Precision strike weapons have been proved repeatedly to be able to provide substantial tactical advantages. Much attention in the past has been focused on improving the strike position accuracy. To penetrate a consolidated hard target, however, the missile velocity and impact angle also plays a significant role. This raises the requirement for the capability to precisely control the missile attitude. Traditionally, missile attitude is determined by use of inertial systems. High accuracy inertial systems, however, are expensive and all inertial systems have the drawback that their errors accumulate over time. Camber Corporation proposes to use kinematic GPS technology to develop the capability of attitude determination. The GPS system has the advantage of being able to provide high accuracy at a fraction of the unit cost compared to the inertial system. In contrast to the inertial system, attitude determination using GPS is drift free - its error is bonded and remains unchanged over time. Kinematic GPS will not only increase the attitude control accuracy; it will also extend its application to weapon systems that are prohibited from using the inertial system due to cost constraint. Camber Corporation proposes to use kinematic GPS technology to develop the capability of attitude determination. The GPS system has the advantage of being able to provide high accuracy at a fraction of the unit cost compared to the inertial system. In contrast to the inertial system, attitude determination using GPS is drift free - its error is bonded and remains unchanged over time. Kinematic GPS will not only increase the attitude control accuracy; it will also extend its application to weapon systems that are prohibited from using the inertial system due to cost constraint.
