GB2188713A

GB2188713A - Missile storage and launch arrangements

Info

Publication number: GB2188713A
Application number: GB08511485A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Colin Frederick Rogers
Original assignee: British Aerospace PLC
Current assignee: BAE Systems PLC
Priority date: 1984-05-04
Filing date: 1985-05-07
Publication date: 1987-10-07
Also published as: GB8511485D0; GB2188713B

Abstract

A missile 10 is launched from an elongate fibre-reinforced plastics storage enclosure 15 having a missile outlet which is opened and closed by means of a canopy 19 movable by means of an electrical drive motor 28, a cable 24 and rollers sliding in grooves 20. The rear end of the enclosure also contains electrically operated ancillary equipment such that the only control interface is via an external electrical connection 29. This equipment is protected from efflux by a ramp 35. The missile is sealed to the enclosure by means of frangible seals (49,50) to prevent entry of atmosphere when the canopy 19 is withdrawn. A latch (44) to the missile is withdrawn by propulsion gas on ignition of the motor. Launch is improved by choking exhaust by means of a spring-biased flap 36. Attachment ferrules (48) in the enclosure walls allow coupling to other enclosures or to a weapon boom. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Missile storage and launch arrangements This invention relates to storage and launch arrangements for missiles which may be interconnected collectively to form a cluster of two or more such arrangements. In particular, though not exclusively, the invention relates to such arrangements for housing missiles of the type which acquire a target prior to launch.

It is known to mount missile arrangements on vehicles such as helicopters by means of a weapon housing projecting from the side of the helicopter, within which a plurality of missiles are loaded and the loading of the missiles into the housing has required the supervision of skilled personnel, to ensure that the multitude of connections, structural and electrical, are properly made. In addition, where the missile includes a seeker head on the missile which requires a wide field of view for target acquisition, it is found that debris generated by operation of the vehicle can collect on the lens or window of the seeker head thus reducing the amount of radiation which is transmitted to the seeker.

According to one aspect of this invention, there is provided a missile storage and launch arrangement, comprising a missile, an elongate enclosure housing said missile and including a mouth region for exit of the missile, a plurality of attachment means provided in the walls of the enclosure to allow coupling of the enclosure to further such enclosures to form a cluster of two or more enclosures, a closure element movable between a position in which it closes said mouth region and a position in which said mouth region is opened to allow exit of the missile, and drive means operable for effecting movement of said closure member between said closed and open positions.

By this arrangement, several enclosures may be connected together to form a cluster of enclosures which may be attached to a weapon boom of a vehicle or in appropriate cases directly to the surface of a vehicle. For example, two clusters of six enclosures, each comprising two rows of three enclosures, may be carried by an aircraft, one under each wing.

Preferably, the enclosure contains ancillary equipment associated with launch of the missile and is provided with external electrical connection means so that the only control interface is via the electrical connection. In this case the only connections required are structural attachment of the enclosure to a weapon boom or cluster of enclosures, and a simple external electrical connection. Since the enclosures do not need to be attached to a separate carrier prior to attachment to the vehicle, the arming of the vehicle may be performed by relatively unskilled personnel, and the missile together with the enclosure constitutes a wooden round which may be environmentally sealed, and tamperproof, and thus may be stored for long periods before use.

The enclosure preferably is manufactured by forming and curing fibre reinforced plastics material on a mould. In this instance, in order to ensure uniformity of positioning of the attachment means of a succession of formed enclosures, it is preferred that the attachment means be in the form of inserts accurately positioned with respect to the plastics material prior to curing thereof. This process assures a relatively lightweight enclosure provided with a plurality of attachment means precisely located with respect to the enclosure, the enclosure being capable of being manufactured relatively quickly.

It is preferred for the enclosure to be formed of a sandwich fibre-reinforced construction, whereby the enclosure is relatively light whilst providing sufficient strength and stiffness to withstand the pressures generated on launch of the missile and the bending moments induced during air carriage of the missile. Such a construction is also found to be useful to prevent damage to the missile from external influences.

The enclosure preferably comprises a main body portion, a forward end portion and a rearward end portion, the main body portion being of generally rectangular cross-section, the forward end portion being generally wedge shaped, comprising an extension wall portion extending co-planar with a given one of the wall regions of said main body portion and having a leading region, and said closure member when in its closed position extending obliquely between said leading region and the forward region of the wall opposite to said given wall region. By this arrangement, the enclosure presents a wedge-shaped profile to the airstream when the enclosure is mounted on an airborne vehicle, thus reducing the drag induced by the enclosure, but allows withdrawal of the enclosure to a low drag open position which allows an unobstructed field of view for the seeker head of said missile.

Preferably, said closure member is slidably mounted for movement between said open and closed positions, movement thereof being effected by electrical drive means.

Preferably, said closure member includes wiping means associated with its inner surface adapted to wipe the window of a missile within the enclosure when said closure member is moved between its open and closed positions. Preferably, said enclosure is provided with a plurality of inwardly directed strip means extending along a major portion of its length adapted to bear against a portion of the missile so as to support and guide it during launch.

Preferably, said strip means are in the form of resiliently deformable channel members secured to the interior of the enclosure. By this arrangement, movement of the missile towards a given wall region cause the limbs of the member resiliently to splay, thus reducing the impact of sudden forces applied to the enclosure.

Preferably, forward and rearward releasable seal means are provided, the forward seal means extending around the periphery of the missile at a location rearwardly of its seeker head and sealingly contacting the interior periphery of the enclosure and the rearward seal means sealing the enclosure aft of the missile.

This arrangement prevents the ingress of dirt etc. into the enclosure beyond said forward seal means when the closure member is opened.

Preferably, a spring flap means is provided adjacent the aft portion of the enclosure, said spring flap means being operable to allow exhaust of missile efflux fluid.

Preferably, said enclosure includes efflux choking means adapted to enhance launching the missile.

Further aspects will become apparent from the following description which is by way of example only, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a missile storage and launch arrangement of this invention with the closure member in the closed position; Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, with the closure element in an open position;; Figure 3 is an enlarged section view on lines Ill-Ill of Figure 2, Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view of a rear portion of the enclosure of the arrangements previously illustrated, showing a latch arrangement for maintaining the missile in the enclosure, Figures 5a and 5b illustrate detail views of frangible bulkhead members for insertion in the enclosure of the previous Figures, and Figure 5 is a perspective view of a helicopter provided with a missile storage and launch arrangement.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, there is illustrated a missile storage and launch arrangement for storing a missile 10 of the type having an infra-red seeker head 11 which receives radiation from a viewed scene via window 12.

In a typical missile, the seeker head has a look angle of 92.5 upwards, 10 downwards and 15 to either side, as viewed in Figure 2.

The missile 10 includes a main body 13 of cylindrical form having a set of fins 14 disposed at 90 to each other adjacent a rearward portion of the missile. The operation of the missile is such that, prior to launch, a potential target is acquired by the seeker head 11. Naturally, for this to occur, it is important to ensure that the look angle of the head is not obstructed by the storage launch arrangement. For accurate tracking, it is also important to ensure that the window of the missile is not obscured by dirt, mud etc. which may arise if the missile is mounted on a helicopter or VTOL aircraft or other vehicles operating at or near ground level.

The missile 10 is housed in an elongate enclosure 15 having a front region 16, a main body portion 17 and a rearward region 18.

The main body portion 16 is of generally square hollow cross-section, the forward portion being defined by an extension of the lower side of the enclosure and a curved canopy closure member 19. The forward region of the main body portion is provided with a pair of grooves 20 (only one of which is shown) in which slide rollers 21, 22 associated with the canopy closure member acting to guide in between the open position of Figure 1 and the closed position of Figure 1.

Micro switches 23 are provided at spaced locations along the groove and are adapted to be actuated by roller 22 to signal the position of the canopy closure and thus to initiate arming of the missile.

Movement of the canopy between its open and closed positions is effected by means of a cable 24 attached at one end to the canopy closure member and passing via a P.T.F.E.

tube 25 suppressed within the wall of the enclosure to a cable drum 26 located in the rearward portion of the enclosure and a pulley 27 located in the forward region of the enclosure. Movement of the cable drum is effected by means of electric drive motor 28 to which current is supplied via multipin connector 29.

Referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that rollers 22 are attached directly to the canopy 19 whilst rollers 21 are attached to the canopy by means of links 30 (only one of which is shown), the other end of the link being pivotally coupled to the canopy. Adjacent its attachment to the canopy, the link is provided with a further roller, which, as the canopy approaches its fully open position, rides up a track surface 31 provided on the forward portion 16 of the enclosure to ensure that the forward end of the canopy is lifted sufficiently clear of the enclosure to allow exit of the missile, and to prevent the canopy obscuring the field of view of the missile.

In the rear portion 18 of the enclosure, there is provided ancillary equipment associated with launch of the missile and including an electronics pack 32 for arming the missile prior to launch and a coolant pump 33 which supplies coolant to the seeker head via a coolant pipe 34 which is suppressed in the casing of the enclosure (see Figure 3) and which enters the missile body through a gland seal (not shown) adapted to allow the pipe to be withdrawn when the missile is launched.

Current is supplied to the pack 32 and the pump 33 via multipin connector 29. The ancillary equipment may also include programming devices to allow the required particular target definition, and an electronic interfacing adaptor designed to ensure that the electrical signals supplied via the electrical connector are compatible with the ancillary equipment. The ancillary equipment is protected from the efflux of the missile produced at launch by a deflector ramp 35. The upper wall of the rearward portion 18 of the enclosure is defined by an exhaust flap 36 which is attached to the casing of the enclosure and spring-biassed towards a closed position, in which it is sealed to the enclosure.The degree of spring bias afforded to the exhaust flap is preferably selected so as to provide a choking effect to the exhaust leaving the enclosure thereby to increase its velocity and hence giving a better launch. Alternatively, a separate choking device may be housed in the aft portion of the enclosure.

In one of the side walls of the enclosure, there is provided a breather desiccator 38 of the molecular sieve type which prevents the ingress of humidity into the enclosure whilst allowing passage of air.

Referring to Figure 3, the enclosure is formed of a sandwich construction comprising a plurality of plies of fibre reinforced plastics material, for example Kevlar, constituting an outer layer 39, a honeycomb core member 40, for example that known as "Nomex" material, and a plurality of plies of fibre reinforced material constituting an inner layer 41, the sandwich construction being saturated with a polyamide resin. This form of construction affords a lightweight, rigid enclosure, which is capable of withstanding the high loads generated on launch of the missile and also of protecting the missile against external impacts. The inner layer 41 is clad with heavy gauge aluminium foil 42 to prevent transfer of external water vapour into the inside of the enclosure and also to provide electromagnetic shielding.

Four elongate channel members 43 extend along the length of the main body portion 1 7 of the enclosure, one projecting inwardly from each wall of the enclosure. The upstanding tips of the channel members are coated with P.T.F.E. material and bear against the main body portion 13 of the missile, so as to support and guide it during launch. This arrangement obviates the requirement for bore riders or feet attached to the missile and thus makes for an aerodynamically clean missile. Moreover, the channel type of construction of the members 43 allows shock loads imparted to the missile to be absorbed by resilient splaying of the members.

In order to restrain axial movement of the missile prior to launch, a latch retention device is provided (see Figure 4) which comprises a latch member 44 which engages a circumferential groove 45 provided on the aft portion of the missile, the latch member 44 being secured to a spring steel strip 44' which is secured to the enclosure. Downstream of the latch member 44 is provided an impingement surface 45, which is arranged so that when the missile motor is ignited, the propulsion gases generated impinge on the impingement surface and thereby cause the latch member to be withdrawn from the circumferential groove to allow forward movement of the missile. A silicone rubber snubber 47 is provided opposite the latch member to reduce fretting of the latch member and/or the groove.

The enclosure also includes a plurality of attachment ferrules 48 (typically 8) provided in each wall of the main body portion which are precisely located with respect to the enclosure prior to curing of the sandwich construction.

These ferrules provide attachment points which allow the enclosure to be attached either to further such enclosures to form a cluster of enclosures or to a weapon boom.

Referring to Figure 5, two bulkhead members 49, 50 are provided to prevent ingress of atmosphere into the main body portion 17 from the forward portion 16, and the rearward portion 17 respectively. The bulkhead member 49 is of frangible material and sealingly surrounds the main body portion 13 of the missile immediately rear of the seeker head 11.

On insertion of the missile into its enclosure, the bulkhead is sealingly attached around its periphery to the interior of the enclosure. This arrangement allows the canopy 19 to be opened and closed for target acquisition without the atmosphere penetrating rearwardly beyond the seeker head.

The other bulkhead member 50 is also of frangible material and is positioned in the enclosure rearwardly of the missile, to prevent transfer of atmosphere forwardly thereof.

In applications where the enclosure will be subject to dust, mud etc. entrained by the powerplant of the vehicle to which it is attached, the inner surface of the canopy member may be provided with a wiper member (not shown) which wipes the window 12 of the seeker head 11 each time the canopy moves to its open position, thus removing accumulated debris.

It will be appreciated that, in the embodiment of arrangement shown, the enclosure provides a streamlined profile to the incident airflow, comprising a generally wedge-shaped forward portion, which merges smoothly with the main body portion, which itself merges smoothly with the rearward portion which tapers to a tip region on which is provided the multipin connector 29. This profile, together with the provision of the attachment ferrules which allows a cluster of enclosures to be bunched ciosely together, and also the lightweight nature of the enclosures, gives a highly adaptable and advantageous arrangement.

Moreover, since the interior of the enclosure is sealed against ingress of atmosphere, and the closure member is only operable by supplying the correct voltage to the drive motor via the multipin connector, the arrangement is substantially tamper proof and may be stored in uncontrolled atmospheres for long periods of time prior to use, without affecting the reliability of the arrangement.

Turning to Figure 6, a helicopter 51 is illustrated having four missile enclosures 15, two provided on each weapon boom 52 extending from each side of the helicopter. Although as shown, at each side the two enclosures are independently attached to the boom, it would be possible to initially secure the two enclosures together by means of their respective attachment ferrules and then to attach the cluster to the weapon boom by means of a sole plate. In the arrangement shown, the enclosures are oriented with their closure canopies 19 facing away from the helicopter body, so that the missiles to either side of the body have a combined angle of look of over 1800, when viewed in plan.

Claims

1. A missile storage and launch arrangement, comprising a missile, an elongate enclosure housing said missile and including a mouth region for exit of the missile, a plurality of attachment means provided in the walls of the enclosure to allow coupling of the enclosure to further such enclosures to form a cluster of two or more enclosures, a closure element movable between a position in which it closes said mouth region and a position in which said mouth region is opened to allow exit of the missile, and drive means operable for effecting movement of said closure member between said closed and open positions.

2. An arangement according to Claim 1 wherein the enclosure contains ancillary equipment associated with launch of the missile, and is provided with external electrical connection means to allow remote control of said ancillary equipment.

3. An arrangement according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the enclosure is formed of fibre reinforced plastics material.

4. An arrangement according to Claim 3, wherein the manufacture of said enclosure includes the steps of forming and curing fibre reinforced plastics material and said attachment means comprise inserts accurately positioned with respect to the plastics material prior to curing thereof.

5. An arrangement according to Claim 3 or Claim 4, wherein the enclosure is formed of a sandwich fibre-reinforced construction.

6. An arrangement according to any of the preceding claims wherein the enclosure preferably comprises a main body portion, a forward end portion and a rearward end portion, the main body portion being of generally rectangular cross-section, the forward end portion being generally wedge shaped, comprising an extension wall portion extending co-planar with a given one of the wall regions of said main body portion and having a leading region, and said closure member when in its closed position extending obliquely between said leading region and the forward region of the wall opposite to said given wall region.

7. An arrangement according to Claim 6 wherein said closure member is slidably mounted for movement between said open and closed positions, movement thereof being effected by electrical drive means.

8. An arrangement according to Claim 7 wherein said closure member includes wiping means associated with its inner surface adapted to wipe the window of a missile within the enclosure when said closure member is moved between its open and closed positions.

9. An arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims wherein said enclosure is provided with a plurality of inwardly directed strip means extending along a major portion of its length adapted to bear against a portion of the missile so as to support and guide it during launch.

10. An arrangement according to Claim 9 wherein said strip means are in the form of resiliently deformable channel members secured to the interior of the enclosure.

11. An arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims wherein forward and rearward releasable seal means are provided, the forward seal means extending around the periphery of the missile at a location rearwardly of its seeker head and sealingly contacting the interior periphery of the enclosure and the rearward seal means sealing the enclosure aft of the missile.

12. An arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the enclosure includes a spring flap means adjacent the aft portion thereof, said spring flap means being operable to allow exhaust of missile efflux fluid.

13. An arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein said enclosure includes effiux choking means disposed in relation to the efflux outlet so as to enhance launching the missile.

14. An arrangement according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein latch means are provided in a rearward portion of the enclosure, said latch means being adapted to restrain the missile against movement during storage, but to unlatch on ignition of the missile motor.

15. An arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in, any of the accompanying drawings.