Study on stability of air-to-air missile in firing-back attack

A method to solve the instability of an air-to-air missile’s attitude angle motion during its velocity pass through zero in case of that the missile fires back was proposed. The idea of the method is to increase the thrust of the missile’s booster. It results in that the velocity of the missile transforms from negative into positive quickly, and it constrains the divergent attitude angle the missile in an allowable margin. Furthermore, the attitude perturbation convergent since the missile’s attitude motion becomes stable. The qualitative analysis of the dynamic procedure of the missile’s attitude angle changing was made in the same case. The principle feasibility of the method, and the effects of the steady stability coefficient, initial perturbation of the angle of attack, initial value of back-firing velocity on the missile’s attitude motion were analyzed quantitatively by use of simulation. The results shows that the method is valid.