Investigation of the Dispersion of Unguided Finned Missile

Abstract

The problem of accuracy of fire and its impact on weapon effectiveness presents a major concern of munitions designer. Many factors can be considered to improve the missile dispersion. Some are related to the missile itself, others are related to the launcher or the mutual effects between the missile and the launcher. The environmental launching conditions have a prime impact on the firing accuracy. The present work introduces simulation and experimental studies dealing with individual parameters and their influential weights concerning their impact on dispersion of a finned missile. The effects of the initial firing parameters, namely initial mass, initial launching angle, initial velocity and location of center of gravity are investigated. For each case the parameter was varied within certain limits to simulate the production inaccuracy, or approximations during design and the initial errors that can be impeded in the launcher and aiming devices. The trajectory was calculated using PRODAS software and compared with the real flight data. Comparisons of predicted and experimental results have proven satisfactory matching.