Effects of tail wings on the ballistics and velocity of submunitions

The design of tail wings and their effects on the ballistics and velocity of submunitions were studied. Wind tunnel tests were performed on submunitions with different tail wing sizes to get the aerodynamic characteristic parameters. Relations between the aerodynamic drag and flight velocity were obtained. Combined with particle ballistic equations, the effects of tail wing sizes and initial angle of pitch on the submunitions ballistic and velocity were calculated and analyzed. Results of analysis showed the submunition velocity can be reduced to less than Mach number 1 at the height of 15000 m when the tail-wings area nearly equals the maximum cross section area of the submunition body, for the initial condition of ballistic height of 5000 m, initial velocity of 6 Ma and angle of pitch of -75° ∼ -45°.