Patent ID: 7861657

Claim:
A projectile for use in a non-lethal weapon system, the projectile comprising: (a) a main body with a longitudinal axis; (b) a deformable head formed at least in part of a viscoelastic material, said deformable head operatively attached to said main body, wherein the projectile is adapted for having a kinetic energy and for being launched substantially along said longitudinal axis in the direction of a target, and upon impact of the projectile with a target, wherein said deformable head is adapted to deform viscoelastically to increase contact area of said deformable head on said target, to viscously dissipate a first portion of said kinetic energy, to absorb elastically a second portion of said kinetic energy, and to reduce the remaining kinetic energy of said projectile on impact with said target; (c) a semi-rigid element, including at least two segments connected by at least one foldable portion thereof, wherein said semi-rigid element supports at least in part said deformable head and wherein said semi-rigid element is attached to said main body; and upon impact of the projectile with said target, said at least one foldable portion folds outward in response to said impact.