RU2726301C1 - Modern onboard weapons helicopter system - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: weapons.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to defence equipment, namely to high-precision guided weapons, and can be used in percussion helicopters and ground attack aircraft. System comprises a sight-sighting system with a heat-telescopic sight, guidance drives, turn angle sensors, a video monitor and a control panel. Additionally, there are information exchange equipment, an information navigation system, a thermal imaging head comprising a unit for generating standards, a gyrocoordinator, a signal processing unit comprising a coupler and a power module, tracking and binding device, which includes two memory units, a signal conversion and processing unit, a correlator, a computing device and an auto tracking system. Target designation is carried out directly through the sighting system of the sighting system of the carrier. Efficiency of actions required for target designation is increased.EFFECT: high accuracy of guidance of a tactical missile on stationary and mobile targets.1 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The proposed invention is related to the improvement of precision weapons control systems, and can be used on assault aircraft and attack helicopters, which, due to their maneuverability, mobility and ability to quickly concentrate in areas of combat operations, provide effective fire support for ground forces.

Currently, in the leading countries of the world, work is being carried out aimed at improving optical and optoelectronic coordinators, thermal imaging and radar homing heads (GOS) and correction devices for tactical missile control systems. One example of such developments is the creation of a combined homing head with semi-active laser, thermal imaging and active radar channels, which is planned to equip the promising JCM missile launcher designed for attack helicopters such as AH-64D Apache Longbow and OH-58D [1]. Structurally, the optoelectronic unit of the GOS receivers and the radar antenna are made in a single tracking system, which ensures their separate or joint operation in the guidance process. In the seeker, the principle of combined homing is implemented, depending on the type of target (heat or radio contrast) and the conditions of the situation, in accordance with which the optimal targeting method is automatically selected in one of the operating modes of the seeker, and the rest are used to form a contrast display of the target when calculating the aiming point. The missile should replace the AGM-114 "Hellfire" and AGM-65 "Maverick" missiles in service, its firing range is 16 km, the maximum speed is not more than 300 m / s.

The Spike-ER complex (Israel), designed to engage armored and other nomenclature of targets at short ranges and deployed on the AN-1 Cobra, SA 330L Puma, and others attack helicopters, is similar in its missions. [2] Effective firing range of the complex - 8 km, maximum missile flight speed - 180 m / s, average - 160 m / s, missile flight time at 8 km - 50 s, probability of hitting a tank-type target - 0.6-0.7 ... The complex was adopted by the Israeli Armed Forces and will be in service until 2020.

The specified complex contains an observation and sighting system with a heat-television sight, an information display system (video monitors), a computer, a complex control panel and a launcher with missiles, which contain a heat-television seeker, an electronics unit, a steering gear and a fiber-optic link coil.

The complex uses two modes of missile control: autonomous homing in the case of a target homing before launch when firing at a range of up to 4-5 km and combined manual control over fiber-optic lines with the participation of the operator (in the absence of target capture of the seeker before launch) and subsequent homing at the final section when targeting the seeker.

The main disadvantages of the analog are:

- salvo firing of missiles at several targets at ranges of more than 4-5 km is not provided due to manual guidance by the operator of the missile at fiber-optic lines;

- effective firing at moving ground targets at long ranges is not ensured due to the low speed and long flight time of the rocket;

- the presence of manual guidance with the participation of the operator requires a significant reduction in the speed of the rocket, while the likelihood of the helicopter being hit by enemy air defense means increases.

As a prototype for comparison with the claimed device, the device "Helicopter complex of high-precision short-range weapons", invention (19) RU (11) 2 351 508 (13) C11 [3], containing: surveillance and sighting system (OPS) with a heat-television sight , guidance drives, rotation angle sensors, video monitor, automatic target tracking, laser-beam missile control unit, computer, helicopter motion parameters sensors, control panel, lift-and-turn launcher, launcher drives, as well as missiles with a radiation receiver, an electronic unit allocation of coordinates of a rocket, with a steering gear and a launch-sustainer engine, placed in transport-launch containers that are installed on the launcher,

As noted in the description of the invention, it is intended to correct the noted disadvantages for complexes of the Spike-ER type, thanks to the launch and control of the rocket in the direct beam of the laser from the laser-beam unit installed on the helicopter, the radiation direction of which is formed using the target tracking machine, also located on the carrier , and the missile flight control signals are formed by coded information extracted from the laser radiation.

It is this circumstance that determines the following main disadvantages of the prototype:

- the use of an active laser on board the carrier increases the likelihood of carrier detection;

- the need to maintain the "carrier-rocket" communication line through the laser radiation during the entire missile guidance time limits the helicopter's maneuverability and increases the time it spends in the area of the enemy's active air defense systems, thereby violating the basic principle of "let it go and forget", which is decisive in control system for modern tactical missiles.

In recent decades, the implementation of this principle has found its embodiment, primarily with the introduction of passive tele-thermal imaging homing systems, which currently have the best characteristics in spatial resolution, ensuring high accuracy of hitting the target. The first such systems have found application in organizing the missile launch process in the so-called under-wing mode, in which the operator directly controls the line of sight of the missile's tele-thermal imaging system, according to the image obtained from its sensor. After searching and detecting a target, he captures the target with an on-board automatic missile tracking machine, followed by its launch. Further guidance of the missile is carried out due to the development of the control signals by the missile guidance system received from the automatic tracking machine. However, this mode, due to the significant value of the instantaneous field of view of the optical unit of the on-board autotracking system, leads to the fact that the process of object detection with subsequent target designation in the "from under the wing" mode is possible in the effective area of the object air defense. At the same time, the capabilities of the helicopter's surveillance sighting system, using an optoelectronic system with the best characteristics, allow the operator to observe the scene and detect potential targets at much greater distances. Obviously, there is a need to create a system that provides target designation and missile launch, bypassing the "from under the wing" mode, since it requires additional time for the operator to switch to observing the scene through the rocket camera for subsequent target designation. An increase in the time spent by the carrier in the affected area by air defense means reduces its survivability.

The objective of the present invention is to eliminate this drawback and create a helicopter complex of modern airborne armament, which ensures the efficiency of target designation and high accuracy of guidance of a tactical missile at stationary and mobile targets while observing the "let it and forget" principle and increase the survivability of the carrier.

It should be noted that the proposed invention works with an image obtained from any video signal source, it can be a camera operating in the visible range, or cameras in the mid and far infrared regions of the spectrum. Therefore, in the following description, when referring to a heat-television signal source (as indicated in the prototype), a general view of an optoelectronic system should be considered, providing a video signal from a radiation receiver operating in the visible or infrared region of the spectrum.

In fig. 1 shows a block diagram of the proposed device, containing the main functional blocks, illustrating the sequence of necessary steps for its implementation.

The following designations for functional blocks have been introduced:

1 - Surveillance and sighting system (OPS), consisting of:

2 - heat-television sight

3 - video monitor

4 - control panel

5 - drive

6 - angle sensors

7 - Information exchange equipment

8 - Thermal imaging head for auto tracking, consisting of:

9 - Block for the formation of standards

10 - Gyrocoordinator, composed of

11 - gyro-stabilized drive

12 - thermal imaging camera

13 - fairing

14 - Signal processing unit, consisting of:

15 - Power module

16 - Interface device

20 - Tracking and binding device, consisting of:

17 - The first block of memory

18 - Second memory block

19 - Block of conversion and signal processing

21 - Correlator

22 - Computing device

23 - Auto tracking system

24 - Information and navigation system (INS)

The solution to this problem is achieved by the fact that the helicopter complex of modern airborne armament, which includes a surveillance and sighting system with a heat-television sight, guidance drives, rotation angle sensors, a video monitor and a control panel, characterized in that information exchange equipment, an information navigation system (INS) , a thermal imaging head for auto-tracking, containing a block for forming standards, a gyrocoordinator, a signal processing unit containing an interface device, a power module, a tracking and binding device, including two memory blocks, a signal conversion and processing unit, a correlator, a computing device and an auto-tracking system, and the output of a heat television the sight is connected to the input of the information exchange equipment, and the output of the rotation angle sensors of the surveillance sighting system is connected to the first input of the interface device, the first output of which is connected to the input of the gyro-stabilized drive, the output of the information equipment ion exchange is connected to the first input of the unit for the formation of standards, the output of which is connected to the second input of the interface device, the second output of which is connected to the input of the first memory unit, and the third output is connected to the first input of the second memory unit, and its output is connected to the first input of the conversion unit and signal processing, the second input of which is connected to the output of the first memory unit, the first and second outputs of the signal conversion and processing unit are connected to the first and second inputs of the correlator, the output of which is connected to the input of the computing device, the first output of which is connected to the fourth input of the interface device, and the second the output is connected to the first input of the auto-tracking system, the output of which is connected to the fifth input of the interface device, the output of the thermal imaging camera is connected to the second input of the auto-tracking system and the third input of the signal conversion and processing unit, the information output of the ANN is connected to the second input of the reference formation unit, to the third m the input of the interface device and the second input of the second memory block. The proposed complex works as follows.

The operator of the surveillance sighting system (1) of the helicopter, observing the scene on the screen of the video monitor (3), uses the control panel (4) to guide the optical axis of the thermal television sight (1) to the target. By acting on the corresponding actuators (5), the operator tries to align the position of the center mark of the sight with the position of the center of the target. Simultaneously taken from the angle sensors (6) of the sighting system (1), the values of the direction of the optical axis of the thermal television sight through the interface device (16) of the thermal imaging head of auto-tracking (8) are transmitted to the gyrocoordinator (10). These signals, using a gyro-stabilized drive (11) mounted on the rocket, set the angular position of the optical axis of the thermal imaging camera in the direction of the target. Such a connection allows you to track all movements of the heat-television sight and form a bearing to the target at the time of aiming. It should be noted that due to various instrumental errors associated with the inaccuracy of angle sensors (OPS) (1) and the gyro-stabilized wire (11), the adjustment of the sight and the optics of the thermal imaging camera (12), suspension bending, etc. angle can reach 0.5 °. If, under such conditions, the object is captured by the auto-tracking system using signals from the FSA with the accuracy that it provides, then the capture will take place not of the scene element that the operator pointed to, but with a certain offset. Under these conditions, it is necessary to directly observe the scene through the thermal imaging camera (12) of the gyrocoordinator (10). Such a regime is certainly possible and is being implemented. However, due to the significant difference in the optical characteristics of the thermal television sight (1) and the thermal imaging camera (12), the latter has more than three times wider field of view and a greater instantaneous field of view (spatial resolution of one sensitive element of the camera sensor), - the operator will be able to detect a small-sized object and capture a target at smaller (several times) ranges compared to how it would do it using only the OPS heat-television sight (1). This leads to a deterioration in such an important tactical characteristic as the range of use of onboard weapons.

The considered complex allows us to resolve this difficulty. The digital image of the scene (frame), obtained by the thermal imaging camera of the thermal television sight (1) at the moment when the operator has aimed at the object, is sent in accordance with the established protocol through the information exchange equipment (7) to the unit for generating standards (9) at its first input. In this block, taking into account the knowledge of the optical characteristics of the thermal television sight (1) and the thermal imaging camera (12) of the gyrocoordinator (10): the angle of the field of view, the pixel size and the format of the photodetector, the digital frame is converted into a digital image, the metric characteristics of which will coincide with similar image characteristics of the thermal imaging camera (12) of the gyrocoordinator (10); hereinafter, the converted digital frame is referred to as the first reference picture. The procedure for metric image correction is given in [4, 5]. At the same time, the selected fragment of the image around the target designation point is also stored as the original (uncompressed) digital frame (the second reference image). The obtained digital frames are placed in memory blocks: the first memory block (17) (compressed image - the first standard), the second memory block (18) (uncompressed image - the second standard). After that, the binding process is started in the tracking and binding device (20). For further actions in the signal conversion and processing unit (19), the first reference image and the current image obtained at the moment of aiming from a thermal imaging camera (12) are processed by regional gradient operators to represent them in the form of fields of brightness anomalies. The fields formed in this way are used in the correlator (21), which implements the function of normalized cross-correlation, to search in the current image for a place that best matches the first standard. Based on the found coordinates of the place that best matches the first standard, the computing device (22) performs automatic target designation and turns on the auto-tracking system (23), either behind the target itself, if it is well identified at the current range, or if this does not happen due to the difference the angles of vision of the thermal imaging cameras of the gyrocoordinator and the thermal television sight, behind the scene fragment, in the center of which is the target detected by the operator.

The automatic tracking system of the tracking and binding device is built and implements the functions set forth in the patents [6, 7].

As a rule, the position of the found target designation point in the field of the current image can be significantly shifted relative to the center of its field, where the gyrocoordinator vector is directed (10). Launching a rocket under such conditions is undesirable, since autotracking may fail due to starting disturbances. The influence of starting disturbances is minimal when the position of the tracked target coincides with the center of the field of view of the thermal imaging camera (12). In order to ensure these conditions, additional signals are added to the signals coming from the auto-tracking system, according to which, in the conditions of auto-tracking, the automatic smooth turn of the line of sight of the thermal imaging camera to the target indicated by the operator is carried out and the tracking point is transferred to the central position of the field of view of the thermal imaging camera of the gyro-coordinator ... In the computing device (22) and the interface and binding device (20), the process of moving the tracking point to the central position of the field of view of the thermal imaging camera of the gyro-coordinator is monitored, and the generation of these signals stops when the offset is zeroed. The offset processing time does not exceed one second. Upon completion of the process of transferring the tracking point to the central position of the field of view of the thermal imaging camera of the gyrocoordinator, while maintaining the auto-tracking mode behind the specified point in the image, the rocket is automatically launched. Such an organization of the proposed complex solves the problem of the operational use of weapons from increased ranges while maintaining the accuracy of destruction, which is achieved by the subsequent operation of the thermal imaging head of auto-tracking in the rocket flight as follows.

In the process of missile guidance, its onboard navigation system INS (24) calculates the residual range to the target. With a residual range to the target, when the metric characteristics of the current image obtained from the thermal imaging camera (12) of the gyrocoordinator coincide with the metric of the image from the thermal television sight, at the moment of target designation, the binding process is started according to the second standard stored in the second memory unit (18), similar to the process of binding to the first reference described above. In the process of binding, according to the second standard, the target designation point is refined on the currently incoming image from the thermal imaging camera (12) with the subsequent transfer of auto-tracking to the newly found (refined) point, which was indicated by the operator in the process of aiming according to the image from the thermal imaging sight of the helicopter ( 2) with maximum spatial resolution.

It should be noted that the described logic of functioning of the proposed complex is not limited to two iterations of working with standards - there may be more of them. The number of iterations is due to the information saturation of the nearest vicinity of the target designation point. At maximum ranges, when the operator has detected and recognized potential targets using the helicopter's sighting system, the target image may not be informative enough for reliable autotracking. In this case, the retention of the area (target area), where the operator saw the target, is provided due to the information content of the peripheral areas. During the flight, the information content of the target area is analyzed and, if it is sufficient, a standard of a smaller size, but with improved detail, is formed. Binding with this standard allows you to specify the target designation point and increases the reliability of tracking. Such cycles at different ranges make it possible to switch to target tracking by information elements inherent only to it and provide maximum guidance accuracy to the target designation point.

Literature

1. "Foreign Military Review" No. 1, 2006, pp. 40-44.

2. Military Technology, 1998, No. 4, pp. 26-28; Compendium by Armada, Anti-Armor Weapons, 2000, pp. 1-30.

3. "Helicopter complex of high-precision short-range weapons", invention (19) RU (11) 2 351 508 (13) C1 prototype

4. "Systems and means of communication, television and radio broadcasting", No. 1.2, 2013, pp. 123-125.

5. Proceedings of the 21st International Scientific and Technical Conference "Modern Television and Radio Electronics", March 19-20, 2013, M, FSUE MKB "Electron", pp. 77-80.

6. Patent RU 2153235 "A method for tracking an object and a device for its implementation", IPC 7 H04N 7/18, F41G 7/26, priority 01/25/1991, publication date 07/20/2000.

7. Patent RU 2460135 "Method for automatic determination of coordinate displacements of a tracking object in a sequence of digital images, IPC G06K 9/56, H04N 7/18, priority 31.03.2011, publication date 27.08.2012.

Claims (1)

Helicopter complex of modern airborne weapons, including a surveillance and sighting system with a thermal television sight, guidance drives, rotation angle sensors, a video monitor and a control panel, characterized in that information exchange equipment, an information navigation system (INS), a thermal imaging auto-tracking head containing a formation unit are introduced standards, a gyrocoordinator, a signal processing unit containing an interface device and a power module, a tracking and binding device including two memory units, a signal conversion and processing unit, a correlator, a computing device and an auto-tracking system, and the output of the heat television sight is connected to the input of the information exchange equipment, and the output of the rotation angle sensors is connected to the first input of the interface device, the first output of which is connected to the input of the gyro-stabilized drive, the output of the information exchange equipment is connected to the first input of the standard formation unit, in whose output is connected to the second input of the interface device, the second output of which is connected to the input of the first memory block, and the third output is connected to the first input of the second memory block, and its output is connected to the first input of the signal conversion and processing unit, the second input of which is connected to the output of the first the memory unit, the first and second outputs of the signal conversion and processing unit are connected to the first and second inputs of the correlator, the output of which is connected to the input of the computing device, the first output of which is connected to the fourth input of the interface device, and the second output is connected to the first input of the auto-tracking system, the output of which is is connected to the fifth input of the interface device, the output of the thermal imaging camera is connected to the second input of the autotracking system and the third input of the signal conversion and processing unit, the information output of the ANN is connected to the second input of the standard formation unit, to the third input of the interface device and the second input of the second memory unit .

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