Experimental study at low supersonic speeds of a missile concept having opposing wraparound tails

A wind-tunnel investigation has been performed at low supersonic speeds (at Mach numbers of 1.60, and 2.16) to evaluate the aerodynamic characteristics of a missile concept capable of being tube launched and controlled with a simple one-axis canard controller. This concept, which features an axisymmetric body with two planar canards and four wraparound tail fins arranged in opposing pairs, must be in rolling motion to be controllable in any radial plane with the planar canards. Thus, producing a constant rolling moment that is invariant with speed and attitude to provide the motion is desirable. Two tail-fin shaping designs, one shaved and one beveled, were evaluated for their efficiency in producing the needed rolling moments, and the results showed that the shaved fins were much more desirable for this task than the beveled fins.