Introduction to the Scene Matching Missile Guidance Technologies

摘要

During the Gulf war of 1992, Tomahawk BGM-109 cruise missile launched from off-shore battleship was deployed by the allied force to carry out the first attack to Iraq's strategic targets. That was also the first time of using this new kind of missile in the real war after it was developed. Among the 280 Tomahawk missiles that have been launched, the percentage of hits is above 80%. They took a very important effect in the offense that allied country army launched in order to destroy the strategic targets of Iraq, and it attracted worldwide attention immediately. With regard to technology, it is one of the most remarkable new weapons of the modern world. Tomahawk cruise missile is the result of three key technological innovations. One of these key technological innovations is the application of scene matching missile guidance technology. Tomahawk cruise missile adopts the combination of terrain contour matching guidance and inertial guidance, this reduce the CEP (circular error probability) of hitting the target to about 30 meters. Moreover, the Tomahawk cruise missile with conventional warhead is equipped with scene matching terminal guidance system, which reduces the CEP to only meters. The SS-NX-21 strategic cruise missile, which is developed by the former Soviet Union, adopts a similar technology as Tomahawk cruise missile, achieves a close performance. In addition to the application in cruise missile, the scene matching missile guidance technology is applied in ballistic missile, a successful example is the Pershing II medium range ground to ground missile.