Donald L. Blount and Associates, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: SB103-008 has the objective to develop a high speed, semi-autonomous, naval surface muniti

Description

SB103-008 has the objective to develop a high speed, semi-autonomous, naval surface munition designed to travel in water at speeds in excess of 100 knots to acoustically track and engage swarms of enemy boats up to 3 miles from the munition launch point. The munition is designed to fit within the footprint of an"A-size"sonobuoy. The proposed CONOPS results in multiple operating regimes: Sub- and super- cavitating operation in water to acoustically track and engage enemy boat(s) Short duration segments where the vehicle is completely operating in air to facilitate communication with command and control. As a result, the munition must also exit and re-enter the water in a stable and predictable manner. The control authority is provided by a combination of actuators to include a variable angle nose mounted cavitator, novel aft planing control surfaces (rather than more conventional, controllable aft mounted fins), and vectored thrust (using a solid propellant and a collection of rotating nozzles). Dynamic models for all operating regimes are developed and the feasibility of the proposed combination of actuators and control system to meet the challenging performance requirements is explored and verified through modeling and simulation.