The invention relates in general to munitions and, more particularly, to an electrically-fired, gun-launched round that contains a plurality of projectiles therein.
Traditional non-lethal ordnance comprises cartridges containing, for example, metal balls coated with a thin layer of plastic or rubber, fabric bags which are filled with lead shot (so-called “bean bags”), and “rubber balls” formed of hard rubber, foam, plastic or wood. When dealing with a large number of people, such as an unruly crowd, many non-lethal cartridges must be fired in a short period of time to have much effect. Traditional delivery systems for non-lethal cartridges may fire one or a few cartridges before reloading is needed. Thus, a large number of weapons and a large number of weapon users are required. When the large number of people comprise an enemy military force that is close in, there is also a need for a short range cartridge that is lethal to a large group of combatants.
Some military operations require use of both lethal and non-lethal force. The U.S. Army has formidable lethal guns, such as tanks and large caliber guns. However, when a non-lethal force is needed, these valuable assets are useless. Therefore, there is a need for a non-lethal round that can be fired from a conventional gun, such as a tank or a large caliber piece, without any modifications to the conventional gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,329 discloses barrel assemblies loaded with a plurality of projectiles. However, the disclosed projectiles are not suited for non-lethal applications. Furthermore, the barrels are not suited for use with a conventional large caliber gun. Many of the projectiles require an axial support member, which limits the volume of the payload space available in each projectile.