SMART MUNITIONS PERFORMANCE

ONE OF THE MORE DIFFICULT CHALLENGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMART MUNITIONS IS THE DESIGN OF SIMPLE, RELIABLE ROLL (OR ROLL RATE) SENSORS. ROLL SENSORS NOW IN USE ARE USUALLY COMPLEX, EXPENSIVE, LARGE AND/OR HEAVY. THE ELECTRO-OPTICAL ROLL SENSOR PROPOSED IN THIS SBIR PROJECT ATTEMPTS TO OVERCOME THESE SHORTCOMINGS BY UTILIZING THE INHERENT SIZE, POWER, PERFORMANCE AND WEIGHT ADVANTAGES OFFERED BY THE TECHNOLOGIES OF ELECTRONICS AND OPTICS. THE DESIGN DESCRIBED IN THE PROPOSAL IS SMALL, COMPACT, RUGGED AND LIGHTWEIGHT; IT OPERATES WITHOUT MOVING PARTS AND HAS MINIMAL POWER REQUIREMENTS. THE ROLL INFORMATION IT PROVIDES IS UNAMBIGUOUS AND INSTANTLY AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORM. THE ROLL SENSOR IS COMPATIBLE WITH BOTH HIGH AND LOW SPIN RATE PROJECTILES.