Projectile targeting system

A projectile launching apparatus comprising:

• a sabot;
• and
• a targeting system coupled to the sabot, the targeting system comprising:
• a sensor configured to sense an elevation of the target relative to an initial height of a projectile, a height of the target between upper and lower points of the target, and a line of sight from the projectile to the target;
• a trajectory calculation module in communication with the safe-to-fire calculation module, the trajectory calculation module configured to identify an angle of the projectile before launching the projectile;
• a propulsion designation module in communication with the safe-to-fire calculation module;
• and
• a safe-to-fire calculation module in communication with the sensor, the safe-to-fire calculation module configured to identify an acceptable firing solution based on the elevation, the height, the line of sight, and at least one of the distance, angle or velocity, and to signal that the projectile can be launched based on the identification of the acceptable firing solution, and
• the safe-to-fire calculation module is configured to identify the velocity upon launching of the projectile according to a propulsion impulse designated with the propulsion designation module.

A targeting system comprising:

• at least one processor;
• a sensor in communication with the at least one processor, the sensor configured to:
• sense an elevation of the target relative to an initial height of a projectile, a height of the target between upper and lower points of the target, and a line of sight from the projectile to the target, and
• sense a distance from the projectile to the target, and
• a memory in communication with the at least one processor, the memory being configured to store a propulsion designation module, a trajectory calculation module, a propulsion designation module, and a safe-to-fire calculation module that are executable by the at least one processor,
• the trajectory calculation module having instructions that when executed by the at least one processor, cause operations to be performed, the operations comprising identifying an angle of the projectile before launching the projectile,
• the propulsion designation module having instructions that when executed by the at least one processor, cause operations to be performed, the operations comprising identifying a velocity of the projectile upon launching the projectile, and
• the safe-to-fire calculation module having instructions that when executed by the at least one processor, cause operations to be performed, the operations comprising identifying an acceptable firing solution based on the elevation, the height, the line of sight, and at least one of the distance, the angle, or the velocity and signaling that the projectile can be launched based on the identification of the acceptable firing solution.