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Subject: possible mortar use
norden    11/5/2002 2:56:29 AM
Couldnt the overpressure of an artillery or mortar round be used to detonate mines and with the advent of semi-auto mortars, it seems you could reduce propellant in rnd and replace with HE (application specific rnd) to more effectively neutralize mines. Hypothetically if your round always detonates 50 yards in front of vehicle your mortar tubes (Im thinking double-barrel)could be fixed wouldnt it be easier to make some large semi-gravity fed modular magazine. Just a thought, PS Please free the former Christian societies of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, and Sudan from Islamic expansionist hegemony
 
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Texastillidie    RE:possible mortar use   4/5/2005 1:47:24 PM
There are several systems in the inventory that use explosives to breach minefields. Here is a link to one. Spend some time at this site and you will find several others. Some use scatterable explosives while others fire a ribbon that lays out on the ground and then explodes. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/esmb.htm
 
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doggtag    over-pressure detonations...   4/5/2005 5:20:39 PM
...is what fuel-air explosives is all about. Nowadays, "thermobaric" is becoming a more common term. A lot of militaries have expressed new-found interests in over-pressure weapons, and two of the most ideal situations are for minefield breaching and cave/building/bunker clearing. There have even been attempts to use such a warhead on projectiles as small as 40mm M203-type grenades, but one would certainly question the effectiveness of such a small charge (unless someone has video footage to show otherwise...) Certainly, though, there's little reason it could not be incorporated into mortar ammunition: a 120mm round would do nicely. Of course, if you want the really high-end over-pressure weapons, there's always the Daisy Cutter and MOAB. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/blu-118.htm and http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/fae.htm both have decent info on the subject. It's a pity the photo at the bottom of the FAE page doesn't show the vapor cloud detonating (that burst over the house is merely the "pre-detonation" burst, when the fuel-air explosive is forcefully released from the bomb/container, but before it actually ignites/detonates in a very spectacular action), and what the house looked like afterwards. If it is the test that I have seen other footage of, none of the fragments of the house were any bigger than a few feet long.
 
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FSV    RE:over-pressure detonations...   4/6/2005 4:06:30 AM
dogtag: The Army & marine Corps are working on a 40mm Thermobaric round! Of projectiles having the same weight of explosive material, the thermobaric projectile will have more blast & incindary effects. Normal (say Comp B) explosives have to have oxygen as part of their makeup to detonate. Thermobaric materials use the oxygen in the target's air (1 part thermobaric material - to - 6 parts air [rule of thumb]) to detonate. Tactical Advantages: 1. The smaller effect radius would allow the clearing of a room, with friendly infantry just down the hall. The larger (66mm M72-NE & 83mm SMAW-NE http://www.talleyds.com/products/thermobaric.htm) rounds have the habit of 'taking out' several rooms at a time. 2. There are a lot of M203 launcher 'out there'.
 
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Texastillidie    RE:possible mortar use   4/7/2005 10:39:39 PM
Mine clearance is usually the property of the combat engineers in the U.S. Army. Several devices are used to breach a minefield. Mine clearing blade system http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m1mcbs.htm Grizzly Minefield Breacher http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/grizzly.htm Mine clearing dozer http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/d7.htm Robotic Panther excavator http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/panther.htm Several others are used to detonate minefields. Mine clearing launcher using Linear Demolition Charges http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/mk154.htm Armored Vehicle Launched Mine Clearing Line Charge http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m60-avlm.htm Mine Clearing Line Charge trailer http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m58-miclic.htm MK155 Mine Clearance Launcher (Mine Clearing Line Charge) http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/mk155.htm Explosive Stand off Minefield Breacher http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/esmb.htm While it is possible that a mortar might be used for mine clearance, I suspect that these dedicated system will do it better. On the other hand, a mortar could be used to lay a minefield or scatter battlefield sensors rather well. Texastillidie
 
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