Low Energy Consumption Compact Control Actuation Systems for Precision Guided Artillery and Mortar Munitions

Pyrotechnics offer a novel low energy Control Actuation System (CAS) approach reducing limitations associated with typical electro-mechanical CAS. With 2.5 to 3 times more usable energy stored per unit volume and more importantly a power density that is orders of magnitude greater than that of a comparable electromechanical device, a pyrotechnically driven CAS potentially requires less total volume enabling greater payload, and in some cases enabling control authority outside the bounds of what can be achieved with electromechanical systems. Medium and long range guided munitions, in particular precision guided artillery and mortar munitions, typically utilize some version of an electro-mechanical Control Actuation System (CAS) that deflects aerodynamic surfaces to effect a projectile response which subsequently achieves the required maneuver. Electro-mechanical CAS systems which satisfy these requirements can consume more than 4,000 joules of electrical energy because the capability to deliver peak torque, which is typically only required for a small portion of the overall flight mission, results in high power consumption over the entire flight regime. The demand for increased on board power and energy also requires allocation of significant additional volume in the projectile which could otherwise be available for additional payload.