Recent advances in the nonlinear aerodynamics of tactical missiles

It is suggested that nonlinear extensions of the slender-body theory may be of use in obtaining simple nonlinear models for missile aerodynamics. It is pointed out that the transonic equivalence rule and the slender-body theory are nearly identical; the difference is that the flow around the equivalent body is governed by the nonlinear small-disturbance equation rather than by the linear Prandtl-Glauert equation. Five examples of nonlinear extensions of the slender-body theory are presented.