Airborne body with over-caliber sized guidance mechanism

Abstract

An airborne body with an over-caliber sized guidance mechanism, especially a projectile with control surfaces, whose surfaces are retracted against a projectile tail structure prior to launching or firing of the projectile from a weapon barrel or tube, and are generally radially extended subsequent to exiting from the barrel. A securing or latching pin arrangement is provided between the tail end structure of the projectile and each control surface for maintaining the latter is a retracted position, and is released upon acceleration of the projectile after firing to allow for the outward extension of the control surfaces into their operative positions. In this connection, there is especially contemplated a projectile which is fireable from a mortar tube or other kind of weapon barrel, and which possesses guidance control surfaces in order to enable influencing a flight trajectory (such as, for instance, final flight-phase guidance). The airborne body can also relate to a projectile equipped with a rocket propulsion arrangement, and in which the guidance mechanism can pertain to aerodynamic stabilizer fins.