US-12618644-B2 - Aircraft weapons pod including rail launcher

Abstract

An aircraft comprising a weapons pod including an enclosure mounted to an outer mold line of the aircraft, and at least one missile rail launcher mounted entirely within and fixed to the enclosure.

Inventors

• Ryan Glen Binkholder
• John Kevin Foster

Assignees

• THE BOEING COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20150212

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An aircraft comprising: a weapons pod including an enclosure mounted to an outer mold line of the aircraft, wherein the enclosure includes forward and aft doors having a clamshell configuration and are opened and closed by independent drive mechanisms; and at least one missile rail launcher mounted entirely within and fixed to the enclosure.
2. 2 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein an outer mold line of the enclosure is shaped to minimize aerodynamic drag and radar signature.
3. 3 . The aircraft of claim 1 , further comprising an air-launched missile carried by one of the at least one rail launchers, the missile enclosed entirely by the enclosure prior to launch.
4. 4 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure includes means for causing the forward and aft doors to create an airstream through the enclosure prior to missile launch.
5. 5 . The aircraft of claim 4 , wherein the means includes a controller for opening the aft door before the forward door prior to the missile launch, and closing both doors immediately after the missile launch.
6. 6 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the forward and aft doors provide symmetric loading during opening and closing.
7. 7 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure includes a sidewall and a centerline keel as primary load-carrying member; and wherein the at least one rail launcher is mounted to the centerline keel.
8. 8 . The aircraft of claim 7 , further comprising a pylon for mounting the pod to the outer mold line of the aircraft; and wherein the centerline keel is mounted in-line with the pylon so as to transmit launch loads to the pylon.
9. 9 . The aircraft of claim 8 , further comprising a wing; wherein the pylon mounts the weapons pod to a lower outer mold line of the wing.
10. 10 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure is constructed as a torque box.
11. 11 . A method of operating the aircraft of claim 1 , comprising: creating an airstream within the weapons pod prior to missile launch; and launching a missile from one of the at least one rail launchers without kinematically deploying the missile outside of the enclosure.
12. 12 . A missile launch system mountable to an outer mold line of an aircraft, the system comprising: an enclosure having forward and aft doors having a clamshell configuration; at least one rail launcher mounted entirely within and fixed to the enclosure; and a controller and independent drive mechanisms for opening the aft door and then the forward door to create an airstream through the enclosure prior to missile launch.
13. 13 . A weapons pod comprising: an enclosure including a sidewall and a centerline keel, wherein the enclosure includes forward and aft doors having a clamshell configuration and are opened and closed by independent drive mechanisms; and a plurality of rail launchers fixed to the centerline keel; the sidewall surrounding the centerline keel and the rail launchers.
14. 14 . The weapons pod of claim 13 , wherein the centerline keel runs a length of the sidewall.
15. 15 . The weapons pod of claim 13 , further comprising a plurality of air-launched missiles carried by the rail launchers and enclosed entirely by the enclosure prior to missile launch.
16. 16 . A method of operating the weapons pod of claim 15 , comprising: creating an airstream within the enclosure prior to missile launch; and launching at least one of the missiles without kinematic deployment outside of the enclosure.
17. 17 . The weapons pod of claim 13 , further comprising a controller and independent drive mechanisms for opening the aft door before the forward door prior to missile launch and closing both doors immediately after the missile launch.
18. 18 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein each clamshell door comprises a hinged upper section and a hinged lower section.
19. 19 . The aircraft of claim 18 , wherein the hinged upper and lower sections are each configured to rotate outwardly from a midplane of the enclosure.
20. 20 . The aircraft of claim 18 , wherein each of the hinged upper and lower sections are configured to rotate in opposite directions when transitioned from the closed position to the open position.

Description

BACKGROUND Certain aircraft are equipped with air-launched missile systems. In one type of system, the missiles may be stored inside the aircraft. In another type of system, the missiles may be mounted to an outer mold line of the aircraft. Each type of system has its own advantages and disadvantages. For the first type of system, the aircraft hides the radar signature of the missiles. However, available internal volume is reduced for fuel, avionics, and other subsystems. Moreover, the missiles are deployed from the aircraft and moved out into the airstream prior to launch. The missiles may be kinematically deployed by a kinematic mechanism such as a trapeze-type mechanism. The trapeze-type mechanism is relatively complex and heavy, and it further reduces internal volume. The trapeze mechanism also adds delay to the launch timeline due to the extension of a trapeze. For the second type of system, the rail launchers are mounted to the outer mold line to maximize the internal volume impact. However, the radar signatures of the missiles are exposed. Moreover, the rail launchers and missiles increase aerodynamic drag. SUMMARY According to an embodiment herein, an aircraft comprises a weapons pod mounted to an outer mold line of the aircraft, and at least one missile rail launcher mounted entirely within and fixed to the weapons pod. According to another embodiment herein, a missile launch system mountable to an outer mold line of an aircraft comprises an enclosure having forward and aft doors, at least one rail launcher mounted entirely within and fixed to the enclosure, and a controller and drive mechanisms for opening the aft door and then the forward door to create an airstream through the enclosure prior to missile launch. According to another embodiment herein, a weapons pod comprises an enclosure including a sidewall and a centerline keel, and a plurality of rail launchers fixed to the centerline keel. The sidewall surrounds the centerline keel and the rail launchers. These features and functions may be achieved independently in various embodiments or may be combined in other embodiments. Further details of the embodiments can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is an illustration of an aircraft including a weapons pod. FIG. 1B is an illustration of an enclosure of the weapons pod. FIGS. 2-4 are illustrations of an example of the weapons pod. FIG. 5 is an illustration of a method of operating the weapons pod, including launching a missile from the weapons pod during flight of the aircraft. FIGS. 6 and 7 are illustrations of a forward door of the weapons pod and a drive mechanism for opening and closing the forward door. FIG. 8 is an illustration of a weapons pod controller. FIG. 9 is an illustration of an aircraft including two wing-mounted weapons pods. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference is made to FIG. 1A, which illustrates an aircraft 100 including a fuselage 110, wings 120, and empennage 130. External surfaces of the fuselage 110, the wings 120, and the empennage 130 define an outer mold line (OML1) of the aircraft 100. The aircraft 100 further includes a weapons pod 140 mounted to the outer mold line (OML1) of the aircraft 100. The weapons pod 140 may be mounted to a lower outer mold line (OML1) of a wing 120. In the alternative, the weapons pod 140 may be mounted to a lower outer mold line (OML1) of the fuselage 110 (e.g., the lower centerline station). The weapons pod 140 includes an enclosure 210, at least one missile rail launcher 142 mounted entirely within and fixed to the enclosure 210, and at least one air-launched missile 144. Examples of the rail launcher 142 include the LAU-128 rail launcher and LAU-129 rail launcher. Each rail launcher 142 carries an air-launched missile 144. Examples of the air-launched missile 144 include an air-to-air missile and an air-to-surface missile. Each missile 144 is enclosed entirely by the weapons pod 140 prior to launch. A single weapons pod 140 is illustrated in FIG. 1A. However, the aircraft 100 may have at least one additional weapons pods 140 mounted to its outer mold line (OML1). The aircraft 100 further includes avionics 150, which is typically housed within the fuselage 110. To launch a missile 144, the avionics 150 may pass target information to the missile 144, command doors of the weapons pod 140 to open and close, command a rail of the missile's rail launcher 142 to unlatch, and command the missile's rocket motor to fire. Additional reference is made to FIG. 1B, which illustrates the enclosure 210 of the weapons pod 140. The enclosure 210 includes a sidewall 220, forward and aft doors 230 and 240, and a centerline keel 250. External surfaces of the sidewall 220 and the forward and aft doors 230 and 240 define an outer mold line (OML2) of the weapons pod 140. The forward and aft doors 230 and 240 may be independently opened and closed. The sidewall 220 is stiff enough so the enclo