From: benson@colorado.med.ge.com (Mark Benson 5-4228)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Basement Cruise Missiles?
Date: 7 Apr 92 03:21:10 GMT
Organization: AT&T


From benson@colorado.med.ge.com (Mark Benson 5-4228)

<TWZ101@psuvm.psu.edu> (Tom Zarzecki) writes:

>     QUESTION: How easy would it be to build a cruise missile with the follow-
>               ing specs? (These are taken from the article).
>
>                ** accuracy to within ten feet of target when fired from a
>
>
>                ** use of GPS/gyroscopic homing with an autopilot
>
>                ** could be fired from a range of 300 miles offshore

My first question is: how much money did you say you had?  This is a pretty
good sized development effort.  Consider that all the following components
need to be either designed and built or bought, and that all must be 
integrated.  I'll assume that we're talking about a smaller country looking
at limited production.

1.  Airframe:  would need to design and build as no one is going to sell
    you an existing frame.  Many companies can handle this, probably need
    about 5 - 10 people, including 1 sharp designer.  I'll assume that
    this team will also do the system integration.
    
2.  Propulsion:  probably can buy a small turbofan powerplant, or even a
    turboprop. Likely to be a good part of the price.  Probably can be
    integrated by above designer and airframers.
    
3.  Electrical Power: I assume you'll use fly-by-wire so you don't need
    hydraulics.  You'll need either a lot of battery, a ram-air turbine, or
    something engine driven.  Good news is you can probably buy and integrate
    any of the above.  You'll need 2 folks here to source components and
    integrate them into the airframe.
    
4.  Avionics:  You'll need to do several major tasks:
	- Fly the missile under control.
	- Operate the propulsion system.
	- Track the current missile position.
	- Supply guidance commands to the flight control system.
	- Operate the warhead.
	- System monitoring and management.
		
    Partition into several black boxes:
    	- Autopilot, assume it can be sourced (bought) and integrated.
    	  (major assumption, risky to assume you can input commands).
    	  Assume it's programmable enough to understand your control system.
    	- FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Controller).  Assume this is
    	  supplied by propulsion vendor.  Assume some interface (MIL-STD 1553)
    	  to supply data to flight computer.
    	- Position sensor(s), assume sourced, hopefully each supplies digital
    	  outputs in a well-known format.  This may include inertial devices,
    	  LORAN, and / or GPS, which are all commercially available in aircraft
    	  qualified form.
    	- Flight Control Computer.  This is the dicey part.  The hardware is
    	  fairly straightforward, using MIL-STD or Industrial grade components,
    	  either 16 or preferably 32 bits (80386 or 68020 would do fairly
    	  well), with digital interface (again, maybe MIL-STD 1553B, or at
    	  least RS-232, IEEE-488, or something), and possible A/D on some
    	  channels if digital interface is not available from all guidance
    	  functions.  Use a real-time kernel (VRTX, Psos, etc).  Be sure
    	  to include interface for test equipment, and download of targetting
    	  data.  The tough part here is going to be designing, integrating,
    	  and testing all the software.  Assume 5 hardcore software guys with
    	  lots of flight software experience or about 20 amateurs.  Each
    	  needs and advanced workstation, and a bunch of lab equipment.
    	  It's unlikely someone will sell you this component, especially the
    	  software since it needs to understand your missile.
   
    You'll also need 3 people just to integrate all this junk.  I really
    doubt you'll make a 10 ft CEP (circular error probability) requirement,
    especially since I'm assuming third-world countries don't routinely have
    access to GPS high-precision codes, and moving at 500 knots doesn't
    leave much time to average out error.
   
5.  Flight Control Actuators : need to buy actuators, hook them up to the
    FCC, and make them react in a way conducive to positve control.  Assume
    1 guy plus the airframe team can handle this.
    
6.  Test and Support Equipment : Assuming you put together all of the above,
    now we need to test the bugger out.  So add (on the airborne side)
    telemetry, tracking, range safety (flight termination), and recovery
    systems.  Or you can just use a lot of missiles up in the test program if
    you don't wish to recover them.  So use 5 missile if you add recover or
    about 15 if you don't.  Also add another 2 people to work with the
    avionics and airframe teams to integrate these things.
    
    You also need a ground support system, including launch equipment (a
    computer to tell the onboard to get up and go, plus mechanical support,
    and probably a rocket booster to get your outta there), telemetry
    receiver, data reduction computer, radar tracking, command transmitter
    (range safety), and a few trucks to pick it up when its done.  A chase
    plane or two might be useful as well.
    
    You also need to have a targetting station (at least a terminal to punch
    in coordinates, how about a laptop?), and test equipment to verify that
    your missile is live.  A call to HP and / or Loral could probably
    get you most of the support and test equipment (except the launcher,
    you need to make that).  Add another 10 people to design and operate
    this stuff.
    
7,  And last, but I'm sure not least in the mind of the third world dictator,
    comes the warhead.  Conventional, bio, chemical or nuclear, take your
    pick.  Keep in mind that you've probably used up most of your weight
    budget on airframe, powerplant, electronics, and fuel, so maybe if
    you're real good, you've got 500 - 1000 lbs for explosives and warhead
    electronics.  Being a fanatic you're undoubtedly going for the 'special
    physics package' approach, and just what it takes to do that is left as
    an exercise for the reader.
    
If you could hand-pick the team (I hear lots of folks in California are 
looking for a job, but most of the are American patriots who dislike 
terrorists intensly), you might be able to do it Skunk-works style with
about 50 people.  If you have to do it with people who, for the most part,
have never done it before, its more like 200 - 300.  You're talking a
$50 M - $100M job, minimum.  Even if you steal lots of the technology, no one
will be flying an accurate, moderate (up to 500 km) range cruise missile out 
of their garage anytime soon.  Unless they are H. Ross Perot...

Even if you had the bucks and the patience, it's a major project.  Ask MCDAC
what it took to do the Tomahawk, or Boeing what it took to do ALCM.  Very
few companies could do this.  And even if you did, getting within 300
miles (and closer if you wish to target inland) is no small feat, providing
Pres. Brown or Clinton doesn't gut the Navy.  This hardly renders SDI
pointless.  It probably costs more money to build enough of these things than 
to build solid fueled IRBM / ICBMs that could avoid the need to get in 
close to shoot.

Finally, it just requires another layer to an effective defense.  Land based
F-14s shooting Phoenix missiles, or F-16E (rember the cranked delta config,
with lots 'o missiles?), coupled with OTH radar and AWACS are all the 
technology you need to form an effective defense.

That's my $0.02..

Mark Benson		benson@med.ge.com
GE Medical Systems	Milwaukee, WI
Newsgroups: sci.military