Missile Attitude Measurement System

A radar solution is proposed for making highly accurate measurements of missile attitude, roll rate, and roll position. Compared to optics, the radar hardware will be less expensive, the equipment will be easier to set up and operate, and the data will be simpler to process. Radar is also an all-weather day/night sensor. Four high-resolution radars will be used, where each measures the ranges of the tip and base of the missile. These measurements are combined to determine these tip-base locations in three dimensions as a function of time, which defines the missile attitude. This measurement process is known as multilateration. Measurement of range within a short interval simplifies the radar hardware and signal processing, which is appropriate for an SBIR program. Radar can also measure the role rate of a missile very accurately if it is spinning. Measurement of the roll angle of a non-spinning missile is more challenging, but by resolving the fins on the missile we believe it will be possible to meet the threshold requirement. For all other measurements we expect to meet the objective requirements.