MISSILE GUIDANCE, PROPULSION AND CONTROL

Compiled By:
Belete Bantealem
[email protected]

February, 2020 G.C

1
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
2. MISSILE GUIDANCE....................................................................................................................... 1
2.1 Command to LOS Guidance ............................................................................................... 3
2.2 Beam Rider Guidance .......................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Inertial Navigation System ................................................................................................ 6
2.4 Homing Guidance (HG) ....................................................................................................... 7
2.4.1 PURSUIT GUIDANCE................................................................................................. 11
2.4.2 PREDICTIVE GUIDANCE ......................................................................................... 12
2.4.3 CONSTANT BEARING GUIDANCE........................................................................ 12
2.4.4 PROPORTIONAL NAVIGATION GUIDANCE ..................................................... 13
2.5 OPTIMAL GUIDANCE ........................................................................................................ 15
3. MISSILE CONTROL ..................................................................................................................... 16
3.1 BASIC MOTIONS OF MISSILE ......................................................................................... 17
3.2 Elements of Control System ........................................................................................... 18
3.2.1 Autopilot ....................................................................................................................... 18
3.2.2 Actuation ....................................................................................................................... 18
3.3 Control Technologies of missile.................................................................................... 19
3.3.1 Aerodynamic Control ............................................................................................... 19
3.3.2 Thrust Vector Control (TVC) ................................................................................. 21
3.4 Missile Control surfaces ................................................................................................... 21
Configuration of missile control surfaces .......................................................................... 23
4. MISSILE PROPULSION............................................................................................................... 24
4.1 Types of missile propulsion ........................................................................................... 24

i
1. Introduction
The incorporation of energy source in a missile to provide the required force for its
movement (propulsion), intelligence to go in the correct direction (guidance) and
effective maneuvering (control) are mainly the technologies of guided missiles. They
help in making a missile specific to a target, that is, they determine the size, range
and state of motion of a missile [1].
In other words "Guidance” is the strategy of steering a missile toward a possible
intercept with a target, while “control” is the tactics of using the missile control
actuators to implement the strategy dictated by the guidance unit [2] [3].

2. MISSILE GUIDANCE
As it is stated in above, guidance is the aspect of a missile system which helps it to
decide the direction in which the missile should move. Generally this decision has to
be taken at very short intervals of time ⁄5 during the flight of
the missile [1].
Guidance has normally been divided into [1] [2].
 Target related guidance: where target tracking data are provided in real
time from a sensor, which can be on-board or off-board.
 Non-target related guidance: where the missile navigates to some
predetermined point, which can be the target or the point where target
related guidance can begin.
The most fundamental, and also most commonly used, guidance laws are [1][2] [3]
[5][6]:
 Command to LOS guidance
 Beam rider guidance
 Inertial guidance
 Homing or seeker guidance
 Optimal guidance
All of these guidance laws date back to the very first guided missiles developed in
the 1940's and 1950's. The reasons that they have been so successful are mainly
that they are simple to implement and that they give robust performance [2].

Page 1
Some missiles need more than one system of guidance. The requirement depends on
the phase of guidance. In many missiles, the guidance phase is divided into three
phases: Boost/ launch phase, the mid-course phase and the terminal phase [1][3].
i. Launch or boost phase
In this phase the guidance system is usually disabled to allow the missile to
safely travel away from the launch platform. It covers the flight of the missile
from the firing instant to the end of the thrust [3].
ii. Mid-course phase
The majority of the flight is flown using midcourse guidance, during which
the missile makes slight adjustments to its trajectory allowing it to reach the
vicinity of the target. The midcourse phase begins after the boost phase and
remains till the detection of the intended target by the seeker. Actually, the
duration of the midcourse phase is dependent on the instant of the target
detection. In midcourse guidance, it is intended to guide the missile to the
vicinity of the target as soon as possible. While the midcourse guidance is
usually utilized in strategic or long range missiles, it is not employed in short
range tactical missiles most of the times [3].
iii. Terminal phase
It is a final phase of the guidance. Once the target is detected by the seeker,
the terminal guidance phase is initiated. In this phase, using the target state
information acquired by the seeker, the missile is directed to the target by
means of the considered highly accurate guidance law and tracking system
and then the missile tries to follow the target in order to achieve the planned
interception [3].

Fig 1. Guidance phases of a missile

Page 2
2.1 Command to LOS Guidance
Command Guidance method is also called three-point methods. This is because the
launcher, the missile and the target constitute the three points of the guidance
triangle [3][5][8] [9].
In this method, the guidance signal is transmitted from launch site to the missile,
giving the missile its deviation from the path line pointing from launcher to the
target, also called the line of sight (LOS). The missile has logic on board to actuate its
control mechanism to turn it towards the LOS [1].
The signal from the ground is transmitted by different mechanisms [1] [3] [10].
One method is a wire link between the launcher and the missile and this has been
widely applied in surface-to-surface anti-tank missiles up to 4 km range. In this a
thin wire is wound on a spool on the missile and is unreeled as the missile travels.
Another method is by radio link which is used by relatively faster moving anti-
aircraft missiles. The third method and the latest is by fiber optic link. Wire and
fiber optic link are used where the velocity of missile is below the speed of sound
(Mach 1), say about 300 m/sec. The advantage of fiber optic system: that it is also
used sometimes to aim at targets beyond visible line of sight. A TV camera in the
nose of the missile transmits the picture through optical fiber link back to the launch
site, based on which suitable commands are passed through the same link.

Fig 2. command guidance

The deviation of the missile from target to launch line of sight is computed on the
ground at short intervals (30-50 m/s) and then updated commands are transmitted
Page 3
to the missile. To compute errors, instantaneous positions of missile and target are
found out. This is done by means of radar, TV or infrared sensors located on the
launcher.
Most of the anti-tank missiles and some of surface-to-air missiles use command
guidance [1].
An important advantage of command guidance systems is that very little guidance
equipment need be carried in the missile itself. Because target tracking and flight
path computation are carried out by tracking radars and the associated computers
on the ground, the missile need carry only its control system and a receiver to
accept the signals. Reduction in the amount of guidance equipment carried in the
missile means more room for a larger warhead. Alternatively, a smaller body can be
used thereby reducing the overall cost [1] [3].
The disadvantage of command guidance is that
 It cannot be used against a situation of multiple targets. The system can guide
only a limited number of missiles at one time.
 Although the Command guidance method can be used in short-range missile-
target engagement scenarios, its success gradually decreases as the missile
and target go away from the trackers.

2.2 Beam Rider Guidance

The beam rider concept relies on an external ground- or ship-based radar station
that transmits a beam of radar energy towards the target. The surface radar tracks
the target and also transmits a guidance beam that adjusts its angle as the target
moves across the sky [1] [3] [8] [11].
In other words, this guidance system is to illuminate the target by radiation of a
beam of energy from a radar antenna pointed at the target. The missile is fired into
this beam arid thereafter gets guided over the beam till it hits or misses the target
(Fig. 3). The sensitivity is lesser at the commencement of the flight and towards the
end as the missile approaches the target [1] [3] [10].

Page 4
 Fig 3. Beam rider guidance
In a beam rider guidance system, equipment in the missile measures the
displacement of the missile from the center of the radar beam then appropriate
action by the control system steers the missile back into the center of the beam. If
the missile is flying in the center of the beam, no signals are sent to the control
system, indicating that no corrective action is necessary [1] [3] [10].
The guidance beam that guides the missiles is formed by the radar antenna, which
sends out electromagnetic energy in the form of lobes, as shown in figure 3. The
antenna is rotated in such a manner that the tips of the lobes describe a circle,
resulting in a cone of radiation in space with its origin at the radar antenna. The
missile is guided along the axis of this cone.
A few launching considerations are to be taken care of in this system. The missile
must be launched in such a manner that it flies as nearly parallel to the beam axis as
possible when it first enters the cone of radiation. Otherwise, it might fly right
through the beam without being captured by its guidance signals. At this time the
missile might not be up to full operational velocity, and its aerodynamic control
system would not be as effective in controlling the missile as it would at the
operating speed for which it is designed. Launching the missile as closely as possible
to the beam axis eliminates sharp turns and sudden maneuvers.

Page 5
This type of guidance system is relatively simple, less complex with increased
reliability and lower cost. The limitation is that the trajectory requires high lateral
acceleration during the terminal phase.

2.3 Inertial Navigation System

It is another type of guidance which is used for short as well as long range. The
measuring instruments in this system are accelerometers which measure
translational accelerations. Since acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, it is
possible by performing integration to obtain the velocity from the acceleration. A
second integration gives the distance travelled. These mathematical integrations are
performed by electronic circuits in the inertial guidance, system. The accelerometer
thus makes it possible to keep track of distance travelled from the launching pad
and simultaneously the distance from the target [1].
There are two basic types of inertial system: stable platform inertial measuring
system and strap-down inertial system.
In the first, the accelerometers are mounted on a stabilized platform which
maintains its reference axes in flight with the help of gyroscopes. Whereas in the
second type, the accelerometers are mounted fixed to the body axes and though
measurements are made for acceleration in instantaneous body axes reference they
are transformed to the reference axes system using gyroscopes rate data and
computational equipment onboard. However for accuracy in long range systems,
stable platform system is more suitable.
Gyroscope is a mechanical instrument which uses a rapidly rotating mass to
maintain a stable axis. The gyroscopes are mounted on the same platform as
accelerometer platform to prevent movement of the accelerometers from the
established reference axis. For simplicity it would suffice to state that the gyroscopic
properties of rigidity and precision are used in inertial guidance systems to provide
space stabilized platform for the accelerometers. This must measure missile
acceleration along a predetermined axis only.
Accelerometers are suitably mounted for measuring the distance travelled along the
longitudinal axis and transverse deviations from the preset course. Lateral
deviations from the flight due to winds, misalignment errors or changes in rocket
Page 6
motor thrust are sensed by accelerometers; any corrections required are attained
by generating guidance commands and implemented through control system.
Thus, unlike other guidance systems, the inertial guidance system does not rely on
any outside reference like heat, light or electromagnetic radiation which are
susceptible to conditions like weather, atmospheric disturbances, range of the
missile from the launching point, low cloud formations, radio-horizon limitations or
target position. Therefore this system is self-contained and needs no ground
equipment for guidance and cannot be easily detected. Jamming and counter
measures against this are a very far feasibility.
However, the system calls for a high accuracy of the individual components. Certain
errors during actual run of gyros which build up with flight time, thereby leading to
measurement of erroneous accelerations, are possible.
Thus, inertial guidance system is essentially a dead reckoning system that measures
the distance between two points over a period of time. It cannot be used by itself
alone against moving targets but only by missiles used to attack a large and fixed
target such as a city. All ballistic missiles employ inertial guidance.

2.4 Homing Guidance (HG)

Homing guidance is the most common form of guidance used in anti-air missiles
today. In this system a missile steers itself toward a target by means of a self-
contained guidance unit which generates the commanded motion based on the
signals reflected/ emanating from the target and generates the command to direct
its motion along the instantaneous LOS formed between the missile and the target
[1] [3] [5] [13] [14].
When a homing guidance is used alone, the range is limited because the system
more sophisticated and needs a lot of force because a homing guided missile carries
all the additional equipment required by the guidance unit, the self-motion
measuring unit, the target tracking unit and homing head (seeker head) which are
locked on to the target in tracking mode before launch. However, a homing guided
missile is much more convenient to use because it requires minimal amount of
equipment at the launching site and after launching one can simply forget it since it

Page 7
fulfills its duty on its own. These kinds of missiles are called fire and forget, or launch
and leave type missiles [1] [3] [13].
The advantage of HG over the other guidance methods is that the measurement
accuracy of the relative motion of the target with respect to the missile increases in
HG but decreases in the others as the missile approaches the target [3].
The main types of homing guidance methods are listed as given below [3] [13].
 Active homing guidance
 semi-active homing guidance
 passive homing guidance
 Map Matching homing guidance

Fig 4. Types of homing guidance

a) ACTIVE HOMING GUIDANCE
These systems have the capability to detect and track targets by themselves without
requiring any external aid from the ground launcher and they carries two devices:
the transmitter for transmitting some kind of electromagnetic radiation at the target
and the receiver for receiving the portion of this radiation reflected from the target
[1] [3] [15].
This way, the missile illuminates the target by its own “flashlight” in order to make it
visible to its tracking unit. Once the target becomes visible, then the missile homes
on it to destroy it. The homing radiation can be in various forms such as radio
waves, light waves, infrared waves, and even sound waves.
Active homing is used for short-range anti-tank missiles (with 4 km range). It is,
however, extensively used as terminal guidance in long range surface-to-air, air-to-
air and anti-ship missiles.

Page 8
 Fig 5. Active homing guidance
b) SEMI - ACTIVE HOMING GUIDANCE
A semi-active system is similar to command guidance since the missile relies on an
external source to illuminate the target. The homing radiation is already transmitted
from the launcher and the missile is equipped only with a receiver to pick up the
radiation reflected from the target [3].
With the guidance system, the high power radar illuminator or the laser designator
extends the range. The rest of the process is identical to active type. This type helps
to have a simple onboard system and can be used for longer ranges (up to 50 to 60
km) [1] [10].

Fig 6. Semi-active homing guidance

Page 9
The difference between command guidance and semi-active homing is that the
missile has an onboard computer in this case. The computer uses the energy
collected by its radar receiver to determine the target's relative trajectory and send
correcting commands to control surfaces so that the missile will intercept the target.

c) PASSIVE HOMING GUIDANCE

In this system no transmitting device is required for the homing radiation because
its source is target itself. The missile has only a receiver and detects signals emitted
(not reflected) from the target. The signals could be electromagnetic or infrared or
both. The missile has in its homing head detectors sensitive to infrared or
electromagnetic radiation. The missile where infrared homing is used is also called
heat-seeking missiles. This system is the simplest and thus the mostly used HG
method and it can also be used in conjunction with other modes of guidance in the
same way as the active system. When it is used as stand-alone method, the range is
limited to a maximum of about 7-8 km in case of electromagnetic radiation [1][10].

Fig 7. Passive homing guidance

d) MAP MATCHING HOMING GUIDANCE
In the homing by map matching, the missile carries a camera which continuously
views the terrain below. These views are compared with the map stored in a
memory device. A particular view is detected as the target when its features match
the stored map. Then, the guidance unit gets locked on this view and the missile
homes on the piece of terrain having this view [3].

Page 10
The widely-used conventional HG strategies can be listed as follows [16] [17] [18]
 Pursuit Guidance
 Constant Bearing Guidance
 Proportional Navigation Guidance
 Predictive Guidance
2.4.1 PURSUIT GUIDANCE
In Pursuit Guidance, it is intended to nullify the relative LOS angle between the
missile and the target. However, the Pursuit Guidance laws have limited capability
to engage maneuvering targets follows [3] [8] [16] [14] [17].
The Pursuit Guidance has two basic variants:
 Body Pursuit or Attitude Pursuit Guidance
 Velocity Pursuit Guidance
In the Body Pursuit approach, the longitudinal axis, or the centerline, of the missile
is directed at the target.

Fig 8. velocity pursuit guidance

The conceptual idea behind the Velocity Pursuit Guidance (VPG) is that the missile
should always head for the current position of the target. Provided that the missile's
velocity is greater than the target's, this strategy will result in an intercept. In other
words, the missile velocity vector is kept pointed at the target to get aligned with the
LOS in this approach [2] [3].
The required information for VPG is limited to the bearing angle that is defined as
the difference between the flight path angle (FPA) of the missile and the LOS angle,
and the direction of the missile velocity. The bearing angle information can be
Page 11
obtained from a seeker onboard the missile. VPG is usually implemented to the
laser-guided bombs where a simple seeker is mounted on a vane that automatically
aligns with the missile velocity vector relative to the wind. The VPG law results in a
high lateral acceleration demand; in most cases almost infinite at the final phase of
the intercept. As the missile cannot generate infinite acceleration, the result is a
finite miss distance.
Unlike the Body Pursuit, a seeker with a narrower FOV is sufficient in the
implementation of VPG.

2.4.2 PREDICTIVE GUIDANCE

Predictive Guidance is based on the prediction of the future location of the intended
target. Once this prediction is done, the next task is to turn the heading of the missile
in order to form a collision triangle with the target. During the engagement, the
predicted intercept is updated at certain instants with respect to the target state
information acquired by the seeker [3] [19] [20].

2.4.3 CONSTANT BEARING GUIDANCE

In the Constant Bearing strategy, the bearing angle is forced to have a constant
nonzero value. In other words, it is intended to keep the missile at a constant
bearing to the target at all the time. With a judicious choice of this constant value, it
is possible to minimize the swerving motion of the missile. Thus, the requirements
on the strength and the maneuvering energy can be reduced [3] [14] [16].

Figure 9: constant bearing guidance

However, unless the target is moving uniformly, or at least almost uniformly, it will
not be easy to find that constant value for the bearing angle. Therefore, the success

Page 12
of this approach is strongly dependent on the correct prediction of this angle. Here,
it should be noted that the VPG strategy in which the bearing angle is tried to be
kept at zero is a special case of the constant bearing strategy.
In figure 9, as A and B denote the missile and the target, and show the velocity
vectors of the missile and the target.

2.4.4 PROPORTIONAL NAVIGATION GUIDANCE

It is one of the popular guidance laws due to its simplicity, effectiveness and ease of
implementation. Proportional navigation is based on the rate of change of the
missile to target line of sight. The missile commanded acceleration is
proportional to the rate of change of the LOS . The ratio of the missile turning
rate to the LOS rate of change is called the proportional navigation constant [3]
[8] [10] [11] [21] [22].

Fig 10. PN Guidance

The guidance law that is used to implement this concept is
̇
The proportional navigation constant should be between 2 and 5 to ensure system
stability [2] [23].
Once the missile seeker detects the target, the PNG law begins forcing the missile to
home on the target. If there are no dynamics and uncertainties in a PNG homing
loop, then the resultant miss distance should always be zero.
Page 13
In application, the missile employing PNG is not fired at the target but is fired in a
direction to lead the target. This way, it is provided for the missile to be on a
collision triangle with the target.
Unlike the Pursuit Guidance, the LOS angular rate is tried to be nullified while
closing on the target in PNG. Actually, this provides an advantage to PNG over the
Pursuit Guidance methods because the course corrections are made in earlier stages
of the flight.
Depending on the direction of the generated acceleration command, PNG is usually
classified into two sub-groups [3] [17] [24]:
o True Proportional Navigation Guidance (TPNG)
o Pure Proportional Navigation Guidance (PPNG)

(a) Pure PN (b) True PN

Fig 11. Types of PN guidance
In TPNG which is the original form of PNG, the acceleration command is produced
perpendicular to the LOS. Thus, regarding the planar engagement situation, the
acceleration command generated according to the TPNG approach has the
components both in the direction of the missile velocity vector and in the direction
normal to the velocity vector. However, it becomes not possible for the missile
control system to realize the acceleration demand along the velocity vector due to
the lack of a controllable thrust. Thus, a modified type of TPNG is introduced: PPNG.
In PPNG, the acceleration command is generated to be perpendicular to the missile
velocity vector. Since PPNG does not have any acceleration demand along the
velocity vector, it can be realizable by the missile control system. However, as TPNG,
PPNG is effective against no maneuvering targets. Considering maneuvering targets,
the efficiency of the PPNG law can be improved using a varying NR [3] [24] [25].

Page 14
In spite of the fact that the optimality of PNG against no maneuvering targets was
proven many years later from its derivation, the PNG law is not very effective in the
presence of target maneuvers and often leads to unacceptable miss distances
especially when the guidance system time constant is too large or the flight time is
very short. Then, increasing the effective navigation ratio and decreasing the
guidance system time constant work in the direction of reducing the terminal miss
distance due to target maneuver. As the navigation ratio is increased, the initial
values of the acceleration commands become larger, but the commands get smaller
near the end of the flight.
Against non-constant target maneuvers, larger effective navigation ratios result in
smaller miss distances. On the contrary, increasing the effective navigation ratio also
causes the miss distance due to noise and parasitic effects to grow. Here, another
significant property of the noise and parasitic effects is that they place a practical
lower limit on the minimum attainable guidance system time constant.

2.5 OPTIMAL GUIDANCE

Aircraft and pilot support systems are being developed with the capability to
maneuver with very high lateral accelerations. With the development of these highly
maneuverable targets, the usefulness of classical guidance laws, such as
proportional navigation, is becoming marginal. In addition, countermeasures
techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their ability to introduce
noise and deceptive data into the missile guidance processor [9] [10].
Consequently, there is a need to improve surface-to-air missile capability to meet
these threats. Missiles are being designed presently with improved capabilities that
include guidance laws that can deal more effectively with target evasive maneuvers
and noisy, deceptive guidance data. These guidance law improvements have been
made possible by several recent technological advancements [9] [10].
Modern estimation and control theory provides the framework for the development
of guidance laws that are closer to optimum. These modem advancements in control
theory were developed in the late 1950's and early 1960s. Modem estimation and
control theory is based on a time-domain approach that uses state variables to
describe the condition of the system being controlled and incorporates optimal
Page 15
estimators such as the Kalmnan filter. In theory these methods allow “optimal"
separation of the target signal from the noise by using a priori information about the
missile and target dynamics and noise covariance, Missile and target states other
than line-of-sight rate can be estimated even when not measured, provided they are
mathematically observable [9] [10].
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a few missile designers examined the
possibility of applying these advanced techniques in missile guidance. They
concluded that except in the most simplistic and unrealistic cases, the
mechanization of such algorithms in real time onboard a small missile was not
feasible because the calculations involved procedures that could not be
accomplished efficiently with the techniques that were then available. Several things
have changed since that time to make implementation of guidance laws based on
modem optimal control techniques possible. New theories have appeared, and old
ones have been extended and refined. Several new numerical techniques for solving
complex equations have been developed. Finally, and most important, the
microcomputer has been developed. These advances now make implementation of
improved guidance laws practical, and future generations of missiles are expected to
be able to address the problem of noisy data, with some data being of higher quality
than others, and the problem of uncertainty in factors such as future target
maneuvers.

3. MISSILE CONTROL
In missiles the control function is to ensure stability of the missile and implement
the guidance signals received from external sources or generated onboard. The
control, after processing the guidance signals, actuates the aerodynamic surfaces on
thrust vector to generate turn of the missile speed and direction as required [1].
The guidance system is to detect whether the missile is flying above or below, to the
left or right, of the required path. It obtains these deviations or errors and sends
signals to the control system to reduce these errors to zero. The task of the control
system therefore is to maneuver the missile quickly and efficiently making use of
these signals [1].

Page 16
3.1 BASIC MOTIONS OF MISSILE
In order to appreciate controls we shall briefly describe the motion of the missile as
a free body. Like any moving body, a guided missile executes two basic types of
motion: - rotation and translation. In pure rotation, all parts of the missile pivot
around the center of gravity. In movements of translation or linear motions, the
center of gravity moves along a line [1] [12].
The missile has a total of six degrees or dimensions of freedom (movement). To
describe these motions, we use a reference system of lines or axes. These axes
intersect at the missile's center of gravity.
Out of the six degree of movement of missile, three degrees are translational or
linear about the three axes viz., x, y and z; while the other degrees are rotational
movement about three axes termed as pitch, yaw and roll.

Figure 12. Rotary movements of a missile: pitch, roll, and yaw.

 Pitch is the rotation of missile about the lateral axis when it climbs up or
down. The lateral axis is the reference line in the horizontal plane and is
perpendicular to the line of flight.
 Yaw is its turn to left or right.
 The roll is when the missile rotates or twists about its longitudinal axis,
which is also called roll axis. The longitudinal axis is the one running from
nose to tail. If a missile is resting horizontally then, the pitch axis is the one
which is normal to longitudinal axis and parallel to the horizontal axis and
pitch axis (Fig. 12)
A missile can make three kinds of translation or linear movements. For example, a
sudden gust of wind or an air pocket could throw the missile a considerable distance

Page 17
from its desired trajectory. This displacement could happen without causing any
significant rotary or angular movements. Any linear movement can be resolved into
three components-lateral, vertical and along the direction of thrust [12].
The missile must sense and correct for each degree of movement to maintain an
accurate and stable flight path. This stable flight path is often called "attitude" and
refers to the position of the missile relative to a known (horizontal or vertical)
plane. The control system contains various components used to maintain a proper
flight attitude [1] [12].

3.2 Elements of Control System

The major elements of control system are: autopilot (inertial sensors, altimeter and
sensor associated along with electronics) and actuation [1].
3.2.1 Autopilot
An autopilot regulates the execution of a guidance command. For its function it gets
feedback from the inertial sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes mounted
along the pitch and yaw axes. The accelerometers give the feedback of the
translational acceleration developed by the missile about pitch and yaw axes while
the gyros give the rate of turn of the missile about pitch and yaw axes. These
feedbacks are suitably weighted anti used along with the incoming guidance signal
to determine actuation. The electronic circuit for this is designed to perform this
calculation. In missiles where height has to be controlled, an altimeter is also
provided as a sensor, and helps generate actuation of controls to maintain the
height. Free gyro is also an autopilot sensor which helps in determining the roll of
the missile from a reference and helps to control or eliminate the roll by generating
actuation controls to develop counter moments in the missile.

3.2.2 Actuation
The means of deflecting the aerodynamic surfaces or thrust vector is called
actuation and the force to do this can be from many sources like pneumatic (high
pressure air power), hydraulic (high pressure oil power), electrical or turbo-
mechanical.

Page 18
All the four methods are prevalent and used depending upon the size or availability
of expertise. Most of the anti-tank missiles and smaller surface to air missiles have
electrical actuation, while somewhat bigger missiles have electrical or pneumatic
system. While pneumatic actuation depends upon high pressure air pre-stored
onboard, electric type will draw its power from an onboard battery. For the
hydraulic type, the power source is electrical and is used in most of the large tactical
and all ballistic missiles. For some of the very big missiles and space booster’s
actuation is realized through turbine mechanical power.

3.3 Control Technologies of missile

One of the most important parts of a missile is the control system, because no
matter how sophisticated the guidance system may be or how clever the autopilot is
in compensating for the undesirable aerodynamic characteristics, they will be
useless if the controls do not generate the required control forces to enable the
demanded maneuvers. Traditionally, these control forces have been generated using
moveable aerodynamic surfaces; however, increasing demand for more
maneuverability has developed other control techniques, such as thrust vector
techniques. In the following sections, aerodynamic control and thrust vector control
methods will be explained [3] [12].
3.3.1 Aerodynamic Control
The configurations of aerodynamic control surfaces can be in the form of canards,
wings and tails based upon where they are located with respect to the missile center
of gravity [3] [12].

(a) Tail control (b) wing control

(c) Canard control (d) unconventional control

Fig 13. Four main categories of missile flight controls

Page 19
a) Canard Control:
In the canard-controlled missiles, the control fins, or canards, are mounted on the
nose part of the missile as shown in Figure 13. They are light in weight and can be
simply packaged. The drag acting on their bodies is smaller because of their smaller
sizes [3] [10].
They are also quite commonly used, especially on short-range air-to-air missiles.
The primary advantage of canard control is better maneuverability at low angles of
attack, but canards tend to become ineffective at high angles of attack because of
flow separation that causes the surfaces to stall. Since canards are ahead of the
center of gravity, they cause a destabilizing effect and require large fixed tails to
keep the missile stable. These two sets of fins usually provide sufficient lift to make
wings unnecessary.
A further subset of canard control missiles is the split canard. Split canards are a
relatively new development that has found application on the latest generation of
short-range air-to-air missiles. The term split canard refers to the fact that the
missile has two sets of canards in close proximity, usually one immediately behind
the other. The first canard is fixed while the second set is movable. The advantage of
this arrangement is that the first set of canards generates strong, energetic vortices
that increase the speed of the airflow over the second set of canards making them
more effective. In addition, the vortices delay flow separation and allow the canards
to reach higher angles of attack before stalling. This high angle of attack
performance gives the missile much greater maneuverability compared to a missile
with single canard control.

b) Wing Control
In the wing-controlled missiles, the control fins are mounted near the mass center of
the missile. They are the earliest forms of missile control developed, but it is
becoming less commonly used on today's designs. Most missiles using wing control
are longer-range missiles like. The primary advantage of wing control is that the
deflections of the wings produce a very fast response with little motion of the body
lateral acceleration. This feature results in small seeker tracking error and allows
the missile to remain locked on target even during large maneuvers. The major
Page 20
disadvantage is that the wings must usually be quite large in order to generate both
sufficient lift and control effectiveness, which makes the missiles rather large
overall. In addition, the wings generate strong vortices that may adversely interact
with the tails causing the missile to roll. This behavior is known as induced roll, and
if the effect is strong enough, the control system may not be able to compensate [3]
[10] [12]

c) Tail Control
As the name implies, these control surfaces are placed at the tail section of the
missile as shown in Figure 13. They are probably the most commonly used form of
missile control, particularly for longer range air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air
missiles. The primary reason for this application is because tail control provides
excellent maneuverability at the high angles of attack often needed to intercept a
highly maneuverable aircraft. Missiles using tail control are also often fitted with a
non-movable wing to provide additional lift and improve range. Some good
examples of such missiles are air-to-ground weapons as well as surface-to-surface
missiles [3] [10] [12].

3.3.2 Thrust Vector Control (TVC)

Thrust vector control is a technique whereby the moment required to turn the
missile is generated by deflecting the primary thrust from centerline. This additional
force points the nose in a new direction causing the missile to turn. Clearly this
method is not dependent on dynamic pressure and can therefore produce large
control forces even at low speeds and high altitudes. Extremely high
maneuverability can be achieved using TVC [12].
3.4 Missile Control surfaces
The function of a missile control system is to provide a means of changing the
moments on a missile, to control its incidence. There are many ways of doing this,
but for the conventional missile we consider for now, this is done by moving control
surfaces in order to change the aerodynamic forces on some part of the missile,
thereby changing the overall moment. These control surfaces are the rudder,
ailerons and elevators [4]:
Page 21
 Figure 14. Functions of the three control surfaces
a) Rudder: - is attached to a section of the tail structure called the vertical
stabilizer. It is used for course control and yaw stabilization of the missile. It
changes the side forces on the vertical tail plane (or fin), generating a change
in yawing moment by rotating the missile about a vertical axis. This can be
used to resist yawing moments due to engine failure and crosswind.
b) Ailerons: - are attached to the trailing edges of the main lifting surfaces.
Ailerons change the lift on each wing when they are deflected. They move in
opposite directions - one goes up when the other goes down so that the lift on
Page 22
 one wing increases and the other decreases. This generates a change in rolling
moment and allows the missile to rotate about its axis to initiate turns, or
allows it to oppose disturbances due to crosswind or gusts.
c) Elevators: - attached to a section of the tail assembly called the horizontal
stabilizer. Both elevators go up and down simultaneously. This changes the
total lift on the tail when it is deflected, causing a change in pitching moment
on the missile. This allows the autopilot to adjust the missile incidence.
A study of the drawings on fig 14 will show that control action is obtained by the
control surfaces when they present opposition to air flow in such a manner that a
force is produced. This force, pushing against the control surface, causes the wing or
tail to which the surface is attached to move in a direction opposite to the control
surface movement. But this type of control is not suitable for use at high altitudes,
because the air is so thin that it produces very little force against the control
surfaces. High speeds introduce other problems so that the basic control surfaces
just described are seldom used with guided missiles.
Configuration of missile control surfaces
The fin arrangement in an aerodynamically controlled missile can be one of the
cruciform, triform and monowing configurations.

Fig 15. Fin arrangement in aerodynamically controlled missiles

As shown in Figure 15, they are formed by four, three and two fins that are equally
spaced. As the cruciform configuration is the most common one among all, the
monowing configuration is in general chosen for cruise type missiles. However,
although they provide a high lift, the monowing-type missiles have a large maneuver
delay. Considering the triform arrangement, it is a rarely used fin arrangement [3]
[8] [6].

Page 23
4. MISSILE PROPULSION
Propulsion is the means of providing power to accelerate the missile body and
sustain, if necessary, to reach the required target. The basis for the working of
missile propulsion systems are the well-known Newton's laws of motion [1].
First Law (law of inertia): - A body continues in its state of rest or in uniform
motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Second Law: - The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the impressed
force and takes place in the direction of the force.
Third Law: - Action and reaction are equal and opposite. That is, if a body exerts a
force on another body, the other body too exerts a force on the first body of the
same magnitude but in the opposite direction.
The propulsion of a missile is achieved with the help of a rocket engine. It produces
thrust by ejecting very hot gaseous matter, called propellant. The hot gases are
produced in the combustion chamber of the rocket engine by chemical reactions.
The propellant is exhausted through a nozzle at a high speed. This exhaust causes
the rocket to move in the opposite direction (Newton's third law) [1].
As per the second law, also called the law of momentum, the rate of' change of
momentum causes a force to be developed. The change in momentum of the missile
body including the rocket motor casing, the nozzle and other systems due to the
ejected matter creates a force leading to the propulsive action on the missile body.
The missile, propelled into air, would continue to move if there were no other forces
acting on it. However, resistance to its forward movement due to air (commonly
called the aerodynamic drag) and the force of gravity acting downwards towards
the center of the earth are to be taken into account. By using Newton's first law
compensative forces are imparted to the missile to overcome these negative forces.
4.1 Types of missile propulsion
Missile propulsion will be mainly of the following two types [1] [9]
 Non-air breathing, and
 Air breathing
The air breathing rocket engines use the surrounding medium of air for the support
of their oxidizer. Thus, they can be used only within the Earth's atmosphere. In this

Page 24
case the advantage is taken of the atmospheric oxygen for burning the fuel thereby
reducing the quantity of propellants to be carried by a missile. This lowers the
weight of the rocket greatly as 75 per cent of the total propellant's weight is due to
the oxidizer. This can be used either by using small turbojet engines to power the
missile or ramjets [9].
In Non-air breathing engines the rocket engine itself carries its fuel and oxidizer on
board and hence can be used in space above the Earth's atmosphere also and is thus
independent of the air medium.
Depending on the physical state of matter of the propellant used, the non-air rocket
propulsion system is designated as [1] [9]
 Solid propulsion,
 Liquid propulsion, and
 Hybrid propulsion.

Solid propulsion / Rocket Motor (SRM)

In a solid propellant rocket, the propellant to be burnt is contained within the
combustion chamber or case. The propellant charge or the grain contains the
chemical elements for complete burning. Once ignited, it burns at a designed rat till
the propellant is completely consumed [1] [9].
Liquid Propulsion System
Most of the liquid propulsion rockets are used where long duration of operation is
required. Here the oxidizer and fuel (both liquid) propellants are stored in separate
tanks in the missile. There are basically two types of liquid propellants deployed:
cryogenic (with boiling temperature below 120 K like liquid hydrogen, liquid
oxygen, etc.) and non-cryogenic or storable type (like kerosene, hydrazine, nitrogen
tetra oxide, hydrogen peroxide, etc.). In space missions usually both propellants
(oxidizer and fuel) used are cryogenic, whereas in missiles the propellants used are
storable or non-cryogenic. Sometimes in space missions a combination is used
where one propellant is cryogenic while the other is storable [1] [9].
Hybrid Propulsion
In this system one of the propellants is solid while the other is liquid. Usually the
oxidizer is in liquid state [1] [9].
Page 25
 References
[1] T V Karthikeyan, A K Kapoor, 99 , “Guided Missiles”, Delhi: Defence Scientific
Information & Documentation Centre (DESIDOC)
[2] Erik Berglund, “Guidance and Control Technology”, Swedish Defence Research
Agency,Stockholm, Sweden, ADP010953
[3] Bülent Özkan, September 2 5, “Dynamic Modeling, Guidance and Control of Homing
Missiles”, Middle East Technical University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied
Sciences.
[4] Donald McLean, 99 , “Automatic Flight Control Systems”, Prentice Hall International
(UK) Ltd.
[5] Lin, C. F. , 199 , “Modern Navigation, Guidance and Control Processing”, Prentice Hall
Publication, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
[6] Kelly S. Powers, August 2 6, “Parameter Estimation of a Tactical Missile using Linear
Regression”, Air Force Institute of Technology, Department of the Air Force Air
University, United States.
[7] Raziye Tekin, September 2 , “Design, Modeling, Guidance and Control of a Vertical
Launch Surface to Air Missile”, Middle East Technical University, Graduate School of
Natural and Applied Sciences.
[8] John CS, March 2 , “Missile Terminal Guidance and Control Against Evasive Targets”,
Monterey, California, Naval Postgraduate School.
[9] MIL-HDBK- 2 MI , 7 July 995, “Missile Flight Simulation Part One Surface to Air
Missiles”.
[10] MIL-HDBK- 2 MI , 7 July 995, “Missile Flight Simulation Part One Surface to Air
Missiles”. Jeffrey S.Strickla, “Missile flight simulation
[11] Jeeffrey S. Strickland, January 2 6, “A Tool for Designing Robust Autopilots for Ramjet
Missiles”, The Middle East Technical University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied
Sciences.
[12] Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1959, Principles of Guided Missiles and Nuclear Weapons”,
U. S. Navy Training Publications Center.
[13] George M. Siouris, November 2 3, “Missile Guidance and Control Systems”, Springer.
[14] Özgören, M. K. , February 2 , 99 , “Seminar Notes on Dynamics and Control of Guided
Missiles Middle”, East Technical University Continuing Education Center.
[15] Dünya Rauf, Levent Güner, August 2 4, “Modeling of a Generic Laser Guided Weapon
with Velocity Pursuit Guidance and its Performance Analysis using various Control

Page 26
 Strategies”, Middle East Technical University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied
Sciences.
[16] Berglund, E. , March 2000, “Guidance and Control Technology”, RTO SCI Lecture Series
on Technologies for Future Precision Strike Missile Systems, Atlanta, USA, pp. 1-10
[17] Daniel Perh, December 2 , “A Study into Advanced Guidance Laws using
Computational Methods”, B.S.M.E, National University of Singapore, 2007, Naval
Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.
[18] John CS, March 2 , “Missile Terminal Guidance and Control Against Evasive Targets”,
Monterey, California, Naval Postgraduate School.
[19] Yang, C. D., Hsiao, F.B. and Yeh, F. B. , March 1989, “Generalized Guidance Law for
Homing Missiles”, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. AES-25,
No. 2, pp. 197-212
[20] Yang, C. D., Hsiao, F.B. and Yeh, F. B. , March 1989, “Generalized Guidance Law for
Homing Missiles”, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. AES-25,
No. 2, pp. 197-212
[21] Doyle D. Knight, August 2 3, “Missile Aerodynamics and Air-to-Air Missile Codes”,
Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey USA 08903,
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
[22] Zarchan, P. , 1994, Tactical and Strategic Missile Guidance, Vol. 157, Progress in
Aeronautics and Astronautics, AIAA, Washington DC
[23] Patrick Costello, March 995, “Simulink Simulation of Proportional Navigation and
Command to Line of Sight Missile Guidance”, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey
California.
[24] Pastrick, H. L., Seltzer, S. M. and Warren, M. E. , March- April 1981, “Guidance Laws for
Short- Range Tactical Missiles”, Journal of Guidance and Control, Vol. 4, No. 2
[25] Daniel Perh, December 2 , “A Study into Advanced Guidance Laws using
Computational Methods”, B.S.M.E, National University of Singapore, 2007, Naval
Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.

Page 27