Subjects in the Focus Development and hardware expertise for guided missiles

Development and hardware expertise for guided missiles

Assembly of infrared seekers as well as complete guidance and control sections poses a particular challenge in technical terms. The sensitivity of the optical elements and the high precision requirements for precision-mechanical assemblies necessitate constant ambient conditions, which  only exist in clean rooms with temperatures between 20 and 24 degrees centigrade and a humidity between 30 and 55 percent.     

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation is employed to determine the technical and operational performance of guided missiles. Due to the extremely high costs of captive flight and field tests, the use of software simulation in the design and assessment of missiles as well as their guidance and control sections has proved very effective and cost-saving.

In an HIL five-axis flight simulator, the inner three axes are used for rotational motion simulation of the missile  and the outer two axes for the target´s rotational motion. The seeker sensor measures all rotations of the simulator corresponding to the flight movements of the missile and target in real time. Longitudinal movements of the missile and target are calculated by software simulation.

Integration and final inspection of missile seekers as well as complete guidance and control sections are conducted in in-house test chambers. The Sidewinder-, IRIS-T- and RAM missiles are checked for all essential functions on final test stands in the assembly line within an hour. The missiles´ guidance and control sections are tested under realistic rolling, turning and vibrating conditions against simulated radar and infrared targets.