"Eunometic" wrote in message
om...
"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
news:colm61$gr5$1
The site refered to at the begining of the thread refers to a switch
from solid propellant to liquid propulsion. This would appear to give
several advantages.
1 Higher specific impulse therfore speed and range.
And considerable increase in risk, liquid propellants in
the torpedo room - shudders !
2 The rocket-torpedo can be ejected from its own tube: manouever and
aligne itself towards the target at low speed by varying its thrust
and then accelerate at high speed rather than relying on a propellor
based system to achieve initial alignment.
Throttlable rocket engines are considerably more complex
and the risk to the launcher just went up again.
3 After having intercepted its target at high speed it can slow down
for a 'look' using its terminal homing system and then re-alinge and
re-accelerate.
Not without turning off the gas generator for the supercavitation
I also can see why the system can't use a trailing wire command
guidence systemn as conventional torpedos and missiles use. It may
have uses as a torpedo intercept system.
That wire would trail behind the torpedo where the rocket exhaust is
Oops
Keith
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