Continuous-rod warhead

A continuous-rod warhead is a specialized munition exhibiting an annular blast fragmentation pattern, thus when exploding it spreads into a large circle cutting through the target.

Similar anti-aircraft weaponry with larger calibers, higher rates of fire, and improved fuzes continued to be used through World War II.

Some anti-aircraft artillery projectiles were designed to fragment into long, thin pieces in an attempt to inflict damage on the airframe.

The Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University invented the Continuous Expanding Rod Warhead as part of its Navy-contracted development of the U. S. Navy's anti-air missile defense program.

When designing the ill-fated SAM-equipped Mauler, Monte Carlo simulations on the then-state-of-the-art IBM 650 indicated that a continuous-rod warhead was likely to be less effective than blast fragmentation types.