Comparison of Current Test Requirements and the Field Environment for Harpoon Seeker WRA's (Weapons Replaceable Assemblies)

摘要

The HARPOON is an all-weather antiship missile which can be launched from a number of platforms, including aircraft, ships and submarines. After launch, the HARPOON flies a sea-skimming trajectory and has the capability to perform several different terminal maneuvers. Mid-course guidance is provided by an attitude reference assembly, radar altimeter and digital computer. The terminal guidance is accomplished using a frequency-agile active radar. Effective range for the HARPOON is in excess of 50 nautical miles. The HARPOON missile system has a reduced reliability for the ship based platform in relationship to the aircraft and submarine based platforms. One possibility for this is that the environmental qualification tests did not demonstrate the susceptibility of the system to this environment. It was therefore necessary to look at the defined mission profiles, environmental conditions and testing to get an idea of what has been done to date. The process of tailoring the levels to the specific platforms was discussed and recommendations made as to updating the test requirements. Keywords: WRA(Weapons Replaceable Assemblies); Weapon system reliability; Mission profiles; Test tailoring. (edc)