BROACH warhead
The BROACH warhead is a multi-stage warhead developed by Team BROACH; BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions, Thales Missile Electronics and QinetiQ.[1] BROACH stands for Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented CHarge.
Development of BROACH began in 1991 when Team BROACH consisted of British Aerospace RO Defence, Thomson-Thorn Missile Electronics and DERA. The two stage warhead is made up from an initial shaped charge, which cuts a passage through armour, concrete, earth, etc., allowing a larger following warhead to penetrate inside the target. The weapon is designed to allow a cruise missile to achieve the degree of hard-target penetration formerly only possible by the use of laser-guided gravity bombs.
Applications
- Storm Shadow/SCALP EG
- AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon unitary variant (JSOW-C)[2]
- BROACH was evaluated as a possible warhead for the AGM-86D CALCM but was ultimately not selected.[3]
- SOM (missile) B2 variant.