Sense and Destroy ARMor

Project Sense and Destroy ARMor, or SADARM, is a US 'smart' submunition capable of searching for, and destroying tanks within a given target area.

History

Beginnings

The project's roots can be traced back to the early 1960s. The original platform for the submunition was the 203 mm M509 ICM projectile, and the concept was demonstrated in the late 1970s. By 1983 the project shifted focus to the 155 mm caliber and the target set was changed to self-propelled howitzers and other lightly armored vehicles. With the approval for engineering development in 1986 the scope was expanded to include the larger diameter submunitions in the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) rockets.

Several successful live-fire tests were conducted in 1989, and production was scheduled for 1994; however, pre-production samples tested in 1993 gave poor results with only nine out of 42 submunitions hitting their targets. Fixes were applied and further testing resulted in 11 hits from 13 submunitions.