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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1607.PDF
FLIGHT, 2 November 1961 711 The Zeus missile itself has three stages of high-impulse solid propulsion, the third being a spherical charge provided not so much to increase velocity as to steer the warhead in vacuum conditions by means of asymmetric thrust. Control within the atmosphere is effected by the cruciform of nose fins. Prin- cipal ground elements of the system are the acquisition, discrimination (between re-entry vehicle and decoys) and target-tracking radars, the first of which has probably been the greatest single development in the whole programme. Under the basic direction of the Army Rocket and Guided Missile Agency (now Army Ballistic Missile Agency). Bell Telephone Laboratories have handled the basic design of the equipment so far, and it is known that the acquisition radar has a multi- megawatt transmitter and a 1,000-ton receiver aerial of Luneberg-lens type. Tests of the discrimination radar are about to be made with re-entry vehicles and decoys from Atlas ICBMs fired down both Atlantic and Pacific ranges; this variable-beam radar also has multi-megawatt power and can in some way tell the false from the true. The tracking of the final target is straightforward, and this work is integrated by computer with the missile-track equipment to drive the Zeus into co-incidence with its quarry. More than $100m of the SI, 100m so far voted for the programme has been spent on test facilities. Target-track radar at Ascension Island was used against ICBMs earlier this year, many Zeus test vehicles have been fired from White Sands, and full-range testing of complete Zeus missiles is now possible from Point Mugu, California. But the greatest test site of all is at Kwajalein Atoll, in the Pacific, which is now filled from end to end with a complete Zeus weapon system. Before next March the entire system will be subjected to live testing against Atlas ICBMs fired by SAC from Vandenberg AFB, California. Upon the result of these critical tests will rest the massive decision: to scrap the programme, or commit Zeus to production at a cost of some S8,000m. At present, no production has been funded, although testing will be continued for a further year by a SI71,821,000 contract placed with Western Electric and ten other contractors on September 27. REDEYE IR-homing missile for infantry US ARMY, US MARINE CORPS MODERN techniques of microminiaturiza- tion are progressively reducing the volume and weight of missile payloads and guidance systems. Today the Redeye, which theoretic- ally has high lethality against high-perform- ance aircraft, can be carried by a single soldier "through underbrush and rugged terrain." Under the direction of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, General Dynamics/Pomona have evolved an incredibly small device, which is held at the shoulder and aimed with an optical sight. The launcher is approximately 4ft long and 3in diameter, and weighs about 201b, and its tube is sealed to serve as the shipping container for the missile. The latter is described as "a composite structure contain- ing propellant. an electronic guidance system and a high-explosive warhead." Guidance is officially stated to be by infra-red means, and the participation of Philco suggests the incorporation of Sidewinder experience. SEACAT Radio- or radar-command missile for close- range defence ROYAL NAVY, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY, ROYAL NEW ZEALAND NAVY, and evalua- tion by Federal Germany and Sweden IN a nutshell. Short Brothers & Harland Ltd, the prime contractors, describe Seacat as "a small and highly manoeuvrable weapon, designed for close defence against low-flying aircraft. It has the lowest minimum range of any surface-to-air missile at present available. It will be very effective in combating any hostile aircraft which may evade a naval unit's outer defensive fighters and long-range guided weapons. It has also a surface-to- surface capability." As the scale drawings emphasize, the missile is much smaller than most surface-to-air weapons, which facilitates stowage and handling, particularly aboard small ships. Propulsion is provided by a dual-thrust motor, immediately ahead of which are the autopilot unit and the actuator assembly for the four swept moving wings. Further ahead again the body swells to an almost square cross- section past the potted electronics pack, and the large warhead occupies the nose. Missiles are delivered and stored inside a rigid glass- fibre canister in a tubular frame. This frame serves as the transport pallet and can be hoisted and stacked, and a folding version is used for ship-to-ship transfer. Ground equipment required for this weapon system is relatively simple, and can readily be incorporated in ships of down to some 500 tons displacement. The Mk 20 launcher carries four Seacats disposed around the MORE SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES: 4, Nike Ajax; 5, Russian missile; 6, Talos (conventional warhead); 7, Masurca; 8, Terrier; 9, Russian missile; 10, Bloodhound I; //, Thunderbird I; l2,Seaslug /; 13, Tartar; 14, Seacat I; IS, Seacat 2; 16, Mauler (provisional); 17, Bomarc 8; 18, Hawk; 19, Redeye (drawn to twice the scale of the other missiles). Jettisonable boosters are again drawn in solid black
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