EP1052471A1 - Fragmentation type projectile in which the fragments are created by a hollow charge effect - Google Patents

Abstract

The explosive device consists of a detonator head, an explosive charge (4) of about 90g of hexolite or tolite, a plastic out shell (1), and an inner wall (7) e.g. of copper or aluminum which creates the fragments. The inner wall is in contact with the explosive and is made up of a series of conical, spherical or pyramidal concave sections, each measuring between 2.5 and 5.5 mm across at the base, with a wall thickness of 0.5 - 0.8 mm and an angle of 90 - 140 degrees. The outer plastic shell is sufficien supple not to attenuate the energy released by the explosive charge and sufficiently strong to protect the inner wall during transport.

Description

The invention relates to explosive ammunition generating bursts. such as hand grenades, offensive or defensive type, or again for example rifle grenades.

These munitions typically include an explosive charge, a head of ignition, and a casing generating fragments, which is generally metallic and which surrounds at least part of the explosive charge.

In the case of a hand grenade, the firing head is usually part of a set called an igniter or initiator plug which is intended to trigger the explosion of the ammunition a few seconds after that a pin has been removed from this plug.

Many explosive ordnance have been proposed, including explosive charges of various powers. Around the explosive charge, we proposed to place different walls, such as pre-fragmented metal shells or plastic envelopes in which are drowned out of preformed flakes of various geometries, such as for example metal balls.

Known explosive ordnance is generally aimed at obtaining a high efficiency in the target. The proposed ammunition thus aims generally to propel the shards in large numbers and with great kinetic energy.

Thus, in patent DE 28 07 309, a hand grenade was proposed comprising two shine-generating layers surrounding a charge main, each with conical or shaped contours fingerprints (for example of points) of low mass.

More generally, it has been proposed to have two metallic layers around the charge, an internal layer forming hollow charges with the explosive which are distributed to cut and propel the outer layer according to a chosen fragmentation.

The different grenade with multiple metallic layers allow certainly to obtain at the explosion a high density of projectiles in an area surrounding the explosion point, but they do not control the radius of the grenade. For most of them, strong energy are found at very high rays, which is dangerous for the user.

In the case of document DE 28 07309, the geometry of the layers and their low mass causes, in addition to the aforementioned drawback, a drop unacceptable efficiency at short distances due to reduced speed from most of the shards.

In addition, with such a packing geometry, the fragmentation of flakes turns out to be random.

Such a grenade therefore does not allow both to be effective suitable at short distance and a harmless effect beyond a distance of security of about thirty meters.

A fighter using these different grenades cannot count over a reliable safety distance. It is difficult for him to protect himself from the effects of his own grenade.

More generally, current explosive ordnance generates a sheaf of shards whose effects in the target are not constant, which makes these unreliable ammunition.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide ammunition explosive without these various disadvantages, that is to say a ammunition which allows both to guarantee a high efficiency in the target within a given first radius, and both guarantee security, therefore the absence of projection of shards at high speed, beyond a second given radius which is greater than the first.

This object is achieved according to the invention thanks to an explosive munition at explosive fragments having a firing head, a charge explosive, a part generating fragments, and a wall in contact with the explosive which includes a set of concave portions constituting fingerprints extending inward of the ammunition, each of these footprints having a geometry suitable for constituting with the explosive charge at its contact a charge formed of the hollow charge or generating charge type core, characterized in that the splinter-generating part is formed by a single wall, which is that which is in contact with the explosive.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the present invention, the concave portions constituting imprints are in the form of cones with rounded tip or similar spherical caps.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe longitudinale d'un corps de grenade à main conforme à la présente invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe d'une portion de paroi à éclats conforme à la présente invention, selon un plan de coupe sensiblement perpendiculaire à cette paroi ;
• la figure 2bis est une vue en coupe similaire à la figure 2, d'une variante de réalisation basée sur une forme sphérique d'empreinte et non pas conique ;
• la figure 3 est un tracé représentant une évolution d'efficacité dans la cible produite par une grenade conforme à l'invention, en fonction d'une distance mesurée entre la cible et un point d'explosion de la grenade ;

Other aspects, aims and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of nonlimiting examples and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a hand grenade body according to the present invention;
• Figure 2 is a sectional view of a portion of splinter wall according to the present invention, along a section plane substantially perpendicular to this wall;
• Figure 2bis is a sectional view similar to Figure 2, of an alternative embodiment based on a spherical shape of impression and not conical;
• FIG. 3 is a plot representing a change in efficiency in the target produced by a grenade in accordance with the invention, as a function of a distance measured between the target and an explosion point of the grenade;

FIG. 1 represents a body of a hand grenade, comprising a casing generating fragments formed by explosive 7 and an explosive charge 4. This grenade body also has a cavity adapted to receive a detonator or an igniter plug.

The igniter plug has not been shown in Figure 1. We can according to the invention use any type of conventional igniter plug, suitable for initiate a charge of 90g of explosive substance such as tolite. A classic initiator comprising a charge of 1.6 to 2 grams of pentrite for example will be perfectly suited to initiate the grenade body which will be described below.

The pomegranate body of Figure 1 has a general shape ovoid slightly elongated along a vertical axis X.

The grenade body has two opposite ends forming each a plate perpendicular to the X axis. A lower plate forms a base for placing the grenade in a vertical position, and a tray upper is suitable for fixing the igniter plug.

The upper plate is thus provided in its center with a threaded orifice 3 constituting the entry of the cavity previously mentioned, adapted to receive part of the igniter plug inside the body of the grenade.

This cavity forms a passage which extends into the grenade parallel to the X axis, over a length substantially three-quarters equal the height of the grenade.

The pomegranate body is made up of three main elements, which are a protective and protective envelope 1 made of plastic, a metal casing 7 generating shards, and an explosive charge 4.

The envelope 1 surrounds the entire body of the grenade. She is consisting here of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene known under the name ABS. It advantageously has a thickness of between 2 and 3.4 mm.

The plastic envelope 1 is made up of three parts: a half-shell upper 9, a lower half-shell 10, and a plug 2.

A first part 9 substantially forms a hemispherical wall, constituting an upper half-shell of the envelope 1. The wall forming this hemisphere has at its center the orifice 3 forming an inlet of the receiving passage of the igniter plug. On orifice 3 thus opens a cylindrical sleeve 6 molded with the hemisphere 9, and extending inside the hemisphere 9, constituting the receiving passage of the igniter plug. This cylindrical sleeve 6 has the same axis of revolution X as the hemisphere 9.

This first half-shell 9 is fixed to a second half-shell 10 also having a central orifice 8. In the orifice 8 is engaged and fixed by clipping a plastic plug 2 forming the lower base of the pomegranate body.

The plug 2 has a concave upper face 5 suitable for internally extend the second half-shell 10 continuously. When the first half-shell 9, the second half-shell 10 and the plug 2 are assembled, the grenade therefore has an inner surface which is ovoid and continuous, showing no detachment except in contact with the sleeve 6. This concave and ovoidal interior surface is, in accordance with the invention, covered internally with the grenade body by a metal casing 7 generating shards.

The metal envelope 7 therefore forms an ovoid wall which surrounds almost entirely an interior space of the grenade body. The envelope metallic 7 therefore has the shape of an eggshell in which made an upper opening.

This upper opening is crossed by the sleeve 6, and has a periphery which is complementary to the contour of the sleeve 6.

In the embodiment described here, the metal casing 7 is consisting of two parts joined together so as to form a continuous surface. A first of these two parts completely covers the concave upper surface of the plug 2, and is limited to this surface.

A second part covers the rest of the interior ovoid surface of the plastic envelope 1, that is to say the interior ovoid surface materialized by the lower and upper half-shells.

These two metal parts are placed edge to edge and cover both of them the entire inner surface of the plastic envelope 1.

The envelope 7 is, according to one embodiment of the invention, fixed by fitting inside the plastic casing 1.

The wall covering the plug 2 is integral with this same plug, so that when the plug is removed from the rest of the plastic body 1, the wall metal covering this cap is also removed. Pomegranate body can thus be filled with explosive substance through the lower orifice which is thus discovered.

According to a variant of the invention, the envelope 7 comprises two half-shells complementary to the interior of each of the two half-shells of the plastic envelope 1. This arrangement allows easy assembly of the body pomegranate. Indeed, each half-shell of the plastic envelope is in first covered internally by one of the two half-shells metallic, so that two metal / plastic half-shells are obtained. These two metal / plastic half-shells are then assembled edge to edge.

According to the invention, the wall 7 is formed of a multitude of small cavities or indentations formed by the metal wall 7. These cavities each have a concave shape opposite with inside the grenade. More specifically, according to Figure 1, these forms concaves consist of a cone with the top facing inward pomegranate.

The wall 7 presents at all points, whether at a vertex or at a footprint base, a constant thickness.

Each cone or imprint has a conventionally defined base as being a contour line belonging to the cone and whose diameter or the width is maximum, this width being measured tangentially to envelope 7.

Each cone or imprint is, by the contour formed by its base, rigidly attached to the cones or cavities adjacent to it.

In the embodiment described here, the only separation within the wall 7 corresponds to a circular separation between the wall covering the plug 2 and the wall covering the rest of the inner surface of the body plastic 1.

These two walls of the envelope 7 can be produced under their final shape directly on molding, or else be shaped by stamping. In the embodiment described here, the wall 7 forms approximately 800 cones or imprints pointing towards the interior of the grenade.

The grenade is filled with an explosive substance in a space which is delimited on the one hand by the metallic envelope 7 and on the other hand by the sleeve outline 6. The explosive substance is in direct contact with the metal casing 7 so that the casing 7 is taken in sandwich between this explosive substance 4 and the plastic envelope 1.

Due to the particularly small thickness of the component wall of envelope 7, the role of the plastic envelope is not only to to guarantee the tightness of the grenade body, but also, by its rigidity, to produce a mechanical hold of the metal casing 7, a hold of the igniter plug inside the metallic casing 7, and a protection of the metal casing 7 against shocks.

We will now describe the particular effect of the shock wave in the vicinity interior stitches 11 obtained in the context of the present invention.

As is known, when the grenade explosion is initiated, a shock wave propagates from the igniter plug, i.e. from inside the sleeve 6, away from it towards the outside of the grenade.

The shock wave therefore approaches the metal envelope in a direction of propagation perpendicular to it, so that the front of the wave of shock extends parallel to the local metal wall.

The inventors have discovered that for particular dimensions of the fingerprints 11 delimiting the explosive charge, we obtain at the level of each imprint a charge / envelope combination forming a mini charge formed, of hollow charge type or preferably of charge type nucleus generator.

Thus, we obtain with the present grenade, a deformation of each imprint under the effect of the shock wave which produces a microprojectile of material compressed from outside the impression, elongated and moving along a substantially radial axis of the grenade.

This microprojectile is particularly effective at short distances.

In addition, this microprojectile is propelled in a precise direction, defined by the main direction of the footprint 11, so that the direction microprojectile is therefore perfectly under control.

In addition, the microprojectile of charge formed does not produce an effect. undesirable beyond a chosen safety distance. Indeed, the energy released by the charge formed essentially resides in the very high speed of the microprojectile, and little in the mass inertia of the microprojectile, which is very weak. Therefore, this energy dissipates very quickly during distance to the point of explosion, unlike grenades known which release the energy produced essentially by the propulsion heavy flakes at low speeds compared to those obtained here with a charge effect formed. Thus, the explosive fragments generated by the prior art grenades by inertia keep a high kinetic energy on very long distances, while the fragments formed by explosives generated here are very light and very fast, so their kinetic energy very high at the start by the effect of charge formed decreases very quickly in because of their low mass.

Thanks to the adoption of shaped charges, in such a grenade, the effect short distance is uncorrelated from the long distance effect, since the charge formed turns out to have a very abrupt decrease in efficiency depending on the distance to the point of explosion.

Note that the most useful part of the explosive for training and microprojectile propulsion is that which surrounds the cone. The central part explosive can thus be modified without inducing a net modification of the behavior of the ammunition, subject to modifying neither the form of the detonation wave significantly nor the capacity of the explosive device to transmit the detonation wave to areas surrounding the footprints 11.

When subjected to the shock wave, the imprints 11 are separate from each other and therefore each behaves like a independent impact. The mass of the projectiles is therefore perfectly predetermined and their controlled kinetics.

The inventors were also able to discover that by precisely adapting certain dimensional parameters defining the geometry of the cones or footprints, the projectiles resulting from these cones or footprints do not produce no more efficiency in the target beyond a chosen radius around the point explosion, while having a high efficiency at a short distance from the point explosion.

The combination of these two characteristics, namely the adoption of formed charges and precise adaptation of a footprint geometry capable of further accentuating the brutal braking of projectiles, provides a pomegranate with surprisingly short and long effects distance.

These two characteristics are implemented here so conjugate by adopting the geometry of imprints which will be described now. It is however understood that the adoption of charges formed in a grenade can from this teaching be carried out with other geometric parameters, which those skilled in the art will adapt according to the case.

Thus, there are on the imprint of Figure 2, shown in section in a plane perpendicular to the wall 7 and passing through the top of a footprint, three main dimensional parameters, which are a width of impression measured at its base, an angular opening of impression and a thickness of the wall constituting the imprint.

The angular opening, i.e. the angle measured between two generating the imprint, is referenced α in Figure 2.

The width of the footprint base, measured tangentially to a average surface of the envelope 7, is referenced L.

The thickness of the conical wall is referenced E.

• d'une efficacité élevée dans la cible à une distance d'environ 5 mètres, et
• l'obtention d'une distance de sécurité d'environ 25 mètres ;

   est atteint notamment avec des cônes présentant une largeur L à la base comprise entre 2,5 mm et 5,5 mm, et une ouverture angulaire α comprise entre 90 et 140°.Thus, the inventors were able to discover that the desired effect, that is to say the combination:

• high efficiency in the target at a distance of about 5 meters, and
• obtaining a safety distance of approximately 25 meters;

is achieved in particular with cones having a width L at the base between 2.5 mm and 5.5 mm, and an angular opening α between 90 and 140 °.

Advantageously, the imprints are made of copper and are made up with a wall thickness between 0.5 and 0.8 mm.

According to a variant of the invention, the imprints can be replaced keeping the charge effect formed by pyramids or more generally by concave wall portions each forming a footprint with the apex directed towards the interior of the grenade.

As in the case of a cone, a distinction is made on a concave wall forming an imprint, a wall thickness E, an angular opening α, and a base width L.

In the case of pyramids or more generally concave walls in form of imprints, the inventors have found that the parameters α and L can be adapted to ensure that explosive shards are not more effective beyond 25 m.

More precisely, the inventors have been able to observe that at equal values of α, L and E, the efficiency at 5m and the safety radius are of the same order for footprints and pyramids, but with an increase in efficiency in target with pyramids.

By their very low mass, the fragments formed by explosive or impacts have a very high initial velocity and suffer a high loss of energy during their trajectory, so the efficiency of the grenade is particularly high at 5 m and almost non-existent beyond a radius 25 m.

It can be seen that the maximum energy of these charges is conserved up to a distance equal to approximately 1000 times the width L of the load, this is to say about 3 meters in the embodiment described here.

In the preferred embodiment described here, the constituent material of wall 7 is standard annealed copper. Of course, the invention is not not limited to a wall with flashes formed by copper explosive. Any wall in one material of density and ductility close to that of copper can be adopted with dimensions close to those mentioned above so as to obtain the combination of results described above.

The invention thus provides for replacing copper with aluminum. Aluminum has the advantage of being cheaper than copper, but it is lighter, which has the effect of reducing the range of shards.

More generally, it is possible according to the invention, for a material chosen component of the flashing envelope, adapt parameters α (or the depth P of the imprint, as illustrated in FIG. 2a), L and E specific to this material to obtain this combination of results.

In the particular example of FIGS. 1 and 2, the base feeder L is 3 mm, the angular opening α is 120 degrees, the wall thickness E is 0.5 mm. Such an imprint has a height or depth of approximately 1mm.

This choice of values of L and a allows a range of efficiency at 5 m which is particularly broad, simply by varying E. Thus, by adopting such values for the parameters L and α, it is particularly easy to adapt the effectiveness of the grenade to 5 m by simply varying thickness E.

From the values of α (or P), L, E previously mentioned, we may modify these parameters to adapt the effective distance and the safety distance in accordance with another specification.

Thus, the inventors have discovered that by increasing the width L, we gets more energetic explosive shards with a longer range high, but a density of microprojectiles and associated nuclei which is lower in the sheaf because the number of fragments formed by explosive is itself weaker.

With the grenade geometry of FIG. 1, a diameter or a width of imprint L equal to 3 mm corresponds to a number of imprints substantially equal to 800 over the entire grenade and to 13 cones per cm ² of metallic envelope. A value of L of 4 mm corresponds to a number of imprints of approximately 550 and to 7 imprints per cm ² . A diameter L of approximately 5 mm corresponds to a number of imprints of approximately 350 and to 5 imprints per cm ² .

The inventors have also discovered that the greater the angular opening a is closed, and the more energetic the microprojectile / nucleus combination. Of more, a more closed angular opening has the effect of reducing the range effective burst of explosives.

Furthermore, by increasing the thickness E of the constituent wall of footprint 11, we obtain an efficiency at 5 meters which is higher, which stays high over a longer distance, so we get a radius of security which is higher. The greater the thickness E, the less the nuclei are fast but the more energetic they are.

The plastic envelope, under the effect of the explosion, does not generate any shine likely to influence the efficiency in the target. It only has a maintenance effect general of the grenade structure and impact protection.

The material constituting this second wall 1 is chosen sufficiently flexible so as not to attenuate the energy released by the charges formed and firm enough to protect the splinter-generating wall 7 against ammunition transport shocks.

In the preferred embodiment described here, a explosive charge consisting of 90 grams of poured hexolite consisting of 60% hexogen and 40% tolite. The hexolite used here is poured, we may also use a compressed explosive charge.

We also tested an explosive charge consisting mainly 98.2 hexocire or Tolite D in flakes or T.D.P.

Hexocire is a mixture of 98% Hexogen and 2% wax promoting compression.

Tolite D is a type of tolite with a melting temperature of particularly high, which is one of the purest tolites.

These three explosive substances prove, when used with a mass of about 90 grams, particularly well suited to the geometry of the hand grenade described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. We may also use composite explosives sensitive to assault mitigated. The performance of such explosives has been proven satisfactory during testing.

FIG. 3 shows a plot representing the efficiency of the burst of explosive fragments generated as a function of the distance between the grenade's explosion point and the target, in the case of Figures 1 and 2.

We have plotted on the abscissa a distance d in meters measured between the explosion point of the grenade and a target. An ordinate has been reported measure of the effectiveness of the grenade in the vicinity of the explosion, this measurement being noted PMHC in Figure 3.

Maximum and zero effectiveness of ammunition correspond respectively to PMHC values of 1 and 0. This PMHC parameter is conventionally calculated from a number of perforations found in a fixed surface aluminum target placed at a distance d from the point of explosion, and facing the point of explosion.

The target is more precisely formed of three aluminum sheets each having a surface of 0.476 m ² and placed one against the other. These three sheets have thicknesses of 1.5 mm, 1.0 mm, and 1.5 mm respectively, and are placed so that the sheet of thickness 1.0 mm is sandwiched between the two sheets d 1.5 mm thick with a test space between the sheets 1 cm thick. The target is placed at distance d from the ammunition. After explosion, the number of perforations in each of the three sheets is counted.

N1 being the density of chips having passed through a single sheet, N2 being the density of chips having passed through two sheets, and N3 being the density of chips having passed through three sheets. These densities are calculated by counting the number of perforating flakes compared to the surface of 0.476 m ² . PMHC is, at distance d, calculated according to the following formula: PMHC = 1 - (0.57 N1 x 0.20 N2 x 0.02 N3 )

A strictly zero PMHC value at a given distance corresponds to the fact that no splinter pierces any of the aluminum sheets to this distance. In practice, having set a distance at which one wish the grenade to be effective, we consider that a value of PMHC 0.5 at this distance is satisfactory, and in particular a PMHC greater than 0.4 to 5 meters.

However, according to the invention, it is possible to produce ammunition which does not produce that a PMHC value of 0.3 or 0.4 at the chosen effective distance, without that the ammunition is therefore deemed ineffective.

The plot in Figure 3 shows that the grenade in Figures 1 and 2 is satisfactory in a radius between 0 and 6 meters, and that no burst of high energy is more present beyond 25 meters.

Indeed, the plot in Figure 3 presents a level at PMHC = 1 for d between 0 and 3.5 meters, then PMHC decreases to 0.1 between d = 3.5 m and d = 10 m, and finally PMHC tends towards zero substantially linearly beyond 10 m, PMHC can be considered as zero beyond 25 meters.

The inventors placed a plastic film 25 meters from the point exploding the grenade in Figures 1 and 2. It had no perforation after the explosion, which confirms the reliability of the radius of 25 m security. This test shows that this grenade is safe of particularly high use.

More generally, it is possible, in accordance with the invention, to achieve very easily an explosive ordnance guaranteeing a zero PMHC beyond a safety radius less than 35 m or 40 m.

The inventors have also been able to observe that a grenade conforming to the invention generates a sheaf of splinters formed by distribution explosive particularly uniform angle around the point of explosion.

The grenade according to the invention makes it possible to obtain maximum efficiency at a few meters from the point of explosion, unlike the case of splinters classics, such as balls, with which the maximum energy is reached from the start of the shards, the speed of the shard formed by explosive typically decreasing hyperbolically as a function of distance.

Furthermore, the inventors have found that the microprojectile or the dart separated from the rest of the metal wall 7 in the case of this invention is destabilized at a distance between 2 and 8 meters from the point of explosion, and separates into pieces after reaching its distance maximum efficiency. As a result, the number of shards formed by explosive is rapidly multiplied over the course of these, compared to their theoretical number, which has the effect of keeping efficiency at a level raised over a distance greater than 5 meters.

Conversely, in the case of traditional flash grenades, the number of flakes per square meter decreases according to a hyperbolic trend from the explosion point of the grenade.

The low mass of the luster formed by theoretical explosive, i.e. the imprint 11 shown in Figure 2, the reduction of this imprint which still divides the mass of the individual fragments, and the large speed of the bursts, are three characteristics which induce a fall of energy considerable of the luster formed by individual explosive beyond about 8 meters.

This effect ensures a real, reliable and very small safety radius, that is to say between 20 and 35 meters. No explosive flash effective is no longer present beyond such a safety radius.

In addition, the low mass of the explosive fragments makes the particularly light pomegranate. It therefore has the advantage of being able to be launched with great precision.

The geometric parameters α (or P), E and L can be modified by any facility without resizing other component parts of the grenade as the wall 7. The grenade according to the invention is therefore particularly adaptable to various specifications.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the sole field of hand grenades, the arrangements described above may be adapted by a person skilled in the art to any type of explosive ammunition such as a rifle grenade for example.

We can consider other materials for the flashing envelope, other forms and other dimensions of shards, while remaining in the spirit of the invention.

Illustrated in Figure 2bis an alternative embodiment of fingerprints according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The imprint 11 illustrated in FIG. 2bis annexed has the form of a concave spherical shell concave towards the inside of the ammunition.

More precisely still preferably this imprint 11 in the form of imitation spherical cap has a base width L of the order of 3 mm, a depth P of the order of 1.2 mm and a wall thickness E of the order of 0.6 mm.

Claims (24)

Explosive ordnance with explosive explosives (11) comprising a firing head, an explosive charge (4), a fragment-generating part (7), and a wall (7) in contact with the explosive which comprises a set of concave portions (11) constituting indentations extending inwards of the munition, each of these imprints (11) having a geometry adapted to constitute with the explosive charge in contact a charge formed of the hollow charge or core-generating charge type, characterized in that the splinter-generating part (7) is formed by a single wall, which is the one (7) which is in contact with the explosive. Explosive ordnance according to claim 1, characterized in that the concave portions (11) constituting imprints are in the form of cones with rounded tip or similar spherical caps. Explosive ordnance according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the indentations (11) have a base width, an opening angular and a thickness adapted so that the ammunition does not generate explosive fragments (11) effective only within a limited radius between 5 and 35 m. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the width (L) at the base of the imprints is included between 2.5 and 5.5 mm and in that the angular opening (a) of the impressions is between 90 degrees and 140 degrees. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concave portions (11) forming imprints have a wall thickness (E) between 0.5 and 0.8 mm. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the indentations (11) have an angular opening (α) of 120 degrees. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the indentations (11) have a base width (L) of around 3 mm. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concave portions (11) have a thickness (E) of wall of the order of 0.5 to 0.6 mm. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concave portions (11) have a conical shape. Explosive ordnance according to one of claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, characterized in that the concave portions (11) have a pyramidal shape. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concave portions (11) have a rounded tip. Explosive ordnance according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized by the fact that the concave portions (11) have the shape of imitation caps spherical. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wall is made of copper. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a zero PMHC beyond a radius which is less than 35 m. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a PMHC greater than 0.4 at a radius of 5 m. Explosive ordnance according to any one of the claims previous, characterized in that it comprises a second wall (1) made of a material that is sufficiently malleable so as not to form chips. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a second wall (1) made of material plastic. Explosive ordnance according to claim 17, characterized in that the splinter-generating wall (7) is attached to the plastic wall (1). Explosive ordnance according to claim 16, characterized in that the material constituting the second wall (1) is chosen to be sufficiently flexible so as not to attenuate the energy released by the charges formed and firm enough to protect the splinter-generating wall (7) against ammunition transport shocks. Explosive ordnance according to claim 18, characterized in that the plastic wall (1) has an orifice (8) and in that the ammunition comprises a plug (2) complementary to this orifice (8), the plug (2) having a surface intended to face the interior of the ammunition, on this surface being fixed part of the wall (7) with portions concave (11) which is separable from the rest of the wall (7) with concave portions (11). Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the explosive charge (4) consists essentially of a hexolite mass of approximately 90 g. Explosive ordnance according to any one of Claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the explosive charge (4) consists essentially with a tolite mass of approximately 90 g. Explosive ordnance according to any one of Claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the explosive charge (4) consists essentially composite explosive with reduced sensitivity to attack. Explosive ordnance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concave portions (11) have a depth of about 1.2 mm.

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