Sep 30, 2025

US12429318 - Submunition assembly

A submunition assembly to be stored and deployed from an aerial vehicle, particularly a supersonic vehicle, includes a container having at least first and second walls that are joined at one end by a hinge that together define a volume along an axis perpendicular to the hinge that contains a submunition. The submunition assembly is suitably axially-shaped with a rigid parachute panel positioned around the hinge to separate and deploy a parachute. The container may have an internal volume that is conformal to the submunition. The container may have an exterior shape that is either optimized for free-fall or has a portion that provides a conformal surface for the aerial vehicle. The submunition assembly may be configured so that all processing, memory and data resides with the submunition, which issues any and all commands to control the container including separation of the rigid parachute panel and opening of the container to release the submunition.

Assignee: Raytheon Company
Inventors: Paul S. MacDonald, Jaylan S. Jones, Jessie A. Polanco, Shawn P. Burke
Filing date: 2024-06-03

The patent describes a submunition assembly designed for deployment from aerial vehicles, featuring a container with hinged walls that hold a submunition and a parachute system for controlled descent. The assembly includes mechanisms for orientation during free-fall and commands for parachute deployment and submunition release.

Claim 1

A submunition assembly for deployment from an airframe, the submunition assembly comprising: a container having first and second walls joined at one end by a hinge that define a volume along an axis perpendicular to the hinge, said container having a length/width ratio of at least 1:1; a submunition positioned within the volume inside the container; a streamer deployed to orient the container during free-fall; and a parachute stored in a rigid parachute panel positioned around the hinge at the one end of the container, upon receipt of a parachute command said parachute panel configured to separate from the container and allow the parachute to deploy to slow the submunition assembly during free-fall, wherein upon receipt of a release command the container’s first and second walls are allowed to pivot about the hinge to separate and release the submunition. a container having first and second walls joined at one end by a hinge that define a volume along an axis perpendicular to the hinge, said container having a length/width ratio of at least 1:1; a submunition positioned within the volume inside the container; a streamer deployed to orient the container during free-fall; and a parachute stored in a rigid parachute panel positioned around the hinge at the one end of the container, upon receipt of a parachute command said parachute panel configured to separate from the container and allow the parachute to deploy to slow the submunition assembly during free-fall, wherein upon receipt of a release command the container’s first and second walls are allowed to pivot about the hinge to separate and release the submunition.

Google Patents

https://patents.google.com/patent/US12429318

USPTO PDF

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/12429318