Russia's NIMI (Engineering Scientific Research Institute) is developing artillery shells with intellectual, programmable detonators which allow naval artillery to destroy enemy ships with one shot, institute department head Valery Lebedev told RIA Novosti.
When the shell hits a ship, it first penetrates its hull and then detonates the shell following an optimal delay, delivering irreparable damage to the ship, according to Lebedev. The US Navy is also known to be developing a similar system within the framework of its MEMS microchip project.
"The international trend that we follow is the creation of intellectual detonators which allow for the explosion of the shell in optimal temporal and spatial coordinates," Lebedev said.
Lebedev called the creation of low-sensitivity explosives and gunpowder another prospective direction for the institute. The explosives would greatly reduce the probability of unintentional detonation, during situations including fires at armories and combat zones.
