Thomson-brandt Armements

Marc Bernard

Philippe Arnaud

Rene Thouron

Herve Boubault

The invention concerns a guided munition, fired from a launching system with a cannon effect. This munition comprising sub-assemblies is supported, during acceleration in the cannon, by a peripheral casing which rests on the first sub-assembly of the munition placed at the front of the munition and is fixed to an ejectable sub-assembly placed at the rear of the munition. The weight of this casing is necessary to withstand the forces due to acceleration and it enables the range of the munition to be increased during the ballistic phase. During the transition from the ballistic phase to the guided phase, the ejectable sub-assembly is ejected, taking with it the casing which thus frees the airfoil surfaces to open out. The casing thus positioned also provides sealing and protection of the sensitive parts and rigidity of the whole of the munition.

Peripheral casing for a guided munition fired with a cannon effect

A system of guidance in yaw, pitch and roll, which enables a small number of nozzles (three) to be used. Each of the nozzles supplies a continuous gas jet, which can be oriented about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the vehicle which carries them, the deflection of each of the nozzles preferably being limited to .+-.60.degree..

System of vehicle guidance by continuous gas jets

A system is provided for guidance, by laser beam and pyrotechnic thrusters, of one or a number of carriers such as missiles which are intended to intercept maneuvering targets such as aircraft, helicopters or tanks. Guidance of the carrier is performed partly from the ground by means of a laser beam (beam-rider guidance) which tracks the target and partly by means of pyrotechnic thrusters placed on board the carrier. At each instant, the carrier thus 'knows' its position with respect to the ideal flight path provided by the laser beam. The carrier corrects its flight path by triggering a pyrotechnic thruster when its distance with respect to the ideal flight path is greater than a predefined threshold value and when its radial velocity to the ideal path is lower than a predefined threshold.

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Marcilly en Villette, France

Marc Bernard