Ammunition and explosives – Mines – Counter measure
Patent
1998-07-10
2000-05-09
Wesson, Theresa M.
Ammunition and explosives
Mines
Counter measure
102403, 89 113, 114 201, 114 202, B63G 900, F42B 702, F42B 1900, B64D 104
Patent
active
060588470
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to an expendable "one shot" submersible mine neutralisation vehicle and particularly to such a vehicle employing a shaped charge.
In attempting to dispose of underwater mines it has been usual to place an explosive charge adjacent the mine and then detonate the explosive charge hoping that this will cause sympathetic detonation of the mine's warhead, destroying the mine, or at least render the mine's sensor and triggering mechanisms inoperative, rendering the mine harmless. Placement of such charges has been carried out by a human diver or by a remote controlled submersible.
Both of these methods have drawbacks. The main drawback is the high risk to the diver or submersible and it is in fact due to the unacceptably high risk to the diver that submersibles are used. However the very high cost of a submersible able to carry an explosive charge to a mine location, deploy the charge adjacent the mine, and return to the mother ship makes loss of the submersible unacceptable, in addition the weight and bulk of the submersible is such that only a very limited number can be stowed aboard a warship and as a result the vehicle's mine sweeping capability could rapidly be lost due to destruction of the submersibles. A further disadvantage is that the time taken to dispose of a mine is by these conventional methods is quite long due to the need to get the diver or submersible to a safe distance before detonating the charge and the need for the diver or submersible to return to the mother ship, which must always remain at a safe distance from the mine throughout the operation, to pick up further explosive charges. Since the combined explosive effect of the mine warhead and the disposal charge may be very great the safe distance is relatively large.
It has been proposed to overcome these drawbacks by employing an expendable remotely controlled submersible containing an explosive charge and simply moving the submersible into close proximity to a mine and detonating the charge, destroying the submersible and hopefully detonating the mine warhead or disabling the mine sensor and detonation mechanisms simultaneously. The bulk and expense of such an expendable submersible can be very much less than that of a conventional reusable submersible since there is no need to include any explosive charge deployment mechanism, the range and operational life need only be sufficient for a one way trip to the target mine and all of the control and power systems can be "one shot" devices.
UK Patent Application Publication Number GB 2281538 discloses such a "one shot" mine neutralisation vehicle which can both cruise towards a mine and hover in close proximity to a mine.
The embodiments disclosed in this earlier application are adequate for carrying a warhead into close proximity to a mine to be destroyed, where detonation of the warhead in close proximity to the mine destroys the mine by a sympathetic detonation occurring within the mine. However, some mines now employ new explosive materials such as plastics explosive which are not susceptible to sympathetic detonation. In order to destroy such mines it is desirable to be able to accurately position a shaped charge adjacent the mine such that the blast from the shaped charge is focused within the mine to be destroyed. Another advantage of using a directional shaped charge is that if used against a conventional mine a smaller charge can be used than would be required to ensure a sympathetic detonation, and therefore the size of the vehicle carrying the charge can be reduced. This results in a cheaper mine neutralisation vehicle and also enables more vehicles to be carried by mine clearance vessels. It may also enable the vehicle to be small enough to be deployed from a helicopter.
In order to correctly position a shaped charge relative to a mine to be exploded, it is necessary not only to pilot the vehicle into close proximity to the mine but also to be able to fully control the manoeuvrability of that vehicle when it reaches the mine.
Co-pending applications which c
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Casey Donald C.
GEC--Marconi Limited
Wesson Theresa M.
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