SENSOR MEASUREMENTS
GUIDANCE
FILTER
GUIDANCE
LAW
INERTIAL
NAVIGATION
AUTOPILOT
STEERING COMMANDS
STEERING CONTROL
SECTION
AIRFRAME
AIRFRAME MOTION
AUTOPILOT SECTION
GUIDANCE SECTION
TARGET RETURN
HOMING SENSOR
TARGET ILLUMINATION
SIGNAL
GUIDE POINT
Homing missiles guide themselves to intercept
targets that can maneuver unpredictably, such
as enemy aircraft or anti-ship cruise missiles.
Intercepting such threats requires an ability to
rapidly sense and respond to changes in the
target location in real time. The homing missile
guidance and control (G&C) system operates
on the principle of feedback. The missile G&C
system functionally integrates the various missile
subsystems to ensure that all system requirements
are met and that lethality is maximized against
the targets of interest. Because of the continually
improving quality of target information as the
missile closes on the target, homing guidance
provides intercept accuracy that is unsurpassed
by any other form of missile guidance.
A Standard Missile-2 launching from the U.S. Navy destroyer
USS O’Kane during a live-fire exercise. (U.S. Navy photograph by
Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Marcos T. Hernandez.)