Missile Flight Research Articles

An investigation on LQR based optimal terminal states control for exo-atmospheric flight of super heavy hypersonic intercontinental ballistic missiles using Gauss pseudospectral method

An investigation on LQR based optimal terminal states control for exo-atmospheric flight of super heavy hypersonic intercontinental ballistic missiles using Gauss pseudospectral method

Design of Emergency Destruction System for Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile Flight Test

An Emergency Destruction System is inevitable for ensuring safety both at sea and in populated areas, particularly during emergency detonations triggered by abnormal missile flight or upon mission completion. This paper introduces a novel method for developing an Emergency Destruction System capable of precisely calculating the Instantaneous Impact Point(IIP) during high-speed, maneuverable long-range surface-to-air missile flight tests. The Emergency Destruction System designed for long-range surface-to-air missile flight tests generates impact position tables that meticulously incorporate wind errors and navigation equations based on the Earth’s ellipsoidal model. Factors such as the Coriolis effect and the direction of the gravitational acceleration vector are accounted for, significantly enhancing the accuracy of IIP determination amidst highly variable missile speed and attitude.

Zonotopic estimation for asynchronous switched system with application to missile flight system

Interval estimation for asynchronous switched systems is investigated on the basis of zonotope. A particular zonotopic estimation framework that includes center estimation and P-radius estimation is presented. In the light of robust stability theory, an asynchronous robust observer, which is used in the center estimation, is established. And the P-radius estimation is conducted by zonotopic set-membership estimation theory. The proposed framework reduces the conservatism that exists in interval observer design methods. Besides, to maintain a high accuracy, the direct method that disregards order reduction is applied instead of the iterative method in this framework. Finally, the simulation of a missile flight dynamics system is carried out to illustrate the validity of the estimation framework.

Research on the motion characteristics of the opening process of double joint folding wings

The folding wing mechanism is a system developed for the miniaturization of missile wings to facilitate box (cylinder) storage, transportation, and launching, saving the storage and transportation space of the missile and improving the combat capability of the weapon system. In order to solve the stability problem of the dynamic opening process of wings during missile flight, a theoretical model of a double joint folding wing is proposed. Based on dynamic theory, this paper studies the dynamic process of the folding wing system undergoing rotational opening motion under different initial forces. The influence of the initial angular velocity required for folding wing deployment on the deployment process is analyzed through structural model simulation. Finally, the effect of the folding wing opening action on the flight motion of the full missile is studied, and the dynamic opening process of the folding wing system is simulated by physical experiments. The research results show that the opening motion of the folding wing is sensitive to the initial conditions; during the deformation process, a change in motion type was observed, and the aeroelastic response at certain folding angles may exhibit different motion types. The main impact on the flight motion of the full missile is the change in the aerodynamic force of the missile.

RESEARCH OF ANTİ-AİRCRAFT MİSSİLE COMPLEXES WİTH RADİO TRACKİNG SYSTEM

It should be noted that missiles with a radio tracking system are used for several purposes. Air defense systems use missiles with radio tracking systems to defend against enemy flying objects. These missiles follow the targets of the enemy's air vehicles, head towards them and destroy them. Ship missiles and defense systems use radio-guided missiles to pick off enemy missiles and aircraft. This ensures the safety of ships and the areas near them. Also, missiles with a radio tracking system can be used to hit long-range targets. This is important for quickly and accurately engaging enemy targets. Missiles with a radio tracking system are used in operational and tactical operations to carry out the command of the command and destroy targets. Space defense systems against missile attacks with radio tracking systems play an important role in tracking, analyzing and protecting enemy ballistic missiles or hypersonic munitions. These analyzes are conducted within the framework of various research and training programs. Initially, information on the position, speed and targeting of enemy missiles is collected through radio tracking sensors. In the next process, the received data is analyzed and the performance of space protection systems is evaluated according to different scenarios. During the analysis, the burning effect, interference, and other wheel factors are considered according to the distance requirement of the sensors. Also, the analysis process focuses on errors and deficiencies in the sensor. As a result, analysis data helps space defense systems work more effectively and provide appropriate responses to attack missiles. One of the important factors required in the process of processing anti-aircraft missiles guided by a modern and visionary system is that these devices should be equipped according to natural conditions and should be ready for battle at any time. The article examines space defense systems against missile attacks with radio tracking systems. In general, there are many types of anti-aircraft missile complexes equipped with a radio tracking system. As we mentioned in the article, this system of complexes is a system consisting of military and technical means that are functionally interconnected and play the role of defense against air-space vehicles. The start of the rocket process, i.e., the starting position, takes place primarily from the transport launch containers, with the subsequent activation of the engine and the launching device. This process is mainly carried out in 3 stages: Anti-aircraft missiles that take a vertical starting position and are controlled tend to the calculated rendezvous point until launch. Information about the calculated rendezvous point is entered into the headquarters in the previous period and is refined according to the movement parameters of the tracked targets during all flights. The rendezvous point, including the target coordinates, in the control areas with a certain inertial structure are entered into the anti-aircraft missile boards of the multifunctional radar stations. In this field, control teams are formed in parallel in the launch calculation machine of those anti-aircraft missiles. Here, too, the information obtained about the coordinates of the target by radio line is used in the control system. The last stage is the field of self-guidance, where the devices, which are considered the last stage of self-guidance, activate the dynamic form of the control system during the flight of anti-aircraft missiles in the direct approach of the missile to the target. Thus, energetic maneuvers are performed to eliminate target evasion. The destruction of the target takes place in two forms - by direct collision and by impacting the destruction elements of the anti-aircraft missile with the command of a non-contact detonator. Keywords: anti-aircraft, missile, radar, complex, defense, attack, radar.

POTENTIAL IMPACT OF LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS ON STRATEGIC STABILITY AND NUCLEAR DETERRENCE IN SOUTH ASIA

Several trends show that the efforts to alter South Asian strategic landscape have increased, which primarily includes unprecedented proliferation of technology to India. This has exacerbated Pakistan’s security dilemma and is a matter of significant concern for South Asian security environment. Militaries worldwide are preparing for a new warfare trend in emerging technologies that include artificial intelligence and machine learning-based autonomous weapon systems, robotics, hypersonic weapons, and quantum technologies. These technologies are expected to change the character of war besides affecting geopolitical competitions and rivalries. It is pertinent to analyse the impact of these new technologies on regional rivalries to identify and implement effective solutions, thus mitigating potential risks and preventing the occurrence of a catastrophe. As several states are developing AI-based Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, capable of targeting without human supervision, possible exploitation of these technologies by nuclear-armed states may increase the risk of war leading to more aggressive nuclear postures. Such a risk would be higher in South Asia as the ballistic missile flight time would be less than ten minutes, and conventional military interactions of rival states could occur near a long border. The integration of autonomy into conventional weapons and nuclear systems has the potential to undermine strategic stability and will be a quick recipe for accidents and miscalculations. This study explores the region’s threat perceptions and analyses the potential use of LAWS and how it can impact nuclear deterrence and strategic stability of South Asia. This study hypothesizes that LAWS will lower the nuclear threshold in the region and undermine deterrence stability. Bibliography Entry Masood, Maryyum and Muhammad Ali Baig. 2023. "Potential Impact of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems on Strategic Stability and Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia." Margalla Papers 27 (2): 27-43.

Four-axis dual-band error avoidance attitude measurement algorithm with adaptive active differential interference feature extraction

Infrared radiation attitude measurement technology is a new, non-inertial, satellite independent and fast-responding attitude parameters testing method. However, the random occurrence of infrared radiation during missile flight, such as clouds or solar radiation, can cause significant interference in infrared radiation attitude measurement. To enhance the anti-interference capability of infrared radiation attitude measurement, the adaptive active differential (AAD) interference feature extraction algorithm and the four-axis error avoidance (FEA) attitude calculation algorithm with dual-band infrared radiation (DIR) are proposed. Initially, the long-wave and mid-wave infrared radiation laws of clouds and solar radiation are analyzed to identify their different characteristics in both wavebands. The interference type encountered by the rotating missile during flight is extracted by the designed AAD algorithm. Subsequently, based on the results of AAD algorithm, the adjacent axis long-wave or mid-wave infrared sensor data with less or no interference influence is selected. Finally, the attitude angle information is obtained by using two-axis or four-axis attitude calculation algorithm. The results of the semi-physical experiments indicate that the four-axis dual-band infrared attitude measurement device using the FEA algorithm can achieve RMSE about 1 even under the interference of solar or clouds cover.

Визначення програми керування кутом тангажа твердопаливного ракетно-го об’єкта

This paper analyzes the trends in the improvement of the performance characteristics of guided missiles with solid-propellant sustainer engines and identifies the features and requirements for flight trajectories, design parameters, and control programs. Within the framework of the optimal control theory, the comprehensive problem of simultaneous optimization of a missile’s design parameters and control systems is formulated. An approach to the formation of missile flight control programs in the form of polynomials is developed further, thus making it possible to reduce the optimal control theory problem to a simpler problem of nonlinear mathematical simulation. The proposed approach to control program development is used at the initial design stage to form a wide range of guided missile trajectories. Use is made of a methodology for the ballistic and aeroballistic flight range optimization of the design parameters and flight control programs of a canard missile. The missile flight range depends essentially on the values of the design and trajectory parameters and control programs chosen for optimization. Because of this, the optimization of the chosen parameters (maybe, other parameters too) in the solution of specific target problems seems to be the indispensable initial stage of missile design. For the considered missile trajectories with a vertical launch where the Mach number takes different values, optimal programs of pitch time variation that maximize the flight range are determined. The analysis of the optimization results for different trajectories shows that the optimal program in active flight with a vertical launch is the linear time dependence of the pitch angle. The application package developed allows one to determine flight control programs optimal in a given class of functions and advisable design parameters and basic performance characteristics of guided missiles for various aerodynamic designs and flight schemes as early as at the initial design stage to an accuracy required for design studies. This makes it possible to analyze design alternatives, thus improving the quality of solution of problems arising at the initial design stage and reducing the time and the cost of design work on new missiles.

EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS OF TESTING THE HARDWARE COMPARTMENT OF SUBORBITAL ROCKETS FOR RELIABILITY

Nowadays, the issue of creating modern models of rocketry is becoming more and more popular due to the constant development of technologies and competition in the domestic market. This paper describes the results of the behavior of on-board electronic equipment during launches of ultra light suborbital rockets of the «Meteo» series manufactured by the Rocketry agency project. When designing the hardware compartment
 and further improving it in subsequent rocket models, the first place is occupied by its level of reliability, which should in turn take into account the economic part for the development and manufacture of further products. Such improvements included the use of new materials, increased strength and resistance to negative impacts, improved thermal management and elimination of structural defects. Tests have shown that to overcome higher altitudes, such as the Karman Line, more fuel is used and the mass and size characteristics of the rockets change, which leads to increased complexity of their control and navigation. One of the key challenges is the lack of an effective control system. Without a proper control system, a missile's flight becomes unpredictable and dangerous for the area where it is flying. One way to solve this problem is to develop and test a proper control system for the missile on a special test bed that will allow testing and debugging the control system in a controlled environment that ensures its functioning in real-world conditions without the risk of sending an untested missile into the air.

Examining autonomous flight safety systems from a cognitive systems engineering perspective: Challenges, themes, and outlying risks

Flight safety systems (FSS) act as a method to terminate off-nominal rocket launches which threaten public safety. Traditional FSS delegate decision authority to an experienced Missile Flight Control Officer (MFCO) tasked with flight termination decisions, observing multiple points of telemetry data in real time to ensure nominal flight status. This study examines the engineering trade-offs, complexities, and pitfalls introduced by automating flight termination decision-making through autonomous flight safety systems (AFSS). We approach this problem from a cognitive systems engineering perspective, connecting aspects of AFSS to existing literature in human-machine teaming and resilience engineering. Based on information gathered from a series of semi-structured interviews with various subject matter experts (mission controllers, regulators, engineers, amongst others) and existing literature, we outline a list of four assumptions underlying AFSS operations: (1) The system is fully autonomous, (2) An exhaustive flight safety analysis has been performed, (3) The system will be able to respond appropriately to the world, and (4) MFCO expertise can be captured in (or translated to) software. Our findings highlight that, while the benefits of AFSS hold great promise for increasing the viability of commercial space operations, the automation of an irreversible, instantaneous, and complex decision-making task introduces significant challenges and risks. We propose directions for further research to minimize the likelihood of errant, expensive, and dangerous automated flight terminations.

Sensor Data Prediction in Missile Flight Tests

Sensor data from missile flights are highly valuable, as a test requires considerable resources, but some sensors may be detached or fail to collect data. Remotely acquired missile sensor data are incomplete, and the correlations between the missile data are complex, which results in the prediction of sensor data being difficult. This article proposes a deep learning-based prediction network combined with the wavelet analysis method. The proposed network includes an imputer network and a prediction network. In the imputer network, the data are decomposed using wavelet transform, and the generative adversarial networks assist the decomposed data in reproducing the detailed information. The prediction network consists of long short-term memory with an attention and dilation network for accurate prediction. In the test, the actual sensor data from missile flights were used. For the performance evaluation, the test was conducted from the data with no missing values to the data with five different missing rates. The test results showed that the proposed system predicts the missile sensor most accurately in all cases. In the frequency analysis, the proposed system has similar frequency responses to the actual sensors and showed that the proposed system accurately predicted the sensors in both tendency and frequency aspects.

Closed-Form Time-to-Go Estimation for Proportional Navigation Guidance Considering Drag

A closed-form analytical method for estimating the time-to-go of a proportional guidance law guided missile is proposed. This method is effective for both stationary and maneuvering targets. It divides the missile flight process into a constant drag-lift ratio flight phase and a constant drag coefficient flight phase, so that the influence of drag can be fully considered when calculating the time-to-go. In this article, the time-to-go estimation for a stationary target is given first. Then, the maneuvering target is transformed into a stationary target by reasonably setting a fictitious target related to the target motion state and a preliminary estimation of the time-to-go for the maneuvering target is obtained. To further improve the accuracy of the time-to-go estimation for the maneuvering target, a compensation item is designed on the basis of the preliminary estimation. The simulation results show that the method proposed in this article can accurately estimate the time-to-go for various targets, and cooperative attacks can be realized by applying the time-to-go estimation to a specific cooperative guidance law.

Aerodynamically Controlled Missile Flight Datasets and Its Applications

Aerodynamically Controlled Missile Flight Datasets and Its Applications

정지궤도 기반 발사체 비행 궤적 추정시스템의 시뮬레이터 개발

The missile early-warning satellite systems have been developed and upgraded by some space-developed nations, under the inevitable trend that the space is more strongly considered as another battle field than before. As the key function of such a satellite-based early warning system, the prediction algorithm of the missile flight trajectory is studied in the paper. In particular, the evolution computation, receiving broad attention in the artificial intelligence area, is applied to the proposed prediction method so that the global optimum-like solution is found avoiding disadvantage of the previous non-linear optimization search tools. Moreover, using the prediction simulator of the launch vehicle flight trajectory which is newly developed in C# and Python, the paper verifies the performance and the feature of the proposed algorithm.

An Optimal Design Scheme of Missile Trajectory

The optimization of missile trajectory is an important part of missile design. Its difficulty lies in the complex force of the missile and the different laws of the trajectory parameters in each stage. The existing trajectory simulation models have problems such as complex models, low accuracy, simplifying the initial motion state of the missile, and failing to fully reflect the characteristics of the active and passive motions. In order to solve these problems, this paper extracts important model variables on the basis of analyzing the force of the missile at different stages, and establishes a ballistic model with time-varying parameters. At the same time, according to the engineering design method of the missile flight program, the change rule of the pitch angle of the active phase of the missile with time is drawn up. Finally, an intercontinental ballistic missile is used as the object to simulate and analyze the proposed model. The results show that the method proposed in this paper can design and optimize missile trajectory well.

Modeling of the Missile Launch Dynamic Processes in Short-Range Air Defense System

Armament systems such as guns, launchers simulators are effective tools for training armed forces personnel. A firearm is a complex biomechanical system, so the best quality of training is achieved when training in a simulator, repeating the dynamic processes of the weapon by simulating the perception of real weapon use (feeling). The paper investigates the dynamic and stability properties of the short-range air defense system RBS-70. The RBS-70 short-range air defense system is designed to combat low-flying air targets. The purpose of this paper is to present the physical and mathematical models with com numerical dynamic simulation of the launcher in the first phase of missile flight. The theoretical model was formulated in the vertical plane and verified by the numerical modeling simulation.

РОЗРАХУНОК ЗОНИ УРАЖЕННЯ ЗЕНІТНОГО РАКЕТНОГО КОМПЛЕКСУ ЗА ДОПОМОГОЮ АЛГОРИТМУ БАГАТОКРИТЕРІАЛЬНОЇ ОПТИМІЗАЦІЇ

The kill zone is the main characteristic of the surface-to-air missile system, which characterizes, firstly, the combat capabilities of the system to hit targets of various types, and secondly, the energy capabilities of surface-to-air missiles to achieve targets, taking into account detailed calculation of the shape of the kill zone of the surface-to-air missile system is a time-consuming process, which without proper automation leads to unjustified time to perform. This article proposes a method of using a genetic algorithm with multicriteria optimization to automate the calculation of the kill zone of the surface-to-air missile system. The essence of the proposed technique is to find a set of pareto-optimal trajectories of a surface-to-air missile, the endpoints of which are the limit in terms of the ability to reach the aerial target with the necessary motion parameters and taking into account the range of target detection by fire-control radar of surface-to-air missile system. That is, one of the coordinates (the altitude or distance) of the boundary point can not be improved without the reducing of the other coordinate (the principle of pareto-optimality). This approach allows in the early stages of design to evaluate the kill zone of the surface-to-air missile system, being at design, and promptly implement effective technical solutions to increase its tactical and technical characteristics. Additional results of the calculation of the kill zone of the surface-to-air missile system according to the proposed method are data on the optimal launch angles of the surface-to-air missile, which can be taken into account when designing the launcher of the system, as well as data highlighting some features of surface-to-air missile flight.

Research on simulation model validation based on probability relational analysis

The most basic and direct method for simulation model validation is to compare the consistency of missile flight data and simulation data under the same input conditions. However, the existing dynamic data consistency analysis methods are mainly suitable for the case between 1-D missile flight data and 1-D simulation data, and do not conform to the consistency test of single sample flight data and multi-sample simulation data in equipment qualification/finalization test. To solve this problem, a simulation model validation method based on probabilistic relational analysis is proposed. The consistency of output data is measured from the two scales of probability relational coefficient and probability relational degree. The probability relational coefficient is determined by calculating the cumulative distribution probability value of real missile flight samples in the distribution function constructed by simulation data. The probability correlation degree is calculated by judging whether the probability relational coefficient satisfies the uniform distribution of[0 1]. The consistency analysis problem of a kind of dynamic data association is solved accordingly. The correlation theorem that the probability relational degree must satisfy and its property are proved. Meanwhile the operation steps of simulation model verification based on probability correlation analysis are given. This method can process all multi-dimensional simulation data at the same time, and integrate the random factors in the test process, so it can make full use of the test information under the condition of small sample flight test, and improve precision and the reliability of simulation model verification. The rationality and validity of this method are further verified by numerical tests and application examples.

Unsteady shock wave dynamics in accelerating and decelerating flight

AbstractIncreasingly agile manoeuvre is an advantage in the flight of aircraft, missiles and aerial vehicles, but the principles of accelerating aerodynamics in the transonic regime are only now being fully investigated. This study contributes to the understanding of shock and separation effects on drag during axial acceleration, using a simple geometric configuration. Unsteady shock wave behavior was numerically investigated for an axisymmetric cone-cylinder using a commercial solver and the Moving Reference Frame acceleration technique. This acceleration technique was validated using unsteady numerical and experimental methods. The cone-cylinder was accelerated from Mach number 0.6 to Mach number 1.2 at 100g constant and deceleration was from Mach number 1.2 until Mach number 0.6 at –100g constant. Three cone angles were tested for the cone-cylinder with uniform cylinder diameter. Acceleration through the transonic Mach regime was characterised by a delayed and gradual shock wave development when compared to steady state, demonstrating a clear flow history effect. Deceleration through the transonic Mach regime was characterised by shock wave propagation from the base to the nose. New flow structures appeared during deceleration that do not have counterparts in the steady state, including shock interactions and propagating expansion-compression features. Gross changes in the unsteady drag coefficient curves for each cone-angle are explained with reference to unsteady shock wave behaviour for accelerating and decelerating motion.

Stability Limits for the Velocity Orientation Autopilot of Rolling Missiles

In this paper, we derive the sufficient and necessary stability conditions for rolling missiles with velocity orientation autopilot. For the mathematical derivation, linear time-invariant mathematical models are established. Structures of the velocity orientation autopilot for nonrolling and rolling missiles are introduced. In addition, the effects of the autopilot structure and parameters on stability are discussed. Furthermore, methods associated with actuator dynamics, static stability and decoupling are presented to improve the stability of rolling missiles. Numerical simulations are conducted to verify the accuracy of the discussion. It is demonstrated that the stability conditions can guide rolling missile velocity orientation autopilot design for the stabilization of the flight of rolling missiles.