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I am currently based in the UK, therefore British export licenses may be required for some items, e.g. conical forms as they are used in shaped charge warheads. Regardless of export license prerequisites, my company does not support Islamic militancy or terrorism in any shape or form and will not supply conical or curved dishes to any organisation affliated with these activities.
A unique product sold by Novel Defence Engineering's are shaped charge liners or kits made out of the highly reactive yet dense metal zirconium in solid metal or powder metal composite forms. Using a proprietary binder and manufacturing process, NDE is able to produce powder composite binders for customers with particle sizes down to 60 microns. By varying the mean particle size of the reactive metal component in the composite liner, different reaction rates and jet burn-out ranges can be tailored to the customer's requirements. Using reactive liners increases the number of through-target and behind-target defeat mechanisms. NDE has filed for patents on the manufacture and use of reactive powder composite liners.
A 50mm shaped charge made by Novel Defence Engineering is shown below, ready for filling with plastic explosive. The components are a 50mm inner diameter, 60mm outer diameter aluminium casing, acetal plastic base cap to house a detonator, a tool to put a conical indentation in the plastic explosive and various solid and powder composite reactive liners. I can supply all the components to customers, including reactive liners, minus the plastic explosives and detonators.
A length of zirconium swarf is shown burning in the picture below. Note that it burns with a brilliant white flame (indicative of the temperature) and burns at a steady rate. It can be differentiated from other combustible metals (e.g. magnesium ribbon) from its dark colour, smoke free burning and solid state oxide (magnesium burns in the vapour phase).
| Parameter | Notes |
| Jet length | Thermal softening properties of these jets produces jets about twice as long as copper jets. |
| Toxicity | The reactive components and its oxides has no known toxicity or adverse environmental impact. |
| Density | The penetration of a shaped charge jet is proportional to the jet's length and the square-root of the relative density of the jet to the target. The square-root density of the solid metal and powder composite are close to the baseline standard, copper. |
| Reactivity | Behind target defeat is through the reactivity of the jet material. The adiabatic equilibrium temperature rise in a tank or armoured vehicle compartment will be a few hundred Celcius, while the adiabatic flame temperature of under standard conditions is around 2900K. These temperatures are sufficiently high to burn through Kevlar spall liners and body armour, which decompose at around 730K.
The through target defeat mechanism for thick masonry and geological targets is through the generation of steam from water of crystallisation, and the production of hydrogen gas from the reactive components reducing water. The production of heat, steam and hydrogen gas within the confines of the rock blows it apart. |
| Target defeat mechanisms | Compared to inert jets which can only damage/destroy equipment and personnel through kinetic effects, reactive jets can additionally defeat targets by igniting other energetic materials in targets, starting secondary fires, burning crew and generating toxic gases. |
| Suitable targets | Armoured and geological targets. |
Prices based on liner material, solid or composite metal liner construction, order size, geometry, etc. All non-UK orders subject to export licenses.
Muzzle attachments designed to convert lethal SS109 5.56x45mm ammunition into less-than-lethal baton rounds or to act as a safety device, akin to a breech flag, that mitigates the effect of negligent discharge. Please click on the pictures below to view footage of the attachment and firing of these devices.
With these devices, all soldiers/armed police/civilians with otherwise lethal M4, M16, SA80, Galil, Tavors, HK G36, etc. rifles with standard NATO 22mm outer diameter flash eliminators can now have first shot less-than-lethal capability at under 150g weight encumbrance and a small cost of GBP£50 per "sock". Production costs of these socks should drop to GBP£20 - 30 with large scale production. No bespoke weapon unlike the Taser or 37mm baton gun is needed. NDE is willing to adapt this device for other guns should order sizes warrant; there is no reason this device can not be adapted to, for example, 12 gauge shotguns.
The device shown is still in the mid-prototyping phase with further refinements to the basic design ongoing. In particular the next design iteration eliminates the pseudo aerodynamic aerofoil at the front due to the fold in the Kevlar. Certification as a less-than-lethal weapon is also ongoing. Please contact me if you are willing to collaborate in matters of certification, testing or evaluation.
This invention is patented under UK law with international patents pending. I am willing to sell the patents at the right price, so that I may fund proof-of-concept trials of my 300+ other inventions :)
Vital statistics |
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| Cartridges tested | Standard SS109, 5.56x45mm, 62gr FMJ ammunition Soft point 55gr ammunition with 25gr N133 propellant |
| Maximum ranges | 45m with 62gr SS109, 27m with 55gr self-reload |
| Effective range | 20 - 25m |
| Fits to... | All standard 22mm outer diameter flash eliminators |
| Backward compatible with... | Most 5.56x45mm rifles, e.g. SA80, M4, M16, ... |
| Weight | 100 - 150g |
| Cost | GBP£50 each + shipping worldwide |
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A hobby of mine is amateur rocketry. For those who have cast molten rocket candy, you would know that the process is messy, time consuming and potentially dangerous due to accidental ignition of the propellant. I have perfected a method of producing pristine rocket candy propellant grains that does not involve any heating. I was able to individually make the propellant grains you see below in under a minute. Without going into proprietary details, the process is very scaleable. With appropriate moulds and equipment, the time and cost taken to produce 10 or 100 propellant slugs would be only slightly more than that taken for 1.
I am also investigating applying this process to other propellant chemistries with higher specific impulses than rocket candy. However that must wait until my perchlorate electrolytic cell is set up and running :)