Could you please enlighten me ? If ramjet air to air missiles superior over solid fueled rocket a2a missiles, why today we don't have ramjet SAMs?
Why did UK and US Navy leave ramjet SAMs?
Today if we converted Göktan into SAM, What would be the pros and cons over rockets?
Rocket Engine AA missiles:
Doesn't require initial speed
Accelerates lightning fast hits Mach 5 than starts decelerating
Burns out fast, counted in seconds. (8-12 seconds)
Nearly no speed control
Dual pulse rockets execute a second burn near the terminal phase,
Overall, less energy, especially in the terminal engagement phase.
Wide engagement envelope and angles, as long as it has enough energy.
SFDR (Solid-Fuel Ducted Ramjet)
Requires initial speed, so it has a built-in booster. (It is not enough to launch from the ground)
Accelerates more slowly compared to rockets, hits slightly higher than mach 4 at terminal phase
Burns out slowly compared to rockets (total burn time more than a minute)
It is throttleable, but it is not precise due to the nature of a solid fuel ramjet engine; the missile adjusts its burn rate according to the target
Overall, more energy compared to rockets
Narrow engagement envelope and angles. Some engagement envelopes and angles have a detrimental effect on the air intake of the engine and burn efficiency.
Gökhan Liquid Fuel Ramjet
Requires initial speed; it has a built-in rocket booster. (It is not enough to launch from the ground)
Accelerates more slowly compared to rockets. Similar acceleration compared to a solid fuel ramjet. Hits around Mach 5 at terminal phase.
Burns out slower compared to rockets and solid fuel ramjet
Very precise speed control(active fuel injection control) on a wide speed range (Mach 2-5)
A separate fuel tank is required, unlike solid fuel ramjets. Fuel injection is complicated and needs special fuel injectors.
More energy compared to solid fuel ramjets.
Wider engagement envelope and angles compared to solid fuel ramjets due to active air inlet and active fuel injection control
Ramjet Energy density
Gel fuel>solid fuel> liquid (kerosene)
