an improved explosive warhead casing of novel fragmentation design that cane tailored for use with an increased number of weapons and thus impact a greater variety of targets with enhanced effectiveness . the casing is generally made up of a plurality of stacked ring - like elements . the adjacent outer peripheral portions of adjoining stacked elements are metallurgically bonded together in precise fashion such as by a laser device so as to form a unitized casing . a series of relatively spaced and longitudinally extending grooves are preferably formed on and about both the interior and exterior annular surfaces of the casing . further , the series of grooves together with the bonds between the elements all cooperate to form a plurality of novel - shaped fragments where the configuration of each explosively formed fragment is subject to less distortion , metal flow , micro cracking , etc . ; thereby approaching , with greater degree , the intended design configuration for each fragment . since the casing is made up of bonded together elements , it can be formed by more than one manufacturing technique and different materials can be incorporated in the casing structure during its manufacture . moreover , the casing is not limited to the usual cylindrical shaped configuration as its final shape or the formation of only one fragment grid pattern therein .