An inertial igniter for igniting a thermal battery, including: a base having a first projection; a striker mass rotatably connected to the base having a second projection, when the striker mass is rotated towards the base, the first projection impacts the second projection; a member having a first portion engaging with a second portion of the striker mass to restrict rotation of the striker mass unless a predetermined acceleration is experienced; a mass movable from a first position where an acceleration is less than the predetermined acceleration and a second position where the acceleration is greater than the predetermined acceleration to permit the first and second portions to come out of engagement; a spring for biasing the mass in the first position; and a rotation prevention member for permitting impact of the first and second projections when the predetermined acceleration is experienced and the mass moves to the second position.

An igniter system for a piece of ammunition, having at least one propellant igniter and at least one igniter element designed for transmitting ignition power and extending away from the propellant igniter. The igniter element is arranged spaced apart from the propellant igniter.

A plasma generator is provided for initiation of propellant charges in a weapons system, for example when launching projectiles from a barrel weapon, by electrical discharge between a rear electrode and a front electrode in a combustion chamber channel enclosed in a combustion chamber body and filled with filling gas, designed to ignite at least one propellant charge. An ammunition unit and a launching device including the plasma generator are also provided.

The present invention relates to a firearm projectile capable of releasing a secondary payload mid-flight through a pyrotechnic timing mechanism. Once the firearm is fired, the powder in the casing pushes out the projectile as a typical round. In addition, the powder ignites the delay column. The formulation and amount of delay pyrotechnics determines the delay time. When the delay column is burned, the final portion ignites an expelling charge. The expelling charge builds pressure in the projectile casing and separates the base plug from the main projectile housing. The expelling assembly pushes out the secondary payload out the rear of the projectile. Although the payload exits the rear of the projectile at minimum velocity, the net velocity of the payload is still in the forward direction.

An ammunition cartridge casing is provided having a primer body and a casing body. The primer body has an inner primer portion and an outer primer portion configured to nest in conformance with an outer surface of the inner primer portion. The outer surface of the inner primer portion provides a circumferential trench having a radially outwardly extending circumferential wall portion contiguous with an axially extending circumferential wall portion. The casing body has a distal end portion and a proximal end portion. The proximal end portion of the casing body is interposed between the inner primer portion and the outer primer portion within the trench having an interlocked axially extending circumferential portion and an interlocked radially outwardly extending disc portion of the casing body entrapped between the inner primer portion and the outer primer portion. A method is also provided.

The present invention provides a polymer nose for a polymeric ammunition cartridge having a generally cylindrical neck having a projectile aperture at a first end, a shoulder comprising a shoulder top connected to the generally cylindrical neck opposite a shoulder bottom, a side wall extending from the shoulder, a groove positioned around the side wall, a skirt connected circumferentially about the groove to extend away from the groove, wherein the groove and the skirt are adapted to mate to a polymer cartridge.

An igniter tube consisting of a combustible tube, on the inner face of which an ignition charge is deposited along the length of said combustible tube. The invention also relates to a method for producing the igniter tube.

The present invention provides three piece primer insert for use in polymer ammunition comprising: an upper primer insert portion comprising an upper primer insert bottom portion, a substantially cylindrical coupling element extending away from the upper primer insert bottom portion; and an upper flash aperture that extends through the upper primer insert bottom portion, a lower primer insert portion in contact with the upper primer insert portion, wherein the lower primer insert portion comprises a lower primer insert top portion positioned adjacent to the upper primer insert bottom portion at a connection joint, a lower flash aperture positioned in the lower primer insert top portion and aligned with the upper flash aperture, and a primer recess that extends away from the lower primer insert top portion to an extraction flange and in communication with the lower flash aperture; and a connecting portion that secures the upper primer insert portion and the lower primer insert portion wherein the connecting portion comprises a connecting member positioned in the upper flash aperture and the lower flash aperture, an upper tab connected to the connecting member to extend away from the upper flash aperture into the upper primer insert portion, a lower tab connected to the connecting member to extend away from the lower flash aperture into the primer recess, and a flash hole that extends from the upper tab to the lower tab to connect the upper primer insert bottom portion to the primer recess.

A cartridge that generates higher than typical chamber pressures has an enhanced means of primer retention for retaining the primer in the primer recess of the casing. The means may be a lip folded onto a conical surface, a annular groove to receive deformed primer wall portion material upon detonation, a concavity in the rearward facing wall of the primer, a check valve in the flash tube to inhibit propellant gases from reaching the primer recess, or specifically configured primers with a greater length than diameter and with greater wall thicknesses.

A digitally controlled hand-tossable explosive delivery receptacle comprises a ruggedized reusable compartment enclosing a digital circuit and a disposable cartridge holding one or more explosive chemical agents and a primer. The disposable cartridge is configured to be mounted to the ruggedized reusable cartridge, and a high-strength bulkhead incorporated into the reusable or disposable compartment that separates the digital circuit from the chemical agents. The reusable compartment is sufficiently ruggedized to withstand the ignition of the primer and the detonation of the chemical agents to be reused with one or more additional disposable cartridges. In one implementation, the delivery receptacle uses a commercial airbag initiator as the primer, which is arranged in relation to the one or more chemical agents so that when the initiator is activated, it generates a pressure wave that expels the one or more chemical agents from the grenade.