Multiple Projectile Impeller Ejection Warhead For ICBM Interception

Abstract

The present invention is a warhead design for a ballistic missile defense system. The warhead is to eject a plurality of projectiles toward an incoming missile. There are two embodiments, both based upon the concepts of impellers; in the present invention: spin of the body and application of internal pressure. Both embodiments are designed to form a dense cloud of metallic projectiles, each pellet potentially colliding with the incoming missile with a relative speed of 40,000 feet per second. Both designs are immune to counter measures such as decoys, flares, and chaff.

Claims

1. An impeller ejection warhead for intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile, the impeller ejection warhead comprising: a plurality of impellers housed within the impeller ejection warhead; a plurality of circular tubes fixed within a carousel; a plurality of projectiles stored within the carousel, where the projectiles are ejected from the carousel when the carousel is rotating at a pre-determined speed.

2. The impeller ejection warhead of claim 1, where each impeller of the plurality of impellers ejects a first number of the plurality of projectiles to form a dense cloud of projectiles, where the cloud of projectiles is configured to collide with the ballistic missile with a relative velocity of approximately 40,000 feet per second.

3. The impeller ejection warhead of claim 1, where the plurality of impellers comprises at least 8 stacks of 12 impellers per stack.

4. The impeller ejection warhead of claim 1, where the impeller ejection warhead is configured to be insensitive to countermeasures deployed by the ballistic missile.

5. The impeller ejection warhead of claim 1, where a pellet position within one impeller of the plurality of impellers is r1+r2, where r1 is a position vector of a center of the one impeller of the plurality of impellers and r2 is a relative position vector of the pellet position within the one impeller.

6. A warhead for intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile, the warhead comprising: a spherical carrier that is spin-stabilized; a plurality of impeller tubes fixed within the spherical carrier; a plurality of projectiles stored within the warhead, where projectiles of the plurality of projectiles are fired radially from a plurality of impeller tubes.

7. The warhead of claim 6, where an ejection of more than one pellet of the plurality of projectiles from the plurality of impeller tubes is executed sequentially in a number of pairs out of the plurality of impeller tubes, where each pair of the number of pairs out of the plurality of impeller tubes is aligned in a manner to minimize a torque impulse on the warhead during the firing of more than one pellet of the plurality of projectiles.

8. The warhead of claim 6, where the number of pairs of the plurality of impeller tubes is determined by a size of a pellet of the plurality of projectiles and a diameter of the spherical carrier within the warhead.

9. The warhead of claim 6, where a diameter of the spherical carrier is approximately 4-6 feet.

10. The warhead of claim 6, where the projectiles fired from the plurality of turrets form a dense cloud of projectiles, the dense cloud of projectiles configured to collide with the ballistic missile at a relative velocity of approximately 40,000 feet per second.

11. The warhead of claim 6, where the warhead is configured to be insensitive to countermeasures deployed by the ballistic missile.

12. A method of intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile using an impeller ejection warhead, the method comprising: providing a plurality of impellers housed within the impeller ejection warhead; a plurality of circular tubes fixed within a carousel; and a plurality of projectiles stored within the carousel, rotating the carousel at a pre-determined speed; and ejecting the projectiles from the carousel when the carousel is rotating at the pre-determined speed.

13. The method of claim 12, where ejecting the projectiles comprises ejecting a first number of the plurality of projectiles to form a dense cloud of projectiles, where the cloud of projectiles is configured to collide with the ballistic missile with a relative velocity of approximately 40,000 feet per second.

14. A method of intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile using a turret ejection warhead, the method comprising: providing: a spherical carrier within the warhead; a plurality of turrets fixed within the spherical carrier; a plurality of projectiles stored within the warhead; spin-stabilizing the spherical carrier; and firing projectiles of the plurality of projectiles radially from a turret of the plurality of turrets.

15. The method of claim 14, where firing of more than one pellet of the plurality of projectiles from the plurality of turrets comprises firing of the one pellet of the plurality of projectiles sequentially in a number of pairs out of the plurality of turrets; and aligning each pair of the number of pairs out of the plurality of turrets in a manner to minimize a torque impulse on the warhead during the firing of more than one pellet of the plurality of projectiles.

16. The method of claim 14, where firing the projectiles from the plurality of turrets comprises forming a dense cloud of projectiles, the dense cloud of projectiles configured to collide with the ballistic missile at a relative velocity of approximately 40,000 feet per second.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Having thus described certain aspects of the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a side-sectional view of a generic launch vehicle used with the disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 2 shows a cylindrical warhead aspect.

[0010] FIG. 3 shows a spherical warhead aspect.

[0011] FIG. 4 shows an element of the warhead; a cross section with 12 impellers, each with a train of projectiles to be ejected along a circular arc.

[0012] FIG. 5 shows a lethal cloud of projectiles 500.

[0013] FIG. 6 shows a cloud of projectiles.

[0014] FIG. 7 shows a plurality of projectiles in motion after ejection from a warhead.

[0015] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart for acts taken in an exemplary method for intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile using an impeller ejection warhead.

[0016] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart for acts taken in an exemplary method for intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile using a turret ejection warhead.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Some aspects of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, aspects are shown. Indeed, various aspects may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the aspects set forth herein; rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the terms data, content, information, and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received and/or stored in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1, the two stage rocket 10 includes an upper, or trans stage shown generally at 12. This stage (second to the booster stage) includes a propulsion subsystem, guidance and control electronics, and onboard navigation instruments of the type deployed in conventional space launch vehicles. Receivers 14 acquire signals from a satellite system 25 and/or a ground-based command and control asset 27.

[0019] A first, or booster stage 30 provides the initial lift and powered flight beyond the atmosphere. The booster stage 30 includes control devices such as thrust vector control or reaction type attitude control systems which respond to the guidance and control electronics located in the payload section 12, as explained below.

[0020] A two stage rocket 10 has the following components; propulsion 22, attitude control 16, inertial instrumentation 14, navigation receivers 14, and payload or kinetic kill warhead section 12.

[0021] Two stage rockets 10 are to be positioned in silos in the vicinity of areas to be defended. For each two stage rocket 10, those target orbits that are reachable are to be predetermined via simulation. Launch is initiated upon the determination of early warning impact prediction, booster burnout state, and midcourse orbit determination of the enemy target. Space surveillance and command and control assets are required to provide the data for orbit determination. Guidance of the first stage is standard, beginning with lift-off, roll to azimuth (heading) and pitch to gravity turn.

[0022] FIG. 2 shows a cylindrical warhead aspect, referred to as a carousel 200. The carousel 200 has a velocity vector 201 directed towards a hostile incoming ICBM (not shown). The carousel 200 spins about its axis 202 for attitude stabilization. The carousel 200 is made up of impeller stacks (forward 203 and aft 204) of a mid-section 205 which houses electronics, spin-up rockets, and a cold gas impulse generators.

[0023] FIG. 3 shows a spherical warhead aspect, referred to as sphere 300. The sphere 300 has velocity vector 301 directed towards a hostile, incoming ICBM (not shown). The sphere 300 spins about its polar axis 302 for attitude stabilization. The sphere 300 is made-up of impeller disks 303 stacked within latitude bands (north 304 and south 305) straddling a mid-equatorial mid-section 306 which houses electronics, spin-up rockets 307, and a cold gas impulse generator.

[0024] According to an aspect of the disclosure, an ejection of more than one pellet of the plurality of projectiles from the plurality of impeller tubes is executed sequentially in a number of pairs out of the plurality of impeller tubes, where each pair of the number of pairs out of the plurality of impeller tubes is aligned in a manner to minimize a torque impulse on the warhead during the firing of more than one pellet of the plurality of projectiles. According to a further aspect of the disclosure, the number of pairs of the plurality of impeller tubes is determined by a size of a pellet of the plurality of projectiles and a diameter of the spherical carrier within the warhead. In an aspect, a diameter of the spherical carrier is approximately 4-6 feet.

[0025] FIG. 4 shows a warhead 400 with 12 impellers 401. Each impeller 401 may be a tube formed as a circular arc. The warhead 400, in an aspect, has 12 equally spaced impellers 401 (30 degrees apart). The impellers 401 contain a train of projectiles 402 (not shown to scale) to exit the warhead extremity 403 at an angle 404 tangent to the impeller exit position 405. In an aspect shown in FIG. 4, the spin ( 406) is shown clockwise, but a counterclockwise spin is also possible. The velocity components of projectiles 403 at exit are the tangential components due to spin and impeller direction. In an aspect illustrated here, the two components that add vectorially to a radial exit V vector 407. The parameters shown can be selected for other exit directions as required for the application.

[0026] FIG. 5 shows a warhead shell 500 with positions of projectiles 501 relative to the warhead shell 500 from 24 impellers 502 (two 12 impellers). Gas jet impulses are periodically applied to eject the projectiles 501 and form a cloud 503. 264 total projectiles uniformly move radially.

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a warhead shell 600 with positions of projectiles 601 that double the density from an additional stack of two 12 impellers 602528 total. It follows that a stack of 8 times 12-impellers 602 yield a 1056 projectile cloud 603.

[0028] FIG. 7 shows a plurality of projectiles 700 in motion after ejection from a warhead, such as any of the warheads illustrated in FIGS. 2-6. Each projectile of the plurality of projectiles 700 moves radially outward, and an outermost distance defines the lethal diameter. Thus, for example if a carousel body is 4 feet in diameter (an initial lethal radius), the controlled ejection of projectiles 700 (cloud formation) yields a lethal radius of 13 feet-resulting in a kinetic kill vehicle of 26 feet in diameter. FIG. 7 shows the terminal phase of interception wherein the warhead flight path 701 is directed toward the ICBM target flight path 702. Projectile ejection is initiated and at time intervals the formation and expansion of the lethal cloud 703 is depicted. The kinetic kill is executed at a relative velocity of 40,000 feet per second.

[0029] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart 800 for acts taken in an exemplary method for intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile using an impeller ejection warhead. The flowchart 800 is based on the preceding disclosure regarding the warheads illustrated in FIGS. 1-7 and described herein. More, fewer or different steps may be provided. The control starts at act 1002.

[0030] At act 802, a plurality of impellers housed within the impeller ejection warhead; a plurality of circular tubes fixed within a carousel; and a plurality of projectiles stored within the carousel are provided.

[0031] At act 804, the carousel is rotated at a pre-determined speed.

[0032] At act 806, the projectiles are ejected from the carousel when the carousel is rotating at the pre-determined speed. In an aspect, a first number of the plurality of projectiles are ejected to form a dense cloud of projectiles, where the cloud of projectiles is configured to collide with the ballistic missile with a relative velocity of approximately 40,000 feet per second.

[0033] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart 900 for acts taken in an exemplary method for intercepting a ballistic missile after launch of the ballistic missile using a turret ejection warhead. The flowchart 900 is based on the preceding disclosure regarding the warheads illustrated in FIGS. 1-8 and described herein. More, fewer or different steps may be provided. The control starts at act 902.

[0034] At act 902, a spherical carrier within the warhead; a plurality of turrets fixed within the spherical carrier; a plurality of projectiles stored within the warhead are provided.

[0035] At act 904, the spherical carrier is spin-stabilized.

[0036] At act 906, projectiles of the plurality of projectiles are fired radially from a turret of the plurality of turrets.

[0037] With respect to the use of plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity. Unless otherwise noted, the use of the words approximate, about, around, substantially, etc., mean plus or minus a certain small percent determined by one of ordinary skill of the art in ballistic missile interception technology.

[0038] It will be understood that each block of the flowcharts and combination of blocks in the flowcharts may be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, processor, circuitry, and/or other communication devices associated with execution of software including one or more computer program instructions. For example, one or more of the procedures described above may be embodied by computer program instructions. In this regard, the computer program instructions which embody the procedures described above may be stored by a memory device of an apparatus employing an aspect of the present disclosure and executed by the processing circuitry. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus (for example, hardware) to produce a machine, such that the resulting computer or other programmable apparatus implements the functions specified in the flowchart blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture the execution of which implements the function specified in the flowchart blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart blocks.

[0039] Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts support combinations of means for performing the specified functions and combinations of operations for performing the specified functions for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that one or more blocks of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0040] Many modifications and other aspects of the disclosures set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these disclosures pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosures are not to be limited to the specific aspects disclosed and that modifications and other aspects are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, in some aspects, additional optional operations may be included. Modifications, additions, or amplifications to the operations above may be performed in any order and in any combination.

[0041] Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe example aspects in the context of certain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative aspects without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.