Weapon Systems Study Guide

by LT Ward

1. Detect to Engage
a. Stores are kept onboard aircraft while weapons can be removed post flight.
b. A rocket is a self-propelled missile with no guidance while a missile has guidance.
c. A mine is a typically stationary underwater explosive, not launched from any vessel.
d. The generic detect to engage sequence for any weapons system involves detecting the
target, directing your weapon at the target, delivering your weapon to the target, and
destroying the target.
2. Electromagnetism
a. Wavelength (m) = speed of light (3x10^8m/s) / frequency (Hz or 1/s)
b. Reflection is waves bouncing off a surface while refraction is waves bending through
that surface.
c. Signal strength attenuates after transmission by spreading, scattering, or absorption.
d. Signals travel further at lower frequencies due to less absorption occurring.
e. Range (visual LOS) = sqrt(13xHeightOfEye) + sqrt(13xHeightOfTarget) Note: Height is in
meters and range is in kilometers.
f. Range (RADAR LOS) = sqrt(17xHeightOfRADAR) + sqrt(13xHeightOfTarget)
g. Constructive interference is when two waves are synchronized and combine to increase
in amplitude while destructive interference is when two waves are not synchronized and
combine to decrease in amplitude.
h. Endfire refers to the low energy portions radiated by the transmitter while Broadside
refers to the high energy portions.
3. RADAR
a. Radio Detection And Ranging has the advantage of seeing further than eyes and
through rain, fog, and darkness. It has the main disadvantage of poor range resolution
as compared to eyes.
b. A duplexer is necessary for a pulse RADAR because there is only one antenna and it
must switch between transmitting and receiving (talking and listening).
c. Duty cycle = time on/cycle time = PW/PRT
d. Minimum Range = (c*PW)/2. Note: units should be m/s for the speed of light and
seconds for PW such that the resultant answer is in meters. Minimum range is calculated
as such because the pulse travels at the speed of light and has to go there and back. The
return pulse will only be received after the transmitter is done sending the signal and
ready to listen. Thus, any contact within this range will not be seen on our screen.
e. Unambiguous Range = (c*PRT)/2. This is calculated as such due to similar reasons except
PRT is used since once the next pulse is sent, the RADAR system would not know which
pulse the return came from and has to assume it was the most recent. Thus, a ghost
image would appear much closer to us on the screen than the actual contact.
f. High PRF is better for fire control RADAR as it provides more frequent updates on the
target’s location.

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 g. RADAR max range is affected by power level, gain, environment, and target cross-
section.
4. Advanced RADAR
a. A continuous wave RADAR needs two antennae because it is always transmitting and
receiving.
b. An up doppler or rising frequency indicates a target is closing range with us.
c. Range is measured on a continuous wave RADAR system by comparing the transmitted
and received frequencies using a mixer and then utilizing the doppler effect to calculate
range.
d. Utilizing pulse compression allows for better range resolution without affecting
minimum range since the pulse width is not changed.
e. One major advantage of a synthetic aperture RADAR (SAR) is outstanding cross
resolution due to maintaining focus on a stationary object while moving past it which
creates the effect of a very large antenna.
5. RADAR Tracking
a. For Track While Scan (TWS), upon first detection of a potentially valid target the system
will generate a large acquisition gate. A tracking gate is then generated to predict where
the target will be on the next sweep. If the target is in the tracking gate, the next
tracking gate will be smaller. If the target is not in the tracking gate, a turn detection
gate will be generated which is much larger.
b. If multiple echoes appear in the same gate, the one closest to the center will be
considered valid until significant separation occurs for the “echo” to be considered a
second valid target and a new acquisition gate will be generated for it.
6. Electronic Combat
a. Electronic Combat consists of Electronic Attack, Electronic Protect, and Electronic
Support
b. Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) is a part of Electronic Support and consists of
i. Communications Intelligence (COMINT): EM intelligence gathered from
communications.
ii. Electronic Intelligence (ELINT): EM intelligence gathered from EM other than
communications. (e.g. RADAR, SONAR, etc)
c. Denial Jamming involves using tactics to prevent the enemy’s use of the EM spectrum
thus hiding our own position while Deception Jamming involves sending false data to
the enemy’s sensors to hide our own position.
d. Chaff is used as countermeasure for RADAR while flares are used as a countermeasure
for Infrared.
e. We can counter an enemy jamming our signal by increasing power, changing frequency,
using a different piece of equipment, altering our PRF, etc.
7. Electro Optics
a. Visual Imaging Systems enhance already existing visible light while Infrared Systems
allow us to see infrared light given off by thermal energy.
b. When electro optical energy hits an object, it will either reflect, be absorbed, or
transmit through the object.

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 c. Lunar illumination is affected by moon phase, moon angle, and albedo (reflectivity of a
surface).
d. IR sensors do not require visible light. They “see” engines, engine exhaust, friction
points, and heat from bodies.
8. Principles of Underwater Sound
a. Active SONAR will provide more accurate range than Passive SONAR as it works much
like RADAR.
b. The speed of sound in water is affected by Temperature, Salinity, and Pressure.
Temperature is the most dominant factor.
c. A submarine would do best to hide at the sonic layer depth where sound waves will
bend away from them and search in the deep sound channel where sound waves will
bend towards them.
d. Any vessel searching for another vessel is most likely to find them if they are on the
same side of the sonic layer.
e. Sound waves will always bend towards the areas of slower sound speed.
f. Most near range contacts will be received on SONAR by direct path propagation while
very far range contacts might be received via a convergence zone.
9. Passive and Active SONAR
a. When Signal (S) minus Noise (N) equals detection threshold (DT), the probability of
detecting the target is exactly 50%. As S-N exceeds DT, the probability goes up.
b. Broadband signals cover a wide range of frequencies while narrowband signals are for a
particular frequency.
c. Ambient noise is affected by Biologics, Ocean Traffic, Seismic Activity, and
Hydrodynamic Forces.
d. S – N >= DT where S = Signal, N = Noise, DT = Detection Threshold.
i. S:
1. Passive: SL – TL
a. SL = source level
b. TL = Transmission Loss
2. Active: SL – 2*TL + TS
a. TS = Target Strength
ii. N:
1. Passive: Na + Ns – DI
a. Na = Ambient Noise
b. Ns = Self Noise
c. DI = Directivity Index
2. Active:
a. Noise Limited = Same as Passive
b. Reverberation Limited:
i. N = RL
e. Figure of Merit (FOM) is solved for by substituting FOM for TL in the above equations.
This gives us the amount of TL (proportional to distance) for a 50% chance of detection.
Consequently, a higher FOM yields improved range.
f. Hydrophones convert sound to electricity. (Passive SONAR)

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 g. Transducers convert both sound to electricity and electricity to sound. (Active SONAR)
h. The best platform for finding a submarine is another submarine.
10. Underwater Explosives
a. An underwater explosive causes damage to a surface ship by exploding near the hull and
causing a steam bubble to rapidly form underneath the keel of the ship thus bending it
upward. As the steam bubble collapses, the vacuum sucks the keel back down, bending
it downward and breaking it.
b. An underwater explosive causes damage to a submarine by exploding near the hull and
causing a steam bubble to rapidly form and stick to the hull. The immense pressure at
that depth will quickly collapse the bubble, but the remaining energy from the
explosion will reform a bubble the same way. This cycle repeats causing cyclic stress to
the submarine hull and eventually a rupture in the hull.
c. Torpedoes typically consists of a guidance section, warhead, fuel/propulsion, and
afterbody for control and guiding wire.
d. Mines can be used for force multiplication by forcing an enemy to take a route that
brings other weapons to bear.
e. In mine warfare, attrition refers to mining an enemy into their own harbor and
preventing their use of their assets. On the other hand, asset protection is when we use
mines to prevent the enemy from getting near enough to attack our assets.
f. Influence mines can be detonated by magnetism which can be countered by degaussing
of a ship, acoustics which can be countered by sound silencing on a ship, and pressure
which can be countered by steaming slowly.
g. Mine clearing methods include unmanned robots, towed sled, and cable cutting.
11. Ballistics
a. Short barrels use regressive propellant as it has a higher peak pressure at the
beginning.
b. Long barrels use progressive propellant as it has more total energy imparted on the
round from start to finish.
c. Exterior ballistics are affected by wind, drag, Coriolis effect, gravity, and drift.
12. Weapon Propulsion
a. A torpedo falling from an aircraft is gravity launched and once it is in the water, the
propellers provide reaction propulsion.
b. A torpedo shot from a submarine is impulse launched.
c. A missile fired from a cruiser is reaction launched and once in flight, it uses reaction
propulsion.
d. Impulse launchers are all subject to recoil.
e. On a guided missile, the guidance section contains sensors and computation to tell the
missile where it is and where to go, the autopilot maintains stable flight, the control
surfaces steer the weapon, the propulsion ensures continued forward motion, and the
warhead is the explosive being delivered by the target.
13. Guidance Systems
a. Once a missile is launched from a ship, it starts with the booster phase in which the goal
is for the weapon to achieve safe separation from the ship, then the long midcourse

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 phase in which the missile uses its guidance system to reach the target, and finally the
terminal phase in which the goal is to hit the target despite evasive maneuvers.
b. Self-contained guidance systems include GPS, terrestrial, celestial, inertial, and preset.
c. Active homing involves a missile sending and receiving its own RADAR data, semi-active
involves a ship sending the RADAR data and the missile receiving it, and passive homing
involves the missile searching for target specific data (e.g. heat, noise, etc).
d. Variable homing logic involves:
i. Pursuit: Missile always points at the target
ii. Constant Bearing: Missile maintains a constant bearing to the target
iii. Proportional Navigation: Missile turn rate is proportional to the target bearing
rate.
14. Fusing Systems
a. A fuze has the purposes of detection, detonation, arming, and safety.
b. The three major components of a fuze are the safe and arming device, the detonator,
and the target detection device.
c. Functional Reliability involves ensuring the weapon will work when it should while
Safety Reliability involves ensuring the weapon does not explode when it should not.
d. Sensors in parallel provide Functional Reliability.
e. Detonators in series provide Safety Reliability.
15. Blast Warheads and Damage Prediction
a. When an explosive detonates, it turns into heat, gasses, and soot/residue.
b. A chemical reaction is useful as an explosive if it is quick, controllable, produces heat,
and produces gasses.
c. Diffraction loading causes damage by the overpressure from the initial blast of the
warhead while drag loading causes damage from the push-pull effect of the dynamic
pressure as the wind reverses direction once the initial shockwave passes and the air
rushes back to fill the void.
d. Exploding a bomb above ground allows for the shockwave to reflect off the ground and
combine with the incident wave to create more damage.
e. Circular Error Probability is a phrase used to define the circle in which 50% of all shots
fired will land within.
16. Fragmentation and Special Warheads
a. Blast warheads cause damage by generating a large amount of heat and gasses which
produce a large pressure shockwave while fragmentation warheads cause damage by
imparting large amount of kinetic energy in the fragments of the warhead.
b. The larger the Charge to Mass (C/M) ratio, the higher the initial velocity of all fragments
of the warhead.
c. The more surface area a fragment has, the faster it will slow down.
d. The more mass a fragment has, the slower it will slow down.
e. Kinetic energy depends mass and velocity.
f. The two main categories of armor piercing warheads are Kinetic Energy Penetrators
(SABOT) and Shaped Charges (HEAT).

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17. Nuclear Weapons
a. Fusion is the combining of two lighter atoms into a heavier atom which results in the
release of energy and radioactive particles while fission is the splitting apart of one
heavier atom into two lighter atoms which also results in the release of energy and
radioactive particles.
b. The nuclear binding force is so much stronger that it keeps neutrons and protons
together in the nucleus despite the electromagnetic force of the protons repelling each
other.
c. In a fission bomb, the fissionable material (i.e. uranium) is always undergoing fission at a
subcritical level. Once the high explosive is set off, the space that the uranium occupies
is compressed which means more neutrons are causing the fission of uranium atoms
and thus becomes supercritical.
d. In a fusion bomb, a fission reaction occurs as explained above which releases a great
deal of heat and pressure within the bomb which dramatically increases the rate at
which deuterium and tritium are undergoing fusion to the point of explosion.
e. Fusion is approximately 4 times as powerful as fission.
f. The three primary damaging effects of nuclear weapons are the blast/shockwave,
thermal radiation, and nuclear radiation.
g. The primary health concern long term from exposure to nuclear radiation is cancer.
h. Gamma rays can only effectively be stopped lead shielding.
i. Alpha and Beta radiation particles do the most damage if ingested or inhaled due to
their mass and charge.
18. Cyberspace Domain
a. A user in the cyberspace domain can be a human or artificial intelligence and
represents a persona.
b. Users interact with the cyber domain via mouse, keyboard, touchscreen, etc.
c. A denial of service attack violates the availability of a cyber system.
d. Unauthorized access of private user data violates the confidentiality of a cyber system.
e. A virus corrupting data in a system violates the integrity of a cyber system.
f. The difference between non-repudiation and authentication is that the former has to
do with validating an action came from a user whereas the latter validates a user is who
they say they are.
g. Information Technology has the purpose of processing transactions and providing
information.
h. Operational Technology has the primary role of controlling machines.
i. The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects.
j. The Internet of Things has several risks which include: security, insider threat, user
error, and automation.
19. Information Systems
a. A computer is an electronic device which receives input, processes it, and produces an
output. A computer will also have some form of storage that it interacts with.
b. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the component in a computer which carries out
basic instructions for the computer through logical operations.

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c. Random Access Memory (RAM) is short term memory that is erased when the
computer turns off while Hard Drive (HDD) is long term memory that is not erased when
the computer turns off.
d. A while loop will continue to be executed in a program until it’s conditional statement is
no longer true. Example:
i. X = 0
ii. While X < 2:
1. Add 1 to X
iii. Display X (Value displayed would be 2 in this example.)
e. An if/else statement allows for only certain lines of code in a file to be executed based
on conditions. Example:
i. X = 20
ii. If X < 10:
1. This line will not be executed
iii. Else:
1. This line will be executed
f. A logic error can lead to vulnerabilities in a program’s security by allowing unauthorized
access to a system or causing the program not to work as intended.
g. Computer users interact with applications which interact with operating systems which
interact with the physical hardware of the computer.
h. Admin (super-user) accounts allow access to everything within a computer system. This
means that if an adversary gained access to the Admin account, they gain access to
everything. This can be combatted by reducing the number of people with Admin
accounts at a command.