Patent ID: 7036434

Claim:
An axia kinetic energy projectile comprising: a nose provided at a forward end of the projectile; a rear provided at a rearward end of the projectile; and a base rod provided between said nose and said rear, said base rod including; a forward member integral with said nose, a rearward member integral with said rear, a connection between said forward member and said rearward member which allows said forward member to move axially relative to said rearward member from a contracted position where said rod has a reduced length to an extended position where said rod has an increased length greater than the contracted length, wherein said connection includes a portion of one of said forward member and said rearward member which is received axially within a portion of the other, and wherein said connection is a sliding fit of said portions of said rearward and forward members, and; a locking mechanism which axially locks said forward member and said rearward member together when said forward member is moved from the contracted position to the extended position, wherein said locking mechanism includes: an enlarged part of one of said portions of said rearward and forward members, and a reduced part of the other of said portions of said rearward and forward members in which said enlarged part is received when said forward member is moved from the contracted position to the extended position, and wherein said locking mechanism further includes a stop at a forward end of said reduced part which stops the forward movement said enlarged part, wherein said locking mechanism further includes: a twisting means for inducing a twist between said forward member and said rearward member as said forward member is moved to the extended position; and a second stop spaced rearwardly from said first-mentioned stop behind which said enlarged part is received and then twisted circumferentially as said enlarged part engages said first-mentioned stop.