The homing missile is fired after the target is locked on by the seeker, but the "fire and forget" missile is fired toward the collision point and during flight the seeker locks on the target, and then provides its own homing guidance. The flight between firing and the seeker looks on is called midcourse guidance. Midcourse flight path can be taken in any curve but the straight line is preferable for it gives the shortest flight time before lock on, thus minimizing the errors caused by dispersion, bias and target maneuver.
This paper describes details of a straight line autopilot. The direct rate gyro output is used as the stabilization of the missile, and the integrated output is used as the attitude reference which keeps the attitude angle constant thus keeping the flight path straight. This autopilot can be modified from the present inventory by replacing rate gyros with ones having better static balance etc. and the addition of an integrating circuit to the rate gyro output.
抄録全体を表示