Aeronautics and astronautics – Missile stabilization or trajectory control – Automatic guidance
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-26
2002-02-12
Johnson, Stephen M. (Department: 3641)
Aeronautics and astronautics
Missile stabilization or trajectory control
Automatic guidance
C102S211000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06345784
ABSTRACT:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system and method for munition impact assessment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a self guided munition including an impact assessment system, which system transmits a signal pertaining to impact assessment of the munition directly to a platform from which the munition was launched or dropped.
The use of platform launched or dropped munitions in warfare is well known. The use of such munitions has provided a substantial advance in the art of warfare by facilitating the destruction of enemy targets while mitigating undesirable loss of life and/or destruction of military equipment.
However, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, conventional un-guided munitions dropped or launched by, for example, airplanes, must generally either be released with very high accuracy or in very large numbers in order to effectively destroy a desired target. Thus, it is frequently necessary to either drop such munitions from an undesirably low altitude or to fly an undesirably large number of sorties. Dropping conventional munitions from a lower than desirable altitude exposes the aircraft and crew to hazardous anti-aircraft artillery and ground-to-air missiles. The accuracy of such anti-aircraft artillery and ground-to-air missiles is substantially enhanced by the reduced range to target (altitude of the aircraft) provided by such low flight. For this reason, low altitude bombing is extremely dangerous and is very rarely performed. Of course, flying an undesirably large number of sorties is expensive, time consuming, and exposes the aircraft and crew repeatedly to air defense weaponry such as anti-aircraft artillery and ground-to-air missiles.
In an attempt to overcome the deficiencies of conventional munitions in reliably destroying ground targets, particularly when dropped from a high altitude and away in ground distance from the target, smart munitions have been developed. Such smart munitions utilize a guidance and flight control system to accurately maneuver the munition to the desired target. The guidance system provides a control signal to the control surfaces based upon the present position of a munition and the position of the target, so that the control surfaces maneuver the munition toward the target. Such guidance systems operate according to well known principles and typically utilize technologies such as laser guidance, infrared guidance, radar guidance and/or satellite (GPS) guidance.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,838 to Mayersak describes a low cost and highly accurate guided system suitable for use in conventional aircraft launched bombs. The system includes a kit mounted upon the nose of the conventional bomb which replaces the conventional fuse disposed in a fuse well, the kit including guidance electronics controlling a self-contained jet reaction device and GPS P-code receiver electronics. The bombs are readied for discharge by radio frequency signals broadcast from the aircraft into the bomb bay which transfer initial GPS data and commence operation of a gas generator which powers the jet reaction device.
Such smart munitions can be either self guided, wherein a bomb or a missile is launched and self guides to the target, or alternatively such smart bombs can be guided or monitored by an operator, in which case the operator ensures and/or verifies that the bomb has detonated on target.
An inherent limitation to self guided smart bombs is the inability to verify if the bomb detonated with precision on target. Thus, an aircraft pilot launching a self guided smart bomb cannot verify successful impact other than by flying over the target, thus risking the aircraft to anti aircraft fire.
To overcome this limitation, smart self guided bomb systems have been devised by which a likely detonation coordinate signal is relayed from the smart bomb to a tracking station just prior to detonation. Such a signal is then processed by the tracking station and compared to the intended target coordinate to yield accuracy results.
Since the presence of a tracking station is required in order to monitor and interpret a bombing run, real-time analysis of the results cannot be enabled, and as such these systems are typically used only to verify success and not to adjust additional bombing runs of a sortie according to detonation results of a previous bombing run.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, an impact verification system for self guided smart bombs which system can transmit a signal relating to impact success or failure of a self guided smart bomb, directly to a platform from which the smart bomb was launched or dropped.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a platform launched or dropped self guided munition comprising a body and flight control mechanism operative therewith, the body housing (a) an onboard guidance system for controlling the flight control mechanism, so as to guide the self guided munition to a target; and (b) an impact verification assembly including (i) a processing unit for receiving and processing information from the onboard guidance system, the information pertaining to an in-flight trajectory position of the self guided munition prior to impact, the processing unit further being for generating a signal including information pertaining to an accuracy, with respect to the target, of the in-flight trajectory position of the self guided munition prior to impact; and (ii) a transmitter being in communication with the processing unit, the transmitter being for transmitting the signal generated by the processing unit in a manner receivable by a receiving device of the platform.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for determining the impact success of a self guided munition which is launched or dropped from a platform, the system comprising an impact verification assembly being integrateable into the self guided munition, the impact verification assembly including (a) a processing unit for receiving and processing information from an onboard guidance system of the self guided munition, the information pertaining to an in-flight trajectory position of the self guided munition prior to impact, the processing unit further being for generating a signal including information pertaining to an accuracy of the in-flight trajectory position of the self guided munition prior to impact with respect to a target; and (b) a transmitter being in communication with the processing unit, the transmitter being for transmitting the signal generated by the processing unit in a manner receivable by a receiving device of the platform.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of determining the impact success of a self guided munition which is launched or dropped from a platform, the method comprising the steps of (a) integrating an impact verification assembly to the self guided munition, the impact verification assembly including (i) a processing unit being for receiving and processing information from an inboard guidance system of the self guided munition, the information pertaining to an in-flight trajectory position of the self guided munition prior to impact, the processing unit further being for generating a signal including information pertaining to an accuracy of the in-flight trajectory position of the self guided munition prior to impact; and (ii) a transmitter being in communication with the processing unit, the transmitter being for transmitting the signal generated by the processing unit in a manner receivable by a receiving device of the platform; and (b) receiving via the receiving device of the platform the signal generated by the processing unit and transmitted by the transmitter so as to determine the accuracy of the in-flight trajectory position of the self guided munition prior to impact, thus determining the impact success of the self guided munition.
According to still another aspect
Friedman Mark M.
Johnson Stephen M.
Tadiran Spectralink LTD
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