LIGHTWEIGHT HIGH SPECIFIC MODULUS AND HIGH SPECIFIC STRENGTH COMPONENTS FOR USE IN MISSILE INTERCEPTORS AND KILL VEHICLE

Abstract

A compressive structural element including: an enclosure having a top, a bottom, and inner wall and an outer wall, a first cavity defined between the inner and outer walls and a second cavity defined by the inner wall; and a non-compressible material disposed in the first cavity; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the first cavity and the inner wall has at least a portion outwardly shaped towards the first cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the inner and/or outer walls into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

Claims

1. A compressive structural element comprising: an enclosure having a top, a bottom, and inner wall and an outer wall, a first cavity defined between the inner and outer walls and a second cavity defined by the inner wall; and a non-compressible material disposed in the first cavity; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the first cavity and the inner wall has at least a portion outwardly shaped towards the first cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the inner and/or outer walls into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

2. An actuator comprising: an enclosure having a top, a bottom, and inner wall and an outer wall, a first cavity defined between the inner and outer walls and a second cavity defined by the inner wall; a non-compressible material disposed in the first cavity; an actuator disposed in the second cavity, the actuator having one or more layers of propellant; and a nozzle in communication with the actuator; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the first cavity and the inner wall has at least a portion outwardly shaped towards the first cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the inner and/or outer walls into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

3. A kill vehicle comprising: a casing having one or more structural elements disposed in the casing, each of the one or more structural elements comprising: an enclosure having a top and bottom and an outer wall defining a cavity; and a non-compressible material disposed in the cavity; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the outer wall into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

4. The kill vehicle of claim 3, further comprising one or more electronic components disposed in the cavity.

5. The kill vehicle of claim 4, further comprising one or more leads connected to the one or more electronic components and exposed on an exterior of one or more of the top, the bottom and the outer wall.

6. The kill vehicle of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the non-compressible material is a battery material for producing electrical power.

7. The kill vehicle of claim 6, further comprising one or more terminals connected to the battery material and exposed on an exterior of one or more of the top, the bottom and the outer wall.

8. The kill vehicle of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the non-compressible material is a combustible fuel.

9. The kill vehicle of claim 8, further comprising: a first bladder disposed in a portion of the cavity, the first bladder containing the fuel; and a second bladder disposed in other portions of the cavity, the second bladder containing another non-compressible material; wherein, as the fuel is used, the first bladder being configured to decrease in volume and the second bladder being configured to increase in volume to fill the cavity together with the first bladder.

10. The kill vehicle of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the non-compressible material is an explosive.

11. The kill vehicle of claim 10, further comprising one or more arming devices operatively connected to arm the explosive, the one or more arming devices being exposed on an exterior of one or more of the top, the bottom and the outer wall.

12. A kill vehicle comprising: a casing, the casing having a wall having one or more structural elements formed in the wall, each of the one or more structural elements comprising: an enclosure having a top, a bottom, and inner wall and an outer wall, a first cavity of defined between the inner and outer walls and a second cavity of defined by the inner wall; and a non-compressible material disposed in the first cavity; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the first cavity and the inner wall has at least a portion outwardly shaped towards the first cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the inner and/or outer walls into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

13. A kill vehicle comprising: a casing, the casing having a wall having one or more actuators formed in the wall, each of the one or more actuators comprising: an enclosure having a top, a bottom, and inner wall and an outer wall, a first cavity of defined between the inner and outer walls and a second cavity of defined by the inner wall; a non-compressible material disposed in the first cavity; an actuator disposed in the second cavity, the actuator having one or more layers of propellant; and a nozzle in communication with the actuator; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the first cavity and the inner wall has at least a portion outwardly shaped towards the first cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the inner and/or outer walls into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

14. A plate comprising: a plurality of honeycomb cells, at least some of the cells comprising: a structural element comprising: an enclosure having a top and bottom and an outer wall defining a cavity; and a non-compressible material disposed in the cavity; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the outer wall into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

15. The plate of claim 14, further comprising one or more electronic components disposed in the cavity.

16. The plate of claim 14, wherein at least a portion of the non-compressible material is a battery material for producing electrical power.

17. The plate of claim 14, wherein at least a portion of the non-compressible material is a combustible fuel.

18. The plate of claim 14, wherein at least a portion of the non-compressible material is an explosive.

19. A plate comprising: a plurality of honeycomb cells, at least some of the cells comprising and actuator, the actuator comprising: an enclosure having a top, a bottom, and inner wall and an outer wall, a first cavity of defined between the inner and outer walls and a second cavity of defined by the inner wall; a non-compressible material disposed in the first cavity; an actuator disposed in the second cavity, the actuator having one or more layers of propellant; and a nozzle in communication with the actuator; wherein the outer wall has at least a portion thereof inwardly shaped toward the first cavity and the inner wall has at least a portion outwardly shaped towards the first cavity such that a first compressive force acting on the top and/or bottom tending to compress the element by a first deflection causes an amplified second deflection, relative to the first deflection, of the inner and/or outer walls into the non-compressible material, thereby exerting a second compressive force against the non-compressible material, resulting in a resistance to the first deflection and the first compressive force tending to compress the element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

[0035] FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a structural element of the prior art, where FIG. 1 is a side view of the structural element and FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrated sectional view of the structural element of FIG. 1 as taken along line 2-2 and 3-3, respectively.

[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates a sectional view of a rigid mass component for a kill vehicle in the form of a housing for electronic components.

[0037] FIG. 5 illustrates a sectional view of a rigid mass component for a kill vehicle in the form of a battery.

[0038] FIG. 6 illustrates a sectional view of a rigid mass component for a kill vehicle in the form of a fuel tank.

[0039] FIG. 7 illustrates a sectional view of a rigid mass component for a kill vehicle for holding explosive materials.

[0040] FIG. 8 illustrates a sectional view of a kill vehicle having rigid mass components disposed in a casing of the kill vehicle.

[0041] FIG. 9 illustrates a top view of the kill vehicle of FIG. 8.

[0042] FIG. 10 illustrates a sectional view of a rigid mass component for a kill vehicle having an empty inner cavity.

[0043] FIG. 11 illustrates a sectional view of a rigid mass component for a kill vehicle in the form of an actuator stack provided in the empty inner cavity.

[0044] FIG. 12 illustrates a sectional view of a kill vehicle having rigid mass components and actuator stacks disposed in a casing of the kill vehicle.

[0045] FIG. 13 illustrates a sectional view of a kill vehicle having a casing comprising rigid mass components.

[0046] FIG. 14 illustrates a top view of a kill vehicle having rigid mass components in the form of actuator stacks disposed in a casing of the kill vehicle.

[0047] FIG. 15a illustrates a sectional view of the kill vehicle of FIG. 14 as taken along line 15-15 in FIG. 14.

[0048] FIG. 15b illustrates a sectional view of a modification of the kill vehicle of FIG. 14 as taken along line 15-15 in FIG. 14.

[0049] FIG. 16 illustrates a sectional view of a rigid mass component for a kill vehicle in the form of a honeycomb plate.

[0050] FIG. 117 illustrates a sectional view of the honeycomb plate of FIG. 17 as taken along line 17-17 in FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] The first embodiments of lightweight and inexpensive rigid mass components for use in kill vehicles utilize both the basic design of the structural elements described above as well as modifications of such structural elements having particular utility for certain kill vehicle components. A first type of such rigid mass components are those housing components that typically reduce and compromise the overall rigid mass of a kill vehicle, in a structural element having high specific modulus and high specific strength.

[0052] A second type of rigid mass components for use in kill vehicles are for increasing a frontal area of a kill vehicle, which not only increase a frontal impact area of the kill vehicle, but do so in a rigid manner and in a direction of travel/impact of the kill vehicle.

[0053] The first type of rigid mass components are variations based on the basic design of the structural elements described above. These structural elements can provide high rigidity while being relatively light weight. In addition, such structural elements can be modified to house kill vehicle components that typically compromise the rigidity of a kill vehicle, such as electronics, batteries, actuators, fuel and explosives. The casing itself may also be formed of a modified structural element to house other structural elements containing the kill vehicle components.

[0054] A first variation of the structural elements described above either (i) embeds typical kill vehicle components in a non-compressible elastomer, gel or liquid in the interior cavity of the structural element, (ii) uses all or a portion of the kill vehicle component as the non-compressible material of the structural element or (iii) where the design of the structural element is modified from those discussed above so as to have an empty internal volume that can be occupied by a kill vehicle component.

[0055] With respect to the first variation where typical kill vehicle components are embedded in a non-compressible elastomer, gel or liquid in the interior cavity of the structural element, a first embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4 where the component can be on board electronics. FIG. 4 shows a structural element 150 as described above having electronic components 152 potted in a non-compressible material 154, such as an elastomer. Electrical wiring 156 can be provided between components as well as to the outside of the structural element, in the form of leads 160 for connection to other components or to a power supply (discussed below). The number and function of the electronic components 152 can vary from a single component that is part of a larger circuit or to several electronic components of a complete circuit for performing a particular function.

[0056] The electronic components can be positioned away from the middle of the interior cavity 162 where the deflection of the walls 158 inward is greatest to avoid any potential damage to the electronic components 152. The wall configuration can be formed to minimize compression of the electronic components 152 and well as fortifying the electronic components 152 against such compression. Further, different non-compressible materials 154 can be provided for embedding the electronic components 152 and at the central region of the interior cavity 162 minimizes any negative effects on the electronic components 152 without reducing or significantly reducing the rigidity of the structural element 150.

[0057] As will be discussed below, such structural elements 150 can be stacked within the casing of the kill vehicle such that they are oriented to provide rigidity in a direction of the kill vehicle's travel. In such configuration, electrical connections between electronic components in different structural elements can be provided as conventional wiring harnesses or the casing itself can provide the electrical connection between different structural elements having electrical components to be electrically connected. Thus, the structural elements can be connected together in a manner so as to create a circuit of the electronic components. In this regard, methods and casings for acting as electrical connections/data buses between internal components and methods for wireless communication between potted electronic communications through the potting to avoid the use of wiring in munitions are known (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,892,644; 7,118,825; 7,272,293; 8,110,784; 8,916,809 and 9,423,227).

[0058] Also discussed below, structural elements can be formed in a honeycomb array having integrally formed walls where each contains one or more electronic components that together form a particular circuit or plurality of circuits, including batteries (as discussed below) for powering such circuitry.

[0059] Regardless of configuration, the potting encasing the electronic components 152 would act as the non-compressible material 154 disposed in the interior cavity 162 of the structural element 150, thereby providing such electronic components 152 having high rigidity that adds to the high rigid mass of the kill vehicle. This is in contrast to current conventionally used electronic components/circuitry used in kill vehicles which reduce and compromise the total rigid mass of the kill vehicle.

[0060] Additionally, the encasing of the electronic components 152 adds to the ruggedness of the electronic components and prevents damage during handling and transportation of the kill vehicles and during/after firing due to the high-G load experienced during the firing acceleration and/or setback shock of the missile carrying the kill vehicle as well as resistance to jamming countermeasures.

[0061] Reference is now made to FIGS. 5-9 with respect to the first type of rigid mass components where a portion of the component is the non-compressible elastomer, gel or liquid in the interior cavity of the structural element, such as batteries, fuel and explosives.

[0062] Turning first to FIG. 5, the same illustrates a structural element 180 having materials 182 forming a battery disposed in the interior cavity 184. Such materials 182 can be solids, gels, liquids and any combination thereof and have an overall non-compressible or substantially non-compressible characteristic. Battery terminals 186 can be provided through any of the side 188 or top/bottom 190 walls to carry any produced power to electronic components carried in separate structural elements contained in the kill vehicle casing. Alternatively, as discussed above, the casing may act to carry such power to the separate structural elements contained in the kill vehicle casing.

[0063] The battery 180 can be of the type that is activated prior to use or by a firing acceleration of the missile carrying the kill vehicle, such as liquid reserve batteries. In such configuration, the interior cavity 184 of the structural element 180 can contain the battery cell and a liquid electrolyte can be contained in a housing outside of the interior cavity of the structural element. Methods and devices for forcing the liquid electrolyte into gaps dispersed to the battery cell contained in the interior cavity of the structural element, including heating the same as it is being forced into the battery cell are known (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,231,874; 7,437,995; 7,587,979; 7,587,980; 7,832,335; 8,042,469; 8,061,271; 8,183,746; 8,191,476; 8,245,641; 8,286,554; 8,418,617; 8,434,408; 8,479,652; 8,490,547; 8,550,001; 8,588,903; 8,651,022; 8,776,688; 8,841,567; 8,931,413; 9,057,592; 9,123,487; 9,160,009; 9,168,387; 9,252,433; 9,435,623 and 9,841,263).

[0064] After activation of the thermal battery, the combined battery cell and liquid electrolyte would act as the non-compressible material disposed in the interior cavity 184 of the structural element 180, thereby providing a battery having a high rigidity that adds to the high rigid mass of the kill vehicle. This is in contrast to current batteries or other power sources used in kill vehicles which reduce and compromise the total rigid mass of the kill vehicle.

[0065] Turning next to FIG. 6, the same illustrates a structural element 200 having fuel 202 disposed in the interior cavity 204 for use with steering/propulsion actuators. Such fuel 202 may be limited to liquid fuel for use with the steering actuators and have an overall non-compressible or substantially non-compressible characteristic. An output fuel line 206 can be provided through any of the side 208 or top/bottom 210 walls to carry the fuel 202 to the actuators provided elsewhere in the kill vehicle casing, which, as discussed below, may be in separate structural elements contained in the kill vehicle casing.

[0066] A means is provided for pumping/forcing the fuel 202 from the interior cavity 204 to the steering actuators, such as a small pump. Furthermore, since the rigidity of the structural element 200 containing the fuel 202 is greatest where the cavity 204 is full of a non-compressible material, such fuel 202 can be provided from the cavity 204 and yet the cavity 204 is maintained full of non-compressible material. For example, the fuel can be contained in a first bladder 212 contained in a first portion of the interior cavity 204 and a second bladder 214 can be provided in a second portion of the cavity 204 which can fill and expand with another non-compressible liquid 216 as the first bladder 212 reduces in size upon the use of the fuel 202 such that both bladders 212, 214 together provide non-compressible material to fill the interior cavity 204 of the structural element 200.

[0067] The combination of fuel 202 and other non-compressible liquids 216 in the first and second bladders 212, 214 would together act as the non-compressible material disposed in the interior cavity 204 of the structural element 200, thereby providing a fuel supply container having a high rigidity that adds to the high rigid mass of the kill vehicle. This is in contrast to current fuel supply containers used in kill vehicles which reduce and compromise the total rigid mass of the kill vehicle.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 6, the other non-compressible material 216 can be supplied to the second bladder 214 from a third bladder 22 or other container disposed in spaces 218 not being used in the interior of the kill vehicle, such as those between adjacent structural elements 220. Furthermore, means can be provided to force the other non-compressible material 216 from the second bladder can be used to compress the first bladder 212 to force the fuel from the first bladder 212 to avoid the need for a separate pump. Alternatively, an actuator that presses the third bladder 222 can be used instead of a pump.

[0069] Types of fuel can be used that provide a balance between efficiency for actuation and highest non-compressibility. Further, the other non-compressible material can be optimally placed within the kill vehicle casing to provide a balance between taking advantage of space not being utilized and ease of pumping/forcing the other non-compressible material 214 into the second bladder 214 and/or pumping/forcing the fuel 202 from the first bladder 212.

[0070] Alternatively, as discussed below, the actuators can be of the type using solid propellant and contained in either separate structural elements or structural elements integrally formed in the casing of the kill vehicle.

[0071] Turning next to FIG. 7, the same illustrates a structural element 240 having explosive material 242 disposed in the interior cavity 244 defined by the side 248 and top/bottom 250 walls. As discussed above, although the use of explosives in kill vehicles has been largely abandoned, small sized kill vehicles may utilize explosives to increase the likelihood that the threat target is neutralized where the impact alone from a small size kill vehicle is insufficient. Furthermore, as also discussed above, explosives did not previously provide the rigid mass that is necessary to neutralize a threat target. Therefore, structural elements filled with non-compressible explosive material 242 provides both an explosive material structure having high rigid mass and added destructive force for neutralizing a threat target.

[0072] A structural element 240 configured as such can have an arming or firing device 246 for igniting the explosive at impact. The types of explosives are chosen that provide a balance between greatest explosive force and highest non-compressibility. Further, the structural element 240 can be optimally placed within the kill vehicle casing to provide a balance between optimizing initiation and maximum damage to the threat target.

[0073] Upon impact with the threat target, the explosive 242 would act as the non-compressible material disposed in the interior cavity of the structural element, thereby not only providing high rigidity that adds to the high rigid mass of the kill vehicle but also adding the additional destructive force of the explosive 242. This is in contrast to explosives previously used in kill vehicles which reduce and compromise the total rigid mass of the kill vehicle.

[0074] Turning next to FIGS. 8 and 9, the same illustrate a possible orientation of the above structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240 in a casing 262 of a kill vehicle 260 or portion thereof. Although the kill vehicle 260 may contain one or more of the structural elements 150, 180, 200, 240 of FIGS. 4-7, the base structural element 100 of FIGS. 1-3 may also be disposed in the kill vehicle casing 262. Such base structural elements 100 may be used to fill spaces where other structural elements 150, 180, 200, 240 are not being used or used to fill the entire interior of the kill vehicle casing 262. Likewise, although a variety of the structural elements 150, 180, 200, 240 of FIGS. 4-7 may be used in the kill vehicle casing 262, any of the structural elements 150, 180, 200, 240 can be used to fill the entire kill vehicle casing 262, such as the kill vehicle casing being entirely filled with structural element 240.

[0075] FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of the kill vehicle casing 262 having an array of structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240 stacked in the casing 262 wherein the structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240 are oriented in a direction such that their greatest rigidity is in the direction of travel 264 of the kill vehicle 260. As discussed above, any structural elements 150 having electronic components are arranged to form a circuit or to perform a particular function and are electrically connected to each other through wiring or other means (such as use of the casing as a wiring/data transfer bus). Structural elements 180 providing power to such electronic components, circuitry can also be provided in the casing 262. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of FIG. 8 and illustrates an orientation of the structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240 in a radial plane of the kill vehicle 260. FIG. 9 illustrates that the structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240 can be arranged so as to minimize any empty space between structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240 (however, as discussed above, such space can be used to accommodate other components/materials). The structural elements can be arranged to achieve a balance between optimum function of the components formed by the structural elements and maximum rigidity in the direction of the kill vehicle travel.

[0076] Alternatively, as discussed below, the empty spaces can be minimized by forming the structural elements in a honeycomb where all/some of the walls are integrally formed. Also as discussed below, the walls of the casing can itself be formed as a structural element having a high rigidity and may also house any of the components discussed above and/or other components, such as actuators.

[0077] Referring now to FIGS. 10-12, a first variation of structural element will now be described where the structural element is modified so as to have an empty internal volume that can be occupied by a kill vehicle component, such as steering actuators.

[0078] Turning next to FIG. 10, the same illustrates a modification of the structural element 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. In such modification, the structural element 280 includes an empty central cavity space 282 is added to the structural elements of FIGS. 1-3 by adding inner walls 284. The inner walls 284 are curved such that another cavity 286, having an annular shape is formed. The non-compressible material 288 is disposed in such other annular shaped cavity 286. In the configuration of the modified structural element 280, the inner wall 284 is a barrel shaped cylindrical wall defining a barrel shaped empty space 290. The modified structural element operates similarly to those described above with regard to FIGS. 1-3. That is, a compressive force F applied to the structural element 280 causes an amplified deflection of the outer wall 292 and inner wall 284 into the non-compressible material 286 to resist the compressive force C and the applied force F. However, in such modified configuration, the empty space 290, which can be cylindrical, can be utilized to contain a component of the kill vehicle that would not typically add to the rigid mass of the kill vehicle.

[0079] Any of the components discussed above, such as batteries, electronics, fuel and explosives can be used in the empty space. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, the empty space 290 of the structural element 300 can be used to house an actuator stack 302 for providing steering capabilities with the addition of an exhaust nozzle 304 added to the structural element 300. Such exhaust nozzle 302 can be oriented in any direction to achieve the desired thrust direction. Structural elements having the actuator stack can be provided with exhaust nozzles in more than one direction to provide steering capability in any direction, including left/right/forward/backward thrust directions.

[0080] Actuator stacks that can be utilized in the empty space of the modified structural element of FIG. 10 are known in the art. In such nozzle type thrusters, several layers of propellants 306 are packaged in a single thruster and separated by protective layers 308 to avoid sympathetic ignition and to allow the individual shots to be ignited electrically at any desired time (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,800,031; 7,975,468; 7,973,269; 7,973,270 and 9,151,581).

[0081] As shown in FIG. 12, the structural elements 300 configured with the actuators can be disposed in the casing 322 of the kill vehicle 320 or portion thereof in an orientation such that maximum rigidity is in the direction of travel 264 of the kill vehicle 320 along with other structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240, such as those described above containing other kill vehicle components. Alternatively, as discussed below, the modified structural elements, such as those containing the actuators, can be integrated in a wall of the kill vehicle casing.

[0082] Embodiments will now be described for increasing the rigidity of the casing of the kill vehicle itself. That is, the entire casing or a portion of the casing of the kill vehicle can be formed of the modified structural element 280 discussed above with regard to FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 13, a kill vehicle 340 can have a casing 342 in which the inner 344 and outer 346 walls of the casing are formed to have the non-compressible material 348 and to define the central empty cavity 350. As so configured, the casing 342 will have high specific strength and high specific modulus with the empty inside space 350 that can be used to house components that do not typically have a high rigidity or to house components, such as those discussed above that make use the novel structural elements to add rigidity to those components that typically do not possess the same. A small sized kill vehicle having both a casing and internal components with high rigidity and low weight can boast of having very high specific modulus and very high specific strength to increase the likelihood of neutralizing a threat target by impact alone.

[0083] Referring now to FIG. 14, alternatively, the casing wall 362 of the kill vehicle 360 can be formed to integrate any of the components described above, in particular, the steering actuators. FIG. 14 illustrates a sectional view of a kill vehicle casing having alternating sections of casing wall 364 and steering actuators 366 integrated into the casing wall 362. As discussed above, the central empty space 368 in the casing can be used to house components that do not typically have a high rigidity or to house components, such as those discussed above, that make use of the structural elements to add rigidity to those components that typically do not possess the same.

[0084] The sections 364 of casing wall in FIG. 14 can be as shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, that is, to have a conventional wall. Alternatively, such sections can be formed as shown in FIG. 13 as a structural element having high rigidity. The other sections 366, can be configured as the modified structural element 280 as shown in FIG. 10 so as to house any of the components discussed above, in particular, steerable actuators as shown in the sectional view of FIGS. 15a and/or 15b as taken along line 15-15 in FIG. 14. FIGS. 15a and 15b, illustrate the casing wall having alternating sections 366 of steerable actuators (similar to structural element 300) having either sideways 370 or rearward 372 facing exhaust nozzles. Actuators having such sideways and rearward facing nozzles may each be provided in the casing wall.

[0085] Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, the same illustrate the structural elements 100, 150, 180, 200, 240, 280, 300 having any of the configurations discussed above arranged in a honeycomb plate 380. In such honeycomb plate 380, at least some of the walls of the structural elements (see FIGS. 2 and 10) can be formed integrally in the honeycomb.

[0086] Such honeycomb plates 380 can be stacked inside the empty space in the casing of the kill vehicle. For Example, a single honeycomb plate may have an outer diameter that fits tightly in the inner diameter of the kill vehicle casing and the combination of the structural elements in such plate may together form a complete electrical circuit, while other complete plates may house fuel, explosives and/or batteries. Although the structural elements in the honeycomb plates can contain any of the components discussed above, some structural elements in the honeycomb may be configured as dummy structural elements solely for adding rigidity. Furthermore, some spaces in the honeycomb may be empty such that other components may take up such space, such as wiring. Furthermore, the empty spaces in each honeycomb may correspond with empty spaces in adjacent stacked honeycomb plates to form a larger space for other components, such as actuator stacks.

[0087] The second type of rigid class components for use in a kill vehicle are intended to increase a frontal area of a kill vehicle in order to not only increase a likelihood of impact with the threat target but to increase a likelihood of neutralizing the threat target. Such second type of rigid mass components can address both increasing the likelihood of impact and destruction of the threat target by not only increasing a frontal impact area of the kill vehicle, but doing so in a rigid manner and in a direction of travel/impact of the kill vehicle.

[0088] Such second type of rigid mass components can increase the frontal area of the kill vehicle with structural elements deployed from within the kill vehicle casing where the maximum rigidity is in a direction of travel/impact of the kill vehicle. Such structural elements can house one or more of the components discussed above, such as explosives, or may be configured as dummy structural elements solely for adding rigidity in the additional frontal area.

[0089] Mechanical mechanisms can be used to deploy the structural element components in the frontal area of the kill vehicle where any additional components needed to deploy the structural elements have a minimal effect on the overall rigid mass of the kill vehicle.

[0090] Although the embodiments discussed above is particularly well suited to providing high specific modulus and high specific strength components for use in missile interceptors and kill vehicles (referred to only by way of kill vehicles above but equally applicable to missile interceptors), they also have utility for honeycomb structural components for commercial aircraft, missiles and satellites.

[0091] The structural element embodiments described above have widespread use in honeycomb structural components for commercial aircraft, missiles and satellites. Among such uses, the structural components have particular utility for use in satellites. Satellite components require high specific modulus and high specific strength to endure the high G's encountered during launch. Any savings in weight without sacrifice in strength is extremely important for commercial satellites which have significant costs per pound of payload put into earth orbit. In addition, satellites operate for as long as they have fuel. However, as discussed above, fuel, not only adds to the weight of the satellite, but does so in a non-rigid mass manner. As discussed above, the structural components described above can provide fuel in a rigid mass manner so as to endure the rigors of launch. In addition, the fuel is used over time and after the time when the rigidity is no longer needed (after launch).

[0092] While there has been shown and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.