Missile Command Research Articles

EFFECTIVE APPLICATION AND PROSPECTS OF IMPROVEMENT OF ANTI-TANK ROCKET COMPLEX MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Tanks are one of the main means of implementing aggressive plans to capture land territory. To combat tanks and other armored vehicles the projectiles with different types of warheads and anti-tank guided missiles are used. The best means of defeating tanks are anti-tank missile systems (ATMS), which are classified by aiming methods.
 The purpose of this work is to review the prospects for development and use of existing ATMS by analyzing the trends of new national and foreign weapons control systems.
 Anti-tank missile systems of most advanced world‟s armed forces are, predominantly, second-generation systems with a semi-automatic infrared or laser beam guided systems. Missiles of these systems have a high probability of hitting the target (and penetration of armor) when firing under good visibility conditions. The retrofit of the second- generation systems is being done by increasing the protection against jamming caused to aiming systems due to creating combined infrared and thermal coordinators, improving signal processing methods, and increasing the flight speed of missiles and the reliability of command transmission. The tank engine is a powerful contrasting source of thermal energy.
 The main weak links of systems with semi-automatic guidance systems in terms of jamming counteraction are the operator who tracks the target along the missile's flight, and the coordinator of the missile's command aiming that can be “blinded”. Large-scale works on the creation of next generation anti-tank missile systems based on the latest scientific and technological achievements have been considered.
 The system‟s operator is one of the weakest links. Careful attitude to the life of every Ukrainian warrior should be a priority, as it is in the modern militaries of the world. This attitude can be ensured by using a reliable missile weapons both natioanl and foreign that would be capable of hitting enemy tanks from a safe distance with a remote control using “fire-and- forget”principle.

Hierarchical search strategy in particle filter framework to track infrared target

A target of interest may exhibit significant appearance variations because of its complex maneuvers, ego-motion of the camera platform, etc. Currently, target tracking in forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sequences is still a challenging problem in the field of computer vision. Although many efforts have been devoted, there are still some issues to be addressed. First, state particles generated by prior information cannot approximate the probability density function well when the target state changes obviously. Second, plenty of particles have to be employed to obtain satisfying estimation of target state which will cause heavy computational burden in turn. In this paper, a hierarchical search strategy (HS tracker) is proposed to track infrared target in the particle filter framework, and there are two observation models employed to locate the target robustly. In the first stage, a saliency map leads the redistributed state particles to cover the salient areas that can provide a rough prediction of the target areas. In the second stage, sparse representation is employed to search for a subset of true ones from all the target candidates; thus, only efficient state particles are used to estimate the target state. The proposed method is tested on numerous FLIR sequences from the US army aviation and missile command database, and experimental results demonstrate the excellent performance.

Onward Through the Fog: Computer Game Collection and the Play of Obsolescence

Onward Through the Fog: Computer Game Collection and the Play of Obsolescence

Collapse dynamics of laser-nucleated bubble clusters in a spherical resonator.

The collective collapse of bubble clouds or clusters is important to many applications, including underwater sound propagation, shock-wave lithotripsy, and focused ultrasound therapy. Energetic collective cluster collapses appear to happen only when there is sufficient nuclei density. In order to study this phenomenon, we have implemented a laser-based method for creating clusters consisting of planar or cubic arrays of bubbles with controllable interbubble spacing. The growth and collapse of the arrays are observed using ultrahigh-speed photography and other diagnostics. Effects of interbubble spacing and nucleation phase with respect to the acoustic period are studied. [Work supported by the US Army Space and Missile Command.]

Laser nucleation of bubble clusters in a spherical resonator.

Due to the strong energy focusing found in sonoluminescence, there is much interest in high-energy bubble collapses. There is evidence in the literature that the collective collapse of a bubble cluster is more violent than a single bubble collapse under similar conditions. Precise control over the spatial and temporal placement of bubbles in an acoustic field would seem critical for achieving the strongest collapses, but nucleating bubbles acoustically is not precise or repeatable and does not allow for the creation of arrays of bubbles. A method is presented for creating two- and three-dimensional bubble arrays in a controllable way. A pulsed Nd:YAG laser is used with custom diffraction gratings and focusing optics to nucleate bubble arrays in a spherical resonator at high static pressure. A specific implementation will be presented, along with results addressing uniformity and repeatability. [Work supported by the US Army Space and Missile Command.]

Laser-induced dielectric breakdown as a method for noncontact pressure measurement.

Being able to accurately measure pressure fields in acoustic experimentation is of critical importance for understanding and describing observed acoustical phenomena. However, in many experimental situations, it is undesirable or impossible to measure the acoustic field using a transducer in contact with the acoustic host medium. It becomes useful then to have alternative, noncontact, methods for reliably and accurately measuring pressure fields in experiments. One alternative to traditionally invasive means, such as the use of a hydrophone, to measure pressure, is to use focused, short (5–7 ns), high power laser pulses to cause dielectric breakdown. Breakdown events can be detected by looking for the signature, near instantaneous, flash of broadband light generated by the subsequent ionization cascade. This procedure can then be repeated under different known hydrostatic pressures to establish pressure’s effect on the breakdown strength of water. Once a relationship is established, the process can be used to map local pressures in acoustic fields of sufficiently long period as to be considered hydrostatic in relation to the laser pulse duration. [Work supported by the US Army Space and Missile Command.]

Decision fusion algorithm for target tracking in infrared imagery

We propose a novel decision fusion algorithm for target tracking in forward-looking infrared (FLIR) image sequences recorded from an airborne platform. The algorithm allows the fusion of complementary ego-motion compensation and tracking algorithms to estimate the position of the target in the current frame among a sequence of frames of FLIR imagery. We identified three modes that contribute to the failure of the tracking system: (1) the sensor ego-motion failure mode, which causes the movement of the target beyond the operational limits of the tracking stage; (2) the tracking failure mode, which occurs when the tracking algorithm fails to determine the correct location of the target in the new frame; (3) the reference-image distortion failure mode, which happens when the reference image accumulates walkoff error, especially when the target is changing in size, shape, or orientation from frame to frame. The strategy in our design is to prevent these failure modes from producing tracking failures. The overall performance of the algorithm is guaranteed to be much better than any individual tracking algorithm used in the fusion. One important aspect of the proposed algorithm is its recoverability: the ability to recover following a failure at a certain frame. The experiments performed on Army Missile Command AMCOM FLIR data set verify the robustness of the algorithm.

Central Limit Theorem Methodology for Bounding Point Estimates

Abstract Cost estimating frequently requires methodologies that logically and consistently allow the analyst to transform very limited data into estimates that are repeatable and will withstand scrutiny. This paper focuses on a technique that converts subjective information into quantitative bounding of uncertain estimates. The technique was instituted at the US Army Missile Command in the 1980s and was validated by headquarters analysts. In a recent Independent Cost Estimate performed for a NASA program, the authors used the technique in the proven manner and introduced a new application. By applying the technique at three levels, the authors were able to determine appropriate levels of risk reserves and use that as a base for evaluation of available risk reserves for the program under review.

Booklist and Notes

Booklist and Notes George Brosi Bragg, Rick. Ava's Man. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. 304 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $25.00. Rick Bragg (b. 1959) has carved out a journalism career for himself writing features mostly about people who share his working class origins. He started with papers in his native Alabama, and now he is a national correspondent for The New York Times and has a Pulitzer to his credit for his reporting on the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing. In 1997 he told the story of his mother in the book, All Over But the Shouting. It drew rave reviews—Pat Conroy called it "one of the best books I've ever read"—and was a best seller. His collection of personal profiles, published first in papers, called Somebody Told Me (2000), was equally well received. Ava's Man has already drawn the unique kind of praise his previous efforts saw. The book takes this title because the author knew the widow of the subject of this biography but not the subject, Charlie Bundrum, his maternal grandfather, who died in 1958, a year before the author was born. Bundrum lived in the foothills of the Appalachians, near the Alabama-Georgia border, and worked primarily as a roofer, but also as a carpenter, a moonshiner and a fisherman. Bragg presents Bundrum completely, without glossing over his rough edges—the kind that brought him to knock his grown son unconscious with a single punch to the face. "In this pungent paean to his grandfather, Bragg also chronicles a vanished South that, like the once-wild Coosa River Charlie liked to ply in homemade boats, is becoming too tamed to accommodate those who would carve out a proud if hardscrabble living on its margins."—Publishers Weekly. "In creating an indelible portrait of his grandfather, Bragg also brings alive a particular time and place showing us just how much we've lost as we've made progress."—Booklist. Harvey, Steven. Boundfor Shady Grove. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2000. 157 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $24.95. This is an eclectic collection of essays about traditional mountain music. It includes, for example, a piece that describes in detail the creation of a handmade banjo, another on a trip to England to explore the origins of this music, one on a pawn shop that specializes in musical instruments and firearms, and another on a banjo contest. 98 The author was born in 1949, in Dodge City, Kansas, and received his doctorate from the University of Virginia. He has been an English professor at Young Harris College in North Georgia since 1976. This is his fourth essay collection in book form, following a volume of poetry. Hickam, Homer. Sky of Stone: A Memoir. New York: Delacorte Press/Random House, 2001. 336 pages. Hardback in dust jacket. $24.95. This is the third and final book in a trilogy of memoirs from a NASA engineer who grew up in a West Virginia coal camp. The first, Rocket Boys, was a number one New York Times bestseller, later made into the successful Hollywood movie, October Sky. This book, Sky of Stone, takes place in the Summer of 1961 when the author has returned home after his first year at Virginia Tech. "Sonny" as the author calls himself, is working at the coal mine his father runs for a large company. The title comes from how the sky appears when miners first emerge from underground. The plot is enlivened by Sonny's difficult relationship with his distant father, the impending break-up of his parents' marriage, an older woman who becomes a love interest and an investigation of Sonny's father's complicity in a methane explosion that killed a friend. "This concluding volume has the feel of literary durability about it, even more than the muchballyhooed Rocket Boys."—Kirkus Reviews. Homer Hickam (b. 1943) was born in Coalwood, West Virginia, received a BS from VPI, served in Vietnam as Second Lieutenant, and then worked for the Army Missile Command and NASA in Huntsville, Alabama, until his recent retirement. Kelsay, Michael. Too Close to Call. Oxford: University Press of Mississippi, 2001. 274 pages. Hardback...

Improved Semi-Empirical Method for Power-On Base-Drag Prediction

Improved methods for base pressure prediction under base bleed and rocket motor-on conditions have been deployed. The base bleed method makes several refinements to the method developed by Danberg at the Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen, Maryland. The improved rocket motoron, base pressure prediction improves upon the method developed at the Army Missile Command in Huntsville, Alabama by Brazzel and some of his colleagues. The major refinement to the base bleed method of Danburg was to estimate the power-off value of base pressure empirically based on an extensive data base, as opposed to using computational fluid dynamics codes to predict this term. The major modifications to the power-on base pressure prediction method of Brazzel was to extend its range of applicability to high values of thrust coefficient, to Mach numbers less than 1.5, and to different afterbody shapes. In comparing the improved methods for power-on base drag prediction to experiment, it was seen that both methods gave reasonable agreement to most experimental data bases. However, more validation is needed, particularly for the combined effects of angle of attack, fins, and power-on conditions. Nomenclature

Design of Self-Organizing Fuzzy Logic Guidance Law

A self-organizing fuzzy logic control (SOFLC) design method is proposed. This design method is then applied for the missile's command to line-of-sight (CLOS) guidance law design. The SOFLC contains two sets of fuzzy inference logic. One is the fuzzy logic controller and the other is the rule modifier. The new learning method of the rule modifier is developed based on a fuzzy learning algorithm. The modification value of each rule is based on the fuzzy firing weight, so that the learning of the rule bases is reasonable. Finally, two engagement scenarios are examined to illustrate the validity of the proposed design method.

2.1.2 Practical Experience Applying Business Process Reengineering to US ARMY Airworthiness Qualification

AbstractThis paper relates the experiences of the US Army Aviation & Missile Command team chartered to reengineer the Airworthiness Release and Qualification Process. Specifically, it reviews the processes the team used to identify issues and problems with the current process; development of recommended approaches for changes; definition and modeling of the current and “to be” processes; and lessons learned selling the new and improved process to the leadership and to the action officers.

The North Finding Module

Smiths Industries has developed a low-cost North Finding Module (NFM) for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM). This paper provides a description of the system, details of the design, and performance results. The primary requirements of the NFM are to establish navigational heading relative to true north within 3 min statically and within 1 min dynamically from any initial heading with an error of less than 10 mrad. The system utilizes Smiths Industries dynamically tuned gyroscopes (DTGs), Allied Signal digital accelerometers, and the Collins precision low-cost GPS receiver (PLGR). An extensive system executive adapts the Kalman filter measurements for the current environment; i.e., all available measurements are optimally utilized in the presence of physical motion, the state of the GPS receiver, heading uncertainty, etc. Field test data on a prototype system show the static and dynamic performance of the NFM.

Description of EDCS technology clusters

Evolutionary Systems are those that are capable of accomodating change over an extended system lifetime with reduced risk and cost/schedule impact. Most of our complex defense systems depend on software for their successful operation and, as a result, the software in those systems is the prmary vehicle for adapting to change. The EDCS (Evolutionary Design of Complex Software) Program is providing for the development and experimental application of new software technologies which can enable significant improvements in miltary mission effectiveness and information superiority. The goal is the capability to produce software intensive military systmes that are highly flexible and adaptable to meet changing requirements --- evolutionary systems.In addition to DARPA, the EDCS Program is co-sponsored by USAF Rome Laboratory, USAF Wright Laboratory, US Army Missile Command, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Technical management is provided jointly by the DoD Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and Rome Laboratory. Rome Laboratory is DARPA's primary contracting agent.EDCS is organized into 5 Technology Clusters:1. Rationale Capture and Software Understanding2. Architecture and Generation3. High Assurance / Real-Time4. Information Management5. Dynamic LanguagesThis paper contains a short description of each cluster.

Feedback linearization autopilot design for the advanced kinetic energy missile boost phase

This paper describes an application of feedback linearization to the design of an autopilot for the boost phase of the advanced kinetic energy missile, a hypervelocity missile being developed by the U.S. Army Missile Command. The rapid change in missile states during the boost phase, coupled with a requirement for accurate guidance, provide a challenge for the autopilot designer. Application of the feedback linearization methodology permitted an autopilot design to be successfully accomplished without the necessity for generating numerous airframe transfer functions and frozen-point stability plots. The resulting autopilot is easily updated to accommodate changes in the missile design.

U.S. Army battery needs-present and future

The purpose of this paper is to describe the needs of the U.S. Army for silent portable power sources, both in the near and longer term future. As a means of doing this, the programs of the Power Sources Division of the Army Research Laboratory are discussed. In carrying out these programs, the personnel of the Power Sources Division work closely with the Battery Management Office of the Army Materiel Command, which is located in the Logistics and Readiness Directorate of the Communication-Electronics Command (CECOM). We are also closely integrated with the Army Research Office, and the fuel cell personnel of the CECOM Research Development and Engineering Center (RDEC), and the battery personnel of the RDECs for the Tank and Automotive Command and the Missile Command. The six program areas discussed in which the Power Sources Division is engaged are: primary batteries, rechargeable batteries, reserve/fuze batteries, pulse batteries and capacitors, fuel cells, and thermophotovoltaic power generation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

High-Performance, Robust, Bank-to-Turn Missile Autopilot Design

Subjects related to a robust multivariable autopilot design are examined in this paper. First, a canonical robust control design formulation is introduced and is illustrated by formulating an integrated autopilot design problem. This formulation addresses the considerations of missile command following, model parameter variations, actuator dynamics, flexible dynamics, and parasitic feedback effects. Then, three robust autopilot designs for the HAVE DASH II missile system are executed. The controllers are solved using the generalized Hamiltonian approach which unifies a class of robust control designs in the same framework in terms of the formulation, data structure, and solution algorithm. The simulation shows that the designs achieve good response against significant kinematic and inertia couplings and aerodynamic parameter variations.

Automated Process Planning System for Turned Parts

Presents a description of an automated manufacturing process planning (AMPP) system developed by the US Army Missile Command (MICOM) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, that integrates computer aided design, computer aided process planning and computer aided manufacturing systems. The AMPP system automatically generates process plans and numerical control code to fabricate turned cylindrical parts. The AMPP system is available for demonstration at the AIDT Alabama Center for Advanced Technology Transfer (ACATT) in Huntsville.

Nondestructive Testing Techniques

Abstract This book represents a distillation of a multivolume document produced by Northrop Services, Inc. for the U.S. Army Missile Command. As such, the book is broad in scope, aimed at application-oriented personnel, and geared towards flaw detection.

High acceleration, high performance solid state accelerometer development

This paper presents current accomplishments in the development of a high performance, high g, tactical accelerometer for use in the Advanced Kinetic Energy Missile (AdKEM) development program being conducted by the US Army Missile Command. The design goals of the accelerometer are to provide strapdown tactical navigation quality acceleration information throughout a 20 g soft launch phase, 1200 g boost phase, and low-g coast phase environment. The accelerometers must be able to provide acceleration measurements accurate enough to provide a navigational accuracy of 0.5 meter CEP at 500 meters. This translates to an accelerometer capable of measuring a 1200 g acceleration with a resolution of 1 milli-g. The AdKEM missile accelerometer and gyro outputs are used for control stability and midcourse guidance. The successful demonstration of this device offers a myriad of opportunities in both the commercial and military arenas. The operational environment and performance characteristics of the AdKEM accelerometer are presented. Crystalline quartz vibrating beam technology has been chosen for this accelerometer application to take advantage of solid state device characteristics. A solid state device with inherently digital output characteristics is desirable for strapdown navigation applications because of interface circuitry simplification, potential lower cost, inherent stability and longer storage life.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>