Patent ID: 7987759

Claim:
A method, when firing in succession several rounds of pyrotechnic propellants in electro-thermal canons, machine guns or other barrelled electro-thermal weapons, for electrically initiating the pyrotechnic propellants in each of the successively fired rounds with one plasma jet igniter by: electrically heating an anode included in the plasma jet igniter to such a high temperature that a portion in proximity to the anode of the dielectric material, which dielectric material electrically insulates the anode and a cathode included in the plasma jet igniter, from one another, is vaporised; that said vaporised portion of all the dielectric material available is sufficient, when activating the plasma jet igniter, to form in the direction from the anode toward the cathode, an electro-thermal plasma stream; connecting the anode and the cathode to respective poles on a pulse generator for the initiation and maintaining of the electro-thermal plasma stream in said direction from the anode toward and past the cathode; conducting at least one voltage pulse from the electric pulse generator between the anode and the cathode and thus activating the plasma jet igniter forming the electro-thermal stream past the cathode; consummating only that portion of all the dielectric material available necessary for the forming of the electro-thermal plasma stream by the activating of the plasma jet igniter and thus electrically initiating the pyrotechnic propellants in each of the successively fired rounds by using only one plasma jet igniter.