urbanf@yj.data.nokia.fi (Urban Fredriksson) (03/19/91)
From: urbanf@yj.data.nokia.fi (Urban Fredriksson)
Reply-to: urban@kista.relay.nokia.fi
Do you think an IR-guided AMRAAM would be feasible?
I don't think there would be a problem if the missile
could achive lock-on before launch, the problems as I
see them are:
- The seeker would have a narrow field of view, and
so have it more difficult to lock-on later than a
radar-guided missile.
- After an independent lock-on, the missile would
lack range data, making intercept more uncertain.
- Would require 'mid-course' guidance from the
launching aircraft farther along, making it more
hazardous.
Any replies E-mailed to me will be summarized here later on.
urban@kista.relay.nokia.fi
| Urban Fredriksson | I do NOT speak |"The enemy of your enemy is not |
| Stockholm, Sweden | for my employer! | always your friend." |
| I'm off the net 06 April - 31 May |henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (03/23/91)
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) >From: urbanf@yj.data.nokia.fi (Urban Fredriksson) > Do you think an IR-guided AMRAAM would be feasible? My own opinion is that if AMRAAM's terminal-homing system was a Sidewinder IR head instead of active radar, AMRAAM would have been in service for several years now and would be a conspicuous success. As it is, it's still "in development" and is as close to being a failure as it could be without being cancelled outright. > - The seeker would have a narrow field of view, and > so have it more difficult to lock-on later than a > radar-guided missile. Not a very serious problem. Active-radar seekers don't have a terribly wide field of view either; you either tell them where to point or tell them to look around a bit. > - After an independent lock-on, the missile would > lack range data, making intercept more uncertain. IR missiles are notorious for being lethally accurate. The very precise directional information more than makes up for the lack of range. > - Would require 'mid-course' guidance from the > launching aircraft farther along, making it more > hazardous. This depends somewhat on conditions; the range of AMRAAM's radar seeker is reportedly not all that long. (In fact, AMRAAM itself really doesn't have the range it needs for "beyond visual range" intercepts.) IR seekers definitely do have to get pretty close when the weather is bad, though; this is the one thing I'd really see as a disadvantage. -- "[Some people] positively *wish* to | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology believe ill of the modern world."-R.Peto| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
eachus@aries.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus) (03/27/91)
From: eachus@aries.mitre.org (Robert I. Eachus)
I've always thought that the "right" choice would be an IR missle
which could be launched under wire/fiber-optic/radio/semi-active radar
control, (choose one) and would switch to IR terminal guidance when it
got lock. This gives you a BVR system which can be used like a
Sidewinder when appropriate, or a Sidewinder that can launch before
target lock. In fact, evolving the Sidewinder might be the right way
to approach this.
The nice aspect of an "uprated" Sidewinder like this would be
the commonality and flexibility. Instead of deciding whether to carry
2 Sidewinders and 2 Sparrows or 4 Sidewinders, or whatever, you would
just mount 4 AAMs, and let the pilot decide at what range to launch.
--
Robert I. Eachus