Missile Guidance for Low-Altitude Air Defense

Abstract

Practical design considerations for a low-altitude radar-guided air defense missile are presented. Low-altitude target signals return to the receiver mixed with large clutter signals from ground and large multipath signals from smooth sea. The doppler effect and the Brewster angle effect are used to separate true target returns from clutter and multipath contaminations. Sensor design factors, including clutter and multipath rejection, doppler resolution, and sensor stabilization, are discussed in the context of a complete missile guidance and control system. Basic contributors to miss distance are discussed with a quantitative miss distance example showing the role of missile lateral acceleration capability.