Seek and Destroy ARMor
Encyclopedia
Project Sense and Destroy ARMor, or SADARM, is a US
'smart' submunition capable of searching for, and destroying tank
s within a given target area.
Several successful live-fire tests were conducted in 1989, and production was scheduled for 1994; however, pre-production samples tested in 1993 gave poor results with only nine out of 42 submunitions hitting their targets. Fixes were applied and further testing resulted in 11 hits from 13 submunitions.
Low-rate production began in 1995, with further testing successfully conducted in April 1996. Low-rate production continued with a total of 836 projectiles produced.
When the submunition detects a target, its 1.5 kg LX-14 explosive charge is detonated, to project an explosively formed penetrator
that has enough energy to penetrate the thin top armor of most main battle tanks up to a range of around 152 m. If the submunition reaches the ground before it finds a target it self-destructs.
The submunition was also intended to be used in MLRS rockets, with four or six being carried.
, with a total of 121 rounds reported fired by the 3rd Infantry Division with 48 vehicle kills attributed to 108 M898 SADARM projectiles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
'smart' submunition capable of searching for, and destroying tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s within a given target area.
Beginnings
The project's roots can be traced back to the early 1960s. The original platform for the submunition was the 203 mm M509 ICM projectile, and the concept was demonstrated in the late 1970s. By 1983 the project shifted focus to the 155 mm caliber and the target set was changed to self propelled howitzers and other lightly armored vehicles. With the approval for engineering development in 1986 the scope was expanded to include the larger diameter submunitions in the MLRS rockets.Several successful live-fire tests were conducted in 1989, and production was scheduled for 1994; however, pre-production samples tested in 1993 gave poor results with only nine out of 42 submunitions hitting their targets. Fixes were applied and further testing resulted in 11 hits from 13 submunitions.
Low-rate production began in 1995, with further testing successfully conducted in April 1996. Low-rate production continued with a total of 836 projectiles produced.
Description
The M898 155 mm SADARM shell is fired from a normal 155 mm artillery gun, with a nose-mounted M762/M767 fuse set to burst at 1,000 m above the target to release two SADARM submunitions. Once the submunition is ejected from the projectile, an initial ram-air parachute opens, to de-spin and slow the submunition. A second "vortex ring" parachute then deploys, to slowly spin the submunition, suspending it at approximately 30° from the vertical. As it spins, its sensors sweep a decreasing spiral track beneath the submunition to scan an area about 150 m in diameter. The sensors consist of a millimeter-wave radar, a passive millimeter-wave radiometer and an infrared telescope. A magnetometer is used as an aid in arming and aiming.When the submunition detects a target, its 1.5 kg LX-14 explosive charge is detonated, to project an explosively formed penetrator
Explosively Formed Penetrator
An explosively formed penetrator , also known as an explosively formed projectile, a self-forging warhead, or a self-forging fragment, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armour effectively at standoff distances...
that has enough energy to penetrate the thin top armor of most main battle tanks up to a range of around 152 m. If the submunition reaches the ground before it finds a target it self-destructs.
The submunition was also intended to be used in MLRS rockets, with four or six being carried.
Combat history
The system was used for the first time during combat during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, with a total of 121 rounds reported fired by the 3rd Infantry Division with 48 vehicle kills attributed to 108 M898 SADARM projectiles.
Specifications
- Projectile M898
- Weight: 44 kg
- Length: 805 mm
- Caliber: 155 mm
- Range (fired from M109A6): 22,500 m
- SADARM submunition
- Weight: 11.77 kg
- Warhead: 1.5 kg LX-14
- Length: 204.4 mm
- Diameter: 147 mm
- Descent rate: 17 m/s
- Scan rate: 456 rpm