| Summary: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === Boost phase interception of ballistic missiles is envisioned as the primary response of the layered defense architecture implemented in the ballistic missile defense system. A limited time frame in which to take action and the necessity to implement hit-to-kill technology in the kill vehicle counterbalances the many advantages of boost phase interception. Direct hit missile technology is constrained by the requirement to minimize miss distance to a negligible amount between the kill vehicle and optimum aimpoint on the target. This thesis examines kill vehicle effectiveness, which is tantamount to miss distance, as a function of both the kill vehicle maximum acceleration capability and the guidance system time constant necessary to destroy a target. The kill vehicle guidance system is modeled in MATLAB as a fifth-order binomial series with proportional navigation. The simulation examines the effect of an accelerating target attributed to powered flight and aimpoint displacement caused by a shift in tracking point from the target plume to the payload when resolution occurs. The kill vehicle minimum requirements as indi-cated by the simulation include a lateral acceleration capability of four times the target acceleration and a guidance system time constant that is less than one-tenth the estimated flight time. === Lieutenant, Canadian Navy
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