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AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsRobert Kuklinski, Thomas J. Gieseke
Estimating the term…
An underwater supercavitating projectile includes means to form ripples on its surrounding cavity so as to provide well-defined disturbances of the cavity boundary. As the ripples move aft of the supercavitating projectile and into the wake behind the advancing projectile, the ripples detach to form a pattern of vapor bubbles in the wake that are distinct in both size and regularity from the typical vapor bubbles formed as the cavity collapses behind the advecting projectile. Sensors record the track of the projectile along its path based on the distinct acoustic signature of the vapor bubbles. Combined with the acoustic echo from a target, the relative distance of the projectile to the target can be determined using methods known in the art. Multiple projectile trajectories are used to increase the ability to resolve the target by adjusting the aiming of the projectiles to reduce the relative distance.
An underwater targeting system, comprising:
An underwater, supercavitating projectile, comprising:
An underwater, supercavitating projectile, comprising a flammable core within said projectile, said projectile having at least one bore, said at least one bore exposing said core to a cavity surrounding said projectile, whereby passage of a flame front of said flammable core by said at least one bore disturbs a flow within the cavity, said disturbed flow forming at least one disturbance at a cavity boundary of said supercavitating projectile, said at least one disturbance separating from said cavity boundary to form at least one vapor bubble in a wake of said supercavitating projectile, and collapse of said at least one vapor bubble resulting in a distinct acoustic signature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.