Do rockets really chase fighters like in movies?

First of all, it must be affirmed: Rockets often do not chase fighters like in Hollywood movies.

Rockets don't actually chase a target, they block it. Based on calculations made in the missile's navigation unit, the missile calculates the target's future position and draws the shortest path to it. This type of navigation is implemented by the rocket called Proportional Navigation, in which the rocket plans and implements a direct path to intercept the target. This is because all missiles have limited time to intercept their targets. Better interception algorithms, less maneuverable targets, and no countermeasures increase the ability to destroy missiles.

If somehow a fighter could cause the missile to miss and fly over, it meant the missile was completely defeated.

Picture 1 of Do rockets really chase fighters like in movies?
In reality, missiles don't chase a target, they block it.

Fighter aircraft all have anti-missile defense solutions, but unlike you imagine, it's not like an air battle between fighter jets at close range. The warplanes are very fast, especially when turning to use the high speed itself to deal with the rocket (Higher speed means a larger turning radius, so the rocket may not be able to. become a fighter, instead fly past a fighter - miss the target).

According to the Huffington Post, a rocket that when launched out of blank range will immediately activate the engine and reach the highest possible level. Once the engine burns out, the rocket will glide towards its target. The potential energy that it stores as a higher altitude can be used to graze a greater distance to the target or maneuver to track the target dynamically. It has a fixed amount of energy dedicated to either of these - both of which reduce the altitude and speed of the rocket. To destroy the target, the rocket must have enough energy to reach the target location with sufficient altitude and air speed to maneuver in the final stage and explode within a lethal radius.

Fighter pilots constantly assess the Pk (probability of annihilation) of a missile against actions that an enemy is likely to take on the missile. To help them assess whether a shot is good or not, the aircraft displays a token system that shows the effectiveness of the missile against different types of targets (targets, maneuvers, non-maneuvers, etc.). .). This barcode appears as a DLZ (boot zone) , the vertical range scale looks like this:

On the left is a caret indicating the position along the range of the current target. On the right are scopes that kill different types of targets. Some related terms:

Picture 2 of Do rockets really chase fighters like in movies?
All fighters have defensive solutions against missiles.

  1. Raero (aerodynamic range) is the maximum range that missiles can fly automatically. The rocket will burn to the maximum height, and then glide the maximum distance without steering. A rocket launched at this range will only be effective against targets flying in a straight line towards the fighter. (Note that these ranges represent the range between the fighter and the target at a time when the missile is impacting [the so-called polar range F], not when the rocket is launched. So , Raero applies to targets directed at fighters, not targets that remain stationary).
  2. Ropt (optimal range) is similar to Raero but allows the rocket to have enough energy to maneuver in the final stages against the defensive target. So in other words, a shot at this range would be effective against a target that is directed at the fighter, then performing defensive actions at the end.
  3. Rpi (interception probability) is similar to Ropt but does not require the loft to be lofted (burn to higher altitudes). A target at this range allows the rocket to fire straight ahead.
  4. Rtr (spin and run) is the maximum range that the target can immediately spin and fly in the opposite direction and still be accessible by missiles.
  5. Rmin is the minimum range that a rocket can be launched, targeted and exploded without posing a threat to the missile launcher.

So as you can see, if the circumflex is between Rmin and Rtr (the no-exit zone), you can see that any missile you launch is guaranteed to reach the target, regardless of the target. what. Of course, that doesn't mean it will hit the target: The target can fool the rocket with countermeasures, but at least the missile will be able to reach the target no matter what.

More information: Surface-to-surface missiles have very short flight times and very limited steering. But Russian SAMs are very dangerous. SAMs are extremely fast, they are very light (weight) and use rocket engines to accelerate much faster than the target with jet thrust. Most SAM missiles only have enough fuel to last about 5 seconds, but during that time they accelerate 3, 4 times faster than the maximum speed of most fighters. Even after rocket engines were burned, they still had enough motivation to steer into targets.

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