THE WHY OF ARMY MISSILES

Sir Isaac Newton who sought in tribution he sat under an apple tree and collated gravity an apple served to demonstrate that once they penetrated faith natural laws can guide man's faith and thus we learned that motion involves more than just the motion motion involves reaction force and speed a whole new physical creep laws that men and missiles must eat [Applause] Sir Isaac Newton found that things stay where they are unless something makes the move speed and direction depend upon an object's weight the force exerted and Anglet which apply oh yes he also found that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction action reaction it's not fire in hot gases shooting off the open end that makes a rocket move it's high-pressure gases pushing against the closed end of the rocket action-reaction high-pressure gases are a product of burning within a rocket motor two things are required to support the burning fuel and oxidizer both are carried in separate tanks in a liquid fuel rocket then mixed and burned in a combustion chamber or they can be mixed together into an easily handled solid composition this is a solid fuel rocket motor its combustion chamber is a hole down the center whatever the type the rocket motor provides the push that makes a missile go this was once a standard army missile if there were no resistance the arrow would travel forever in a straight line at constant speed air slows the arrow however and winds tend to blow it off course and its weight tends to pull it down thus a Bowman learned that accuracy depended upon the angle force and direction in which he fired his shot the same things influenced soldiers of today and the accuracy of their weapon and Honest John rocket Honest John uses a rocket motor instead of a bowstring and its nose is packed with explosives but it must obey the same physical laws as the arrow a simple rugged weapon but something more is needed if bullseye accuracy is required something called a guidance system there are many types for example of whirling gyroscopes and devices that measure speed and direction combined to form an inertial guidance system with it a missile carries a built in roadmap a way to stay on course in spite of wind and other outside influences that's the secret of the US Army's Sunday punch the Pershing ballistic missile it can hit a target 400 miles away the soldiers compute an ideal flight path from the firing point to the target and give it to the missile once in the air no human hand steers pershing its inertial guidance system keeps it on course to its target unlike rockets and ballistic missiles guided missiles can and do change direction in flight the Army's nike hercules is an air defense guided missile it uses something called command guidance it takes its orders from the ground where its soldiers and electronic computers make the decisions radar sends signals that steer Hercules to its target that combination is bad news for airplanes there are other ways to do the job i powered radar can be used like a searchlight and the missile can be sent aloft to home or steer itself using radar signals bounced off the target that's how the Army's Hawk air defense guided missile works Hawk was specially designed to handle low-flying high speed airplanes the Army's shoulder-fired redeye also is a homing air defense missile but this frontline weapon has a seeker in its nose that steers the missile on airing Li to the heat of the engine of the target aircraft the army even sends missiles by wire its new tow missile now in development gets its steering commands through hair thin wires trailing behind it the gunner sights on the target and a tiny computer automatically directs the missile to his aiming point land combat is the soldier's job it's rugged and complicated and no one weapon can do everything that's why the army needs many missiles they give the American soldier better for power a means to fight and defeat any enemy what really counts is an effective combination of both man and missile to hit targets on the ground far beyond the reach of guns the army needs long-range ballistic missiles like the sergeant upfront at close range the soldier needs a quick punch like the m-72 rocket grenade light enough to carry on his back and big enough to do the job lightweight weapons are important - especially on helicopters are only a limited number of pounds can be lifted a simple well-aimed rocket is extremely effective as Army aviators proved in Vietnam against a heavily armed and armored target the rule is to destroy him before he destroys you the requirement hit at long range and hit hard on the very first try the army shillelagh guided missile has the accuracy and the punch to fill the need and when developing an effective way to destroy attacking missiles intercontinental ballistic missiles traveling at the rate of 3 miles each second the army needs speed speed like this in the Zeus missile plan to race great distances and intercept and kill attacking missiles or speed like this in the even faster sprint designed for short-range missile intercepts the army has special requirements for its soldiers and its missiles army missiles must go with the soldier and fight where he fights that could be in any climate any place in the world there are places where it gets well below zero every day or where the temperature gets well above 100 degrees in the daytime and places in the world where it rains constantly and mold forms overnight on metal parties a mobile modern army needs missiles that can move depending upon the mission they travel on tracks or on facts over land or over water and when natural obstacles intervene army missiles come by helicopter under them in them or on them army missiles can ride transport aircraft for a quick long jump to battle zones anywhere in the world and get into the fight if they must with one last step straight down and what's in the fight army missiles can throw a variety of punches this Lance ballistic missile for example delivers a nuclear non-euro or special-purpose warhead depending upon the soldiers need a variety of missiles to do a variety of tough army jobs they are built by American industry but they have a common home address Redstone Arsenal Alabama here men and women of the United States Army Missile Command a major commodity command of the Army Materiel Command managed the worldwide effort by a government industry teeth required to develop and build missiles to meet the soldiers needs get them to him and make sure they stay ready to go if needed and here at redstone at industrial plants at test ranges and other government installations all across the United States a continuing search has but one objective a good weapon in the soldiers hands today a better one on the way it's a long jump from today into the future and it requires contributions from all the sciences more efficient rocket fuels low cost high accuracy guided systems better metal alloys for missile structures and a hard look at the shape of things to come the essential ingredients are skill ingenuity and dedicate the army calls it the missile business a business with a single customer the American soldier without him the world's best missiles are brainless pieces of metal with him they share a vital part in the defense of freedom [Music]