Air-to-subsurface missile system
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsMorton L. Metersky, James R. Howard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is an air-to-subsurface missile system which has an acoustic oming torpedo and a directional sonobuoy held in the missile behind the torpedo by a cowling means which includes fins for aerodynamic stability. When the missile reaches the desired location in a body of water, the torpedo and sonobuoy are released. The sonobuoy has the ability to search for targets and to communicate both with the homing torpedo and with a tactical command station. Thus the torpedo can be guided to a target by the sonobuoy and command station, even at ranges at which the torpedo could not locate a target with its own homing system.
Claims8
An air-to-subsurface missile system for use against high speed submarines and surface vessels, comprising:
- an acoustic homing torpedo;
- a directional sonobuoy positioned in tandem behind said torpedo;
- and
- cowling means removably connected to said torpedo and said sonobuoy forming thereby a rigid unitary aerodynamic missile, said cowling means including a pair of elongated semicircular casings abutting along the longitudinal edges and enveloping said torpedo and sonobuoy about the proximal ends thereof, securing means releasably connected to said casings and activated upon delivery of said missile to a desired position in water for jettisoning said casings, and fin means radially extending from said casings for providing aerodynamic stability to said missile.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.