Comment by a_vanderbilt
1 year ago
Fun fact about the Javelin bit. I know it was just a throwaway example but something to tickle your brain about it:
Phone camera parts would be overkill. The Javelin sensor isn't nearly that high-resolution, we're talking low triple digits in "pixels". It does however refresh its readings very fast, a necessity given its speed. The old Javelin used active cryo and a filtered IR imager, the new one is passive like the IR camera in some phone attachments. It is stupidly simple in operation: CLU provides the target "signature" and the imager seeks it. After the initial ascent in top-down mode, a stronger signal on one edge of the sensor pushes the control surfaces in the opposite direction until it strikes its target. I'd give the Wikipedia page a read. It contains a surprising amount of information that informs the design and thought behind the missile. Military systems are cool for how robust yet simple they are.
There's a teardown of a Javelin missile guidance system on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11_5TB0-lNw
I used to work on the Javelin guidance system "seeker head". It's wild seeing him tear it apart. Questions like "what is this for" make me laugh. It's all seen as dead simple, but a lot of engineering went into manufacturing them even as recently as a few years ago. Funny he thinks the sampler chip was expensive, he should look up the cost of the optics!
One thing I’ve been thinking about re: Javelin (and MANPADS)—would it be better to be able to fire them remotely? ie let soldiers put a set of launch tubes in a bush or behind a rock, then use the targeting system from a separate location. That way, the solders’ location isn’t revealed by firing the missile. Better yet if you can strap the tubes to a robot dog.
Another idea: drone AWACS. I mean, a drone with radar to detect other drones (and other aircraft).
The Stugna anti-tank-guided-missile seems to indeed have this feature:
"...that is connected to the firing unit by a cable, allowing it be used at distances up to 50 metres (160 ft) away"
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skif_(anti-tank_guided_missile...
Doing anything remotely means using radio signals to control the thing, and that becomes the main weakness: radio signals can be jammed. You could try other means of communication, like lasers, though, but those too have their own weaknesses.
line of sight laser pulses would work.
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Cables.
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