Military Fuzing Systems, Fuzes & Detonators
Artillery shells, aerial bombs, landmines, hand grenades and naval mines all use ammunition fuzes and fuzing systems to detonate explosive material under particular conditions.
Military fuzes have a variety of safety and arming systems designed to protect users from premature or accidental detonation. For example, an artillery fuze is activated by the massive acceleration and rapid spinning generated on launch from a canon. Fuzes can also be activated by impact, detecting or passing a pre-set proximity to a target, a timer, or a combination of these things.
Fuzing Systems
A fuzing system may include just the electronic or mechanical elements necessary to trigger the detonator, however some fuzing systems (including those used on aerial bombs) have a small amount of primary explosive to initiate the detonation. Fuzes and fuzing systems for the charges of large explosives may also feature an explosive booster.
Other types of military fuze include:
- Remote detonators – can be triggered by wires or wirelessly
- Barometric fuzes – trigger at a pre-set altitude using either radar, a barometric altimeter or an infrared rangefinder
- Combination fuzes – use more than one type of fuze to make sure the munition is far enough away from the weapon that fired it
If a device doesn’t explode on impact a secondary fuze can initiate detonation after a set time, once the munition has impacted the target.
