What a Cruise Missile can do?

[Awesome]

Some doubts. For example, target is fixed. Now
1) From where will you get the information on how you can reach the target ?.(Path)

Speaking from an IT perspective and not a missile perspective, this is easy.

Terrain mapping. We used to do this back in the 90s with games like Quake, where we had to define a terrain and then make polygonal objects move across a set path.

I would guess a flying missile can easily measure its own speed, its direction and the distance it has traveled. It can keep placing itself on the map fed into it and the make course corrections along the way.

2) When will you load the information on to the CM and how much time will it take for that process ?. And what kind of information that would be ?.

Good question. I think the major work is done before hand mapping a terrain where the missile is expected to fly, after that you just need to place your mark and shoot.

3) What will the CM do when the data it got does not coincide with the actual data ?. (Eg: Enemy made some changes in the path or target). Is there any self destruct mechanism on such occasions ?.

Taking out very specific targets where such things would be expected, I think manual control would be utilized rather than leaving the computer to decide.

4) Where did the CM process the information. Is this on the missile itself or through a communication network with the control center ?.

Would depend on the missile. Probably just coordinates the rest of the work is done on the missile. I would expect the latency on this wireless network between the launcher's computer and the missiles computer would be too high to keep telling the missile to bank left, or bank right for each course correction.

 

[no_name]

In my understanding, the most expensive part of cruise missile would be its software and central processing unit that controls the movement of missile over terrains. Other two parts of the missile, i.e. motor and detonator would be still the same as usual ballistic missile. So once this software and CPU is developed, it could be replicated inexpensively. So may be when USA says unit cost of missile is 1 million dollars, it would be because huge software cost that it spent initially and serial production of the missile would not be as huge as anticipated.

I though cruise missiles uses jet engine rather than rocket motors which is why they have pretty long range for their size without resorting to ballistic flight mode. Turbofan engine are very efficient for high subsonic speed so are used on missiles such as the tomahawk (a small rocket is used at the start to get it airborne and discarded after). This might be why they are expensive aside from other things mentioned because you are writing off a jet engine everytime you fire off one of those things. Also turbofan engines requires more detailed maintenance.

Brahmos uses ramjet and need higher speeds to operate.

regards

 

[gambit]

Speaking from an IT perspective and not a missile perspective, this is easy.

Terrain mapping. We used to do this back in the 90s with games like Quake, where we had to define a terrain and then make polygonal objects move across a set path.

I would guess a flying missile can easily measure its own speed, its direction and the distance it has traveled. It can keep placing itself on the map fed into it and the make course corrections along the way.

Correct. Excellent first step, basic principles wise, to becoming a cruise missile designer.

Good question. I think the major work is done before hand mapping a terrain where the missile is expected to fly, after that you just need to place your mark and shoot.

Correct. This is why tactical recon fighters are important. We already know how to gauge terrain features from photographs. This is why the time of day for these missions are also important -- shadows. This is why there can be multiple tactical recon flights over the same area -- shadows from different sun angles refine the terrain maps. Even desert sand dunes can be mapped.

Taking out very specific targets where such things would be expected, I think manual control would be utilized rather than leaving the computer to decide.

Not necessarily. From a radar perspective, a building have a radically different signature than a hill or a tree. You can program a flight of cruise missiles to seek out man-made objects, based upon radar signatures, and 'fire and forget'.

Would depend on the missile. Probably just coordinates the rest of the work is done on the missile. I would expect the latency on this wireless network between the launcher's computer and the missiles computer would be too high to keep telling the missile to bank left, or bank right for each course correction.

Initially...Yes. But not any more. UAVs over Iraq and Afghanistan are controlled by pilots in CONUS.

 

[gambit]

I though cruise missiles uses jet engine rather than rocket motors which is why they have pretty long range for their size without resorting to ballistic flight mode. Turbofan engine are very efficient for high subsonic speed so are used on missiles such as the tomahawk (a small rocket is used at the start to get it airborne and discarded after). This might be why they are expensive aside from other things mentioned because you are writing off a jet engine everytime you fire off one of those things. Also turbofan engines requires more detailed maintenance.

Brahmos uses ramjet and need higher speeds to operate.

regards

Not necessarily. The advantage of jet engines, excluding ramjets, are controllability and therefore efficient fuel management, which allow many advantages, such as increased range or loitering time. But the true advantage of cruise missile, at the expense of time, is 'stealth'. Yes...Stealth. Radar low observability, or reflectivity, is about influencing the behavior of a radar pulse upon a body AFTER it is on the body. The broad 'stealth' include avoiding radar detection altogether, and the best way to avoid ground radars is to fly below the radar horizon. Combine a body's radar low reflectivity and fly that body below the radar horizon and you have a lethal combination, but this is for another discussion.

It is irrelevant if you use rocket or jet engines, as long as you truly fly this aircraft, and a cruise missile IS an aircraft, you have a 'cruise missile'. Turn this weapon into a ballistic missile, and it is technically feasible to use a jet engine for a BM, and you will decrease time-to-target, but at the expense of high exposure. The range of a Tomahawk can be a couple of thousands km or more. So range wise, the cruise missile is just as capable as the BM.

 

[Sinnerman108]

It is irrelevant if you use rocket or jet engines, as long as you truly fly this aircraft, and a cruise missile IS an aircraft, you have a 'cruise missile'. Turn this weapon into a ballistic missile, and it is technically feasible to use a jet engine for a BM, and you will decrease time-to-target, but at the expense of high exposure. The range of a Tomahawk can be a couple of thousands km or more. So range wise, the cruise missile is just as capable as the BM.

I am not sure if that is 100% correct.
Cruise missiles can / do use Jet engines as the secondary motor, not the initial
motor.
Pakistani and Indian missiles have jet engines and these are not ram jets, they are turbo fan designs.
Indian missile's engine is based on the same design feature as a Mig21 .. Which happens to be the BEST design till date.

As for the guidance technology, most of what is written is correct and if you understand that you will know why the missile is "Terrain hugging"

The navigation is very very accurate, the technology is implemented with a lot of skill and expertise.

 

[gambit]

I am not sure if that is 100% correct.
Cruise missiles can / do use Jet engines as the secondary motor, not the initial motor.

A cruise missile is an aircraft. Show me how is it 'impossible' for a cruise missile to use a jet engine to take-off. Currently the reason why a cruise missile is launched with a rocket is because this aircraft does not have a landing gear system. But you are mistaken in believing that just because it is launched that way, it is inherently limited to rocket launched only.

 

[Sinnerman108]

A cruise missile is an aircraft. Show me how is it 'impossible' for a cruise missile to use a jet engine to take-off. Currently the reason why a cruise missile is launched with a rocket is because this aircraft does not have a landing gear system. But you are mistaken in believing that just because it is launched that way, it is inherently limited to rocket launched only.

Boss.... isn't that what I am saying also ?

A cruise missile can / do use jet engines.

However the initial launch motor is rocket because it is more efficient
in giving it the initial height and getting to stage 1 of trajectory.

A Cruise missile can be thought of as an air plane the only difference from the definition is that in an airplane
Lift >= weight.
in a cruise missile Lift < weight.

Thus the trajectory is set to send it high once, and then speed up.

 

[mean_bird]

Initially...Yes. But not any more. UAVs over Iraq and Afghanistan are controlled by pilots in CONUS.

There's a "hell of a difference" between the speed of a cruise missile and those UAV's tottering over Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

[saurabh]

How do countries with no satellite imaging system map a terrain? If you want send a cruise missile to long distance, you would need terrain information for whole path. How would that be know without satellites?

 

[mean_bird]

How do countries with no satellite imaging system map a terrain? If you want send a cruise missile to long distance, you would need terrain information for whole path. How would that be know without satellites?

Using google maps

On a serious note, how many countries have cruise missiles in the first place? Most countries that have Cruise missiles, also have pretty good images too using satellites.

Also you can get it from third countries like India can get from US or via Israel or from Russia while Pakistan can get from China. In the worst case, you can get lower resolution commercial satellite images and use image enhancing techniques. Of course the accuracy will be potentially lower in that case.

 

[Moorkh]

A cruise missile is an aircraft. Show me how is it 'impossible' for a cruise missile to use a jet engine to take-off. Currently the reason why a cruise missile is launched with a rocket is because this aircraft does not have a landing gear system. But you are mistaken in believing that just because it is launched that way, it is inherently limited to rocket launched only.

the impression that it is rocket launched only might be created from the fact that the missiles have very short "take off" distances.

i mean most of them are launched vertically or from a launcher of very limited length.

jet engines by themselves will find it difficult to accelerate the missile to adequale speeds over such short distances. hence rockets are usually employed during takeoff / launch part of the trajectory.

this might be the currently most common system, rocket to start and jet after that. however there is nothing stopping a missile from taking off on jet power if such a powerful jet is available or enough launch lengths are available

 

[saurabh]

Using google maps

On a serious note, how many countries have cruise missiles in the first place? Most countries that have Cruise missiles, also have pretty good images too using satellites.

Also you can get it from third countries like India can get from US or via Israel or from Russia while Pakistan can get from China. In the worst case, you can get lower resolution commercial satellite images and use image enhancing techniques. Of course the accuracy will be potentially lower in that case.

Than how do this images get updated. I know terrain don't get changed, but if suppose there is a building now where it previously was not.
Actually it is hard to grasp that a cruise missile can be guided by previously stored data, and not some active guidance about terrain.

 

[mean_bird]

Than how do this images get updated. I know terrain don't get changed, but if suppose there is a building now where it previously was not.
Actually it is hard to grasp that a cruise missile can be guided by previously stored data, and not some active guidance about terrain.

There is. The image is what you match against. Sure, there is guidance system on board the missile. There are different ways from quite primitive to state of the art satellite guidance.

Terrain contour matching algorithms are mostly used. You look at what is ahead, match it to the terrain. In case you see something (like a building), artificially intelligent systems calculate ways of going around it.

Think of it this way- the more sugar you put, the sweater it becomes. The accuracy depends on how advanced the systems are. Most use pretty complex image processing and other techniques and usually more than one system to complement the others.

 

[Sinnerman108]

How do countries with no satellite imaging system map a terrain? If you want send a cruise missile to long distance, you would need terrain information for whole path. How would that be know without satellites?

There are commercial satellite agencies which will sell u the imagery.
expensive though...
I know i had to pay 340,000 USD for 700 KM Sq image, with 3 months vintage and 60cm resolution....

 

[Tajdar adil]

Cruise is the advance technology in all missiles.