ASSESSMENT OF TRANSFER ALIGNMENT TECHNIQUES FOR HYPERSONIC WEAPON APPLICATIONS

THIS EFFORT ADDRESSES THE ISSUES OF GUIDANCE AND NAVIGATION FOR A NEW FAMILY OF STRATEGIC WEAPONS TO BE DELIVERED FROM HYPERSONIC VEHICLES. THE SPECIFIC FOCUS OF THE INVESTIGATION IS TRANSFER ALIGNMENT OF THE WEAPON INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM FROM THAT OF THE HYPERSONIC CARRIER VEHICLE. INITIAL EFFORT WILL BE THE DEFINITION OF TRANSFER ALIGNMENT ACCURACY REQUIREMENTS, DERIVED FROM WEAPON CEP REQUIREMENTS, TERMINAL SENSOR ACQUISITION BASKET SIZE REQUIREMENTS, AND THE PERFORMANE CAPABILITIES OF THE WEAPON INERTIAL GUIDANCE SYSTEM DURING ITS MIDCOURSE GUIDANCE PHASE. TRANSFER ALIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS WILL BE COMPARED TO TRANSFER ALIGNMENT PERFORMANCE ACHIEVABLE WITH EXISTING TECHNIQUES IF EMPLOYED IN A HYPERSONIC VEHICLE ENVIRONMENT. SHORTCOMINGS OF EXISTING TECHNIQUES WILL BE IDENTIFIED, AND ANALYTICAL INVESTIGATION OF ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUES WILL BE PURSUED. THE END PRODUCT OF THE INVESTIGATION WILL BE THE ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL INERTIAL GUIDANCE ISSUES FOR WEAPONS DELIVERED FROM HYPERSONIC VEHICLES, AND A PROPOSAL FOR FURTHER DEFINITIZATION OF ADVANCED WEAPON CONCEPTS TO BE PERFORMED AS A PHASE II SBIR EFFORT.