Navigation Issues for Low Cost Competent Munitions

The U.S. Army has identified a need to accurately engage ground targets with low-cost munitions delivered from self-propelled artillery and towed guns. Currently, munitions delivered from these platforms are not equipped with navigation sensors, and thus have no way to measure position, velocity, or attitude during flight. Without this information, munition accuracy is entirely reliant on launch and environmental conditions such as gun orientation and wind stability. In order to realize a significant improvement in munition accuracy, it is anticipated that innovative navigation sensors (gyros and accelerometers) will be required. Candidate sensors must be capable of surviving the high-g environment associated with gun-launched munitions and must be cost-effective relative to the throwaway cost of currently-fielded artillery systems. The focus of this proposed research is to: (1) identify candidate navigation sensors for gun-launched "smart" munitions, (2) postulate innovative navigation systems (e.g., shock-hardened IMUs and GPS receivers), and (3) conduct tradeoff analyses to characterize the feasibility of each candidate system. Detailed mathematical models will be formulated to characterize candidate navigation system behavior, and projectile trajectories will be generated. The models and trajectories will be incorporated into an LCCM computer simulation, which will be employed to project navigation error statistics (e.g., CEP) for each candidate system. Based on simulation results, performance/risk/cost tradeoff analyses will be conducted, and the most promising navigation system will be selected for fabrication and testing under the subsequent Phase II effort.