Accession Number:

ADA355719

Title:

A Kalman Filter for Tracking Constant Thrust Theater Ballistic Missiles

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER DAHLGREN DIV VA

Personal Author(s):

• Serakos, Demetrios

Report Date:

1990-01-01

Pagination or Media Count:

10.0

Abstract:

Tracking Theater Ballistic Missiles TBMs during boost phase is becoming a requirement for some engagement strategies. The requirement for boost phase tracking can be based on the needs of an early launch doctrine or can be motivated by the availability of a cue provided by an airborne search and track infraredlaser system. The standard filters require that the target being tracked have, respectively, constant velocity or constant acceleration. If a TBM does not have constant acceleration during boost a filter may not provide valid estimates of the TBMs position and velocity and, as a result, may not be able to maintain track. TBM boost profiles assuming a constant thrust and a constant rate of fuel consumption show a hyperbolically increasing acceleration. This paper presents and analyses a Kalman filter designed to track a missile experiencing hyperbolically increasing acceleration during boost phase. For purposes of comparison, the tracking results of an alpha-beta filter are provided for a general class of TBMs representative of the threat set.

Descriptors:

• *KALMAN FILTERING
• *CRUISE MISSILES
• *INFRARED TRACKING
• GUIDED MISSILE TRAJECTORIES
• BOOST PHASE
• INFRARED LASERS
• FUEL CONSUMPTION
• THRUST

Subject Categories:

• Antimissile Defense Systems
• Guided Missile Trajectories, Accuracy and Ballistics

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE