Inertial Sensor Performance Requirements for a Long Range Artillery Rocket

摘要

With continuing advances in rocket propulsion systems for extended-rangeartillery, it is possible that operational ranges of 60 kilometers (up from the current 30 km) will be the norm within 20 years. However if the munitions are unguided, the dispersion errors at these long ranges, due to such factors as muzzle velocity errors and down-range weather conditions, make effective use of such rounds prohibitively expensive. This report investigates the performance required of inertial components that could be used for an onboard guidance system that would enable the rocket to determine its position to a sufficient level of accuracy. The high dynamics of the launch environment and the relatively short flight times make for unusual conditions for an inertial navigation system. It is shown that some components are of critical importance and must be of high performance (thus of more expense) while others are of much less importance and savings can be made when specifying the instruments for those functions.