Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: whh@PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Stinger
Message-ID: <1990Jun4.191710.1287@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 4 Jun 90 19:17:10 GMT
References: <16052@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: whh@PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)

In article <16052@cbnews.ATT.COM> eshop3@ma.ecn.purdue.edu (Electronic Shop Part-Timers) writes:
>
>I have a quiz question for you all to figure out.  While actual information
>is of course classified, see if you can fathom how quickly the Stinger 
>moves.  If it self-destructs after *14* seconds of flight with no kill, and
>is intended to hit *ANY* aircraft flying below 10,000 feet 

Top of the head calculations from the data given (assuming that "any aircraft"
may be traveling up to about 2000 mph), the *minimum* *average* velocity
has to be aroud 2700 mph.  Given that the missile has to accelerate from
zero, this implies a terminal velocity somewhere in the neighborhood of
4000 to 5000 mph.

While we're on the subject of missile performance figures--

For those who are Science Fiction fans (and have read Hal Clement's
"Mission of Gravity"), consider the performance of the 1960's Sprint
missile.  It was designed to kill incoming warheads below 10 miles.
Takeoff acceleration was around 600 to 700 Gs, with steering thrust
at around 100 Gs.  Within 2 seconds of launch, the outside of the
nosecone was hotter than the inside of the engine. . .

        --Hal

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