At the end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s, Britain and Sweden successively developed 8l mm Moline terminal-guided mortar shells and120mm Strix infrared terminal-guided mortar shells. Since then, countries all over the world have set off an upsurge of developing terminal guided mortar shells.
Maureen means "falcon with crested feathers" in English, and Strix means "owl" in Greek. These two kinds of birds are very fierce. They can dive from the air and catch prey like hungry tigers. Unguided mortar shells, like grey falcons and owls, attack the thin top armor from the top of armored vehicles such as tanks. It can be seen that people named these two mortar shells with good intentions.
The millimeter-wave guidance control device is installed in the front of the millimeter-wave terminal guidance mortar shell, and the electronic device, battery and shaped charge are installed in the middle of the shell. The rear of the missile body is also equipped with a stabilizing wing and a safety release device. In other words, the device that can automatically track the target on the missile is transplanted to the mortar shell, so that it can hit the target as dexterously and accurately as the eyes.
This guided mortar shell was fired with an 8 1 mm mortar. When the projectile flies away from the barrel, it maintains flight stability with six tails ejected from its tail. When the projectile flies to the highest point of trajectory, the millimeter wave radar installed on the projectile starts to work, and then searches for the target. At the same time, four canards installed on the missile body to control the flight direction of the missile body are also opened.
After the millimeter wave radar captures the target, the projectile is guided to the target through the guidance control device, so that the projectile can accurately hit the weak top armor of the tank.
Mortars are fired by indirect aiming, and shells can track and hit the target by themselves. This is better than direct aiming launch, which can be used to attack tanks and armored vehicles in hidden terrain, and also avoids the counterattack of enemy fire when direct aiming launch.
When the millimeter-wave radar on the terminal guided projectile of "Grey-backed Falcon" begins to search for targets, it must first search for moving targets within the range of 300×300 square meters on the ground. If no moving target is found within this range, it will automatically switch to 100× 100 square meters to search for stationary targets. Once the target is found, the missile body is guided to the target by controlling the rudder wing on the missile body. Its range can reach 5000 meters.
The diameter of the terminal-guided mortar shell of Owl is larger than that of Falcon, which is 120mm. Its head is equipped with infrared guidance and control device, and its middle is equipped with electronic device, battery and shaped charge. The rear part is equipped with a solid fuel rocket engine and a stabilizing wing folded and attached to the missile body.
This infrared terminal guidance mortar shell was fired by a 120mm mortar. After it is fired from the muzzle by mortar, the four tails behind the projectile will automatically open to keep the projectile flying stably. When the projectile reaches a higher trajectory, the infrared sensor starts to search for the ground target, and the search range is150×130m2. Because its infrared seeker is connected with a highly intelligent processor, it can also identify the enemy and me, such as distinguishing between tanks and armored vehicles. Once the target is found, the infrared sensor outputs an appropriate signal to make the guidance and control device capture the target.
At the same time, the processor will control the 12 small rocket engine installed in the front of the missile's center of gravity, and correct the flight trajectory of the missile, so that the missile can hit the target as quickly and accurately as an owl catches a mouse.
Owl infrared terminal guidance mortar shell is much superior to ordinary mortar shell. In a live-fire shooting in June of 199 1, three "Owl" infrared terminal-guided mortar shells were fired, which accurately hit three tank target vehicles.
This kind of intelligent mortar shell is more powerful than ordinary mortar shell. The millimeter-wave terminal-guided mortar shell of Grey-backed Falcon can penetrate the tank armor with the thickness of 1.50mm, while the infrared terminal-guided mortar shell of Owl has the armor-piercing thickness of 1.20mm ... Because these two kinds of smart mortar shells attack the tank armor with weak armor, they can be used to destroy modern main battle tanks and armored vehicles, and the hit rate is quite high.