the detonating channel to the surface of the body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a dispersion warhead and is more 
particularly concerned with a warhead in which a plurality of individual 
containers are positioned each holding ammunition bodies. The ammunition 
bodies are dispersed after the containers have been ejected from the 
warhead. 
Dispersion ammunition is used for effectively attacking a large target 
area, that is, to cover a large area where the enemy is deployed with a 
plurality of ammunition bodies of various kinds or to cut off temporarily 
certain areas from attacking enemy units or for persistently harassing 
withdrawal movements of the enemy. The special advantage of dispersion 
ammunition involves the ability to cover large target areas which cannot 
be destroyed or would be difficult to destroy by a concentrated attack of 
fire power. By use of the dispersion ammunition sufficient accuracy can be 
attained to achieve the desired military objective. Since the 
effectiveness of a weapons system results from the probability of the 
ammunition striking the target and the military effect of the ammunition 
at the target, the effectiveness can be increased by improving the 
probability of striking the target even if the effect at the target is 
lowered. The increased probability of striking the target is more 
important in the overall effectiveness of the weapons system. 
Additionally, the effectiveness of such weaponry is heightened by 
arranging the dispersion ammunition in a plurality of militarily effective 
bodies. In the past individual dispersion ammunition containers have been 
ejected from a warhead by means of propellant charges or springs. When 
either of these means are used for absorbing the forces which occur on the 
warhead body and on the dispersion ammunition container, the body and 
container constructions must be of appropriate strength which results in a 
relatively heavy structural weight of the members. Therefore, the 
dispersion range in the target area is limited where the structural weight 
of the assembled warhead is too great when taking into consideration the 
range of the carrier vehicle, for instance a rocket or aircraft or where 
the dimensions of the carrier vehicle are too large. For strategical and 
practical reasons, however, it is important to provide a large range of 
action for the carrier vehicle and also to afford a maximum dispersion 
range in the target area. 
It is the primary object of the present invention to achieve a maximum 
dimension for each of these ranges while, at the same time, reducing the 
overall structural weight of the dispersion warhead so that an optimum 
relationship is provided between the weight of the warhead and the payload 
at a maximum dispersion range. Therefore, in accordance with the present 
invention, an improved dispersion warhead is provided by assembling 
individual dispersion ammunition containers within the warhead casing with 
at least one reaction engine for one or a number of the containers. 
Dispersion ammunition containers equipped with their own reaction engines 
guarantee a reduced structural weight for the warhead and the containers, 
since, compared to the use of explosive powder charges, the reaction 
engines operating at a significantly lower acceleration cause 
significantly less stress on the warhead casing and on the structure of 
the container. Moreover, a special military advantage is attained in that 
a significantly larger region can be covered by the dispersion ammunition, 
since the dispersion range depends only on the installed energy or the 
operating potential of the reaction engine which provides a less damaging 
effect on the structure of the ammunition containers than the suddenly 
acting explosive powder charges. 
Depending on the deployment of the enemy and the individual areas to be 
attacked, various dispersion patterns are needed or the ammunition bodies 
must be concentrated in individual areas. In accordance with the present 
invention, these situations can be adequately handled by providing 
individual containers or groups of containers with reaction engines of 
different energy ratings. As a result, it is possible to provide a 
military coverage which can be adjusted to the individual situation. Such 
individual coverage programs can be set up while the warhead is still on 
the ground or, when in the air, by selecting individual containers to be 
dropped in a particular sequence. 
Reaction engines particularly suited for use in such military situations 
are solid fuel rocket engines, since they are small in size, have a high 
power density, are simple in construction, and storage of such engines 
presents less of a problem. 
When a large dispersion range is desired, ram jet engines can be used in 
accordance with the present invention which engines obtain their oxygen 
supply from the surrounding air by ram charging which results in lower 
weight and, the weight of the fuel being equal, in a larger radius of 
action. 
In accordance with the present invention, the reaction engines may be 
installed in a simple manner on the outer surface of the containers, in 
particular on the container bottoms. In such an arrangement, it is 
advantageous to position the combustion chamber of the reaction engine 
with the solid fuel alongside the container bottom. 
To limit the structural size of the warhead when the dispersion chambers 
are arranged radially next to one another in the peripheral direction, a 
plurality of discharge nozzles can be provided for each combustion 
chamber, since the total thrust power can be maintained while the use of 
several discharge nozzles reduce the length of the individual nozzle as 
compared to one larger nozzle. 
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are 
pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part 
of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its 
operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference 
should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which 
there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the 
invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In FIG. 1 a plurality of dispersion ammunition containers 1 are shown 
within a warhead casing. Individual groups of containers are provided one 
aligned behind the other in the axial direction of the warhead casing 
while in each group the containers are disposed in an annular pattern. As 
shown in FIG. 1, each dispersion ammunition container has a reaction 
engine 2. Each reaction engine has a longitudinally extending combustion 
chamber 2a with at least two discharge nozzles 3 extending outwardly from 
the combustion chamber. The reaction engines 2 are mounted on the bottoms 
of the containers 1. 
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the reaction engines are rocket engines 2 
containing a body of solid fuel 4 in which a continuous slot-shaped gas 
channel 5 is formed radially inwardly from the outer surface of the body 
to approximately its center. Individual discharge nozzles 3 are connected 
to the gas channel 5 in a manner which takes into consideration the flow 
conditions. At the location of each discharge nozzle 3, the gas channel 5 
has a funnel-shaped enlargement 5a for creating more favorable inflow 
conditions. The body 4 of solid fuel extends axially between two end 
surfaces and an igniting charge 6 is provided at each end surface. Each 
igniting charge 6 is fired by a primer capsule 7. Firing circuits 9 are 
connected to the primer capsules 7 and extend through electrical 
disturbance filters 8. The flames generated by the igniting charge 6 pass 
through a centrally arranged detonating channel 10 through the body 4 
communicating with the inner end of the gas channel 5 for igniting the 
solid fuel along the length of the detonating channel. While specific 
embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to 
illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be 
understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing 
from such principles.