US 12,429,318 B1 · Submunition assembly

Abstract

A submunition assembly to be stored and deployed from an aerial vehicle, particularly a supersonic vehicle, includes a container having at least first and second walls that are joined at one end by a hinge that together define a volume along an axis perpendicular to the hinge that contains a submunition. The submunition assembly is suitably axially-shaped with a rigid parachute panel positioned around the hinge to separate and deploy a parachute. The container may have an internal volume that is conformal to the submunition. The container may have an exterior shape that is either optimized for free-fall or has a portion that provides a conformal surface for the aerial vehicle. The submunition assembly may be configured so that all processing, memory and data resides with the submunition, which issues any and all commands to control the container including separation of the rigid parachute panel and opening of the container to release the submunition.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A submunition assembly for deployment from an airframe, the submunition assembly comprising:

a container having first and second walls joined at one end by a hinge that define a volume along an axis perpendicular to the hinge, said container having a length/width ratio of at least 1:1;
a submunition positioned within the volume inside the container;
a streamer deployed to orient the container during free-fall;
and
a parachute stored in a rigid parachute panel positioned around the hinge at the one end of the container, upon receipt of a parachute command said parachute panel configured to separate from the container and allow the parachute to deploy to slow the submunition assembly during free-fall,
wherein upon receipt of a release command the container's first and second walls are allowed to pivot about the hinge to separate and release the submunition.

3 more elements

A submunition assembly for storage and deployment from an axial opening in an airframe having an outer mold line (OML), the submunition assembly comprising:

a container having first and second walls joined at one by a hinge that define a volume along an axis perpendicular to the hinge, said container having a length/width ratio of at least 1:1, at least a portion of one of the first and second walls having an exterior shape that provides a conformal surface within the axial opening to the airframe's OML;
a submunition positioned within the volume inside the container;
a lock bracket having a receptacle and a pivot bracket positioned at opposing ends of the container to receive a rod on the airframe and to engage a complementary hinge bracket positioned aft in the axial opening of the airframe, wherein upon deployment the rod is retracted and the container pivots away from the airframe and is released to free-fall;
a streamer deployed to orient the container during free-fall;
and
a parachute stored in a rigid parachute panel positioned around the hinge at one end of the container, upon receipt of a parachute command said parachute panel configured to separate from the container and allow the parachute to deploy to slow the submunition assembly during free-fall,
wherein upon receipt of a release command the container's first and second walls are allowed to pivot about the hinge to separate and release the submunition.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Submunition assembly

Life of this patent

Submunition assembly

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20