Edited for brevity. Pix at link.
Finding a space on the beach can be a problemÂ…especially if you're staging a large-scale amphibious landing. The biggest danger comes from mines, both in the surf zone and on the beach itself. But obstacles are a real problem too: defenders will barricade the beach not just with barbed wire but with welded steel obstacles (called 'hedgehogs' on land, 'urchins' in the water) and concrete blocks. Even if marines can get ashore on foot, they can't bring any vehicles, heavy weapons or supplies. Those obstacles need to be blasted aside to create a clear lane.
One solution is to use standard General-Purpose Bombs – a lot of them, in a system called the JDAM Assault Breaching Systems or JABS. Rather than being dropped together, the idea is to use "The sequential detonation of multiple bombs to create a wave that sweeps the obstacles from the lane."
The approach can be enhanced by the use of continuous rod warheads, a gigantic version of a type of warhead more commonly seen in air-to-air missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM . The Navy is developing the new weapon for Stand-Off Obstacle Defeat; rather than fire shrapnel in all directions, the contionuous rod warhead literally projects a ring of steel outwards:
It is composed of an explosive charge surrounded by steel rods. The rods are positioned next to each other forming a circle around the charge and welded at alternating ends. When the explosive charge is detonated the rods are propelled outward forming a ring that expands as it is propelled parallel to the ground. The expanding ring of rod material will destroy obstacles, such as tetrahedrons, concrete cubes, and hedgehogs that are in its path. |