Highly accurate long range optically-aided inertially guided type missile

Abstract

An optically-aided, inertially guided missile. The inventive missile includes a receiver for accepting guidance commands from a source located on an independent frame of reference relative to the missile and providing a first signal in response thereto. A filter is mounted on the missile for processing the first signal and providing a second signal in response thereto. The filter outputs commands to a navigation system which provides missile guidance commands in a conventional manner. In the illustrative implementation, the filter is a Kalman filter configured to eliminate the effects of gunner jitter and optical guidance system noise thereby significantly improving missile terminal performance at long ranges. In the illustrative implementation, the navigation system includes an inertial sensor assembly. The navigation system outputs a signal representative of missile-to-target cross track position and velocity in response to outputs from the sensor assembly and the filter. A guidance law is used by the system to compute missile acceleration commands in response to the missile-to-target cross track position and velocity. Thereafter, fin control commands are generated by an autopilot in response to the missile acceleration commands in a conventional manner.