Ordnance – Waging war
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-14
2003-07-01
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Ordnance
Waging war
Reexamination Certificate
active
06584879
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for disabling time critical and moving targets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to stop enemy forces from launching ballistic missiles from mobile missile launchers (TELs), it is necessary to disable the TEL before a launch is completed. The launch sequence for launching a ballistic missile from a TEL is less than ten minutes and may be substantially shortened in the future.
The time required for an airplane to travel to a target, such as a TEL, from a loitering patrol may be 15 minutes. Under the best circumstances, a TEL may be attacked by a loitering patrol in about 30 minutes from the time that sensors following the TEL, such as from the air or on the ground, have detected stopping of the TEL to launch a ballistic missile. In practice, because of the large time required to reach the TEL with loitering patrolling aircraft, the ballistic missile associated with the TEL will have been launched 20 minutes before the shortest time possible for a loitering patrolling aircraft to reach the site where the TEL is positioned. In fact, most often a TEL will have launched a ballistic missile and exited the area of a ballistic missile launch long before a loitering patrolling aircraft could reach the launch site. In the 1990 “Gulf War”, not one TEL was successfully attacked before, during or after launching a ballistic missile.
Furthermore, short range (1,000 km) solid fuel missiles having a great acceleration at launch, may become widely available. Short range solid fuel missiles reach burnout very quickly and have a short period of vulnerability during a booster phase before burnout to a first stage active missile defense designed to hit the booster phase with a counter-missile.
A successful TEL defense must be predicated upon greatly reducing the time required to intercept the TEL after detection thereof. The interception of a TEL should occur in a time window within five minutes of stopping of the TEL to prepare for a launch.
FIG. 1
illustrates a block diagram of a prior art rocket-boosted five-inch naval shell known as the EX 171 ERGM (hereinafter ERGM). The ERGM
10
is comprised of a guidance and navigation section
12
, a control section
14
which controls canards
16
to control flight, a group of submunitions
18
which are deployed at the attack site, a solid fuel rocket motor
22
and a group of fins
24
which are fixedly deployed upon firing. A safe and arm device
26
performs the function of arming the submunitions.
The ERGM
10
is fired from a five-inch gun as illustrated in FIG.
2
. After the initial rapid acceleration produced by firing from the gun, which subjects the ERGM
10
to high “G” forces, such as 12,000 (G)s, the canards
16
and fins
24
deploy and the electrical battery therein is activated. The rocket motor
22
is then ignited which propels the ERGM
10
to what may be a substantial-distance of many miles to target
44
. The flight may be in excess of 50 miles under guidance control by the combination of a GPS and inertial guidance provided by the guidance and navigation section
12
. The guidance and navigation system
12
steers the missile to a position above the target
44
at which the submunitions
18
are dispensed from an altitude, such as 250-400 meters, within a cluster
19
. The cluster
19
containing the submunitions
18
, strikes the vicinity of the target
44
.
As illustrated in
FIG. 2
, after the initial firing of the five-inch shell, there is a motor burn period
40
during which the ERGM
10
accelerates. Beginning at substantially the same time as the motor burn
40
, the guidance and navigation section
12
acquires, during a GPS acquisition window period
42
, communications with a GPS satellite (not illustrated) to determine the position thereof which enables control of the canards
16
by the navigation and guidance section
12
to guide the ERGM to the coordinates of the target
44
at which the submunitions
18
are dispensed in cluster
19
.
FIG. 3
illustrates the prior art air dropped advance remote ground unattended sensor (ARGUS)
110
. The sharp tip
113
is guided by control surfaces
114
to embed in the ground
112
after free fall after dropping from an airplane. The ARGUS
110
contains microphones (not illustrated) which detect the acoustic signature of ground vehicles moving in the vicinity thereof. The control surfaces
114
stop the rear cap
111
from penetrating below the ground
112
. The radio
118
and antenna
116
uplinks to a GPS satellite the coordinates of the ARGUS and any sensed ground vibrations produced by movement of vehicles in the vicinity thereof.
The ARGUS
110
has a diameter of five inches, a weight of 83.2 lbs. and is deployed from an aircraft with a free fall terminal velocity of about 243 feet per second. The ARGUS
110
has a geodynamic diameter of four inches and geodynamic ballistic coefficient of 916 psf. The ARGUS
110
may penetrate in the ground up to 100 inches. During penetration into the ground
112
, the deceleration forces may be 129 (G)s with 340 “G”s being a maximum. High energy density lithium primary batteries (not illustrated) are contained in the ARGUS
110
and have a running life of at least three months. The batteries provide electrical power for activation of the GPS radio
118
which provides communications
120
to a satellite (not illustrated) which may function as a command center or a relay to a command center. Alternatively, the communications
120
may be linked to an unoccupied air vehicle (UAV).
Additionally, a wide area munition (WAM) has been developed for defending against track and other wheeled ground vehicles. A small lightweight platform, which may be dropped from a vehicle or from the air, permits deployment in virtually any territory including flat or sloped surfaces. The WAM may be activated manually to permit personnel to move from the area prior to arming or activated by remote control.
Seismic and acoustic sensors in a WAM are activated, after deployment, which monitor ground and environmental conditions to detect and classify tracked and wheeled military vehicles. Upon detection of a target vehicle, a WAM tracks the target vehicle and launches a sensor fused sublet over the target vehicle. An infrared sensor on the sublet detects the target vehicle and initiates an explosively formed penetrator (EFP) warhead to defeat the top vehicle armor. The sublet has a range of up to 100 meters from the initial ground deployed position.
Electronic communication capability may connect WAMs into a network to provide communications with a control center. The identification of characteristics of oncoming enemy vehicles, including vehicle type, geographic coordinates, speed and heading may be detected by the control center.
Air deliverable acoustic sensors (ADAS) are passive non-line of sight acoustic sensors for detecting, classifying and tracking ground and air vehicles at extended ranges. ADAS may be hand deployed, remotely by truck, helicopter or other vehicle. An ADAS locates and classifies the ground vehicles, helicopters, artillery, and rocket launchers at extended range.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a method and system for disabling a time critical target at a site within a geographical area, a guided missile launch assembly, and a method and system for disabling a moving target within a geographical area. The invention utilizes a combination of sensors, deployed within or adjacent to the geographical area or which are airborne, to monitor the geographical area to determine if a time critical target or a moving target is present therein. Spaced apart air deployed missile launchers are located within or adjacent to the geographic area. Each missile launcher contains a guided missile. The guided missile launchers are sufficiently close to any site within the geographical area at which a time critical target or a moving target is located or may be located that upon detection of the target by the sensor(s), the guided
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Jordan Charles T.
Northrop Grumman Corporation
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