Trajectory analysis radar system for artillery piece

A trajectory analysis radar system comprising:

• a radar antenna disposed proximate a gun barrel to track a projectile fired from the barrel along an actual trajectory of motion;
• a radar transmitter coupled to communicate a sequence of radar signal pulses to the antenna after the projectile is fired from the gun barrel and at least until the projectile reaches a zenith in the trajectory of motion;
• a radar receiver coupled to receive from the antenna radar signals reflected from the projectile and generate signals indicative of the position and velocity of the projectile;
• a signal processor coupled to receive the position and velocity indicative signals from the radar receiver and generate position and velocity data for each of a plurality of different points along the trajectory of motion of the projectile;
• and
• a data processor coupled to receive the position and velocity information form the signal processor and using the received information to update atmospheric tables for use in a subsequent firing, the data processor assuming a current atmospheric model and repeatedly calculating a derived trajectory using the current analytical model, deriving error values representing differences between the actual trajectory and the derived trajectory, and using the error values to correct the current atmospheric model to cause the current atmospheric model to converge toward an accurate representation of atmospheric conditions down range of the antenna.

A trajectory analysis radar system for analyzing a trajectory of a projectile fired from a gun at a firing position, the system comprising:

• a radar system having an antenna mounted on the gun, the radar system tracking at least a portion of the trajectory of the projectile and generating information representing the tracked trajectory portion;
• a signal processing system receiving the trajectory representing information generated by the radar system and converting said information to numeric coordinate data representing the trajectory of the projectile;
• and
• a data processing system coupled to receive the numeric coordinate data from the signal processing system and generate in response thereto an atmospheric model accurately representing atmospheric conditions through which the trajectory of the projectile passes.

A mobile weapon comprising:

• a gun firing a projectile through a trajectory;
• a radar system mounted on the weapon and generating radar data representing the actual trajectory of the projectile;
• a signal processing system mounted on the weapon, the signal processing system receiving the radar data and converting the radar data to coordinate based numeric data representing the trajectory of the projectile;
• and
• a fire control data processor mounted on the weapon and receiving the coordinate based numeric data from the signal processing system, the fire control data processor analyzing the coordinate based numeric data to generate in response thereto an atmospheric model representing atmospheric conditions along the trajectory of the projectile.

A mobile weapon comprising:

• a gun firing a projectile through a trajectory;
• a radar system mounted on the weapon and generating radar data representing the actual trajectory of the projectile;
• a signal processing system mounted on the weapon, the signal processing system receiving the radar data and converting the radar data to coordinate based numeric data representing the trajectory of the projectile;
• and
• a fire control data processor mounted on the weapon and receiving the coordinate based numeric data from the signal processing system, the fire control data processor analyzing the coordinate based numeric data to generate in response thereto an atmospheric model representing atmospheric conditions along the trajectory of the projectile, the fire control data processor including means for establishing a current set of atmospheric parameters and then repeatedly generating a derived trajectory, determining error differences between the actual trajectory and the derived trajectory, and using the error differences to update the current set of atmospheric parameters until the current set of atmospheric parameters converges to a model that accurately represents actual atmospheric conditions.

A method of deriving a true atmospheric model using an actual projectile trajectory comprising the steps of:

• establishing a current atmospheric model;
• deriving a trajectory of the projectile based upon the current atmospheric model;
• determining error differences between the actual projectile trajectory and the derived trajectory;
• and
• correcting the current atmospheric model in response to the determined error differences so as to tend to reduce the error differences between a derived trajectory based upon the current atmospheric model and the actual projectile trajectory.

A method of firing a gun of a weapon system comprising the steps of:

• firing an initial round of a projectile;
• tracking the initial round with a radar system mounted on the weapon system to determine an actual trajectory of the initial round;
• determining in response to the actual trajectory an atmospheric model representing atmospheric conditions in the vicinity of the weapon system;
• aiming a gun of the weapon system in response to the determined atmospheric model;
• and
• firing at least one round from the gun that is aimed in response to the determined atmospheric model.

A mobile weapon comprising:

• a gun firing a projectile through a trajectory;
• a radar system mounted on the weapon and generating radar data representing the actual trajectory of the projectile;
• a signal processing system mounted on the weapon, the signal processing system receiving the radar data and converting the radar data to coordinate based numeric data representing the trajectory of the projectile;
• and
• a fire control data processor mounted on the weapon and receiving the coordinate based numeric data from the signal processing system, the fire control data processor analyzing the coordinate based numeric data to generate in response thereto an atmospheric model representing atmospheric conditions along the trajectory of the projectile, the fire control data processor establishing a current set of atmospheric parameters and then repeatedly generating a derived trajectory in response to the current set of atmospheric parameters, determining error differences between the actual trajectory and the derived trajectory, and using the error differences to update the current set of atmospheric parameters until the current set of atmospheric parameters converges to a model that accurately represents actual atmospheric conditions.