AFRL Missile Utility Transformation via Articulated Nose Technology (MUTANT)

Saw this years ago:

US6364248B1 - Articulated nose missile control actuation system - Google Patents

A missile nose is tiltable and rotatable relative to a missile body through the action of an actuator system. In an exemplary embodiment, the actuator systems uses two electro-mechanical actuators mounted co-axially and having the output shaft of one actuator fed through the shaft of the other...
patents.google.com
 
This reminds me of Fasthawk from the 1990's.

hystrike_view.gif


 
sferrin said:
Saw this years ago:

US6364248B1 - Articulated nose missile control actuation system - Google Patents

A missile nose is tiltable and rotatable relative to a missile body through the action of an actuator system. In an exemplary embodiment, the actuator systems uses two electro-mechanical actuators mounted co-axially and having the output shaft of one actuator fed through the shaft of the other...
patents.google.com
Click to expand...
Then I suppose that just like all other upcoming Military projects, this one already has been in the planning and design phase for years, if not decades ago.
 
La-Fuente Technologies said:
zjz said:
This reminds me of Fasthawk from the 1990's.

hystrike_view.gif


Click to expand...
Yeah, it sure does. Only difference is that the twisting and turning part is at the booster section, rather than the nosecone section.
Click to expand...

But that translates into a big difference in how it gets used. The interesting thing about MUTANT from the video is that they emphasize using it to point a directional warhead at the target. Sure, you can also use the nose deflection as an aero surface for steering, but aiming the warhead this way is novel.
 
TomS said:
La-Fuente Technologies said:
zjz said:
This reminds me of Fasthawk from the 1990's.

hystrike_view.gif


Click to expand...
Yeah, it sure does. Only difference is that the twisting and turning part is at the booster section, rather than the nosecone section.
Click to expand...

But that translates into a big difference in how it gets used. The interesting thing about MUTANT from the video is that they emphasize using it to point a directional warhead at the target. Sure, you can also use the nose deflection as an aero surface for steering, but aiming the warhead this way is novel.
Click to expand...
I see. They probably are taking some cues from Fasthawk, but are accomplishing its aims in a different way.
 
TomS said:
But that translates into a big difference in how it gets used. The interesting thing about MUTANT from the video is that they emphasize using it to point a directional warhead at the target. Sure, you can also use the nose deflection as an aero surface for steering, but aiming the warhead this way is novel.
Click to expand...
Odd, usually they set anti-aircraft missile warheads to be directional but perpendicular to the missile body. Even the "lethality enhancers" work to spread a cloud perpendicular to the missile's direction of travel...
 
Scott Kenny said:
Odd, usually they set anti-aircraft missile warheads to be directional but perpendicular to the missile body. Even the "lethality enhancers" work to spread a cloud perpendicular to the missile's direction of travel...
Click to expand...
Maybe hit to kill without the hit is here the goal?
 
It just acts as a levcon. Just see it the same way but with an axial symmetry. ;)

With the bending of the front section, lift is created and lift point move accordingly with the camber. Hence you can maneuver a missile with more amplitude than using fins with increased size.

Interesting that Hellfire will be the missile chosen for the early test (hence low supersonic). But did I understood it correctly?

Interesting also to see how it compares with CRANE technology (but applied to a missile)
 
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I am less consistent today with the above post. The video emphasize more tracking and shrapnel cone orientation as suggested by others.
I hadn´t paid the necessary attention to that video showing a tracking missile being lower than its moving target using MUTANT swiveling articulation to keep its seeker aligned with the target while catching up (the angular aspect increasing as the distance decrease).
 
MUTANT technology on something the size of a sidewinder or even CUDA would be very helpful for over the shoulder shots, for one. This in the size of a folding fin aerial rocket plus APKWS guidance would be pretty cool in terms of opening new terminal attack vectors.
 

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