From last year's discussions, we determined that the Sea Sparrow can use either a Continuous Rod (CR) warhead, or a Annular Blast Fragmentation warhead.
Brigadier General Benton K. Partin, who was instrumental in developing continuous-rod systems thinks that is was a CR warhead that destroyed TWA 800.
Accuracy in Media reports;
"Retired Brigadier General Benton Partin, who helped design missiles for the Air Force, has said that the Brookhaven Laboratory’s analysis of the composition of the mysterious pellets suggests to him that they came from a missile".
As far as General Partin's analysis of the damage to TWA 800, I'll post that below..
What destroyed TWA-800?A proximity fused, continuous-rod (CR) missile warhead is the only target destruction system I know that would be consistent with all damage assessment information I have seen in the open media. The destrucitve mechanism is unique to that type of warhead. You would not see blast or blast-frag damage. Neither would you see residuals from explosives. The instantaneous kill is unique to that warhead type. The CR warhead is the most difficult to perfect even with many design iterations. I would encourage you to have someone reassess the recovered structure who is familiar with the unique structural kill of a CR warhead." - Brigadier General Benton K. Partin USAF (Ret) Note: This letter faxed to the chief TWA-800 investigator in New York never received a reply.
Continuous-rod warhead functioning in a test arena - China Lake
Oversimplification of a "continuous-rod"
Set off by a proximity fuse before striking the plane, the rapidly expanding continuous-rod slices through the fuselage across its midsection
The plane splits in two in midair
The wreckage recovered is completely consistent with destruction by this type of weapon - a highly sophisticated missile |
