Tripoli University

Faculty of Engineering
Aeronautical Department

Introduction to Guidance Systems

AE-555 IGS

By: A.J.ELJUBRANI
Chapter-1:
Historical Background and
Overview for the
Guidance and Control Problem
1.1 General
Human Being has a number of characteristics peculiar to himself, among them his abilities to create
weapons both to defend himself against other creatures and to attack others. Tracing the use of weapons right
back we could find the cave man who used sharpened stones for hunting and defending himself. It was
necessary for him to survive as a species against the other creatures specially animals which evolved or
developed fairly rapidly as they had biological means for defense and attack. However, most of these creatures
moved somewhat faster than he did so he started to develop another means like spears, bows, arrows, cross-
bow, armor, swords, and lances which enable him to kill at a safe distance. As the centuries went by, man
continued to survive by advancing his abilities in many directions and improving the weapons and the means
for defence. In addition, the target of man had moved away from just hunting for food to his fellow man as new
enemy and consequently most weaponry was devoted to that end.

Guidance is indispensable whenever a missile has to be brought to its pre-designed trajectory or target
with high precision. That is, at each instant during the missile flight, the error between the actual trajectory and
the desired one is measured and shaped to be used for correcting the actual flight path. Thus, the guidance
system could be, artificially, divided into three subsystems: navigation or measurement, guidance or
computation and steering or control, Fig. 1.1.

Fig. 1.1: Functional block diagram for the guidance process

The navigation observes the actual-trajectory parameters during vehicle flight. The guidance system
computes the error between the actual and the desired and then shapes these errors to be ready or appropriate
for control. The control subsystem executes (respond to) these guidance commands and generates the lateral
forces required to turn the guided vehicle to a new attitude of flight.

The field of navigation, guidance and control has grown and given added importance from day to day
since the second world war in the forties and their system’s applications continue to take on an ever-increasing
importance. The guidance system of a guided missile allows and requires that other subsystems or components
of the missile be specifically designed and optimized bearing in mind the great interaction or interplay between
them. In addition, its stability can be achieved entirely by the careful autopilot design without requiring any
particular degree of aerodynamic stability.

The weapons used for attack (as offensive or defensive mean) had to be powerful enough to withstand
these increasing targets capabilities and destroy the protective cover before the defenders could be engaged.
This power is usually gained from the intelligence with which the weapon is equipped.

A guided missile must be endowed with sufficient intelligence to acquire information for keeping it on
course to the target, whether it was stationary or mobile. The guidance commands are generated to control the
missile motion relative to target in accordance to the observed and estimated parameters for target motion. The
necessity for guiding the missile motion is given by the following points:

1. The need to compensate for the non-standard conditions of the medium, technology, and propulsion
for the achievement of the desired accuracy, especially at greater ranges,

2. The need of reacting on the target motion during the missile flight, and

3. The need for conducting fire behind terrain undulations and artificial obstacles.
 The problem of guidance of a guided missile to intercept an enemy target includes several technical
disciplines, such as radiolocation, computers, telemechanics, rocket engines, aerodynamics of missile flight
Etc. The proper guidance of a guided missile to intercept a target is the problem of automatic control of the
position of missile on trajectory along which the missile is to fly in order to hit the target or to miss it at such
small distance that the combat charge carried in the warhead destroys the target, Fig. 1.2.

Fig. 1.2: Target-Missile engagement scenario

1.2 Guided Missiles

Guided Missiles are self-propelled aerial projectiles and are guided in flight toward a target either by
remote control or by internal mechanisms. Guided missiles vary widely in size and type, ranging from large
strategic ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads to small, portable rockets carried by foot soldiers.

A Guided Missile is a space-traversing unmanned vehicle carrying within itself the means for controlling
its flight path (trajectory), besides a source of destructive intent (warhead). When the warhead is replaced with
a payload of scientific instruments, it is intended for upper atmosphere or other research. In this case the
guidance system may still be required for safety requirements, but the missile is now designated as an upper
atmosphere research rocket. It consists mainly of the following subsystems:

Missile airframe (aerodynamics)

 Propulsion system (rocket engine or jet engine)
 Destruction system or payload (warhead and fuzing)
 Guidance and control system.

Fig. 1.3: Basic parts of a guided missile

Guided missiles today are grouped into four launch-to-target categories: surface-to-surface, surface-to
air, air-to-surface, and air-to-air.

1.2.1 Surface-to-Surface Missiles

The first successful guided missiles were the German V-1 and V-2 Vengeance weapons launched
against Antwerp and London during World War II. The V-1, or buzz bomb, was an aerodynamic missile
powered by a pulse jet engine with a preset guidance system that could sense the correct deviations in altitude
and direction. Its average range was about 240 km (about 150 mi), after which the missile automatically sent
itself into a steep dive and detonated its 1-metric-ton high-explosive warhead upon impact.
1.2.2 Surface-to-Air Missiles
This type of missile was developed to protect ground areas from hostile air attack, especially from
high-altitude bombers flying above the range of conventional antiaircraft artillery. During the 1950s and '60s
batteries of Nike-Ajax and the improved Nike-Hercules provided strategic air defense for the U.S. against
long-range Soviet bombers. Subsequently, with the replacement of piloted bombers by the ICBM as the Soviet
Union's primary nuclear delivery system, and with the signing of an agreement between the U.S. and the USSR
to limit the deployment of antiballistic missiles, most research and development went into shorter-range,
tactical surface-to-air missiles to protect ground combat units and warships against low-flying aircraft and
hostile missiles.

1.2.3 Air-Launched Missiles

Air-to-air and air-to-surface guided missiles are generally short-range, light, rocket-powered
projectiles with sophisticated internal guidance systems. Both types were tested in wartime Germany, and
German radio-controlled glide bombs were responsible for sinking numerous Allied ships. Although these
early missile weapons relied on optical tracking and control from parent aircraft, most current air-to-ground
guided missiles depend on their own target-sensing mechanism once launched.

1.3 Guidance and Control

Missiles are guided toward targets by remote control or by internal guidance mechanisms. Remote control
missiles are linked to a human or mechanical target locator through trailing wires, wireless radio, or some other
type of signal system; internal guidance mechanisms have optical, radar, infrared, or some other type of sensor
that can detect heat, light, or electronic emissions from the target.

The automatic pilot, or autopilot, detects variations from the selected flight plane of an airplane (a
vehicle) and supplies corrective signals to the ailerons, elevator, and rudder. A vertical gyroscope detects
changes in pitch or roll, and a directional gyroscope detects changes in heading. The altitude is sensed by a
barometric sensor. The speed with which these changes occur on each axis is determined by rate gyroscopes or
accelerometers. This combination of displacement (how much) and rate (how fast) provides a very precise
indication of the response needed. The gyroscopes transmit electrical signals to an electronic computer that
combines and amplifies them. The computer then transmits corrective signals to servomotors attached to the
control surfaces of the aircraft, which move to produce the desired response.

1.4 Navigation
Navigation is a science of determining the position of a ship, aircraft, or guided missile, and charting a
course for guiding the craft safely and expeditiously from one point to another. The practice of navigation
requires not only thorough knowledge of the science of navigation, but also considerable experience and
judgment. The science of navigation is divided into four principal techniques: (1) so-called dead reckoning,
which is derived from the phrase deduced reckoning, and estimates the approximate position of a craft solely
from its course and speed; (2) piloting, which involves guiding the craft by frequent reference to geographical
landmarks and navigational aids and by use of sounding; (3) celestial navigation, which uses the observation of
celestial bodies to determine position on the surface of the earth; and (4) electronic navigation, the most
important and advanced system of navigation today, using radio and electronic equipment.

1.4.1 Celestial Navigation

In this classic method, used most commonly in the open sea, the navigator uses celestial bodies that
have been identified and grouped into constellations since ancient times. Celestial navigation makes possible
voyages across thousands of miles of unmarked water, but its one great limitation is that poor visibility, caused
by clouds, fog, rain, snow, mist, or haze, may prevent the essential sightings of celestial bodies.

1.4.2 Electronic Navigation

This method of navigation is based on the use of equipment and systems in which radio waves and
electronic techniques are used to chart the position and the route of a craft. Electronic and precision aids in
most cases have increased the safety of navigation by supplying important information rapidly during periods
of poor visibility, particularly in dangerous and congested waters. The modern navigator today makes wide use
of these devices, both in pilotage waters and in the open sea. Radio provides the navigator with auxiliary
information, including radio time signals, regular weather reports, storm warnings, and general navigational
warnings concerning such hazards as derelict ships, extinguished navigational lights, and buoys adrift.
1.4.3 Inertial navigation
Inertial navigation, which is based on inertial guidance, is a self-contained system, wholly independent
of either visual or electronic information from outside the craft in which it is operating. This system consists of
a certain type of accelerometer, stabilized by gyroscopes that register the magnitude of the acceleration of a
craft in both a north-south and an east-west direction from a known starting point; the accelerations are
converted by electronic computers into a precise position of the craft.

1.4.4 Integrated Navigation Systems

For many vehicles (aircraft, missile, submarine, ship, robot, remotely operated vehicles, space vehicle,
etc.) requiring a navigation capability, there are two basic but conflicting requirements to be considered by the
designer, namely those of achieving high accuracy and low costs. This objective can be achieved using
integrated navigation systems, in which inertial navigation systems are used in conjunction with other
navigation aids. The variety of modern navigation aids now available, coupled with advances in estimation
processing techniques and high-speed computers, has resulted in greater application of integrated navigation
systems in recent years. A time dependent drift characterizes the performance of inertial navigation system in
the accuracy of position estimates it provides.

The inertial system provides low noise continuous navigation data between the fixes which are accurate in
the short-term and not subject to external interference. The various types of navigation aid that are available
may be categorized under the following headings:
1- External measurements: obtained from radio navigation aids, satellites, star trackers or a ground based
radar tracker. In some cases, data may be transmitted to the vehicle during its journey, whilst in others there
will be a receiver or viewer to accept the observations. Navigation aids of this type usually provide a
position fix, which may be expressed either in terms of vehicle latitude and longitude or as co-ordinates
with respect to a local reference frame.
2- Onboard measurements: are derived using additional sensor carried onboard the vehicle requiring
navigation, such as altimeters, Doppler radar, airspeed indicators, magnetic sensors and radar or electro-optical
imaging systems. Such sensors may be used to provide attitude, velocity or position updates, any of which may
be used to provide attitude, velocity or position updates, any of which may be used to improve the quality of
the inertial navigation system.

1.4.5 Navigation Instruments

Many instruments are employed today to facilitate navigation; some are relatively simple to use and
others require extensive programs of instruction. In the latter category are some of the modern electronic and
mechanical devices. Navigation instruments are designed to fix position, measure direction and distance,
determine speed, measure the depth of water, assist in plotting on charts, and observe the weather elements.
Sometimes a combination of various instruments is used simultaneously to yield the required information. The
magnetic compass is one of the oldest instruments used aboard ships. Although it has been generally
supplanted by the gyrocompass on large ships, the magnetic compass retains its original role as the basic
navigational instrument because it is not subject to electromechanical defects, and, hence, on most seagoing
ships, it is a necessary standby instrument. The magnetic compass serves as a directional device by aligning
itself in the direction of the earth's magnetic poles.

1.4.5.1 Gyroscope
The Gyroscope is any rotating body that exhibits two fundamental properties: gyroscopic inertia, or
rigidity in space, and precession, the tilting of the axis at right angles to any force tending to alter the plane of
rotation. These properties are inherent in all rotating bodies, including the earth itself.

Gyroscopic Inertia
The rigidity in space of a gyroscope is a consequence of Newton's first law of motion, which states that
a body tends to continue in its state of rest or uniform motion unless subject to outside forces. Thus, the wheel
of a gyroscope, when started spinning, tends to continue to rotate in the same plane about the same axis in
space. An example of this tendency is a spinning top, which has freedom about two axes in addition to the
spinning axis. Another example is a rifle bullet that, because it spins or revolves in flight, exhibits gyroscopic
inertia, tending to maintain a straighter line of flight than it would if not rotating. Rigidity in space can best be
demonstrated, however, by a model gyroscope consisting of a flywheel supported in rings in such a way that
the axle of the flywheel can assume any angle in space. When the flywheel is spinning, the model can be
moved about, tipped, or turned at the will of the demonstrator, but the flywheel will maintain its original plane
of rotation as long as it continues to spin with sufficient velocity to overcome the friction with its supporting
bearings.
 Fig. 1.4: Gyroscope

Gyroscopes constitute an important part of automatic-navigation or inertial guidance systems in

aircraft, spacecraft, guided missiles, rockets, and ships and submarines. In these systems, inertial-guidance
instruments comprise gyroscopes and accelerometers that continuously calculate exact speed and direction of
the craft in motion. These signals are fed into a computer, which records and compensates for course
aberrations. The most advanced research craft and missiles also obtain guidance from so-called laser gyros,
which are not really inertial devices but instead measure changes in counter rotating beams of laser light
caused by changes in craft direction. Another advanced system, called the electrically suspended gyro, uses a
hollow beryllium sphere suspended in a magnetic cradle; fiber-optic systems are also being developed. The
remainder of this discussion deals with the conventional gyro.

Ring Laser Gyro

Precession
When a force applied to a gyroscope tends to change the direction of the axis of rotation, the axis will
move in a direction at right angles to the direction in which the force is applied. This motion is the result of the
force produced by the angular momentum of the rotating body and the applied force.

Applications of the Gyroscope

By using the characteristic of gyroscopic inertia and applying the force of gravity to cause precession,
the gyroscope can function as a directional indicator or compass. Briefly, if a gyroscope is considered mounted
at the equator of the earth, with its spinning axis lying in the east-west plane, the gyro will continue to point
along this line as the earth rotates, because of “rigidity in space.” For the same reason, the east end will rise (in
relation to the earth) although it continues to point the same way in space. Attaching a tube partially filled with
mercury to the frame of the gyro assembly in such a way that the tube tilts as the gyro axle tilts, takes
advantage of the effect of gravity about the horizontal axis of the gyro. In other words, the weight of the
mercury on the west or low side applies a force about the horizontal axis of the gyro. The gyro resists this force
and precesses about the vertical axis toward the meridian.
1.4.5.2 Accelerometer
Inertial navigation relies on the measurement of acceleration, which can be integrated successively to
provide estimates of changes in velocity and position. Measurements of acceleration are used in preference to
direct measurements of velocity or position because velocity and position measurements require an external
reference whilst acceleration can be measured internally. The form of construction of devices, which may be
used to sense acceleration, may be classified as either mechanical, solid-state or MEMS. The fundamental
principle of operation of almost all accelerometers is based on the Newtonian relationship of force, mass and
rate-of-change of momentum (i.e. acceleration). This relationship is applied to acceleration sensing by
measuring the force or displacement of a constrained mass when it is subjected to acceleration, as shown
schematically in Fig. 1.6.

Fig. 1.6a: A Typical Accelerometer