Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1193118
rounds are, in fact, incendiary. Obviously, the smoke effect is present. However, equally visible is the effect caused by burning white phospho- rus that also created clouds of toxic smoke. Rounds as such are very effective against targets hiding in buildings and fortifications, especially against infantry that is especially vulnerable to white phosphorus dis- tributed by the explosion. Dual purpose cluster rounds are quite rare, on the other hand. There are three reasons for this. First, DPICM rounds are quite expensive to manufacture, with prices three times as high as normal HE rounds. Rounds as such require meticulous manufacturing process. Even though they have been developed back in the times of the USSR, the Russian industry has not yet started mass manufacturing of those. Sec- ondly, the DIPCM rounds are somewhat in the gray zone in the West, as cluster munitions are simply banned. Spain, for instance, got rid of this type of rounds completely, while other countries have suspended procure- ment of such rounds or procurement as such is done, but not in the eye of the beholder. Poland has developed 98 mm cargo mortar bombs, while the WAT developed also 120 mm rounds. However, the project was ultimately abandoned. When it comes to guided mortar rounds, two basic guidance system de- velopment trends can be witnessed. The first one assumed that the mortar rounds featured an autonomous guidance system that enabled them to act against moving vehicles. This is visible in case of the Swedish Strix and British Merlin rounds. Another concept assumes that the round shall be universal. In this case the round makes use of a GPS module with an op- tion of attacking moving targets. In the latter circumstances, laser target designator can be employed. Swedish Strix is a good example of ammu- nition designed against vehicles. This 120 mm round features a guidance system. It has been introduced in 1994 and it is currently used by Sweden and Switzerland. The round has a range of 5 to 7.5 km (when RAP sys- tem is used). Guidance unit use passive IR system that can detect targets within a square perimeter one side of which is 500 m long. The guidance commands are transferred to 12 reaction motors. The shaped charge that has a diameter of around 110 mm makes it possible to penetrate 800 mm of steel. Considering the angle at which Strix hits the vehicle, one may be certain that it would penetrate ERA based on technologies rooted in the 1980s. Strix's disadvantages include short range and the necessity to pro- powerful than the explosives used in the past. The explosives above cou- pled with fragments between the shell and the explosive (or cuts on the internal part of the shell) caused the 120 mm mortar rounds to offer fire- power similar to 155 mm artillery shells. However, nothing is free in this world. The new ammunition turned out to be a double-edged weapon. The explosives used in this ammunition (TNT, RDX or OCTOL) have an ignition threshold (after heating up at exposure of 5 sec) of, correspond- ingly, 478, 197 and 257°C. A test involving shooting the mortar bombs with a rifle shows that chance of explosion of these rounds, filled in with the listed explosives, is at the level of, correspondingly, 40%, 100% and 70%, after hit with a single round or a larger fragment. The ammunition (especially using RDX) is hence quite dangerous, should the vehicle be hit. As a result of R&D effort aimed at improving the ammunition safety LoVA concept was created – low vulnerability ammo as effective as TNT, but with the explosive deflagrating instead of detonating. IMX-101 ex- plosive (DNAN/NTO/NQ in proportion of 43.5%/19.7%/36.8%) has been developed in the USA. This mix is currently used in the ammunition uti- lized by the US forces. It was assumed that safety of storage, transport and use is far more important than firepower. All ammunition used by the US military (!) was replaced in 6 years, with rounds containing the aforesaid explosive. This is relevant when the Polish context is taken into the account. The low-sensitivity/vulnerability K-43 explosive developed by the Polish WAT and manufactured by Nitrochem is, most probably, identical to the US-developed IMX-101. One could complain about the firepower of the Polish RAK HE rounds as they are less capable than the Soviet 3ОФ49 or French TDA ARMEMENTS 120 HE ammunitions Howev- er, safety of use is virtually incomparable. Also, the newly developed fuse is also unique. Its arming process makes use of two different physical phenomena. Lower arming limit (with direct fire) is defined as 40-100 m. The Polish rounds are hence compliant with the strict STANAG 4187 and even stricter US MIL–STD-1316. The inventory of special-purpose mortar bombs available is far more modest than in case of other artillery systems. Illuminating (with a flare falling on a parachute) and "smoke" rounds are most common. In the latter case the inverted commas are not used by accident. "Smoke muni- tions" are an example of the military "newspeak" created by the defense industry. The defense industry is not willing to admit that the smoke www.fragoutmag.com