Army research : Lethality

Lethality
ARL's program in lethality research seeks to provide innovative technologies to enable the development of weapon systems capable of destroying or incapacitating enemy materiel, infrastructure, and personnel across the full spectrum of Joint Operations. Areas of technical endeavor comprising this program include insensitive high-energy propellants and munitions, novel kinetic-energy penetrator concepts, novel multifunctional warhead concepts, affordable precision munitions, and materials and manufacturing science.


Affordable Precision Munitions

This facet of the lethality program utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to munition system design through the coupling of research efforts in interior ballistics, launch dynamics, flight mechanics, and high-G guidance/navigation/control (GNC) technologies. The goal is to enable the development of smaller, cheaper, and lighter precision-engagement munitions for future asymmetric operations in urban terrain where low collateral damage is essential.

Electromagnetic (EM) Gun Technologies

The Electromagnetic (EM) gun program couples basic and applied research in railgun launchers, pulsed-power materials and systems, integrated launch packages, and hypervelocity utility of lethal mechanisms. ARL's EM gun research supports the Army's EM Gun Program Office at the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center.

Energetic Materials and Propulsion

This effort is aimed at developing and maturing technologies that will enhance the lethality of compact weapon systems while reducing their vulnerability to attack by unplanned stimuli. Research areas include insensitive high-energy materials (propellants and explosives) and their application in tactical munition systems, including gun, rocket and missile systems.

Projectiles and Multifunctional Warheads

This effort is aimed at developing and maturing technologies to provide scalable and adaptive multipurpose capabilities against a full spectrum of threat targets including armor, bunkers, rotorcraft, unmanned systems, and personnel, for revolutionary effectiveness across the range of operating environments.

Materials and Manufacturing Science

This effort applies state-of-the-art materials and structures and processing technologies to ordnance systems in order to achieve enhanced performance, durability, weight reduction, affordability, and environmental impact such as depleted uranium replacement in munitions

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