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Sense and destroy armor
(SADARM)

The smart artillery round

A column of enemy armoured vehicles is advancing on an allied air base. The air above the tanks
is filled with small parachutes. Rocket motors burst into life, shooting armour piercing projectiles
towards the vehicles with pin-point accuracy. Within minutes the tanks are exploding. The enemy
attack has ground to a halt - SADARM has struck!

The US Army has been developing the SADARM since 1988 and in February 1997 it awarded a $82 million contract to GENCORP Aerojet to begin low-rate production of the smart weapon. SADARM turns dumb artillery pieces into a precision guided weapon. It is the US Army's first indirect fire, autonomous munition. During the cold war NATO ground commanders were always looking for new weapons to turn back the Red Army's massed armoured vehicle and artillery fleets. By giving artillery a precision-guided munition, indirect-fire weapons could be used to break up enemy formations at long range. Early generation precision-guided artillery munitions required laser or other type of designation to guide them to their targets. This meant friendly troops had to risk getting close to the enemy before they could begin guiding weapons to their targets.

1. Delivery
2. Dispense
3. Decelerate - MMW Alt measurement
4. Display parachute
5. Activate censor processing
6. Initiate search and enable fire
7. Detection scan
8. Confirmation scan-fire EFP

The answer was SADARM, a smart munition that could detect light armour vehicles and self-propelled artillery itself and then destroy the target.

SADARM

Individual SADARM sub-munitions are contained inside specially modified carrier projectiles, that can be fired from un-modified l55mm artillery pieces or M270 multiple barrel rocket launchers (MLRS). Two sub-munitions are contained in a 155mm projectile and six inside a MLRS projectile.
Once fired towards a suspected target, the carrier releases the sub-munitions. A millimetre wave radar in the sub-munition measures its altitude and then deploys a parachute. As the sub-munition starts to decelerate the onboard infra-red, active and passive millimetre radar sensors kick into action and begin scanning for the targets.

On-board computers then match the sensor data to known threats and select a target. An explosively-formed penetrator is then fired at the top armour of the target, inflicting catastrophic damage. The key to the SADARM is the sensor package that allows autonomous target detection, selection and attack, making it a true fire-and-forget weapon system. It has four main sensors. A passive infra-red sensor detects heat sources and produces a full heat image of the target. This sensor has built in flare-and-fire discrimination capabilities to prevent spoofing. A magneto meter provides orientation and spin control. Passive millimetre wave radar has capabilities for metallic object sensing, scene sensing, tactical target sizing, aim point puller discrimination and combined counter measures discrimination. Active millimetre wave radar has the capability for man-made object sensing, tactical target sensing, altimeter aiming sensors and corner reflective sensing.
These sensors have been proven in over 300,000 tests, including captive flight and live fire tests. It adapts to all climatic conditions, different terrains and is effective in counter measure environments. The testing programme culminated in a successful field firing in December 1996, in which five armoured targets were hit from sub-munitions dispensed from four 1 55mm projectiles.

SADARM, setting new standards for smart artillery munitions

The explosively formed penetrator has been test fired, at maximum range, against armour that exceeds the top protection of any vehicle currently in the field. Tests show holes smaller than a pen punched through tank turrets during SADARM tests.
Each 1 55mm projectile weighs some 26.4lb and MLRS rounds weigh 30.8lb. The 1 55m projectile has a range of 22.5km when fired from a M109A6 self-propelled howitzer and the MLRS round can be fired out to 30km from a M270 launcher.

Programme milestone

The 1997 firm-fixed-price contract for 600 l55mm M898 SADARM rounds was the milestone decision in the programme, that allows for the first unit to field the weapon. This contract runs through to December 1998 and also includes tooling for high rate production.

If the US Army decided to proceed with the full programme It could involve contracts to the value of $150 million and the purchase of 73,000 SADARM rounds by 2013.
GENCORP Aerojet's Azusa plant in California will assemble the SADARM rounds, although members of the SADARM team includes contractors from all over the United States.
The US Army's Tank-automotive & Armaments Command, at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, has been heading up the US Army's SADARM design, development and procurement effort. In April 1996 the US Army initiated a sole source contract for $47 million with GENCORP Aerojet for the product improvement (PI) of the baseline SADARM round. This work is still on- going with a target date of 2001 for completion. The PI plan consists of enlarging the target scan footprint, electronics performance upgrades and an advanced lethal mechanism.
At the same time the US Army and CENCORP Aerojet have started on a cost reduction plan to produce a more cost-effective system. This plan involves electronics upgrades, advanced electronics packaging, next-generation millimetre wave components and a simplified infrared telescope.

Weapon for the next millennium

Once in service, the SADARM will set new standards for smart artillery munitions in a market sector that will soon be filled with rival products manufactured in Germany, Sweden, France and Russia.
Already the US Army is looking at the growth potential of the weapon, including delivering it by missile or air launched weapons.

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