Raytheon Company

Vincent A Grosso

Richard A Beckerleg

Richard R LaTorre

Mark R Fernald

Raymond J Estlick

William A Zarr

Richard J DeFonzo

Robert J Fitzgerald

A spinning projectile is described including a roll rate sensor for providing a spin frequency signal, a nutation frequency signal and a precession frequency signal and a seeker for providing a boresight angle signal. The spinning projectile further includes a torquer assembly, responsive to a control signal, for selectively providing a force in a desired lateral direction and a digital signal processor, responsive to the spin frequency signal, the nutation frequency signal, the precession frequency signal and the boresight angle signal, for providing a control signal to the torquer assembly to control the desired direction of the force. With such an arrangement, a projectile is provided having greater maneuverability wherein an increase in maneuver footprint is obtained by having the maneuver force equal the sum of the rocket force and the body force rather than being a difference as in known projectiles.

Modular aerodynamic gyrodynamic intelligent controlled projectile and

A spinning projectile is described including a body having a fore section and an aft section and a seeker, connected to the fore section, for providing guidance signals. The spinning projectile further includes a rocket control system, connected to the aft section, for controlling the course of the spinning projectile and means for acoustically coupling through the body of the projectile the guidance signals from the seeker to the rocket control system. With such an arrangement, existing projectiles can be retrofitted with a seeker and a rocket control system without affecting the body of the projectile.

A seeker is disclosed including a Cassegrainian telescope, responsive to an optical signal having a signal path, for directing the optical signal toward an optical detector. The seeker also includes a first rotatable optical wedge, disposed in the signal path of the optical signal, for directing the optical signal from a first direction toward the Cassegrainian telescope. The seeker further includes a second rotatable optical wedge, disposed in the signal path of the optical signal, for directing said optical signal from a second direction to the first direction. With such an arrangement, a seeker is provided which is capable of surviving a high 'G' application and providing a wide field of view. The seeker provides two angular degrees of freedom in polar coordinates for the optical signal just as a two axis gimbal provides two angular degrees of freedom in Cartesian coordinates.

Optically beam steered infrared seeker

A despinning mechanism for a shaped charge warhead carried by a spinning projectile is shown to comprise a weight attached to a cord wrapped around such warhead and a release mechanism operative to allow the weight and cord to move radially outwardly from such warhead to impart a decelerating torque on such warhead.

Despinning mechanism

An infrared seeker for use in a spinning projectile is shown to include a Cassegrainian telescope having a tapered optical wedge overlying the entrance aperture, such wedge being rotatably mounted to allow scanning and tracking, and a jettisonable streamlined cover overlying the optical wedge to reduce drag so long as such cover is in place.

Infrared seeker

Apparatus and method of determining a roll reference for strap down seeker in a spinning projectile is shown to consist of the steps of: (a) determining the frequency spectrum of signals out of an accelerometer disposed in such missile to be sensitive to roll, precession and nutation forces; (b) separating the signals caused to the roll forces; and (c) processing the separated signals to determine the roll reference.

Strap down roll reference

A guidance system is shown whereby a spin-stabilized projectile with a 'strap-down' seeker may be commanded to fly toward a target by maintaining an inertial line-of-sight rate below a preset limit. To accomplish the desired mode of guidance the projectile here is equipped with a polarization receiver to establish an inertial reference in roll, a strap-down seeker to determine the existing line-of-sight between the projectile and the target during intercept, a signal processor to convert signals out of the polarization receiver and the strap-down seeker into signals indicative of the time rate of change of the line-of-sight angle, corrected for any gyroscopically induced movement of the projectile, a plurality of thrusters in helical channels about the periphery of the projectile and a controller, responsive to the output of the signal processor, to select and fire selected ones of such thrusters to keep the rate of change of the line-of-sight angle below a preset value.

Growing community of inventors

Hopkinton, MA, United States of America

Vincent A Grosso