Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g. – Radar ew
Reexamination Certificate
1980-01-21
2001-06-26
Sotomayor, John B. (Department: 3662)
Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g.,
Radar ew
C342S014000, C342S015000, C342S016000, C342S017000, C342S062000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06252537
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(U) This invention pertains generally to guidance systems for air-to-air guided missiles and particularly to systems of the type required for air-to-air guided missile carried by strategic bombers.
(U) It must be postulated that any strategic bomber on an actual mission during wartime would have to penetrate airspace under surveillance of an early warning radar on an aircraft which serves as the control center of an “airborne warning and control system,” commonly called “AWACS”. Once the location of the strategic bomber has been determined, interceptors may be vectored to attack and destroy such bomber long before its desired mission may be accomplished.
(U) It is manifest that neutralization of the early warning radar of the defensive AWACS before a strategic bomber is detected or located by such a radar offers the first and best chance for such bomber successfully to pursue its mission without having to engage in combat with interceptors attached to the AWACS. That is to say, any strategic bomber should be equipped first to detect, before it is itself detected, interrogating signals from a surveillance radar of a defensive AWACS and then to interdict such radar (either by destroying the aircraft carrying such radar or by forcing shutdown before the strategic bomber itself is located).
(U) It is apparent that successful interdiction of an airborne surveillance radar requires that each strategic bomber be equipped with: (a) a “quiet” detector (meaning a search receiver and appropriate signal processors) to allow the location of such radar to be determined even in the presence of many interfering signals; and (b) a long range air-to-air guided missile which may be launched from the strategic bomber and then guided toward the airborne surveillance radar, from a point outside the maximum detection range of such radar, to an intercept, all without transmission of any kind of signal from the strategic bomber. Satisfaction of the latter requirement is, considering the state of the art, difficult to achieve because of limitations on the size and weight of any long range air-to-air missile carried by any known strategic bomber. As a matter of fact, in the tactical situation here being considered, such limitations are determinative of the distance a long range air-to-air guided missile may fly; as a result, then, the requisite guidance system for such a missile must be as small and efficient as possible and must, further, accomplish its purpose with a minimum amount of maneuvering of the missile.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
(U) In view of the foregoing background of this invention, it is a general object of this invention to provide an improved system for interdicting an AWACS.
A specific object of this invention is to provide, in the contemplated system, a way of determining the range of an airborne surveillance radar from a strategic bomber, such determination being made without requiring any electromagnetic radiation from such bomber.
(U) Another specific object of this invention is to provide an improved radar receiver adapted to derive, in the presence of many interfering signals, guidance signals for an air-to-air guided missile to cause such missile to home on the source of selected radar signals.
(U) Another specific object of this invention is to provide ranging signals by processing information from the contemplated improved radar receiver.
(U) Another specific object of this invention is to provide an improved way of initiating the terminal phase of flight of an air-to-air guided missile so that a selected target may be more easily and surely detected and tracked in the presence of clutter.
(U) The foregoing and other objects of this invention are generally attained by providing at least one long range air-to-air guided missile on a strategic bomber for interdicting an early warning surveillance radar in an AWACS system without requiring any type of electromagnetic radiation from either such bomber or missile until the terminal stage of flight of the latter is initiated. To accomplish the desired result, a conventional search receiver and signal processor is installed on the strategic bomber to detect interrogating signals from the early warning radar and to determine the position of such radar relative to such bomber. An air-to-air guided missile, adapted first to detect and to home on the early warning rather and then to be guided by an active radar guidance system to the aircraft carrying the early warning radar, is also provided to complete the contemplated system.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3212091 (1965-10-01), Bissett et al.
patent: 4384292 (1983-05-01), Prime, Jr.
patent: 4538152 (1985-08-01), Wirth
patent: 4646098 (1987-02-01), Mattern et al.
patent: 4763128 (1988-08-01), Caswell
patent: 4823139 (1989-04-01), Eisner et al.
patent: 5153594 (1992-10-01), Moffat
patent: 5291199 (1994-03-01), Overman et al.
patent: 5317314 (1994-05-01), Mead
patent: 6049301 (2000-04-01), Weagant
Cherwek Roland A.
Hamilton Paul C.
Joshi Gajanan H.
Martin David N.
Daly, Crowley & Mofford, LL
Raytheon Company
Sotomayor John B.
LandOfFree
Air-to-air guidance system and method of operating same does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Air-to-air guidance system and method of operating same, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Air-to-air guidance system and method of operating same will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2518794