Joint DOD/DOE Munitions Technology Development
Abstract
The mission of the Joint Department of Defense (DoD)/Department of Energy (DOE) Munitions Technology Development Program (JMP) is to develop advanced technologies needed to meet warfighting needs and bring about major improvements in non-nuclear munitions. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DoD and DOE provides the basis for the long-term commitment to this effort. Under the auspices of the JMP, the fusion of DOE technologies with Joint Services needs has provided major advances in warfighting capabilities for many years and continues to play a crucial role in the exploration, development, and transition of new technologies needed by the Services. The JMP is aligned with Department strategic plans such as the key capability gaps and COCOM needs consistent with the Research and Engineering (R&E) Metrics for Force Development and is developing needed munitions capabilities and modeling tools for urban combat and counter-terrorism efforts. The JMP provides a proven and successful mechanism for the collaboration of DoD and DOE scientists and engineers so they can develop technologies of interest to both Departments, within a structured framework of technical reviews and scheduled milestones. The JMP has strong support from the Services through the leadership by DoD lab managers and technical experts of JMP technical activities and in collaborations on the transition of new capabilities to industry. This interdepartmental cooperation makes use of the substantial historic investment in scientific resources by the DOE, and the budgeted JMP funds represented in this justification are supplemented by matching DOE funds. Endorsements from DoD labs indicate a strong history of JMP accomplishments and significant Return on Investment (ROI). The Army's Picatinny Arsenal has stated that modeling and simulation (M&S) tools developed by the JMP are now routinely used to design all new warheads, and the use of these tools has reduced the number of validation tests required for each new warhead from about 5 to 1, resulting in substantial savings. The Army Research Laboratory has demonstrated unprecedented times to deploying new armor solutions to Iraq Theater of Operation (ITO) employing M&S tools developed by the JMP. Compared to recent JMP investments in these M&S tools, an ROI of about 3 can be estimated for these warheads alone, and the tools continue to be used. Over the last several years, there has been increased emphasis on developing technologies of value to counter-terrorism efforts and Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). Initial successes have already emerged from this JMP focus, with some products already in the field. A new and rapidly emerging JMP technology which employs Multiphase Blast Explosives (MBX) will enable the use of precision lethality munitions in urban settings with minimal collateral damage. Based on modeling and technologies developed by the JMP, preliminary tests of MBX integrated in a composite case successfully demonstrated minimum collateral damage. In a related activity, the Air Force and the Navy are pursued a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration Program (JCTD) to incorporate MBX technology into the Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) Focused Lethality Munition. Boeing delivered initial weapons based on these technologies originating from the JMP for operational assessment in FY 2008 and residual assets were delivered to ITO in FY09. Other JMP transitions include several diverse transitions of the mini Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR)/Microsystems Enabled Scalable Array SAR (MESASAR)-based technologies from defense to science. Two specific DoD transitions include a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based application and a demo/study for a version of miniSAR being used as a gunship radar upgrade. Cheetah, an advanced themochemical predictive code, developed with JMP funds, reached a milestone with the recent release of version five. This code is used by over 400 DoD and DOE scientific and engineering staff to study and select energetic materials for modern munitions. Further, all new fuze designs being developed by DoD and DOE utilize technologies such as highly compact capacitors, transformers, and sensors developed by the JMP. In addition, state-of-the-art robotic and machine vision discrimination technologies are being successfully applied to munitions demilitarization programs and are being prototyped on several systems, most recently transitioned for a Cluster Bomb Unit (CBU) Download Workcell. A major update to the Constitutive Properties and Constitutive Modeling database was released across the DoD and DOE including data and model parameters for a range of classic and advanced material models for metals and metal alloys, energetic materials, and polymers. New releases of the shock physics code ALE3D and CTH-PRESTO were delivered to the DoD user base and for the Beta Tests under the DoD's High Performance Computing Modernization Office (HPCMO) Multiphase Flow, Target Response (MFT) Portfolio. The integrated DoD and DOE efforts within the JMP are speeding the realization of new technologies through the advanced development process. The highly challenging technical objectives of the approximately 50 JMP projects require multi-year efforts, and sustained, long-term investments are necessary to achieve success. The JMP is a focal point for collaborative work by over 260 DoD and DOE scientists and engineers, and has been called a model of how the Departments should cooperate, both within their respective organizations (intradepartmental) and with each other (interdepartmental). The JMP also works aggressively, through the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC), to inform industry of the technologies and tools being developed so that they can be transitioned equitably and efficiently for use by our warfighters as quickly as possible. Projects in the JMP are organized in five munitions technology focus areas. They are: Initiation, Fuzing, and Sensors; Energetic Materials; Computational Mechanics and Material Modeling; Warhead & Penetration Technology; and Munitions Lifecycle Technologies. These focus areas are described more fully in the accompanying R2a project exhibit.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2011
- Source ID
- 0603225D8Z_3_0400_PB_2011
- Change Summary Explanation
- Service Agency Name
- Office of Secretary Of Defense
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- Child Accomplishment: Joint DOD/DOE Munitions / Initiators, Fuzes, and Sensors
- Child Accomplishment: Joint DOD/DOE Munitions / Munitions Lifecycle Technologies
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