Hit verification technique
First Claim
1. Apparatus for assessing the effectiveness of an interception of a targeted incoming missile by a launched intercepting anti-missile, comprising:
- a dual mode radar system for detecting and tracking moving craft, said radar system having a tracking mode and an intercept mode for transmitting RF pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency during said intercept mode and a lesser pulse repetition frequency during said tracking mode;
said radar system further including;
antenna means for radiating said radar pulses into space, whereby said radar pulses may be incident upon one or more craft moving through such space;
broad band receiver means for receiving radar echo pulses reflected from any such moving craft, said broad band receiver means having a band width at least as large as the bandwith of said RF pulses being transmitted during said intercept mode;
controller means, said controller means including;
range determining means, responsive to radar echo pulses received by said receiver, for determining the distance between the site of said radar transmitter and each craft detected; and
collision prediction means, responsive to radar echo pulses received by said receiver, for determining the intercraft distance between any two such craft that are simultaneously detected and whether said intercraft distance is decreasing; and
mode switching means for switching said transmitting means from said tracking mode into said intercept mode, responsive to said collision predicting means detecting an inter craft distance of less than a predetermined minimum distance;
display means, coupled to said receiver means and said controller means, for displaying a sequence of A-scope presentation traces of the amplitude of radar echo signals reflected from two crafts while in close proximity and closing upon one another to a collision there between or avoidance of collision, during the period in which said transmitting means is in said intercept mode, to provide a trace representative of the length of at least one of said craft representing the targeted incoming missile and whereby an amplitude variation occuring in such trace represents the location on craft at which collision occured.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interceptor'"'"'s point of impact on a targeted missile is quickly revealed in the milliseconds preceeding and following the impact by illuminating the target with radar signals at a high pulse repetition rate and observing the reflected radar echoes on an A-scope display. The position within the returned radar echo of a double echo and related changing phenomenon indicates the point of impact. Failing intercept, the miss distance is computed from the relative slant ranges to the targeted missile, the interceptor, and the double echo. The type warhead killed is revealed by a spectrograph slaved to the radar'"'"'s antenna. Various techniques assist with the interpretation of the displayed patterns, including subtraction of previously stored patterns and display of the difference, display of characteristic patterns of various known missiles and interceptors stored in "look up" tables, and neural networks.
34 Citations
27 Claims
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1. Apparatus for assessing the effectiveness of an interception of a targeted incoming missile by a launched intercepting anti-missile, comprising:
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a dual mode radar system for detecting and tracking moving craft, said radar system having a tracking mode and an intercept mode for transmitting RF pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency during said intercept mode and a lesser pulse repetition frequency during said tracking mode;
said radar system further including;antenna means for radiating said radar pulses into space, whereby said radar pulses may be incident upon one or more craft moving through such space; broad band receiver means for receiving radar echo pulses reflected from any such moving craft, said broad band receiver means having a band width at least as large as the bandwith of said RF pulses being transmitted during said intercept mode; controller means, said controller means including; range determining means, responsive to radar echo pulses received by said receiver, for determining the distance between the site of said radar transmitter and each craft detected; and
collision prediction means, responsive to radar echo pulses received by said receiver, for determining the intercraft distance between any two such craft that are simultaneously detected and whether said intercraft distance is decreasing; andmode switching means for switching said transmitting means from said tracking mode into said intercept mode, responsive to said collision predicting means detecting an inter craft distance of less than a predetermined minimum distance; display means, coupled to said receiver means and said controller means, for displaying a sequence of A-scope presentation traces of the amplitude of radar echo signals reflected from two crafts while in close proximity and closing upon one another to a collision there between or avoidance of collision, during the period in which said transmitting means is in said intercept mode, to provide a trace representative of the length of at least one of said craft representing the targeted incoming missile and whereby an amplitude variation occuring in such trace represents the location on craft at which collision occured. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. Apparatus for assessing the effectiveness of an interception of a targeted incoming missile by a launched intercepting anti-missile, comprising:
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a dual mode radar system for detecting and tracking moving craft, said radar system having a tracking mode and an intercept mode for transmitting RF pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency during said intercept mode and a lesser pulse repetition frequency during said tracking mode;
said radar system further including;antenna means for radiating said radar pulses into space, whereby said radar pulses may be incident upon one or more craft moving through such space; broad band receiver means for receiving radar echo pulses reflected from any such moving craft, said broad band receiver means having a band width at least as large as the bandwith of said RF pulses being transmitted during said intercept mode; controller means, said controller means including; range determining means, responsive to radar echo pulses received by said receiver, for determining the distance between the site of said radar transmitter and each craft detected; and
collision prediction means, responsive to radar echo pulses received by said receiver, for determining the intercraft distance between any two such craft that are simultaneously detected and whether said intercraft distance is decreasing;mode switching means for switching said transmitting means from said tracking mode into said intercept mode, responsive to said collision predicting means detecting an inter craft distance of less than a predetermined minimum distance; and memory means for receiving in sequence a predetermined plurality of successive frames of information, each frame of information being descriptive of the amplitude of radar echo signals reflected from two crafts while in close proximity to and closing upon one another through to collision there between or avoidance of collision, during the period in which said transmitting means is in said intercept mode, to thereby provide a temporary database, said memory means serially sequencing said frames into memory on a first in first out basis wherein the number of said traces in memory does not exceed said predetermined plurality in number; neural network means to determined from said frames of information in said temporary database the location on one of said craft at which a collision occured between said craft; and display means for displaying the information determined by said neural network means.
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20. Apparatus for assessing the effectiveness of an interception of a targeted incoming missile by a launched intercepting anti-missile, comprising in a mode switching radar system:
an A-scope display for presenting a display of the amplitude variation as against range of a radar echo, said radar echo comprising a composite of a radar echo reflected from an anti-missile missile and another radar echo reflected from an incoming missile targeted for destruction by said anti-missile missile, with said anti-missile missile and said incoming missile closing upon one another, wherein said respective radar echoes overlap in time at said mode switching radar system. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. The method of assessing the effectiveness of an interceptor'"'"'s interception of a targeted incoming missile, which includes the steps of:
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illuminating the interceptor and the target missile with broadband radar pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency, wherein a double radar echo is returned in response; receiving and processing the reflected radar echoes; displaying the reflected radar echoes on an A-scope, whereby the amplitude of the returned signal as a function of time is displayed, for providing an indication of the length of the target and the position therealong of the interceptor approaching the target; and determining from said displayed reflected signal the position along the length of said target missile at which a double reflection, if any, occured. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification