A study on the intersection problem of high-speed flight vehicles with the small-velocity ratio feature

The traditional tail-chase engagement is inefficacious when the velocity of a target is higher than that of an interceptor. To solve this problem, this paper establishes a three-dimensional kinematical model, making use of the head-on impact and the head-pursuit intercepting methods. The quasi parallel approach is used to examine the velocity ratio conditions, the largest interception region, the permitted initial distance, and the required overload. It is proved that, by approaching the predicted trajectory of the target or increasing velocity ratio, the impact region of interceptor can be significantly enlarged. The two methods have similar required overloads for maneuvering targets, but the permitted initial distance of head-on impact is much larger than that of head pursuit. The simulation shows both head-on intersection time and path are short compared with head pursuit, but the large head-on approaching velocity makes the LOS angular rate diffuse too early, which causes the required overload to increase rapidly in the end.