Hit-to-Kill Guidance Algorithm for the Interception of Ballistic Missiles During the Boost Phase

摘要

A near-optimal guidance law has been developed using the direct method of calculus of variations that maximizes the kinetic energy transfer from a surface-launched missile upon interception to a ballistic missile target during the boost phase of flight. Mathematical models of a North Korean Taep'o- dong II (TD-2) medium-range ballistic missile and a Raytheon Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) interceptor are used to demonstrate the guidance law's performance. This law will utilize the SM-6 s onboard computer and active radar sensors to independently predict an intercept point, solve the two-point boundary value problem, and determine a near-optimal flight path to that point. Determining a truly optimal flight path would require significant computing power and time, while a near-optimal flight path can be calculated onboard the interceptor and updated in real time without significant changes to the interceptor s hardware. That near-optimal guidance path is then converted into a set of command functions and fed back into the control computer of the interceptor. By modifying the second and third derivatives of the two-point boundary value problem, the intercept conditions can be varied to study their effects upon the optimal flight path regarding the maximization of kinetic energy upon impact.