Flight control system for guided rolling-airframe missile

A sampled-data system associated with the guided rolling-airframe missile (RAM) is digitally controlled. The digital control system is open-loop and missile dynamics (pitch-rate-to-elevator) is assumed to be of second-order type. The square-wave input, corresponding to the elevator deflections, stabilizes system online output that is the rate of the line-of-sight (LOS) angle. The output stabilization results in two-point guidance-law to be actively realized, hence the missile approaches the target until a hit. The guidance strategy is open-loop (it doesn't require active homing), whereas the missile can hit dynamic targets moving uniformly on a linear pathway. Moreover, only the initial triggering of the missile is target-oriented and requires active target data, to be provided by a visual device at the launch stage where the missile is to be directly pointed towards the target before being fired. During the engagement, the missile is assumed to have constant roll-rate (obtained at launch stage) and also constant forward velocity. The missile is also slightly asymmetric due to actuating fins geometry. Moreover, it could be assumed almost symmetric hence the linear motion theory analysis is valid. Meanwhile, as long as the roll-rate is not close to the pitch natural frequency, the unwanted tricyclic motion is avoided and this is preferred. In the current study, and through the numerical simulations, the roll-rate is so much higher than the pitch-rate, hence normally, the Magnus-moment and its accompanied tricyclic motion are not present. Novel ideas for technology development of surface-to-air RAM (SARAM) and seaborne RAM (SEARAM) are presented. The simulations is performed in Matlab Simulink software environment with discrete-time blocks. The miss-distance is almost zero and the simulations outcome is satisfactory.