Goatsee

The SMAW-D fuze works as follows: Each round has a unique fuze that automatically selects the proper detonation mode to maximize warhead destructive effects on each target. If the rocket hits a soft target, such as a sand-bagged bunker, the fuze delays warhead detonation until the rocket has buried deep into the target. Warhead burial produces the signature HEDP heaving effect, which devastates these soft targets. Rocket impact on a building wall, lightly armored vehicle, or other hard target causes the fuze to detonate immediately. The warhead's high explosive charge is therefore squashed against the target, which results in enormous target holes and propels large fragments inside the vehicle or behind the wall. It appears that the SMAW-D warhead is actually a squash head type of explosive (plastic explosive). The NE round is an explosive that is surrounded by the thermobaric booster. These boosters are not exactly 'squashable'. Check the video http://warfare.ru/?catid=278&linkid=1847&video=true If you slow frame it, its apparent that after the quick initial explosive, a great heaving effect is made afterwards. grenade launcher http://www.shipunov.com/eng/str/grenades/gm94.htm [ January 01, 2006, 08:41 PM: Message edited by: Goatsee ]

You open your mouth when artillery fires and cover your ears. Many people claim this 'equalizes' pressure. I doubt this is actually the case. When I yawn, or over-extend my jaw, I actually have momentary 'deafness'. This is because the tube from the ear to the throat area is blocked. So noise impacting within the air is hitting the eardrum, but the air behind the eardrum is not free to the atmosphere. So by covering one's ears, and 'yawning', you isolate the extreme disturbance from getting to the ear at all. Thats what I believe happens. There is no actual muscle that directly connects to the eardrum or other intricate parts.

I have only been outside when tube artillery was fired. You do open your mouth. being inside an armored vehicle would attenuate the noise and blast.

What muscles? There are no muscles that I know of. Do you have muscles so you can 'squint' your hearing? The eardrum does transmit vibrations to the small bones that in turn send the varying pressure into the cochlea (sp?). THIS then is picked up by the nevrves in the ears. Do tankers open their mouths when firing the main gun? This would equalize the pressure somewhat.

I have heard rumors of a 40mm-NE round. It would be a very capable room/cave clearing device (not a building leveler). It would also deplete O2 if a rapid-fire number of rounds lands within a room (s). Combined with choking dust and possibly tear gas, a very nice way to clear buildings.

You have no other information then? Most reading I have done states that they are just supposed to go through brick walls but fail to do so. Thats why a preliminary hole is made with some other system first. Other reports claim that if the room it enters into is small, this effects its output since the warhead is dependant on O2 from the atmosphere. Thermobaric weapons (like the NE round) use a conventional explosive surrounded by a solid 'booster' explosive that needs oxygen (or thats my understanding).

I suppose its another terminology for fuzing that 'senses' target hardness and delays/modifies the explosion initiation to it. I am assuming that flamingknives is saying as much.

Thanks for the sales bullet! I suppose an email to the company might confirm it.

Thermobaric is 'Novel Explosive' or HIT (High Impulse Thermobaric) in Military terms. There are other enhanced-blast type technologies. Do you have a source that NE has been combined with SMAW-D improved fuzing beyond some tests? I believe the Special Forces did testing?

The NE is a thermobaric warhead. In support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) fielded equipment in response to Urgent Universal Need Statements which provided additional capability to I MEF. At the request of the Combat Assessment Team, MCSC provided three officers to assess UNS / legacy system items. This late April 2003 effort was the second trip supported by MCSC personnel in theatre. Reviewing the SMAW Thermobaric Round, the team reported that it "Only received reports of two shots. One unit disintegrated a large one-story masonry type building with one round from 100 meters. They were extremely impressed. However, another unit tried to breach a wall of a similar masonry building after being unsuccessful at trying to mechanically breach a door. “The round just bounced off the wall.” They were not so impressed." ... SMAW gunners became expert at determining which wall to shoot to cause the roof to collapse and crush the insurgents fortified inside interior rooms. ... Due to the lack of penetrating power of the NE round, we found that our assaultmen had to first fire a dual-purpose rocket in order to create a hole in the wall or building. This blast was immediately followed by an NE round that would incinerate the target or literally level the structure." http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/smaw-ne.htm

Do eardrums really 'contract'? I thought it was just a membrane. So if a pre-firing sound was introduced, perhaps its purpose was to move the membrane into a more favorable position? Perhaps so that it is moving such that it does not get the full impact of the firing? Possibly coming back to rest? Another possibility is sensory-flooding. The mind recieves the clicking sound and is in the process of percieving it and this somehow 'blocks' the perception of the actual louder noise? 1/100th of a second is extremely fast when considering human response time scales. Blinking response is 1/10th of a second for comparison.

Hello and interesting website The use of thermobaric small warheads (shoulder fired) is somewhat limited at this time considering the small procurements. The anectodal story above could be related to its warhead detonation. It must be placed optimally within the building itself. many of these buildings have an internal bunker within it. Therefore, the outer walls act as spaced protection. The improved M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (BDM)has advanced fuze technology that is probably a better solution to this MOUT type of fighting. It is best described here... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m141.htm