NACA-RM-A52K14

Abstract

INTRODUCTION <br>One of the most promising defenses against the high-altitude, high- Speed bomber is the air-to-air guided missile. The need for developing accurate and reliable guided missiles becomes increasingly important as continuing advancements are made in the performance of bomber-and attack-type aircraft. The problems associated with the aerodynamic design of air-to-air missiles are often complicated by physical restriction placed upon the size and shape of the missile and its various components to facilitate its stowage aboard small fighter or interceptor aircraft. Paramount among these restrictions is usually a limitation on the span of the lifting surfaces. To reconcile the high-normal-acceleration performance generally required of an air-to-air missile with the desirability of small-span lifting surfaces becomes one of the major problems facing the missile designer. One approach to a solution to this problem lies in the use of low-aspect-ratio rectangular lifting surfaces. The present report presents the results of a wind-tunnel investigation of the aerodynamic characteristics at Mach numbers of 1.4 to 1.9 of one such missile configuration. In order to expedite publication of these data, no analyses or applications of the data are included in the present report.