Effectiveness of Small Warheads

Abstract : This study was commissioned by the DARPA Self-Healing Minefield (SHM) program. The goal of the SHM program was to increase minefield effectiveness by adding communication and mobility functions to individual mines. This would enable a deployed field to self-organize as a network and detect breaching. Once detected, breaches would be sealed by mines hopping into the breach using their mobility capacity. To produce such mines in the current mine form factor, a smaller warhead was needed to make space for the communications and mobility subsystems. The warhead under consideration used a pyrophoric material, Zr, in the liner. The specific task of this study was to determine whether using pyrophorics or energetic materials such as Al-Teflon would enhance lethality against lightly armored or thin-skinned vehicles. Given the very limited data, assessments were made based on the underlying science of the various lethality mechanisms.