Preliminary Results Concerning the Improvements Realizable Through the Use of Variable Thrust Together with Engine Gimbaling for a Particular Interceptor Missile

摘要

Some interceptor missiles as presently formulated possess a programmed thrust magnitude history with a gimbaled engine to provide steering. We examine one such missile to determine whether performance can be improved if we allow a variable thrust magnitude together with engine gimbaling to provide control. Two trajectory optimization programs were written to provide an initial answer to this problem. Preliminary results indicate reductions in the time to intercept by as much as thirty per-cent over that obtained by the presently used guidance scheme. With tuning of the programs it seems reasonable to expect even greater improvements and further investigation seems warranted.