LOCAT

LOCAT

Type	Target drone
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1969
Used by	United States Army
Production history
Manufacturer	Philco-Ford
Specifications
Weight	155 pounds (70 kg)
Length	15 feet (4.6 m)
Diameter	9.6 inches (240 mm)

Engine	3 FFAR rockets
Operational range	2 miles (3.2 km)
Speed	520 miles per hour (840 km/h)
Guidance system	None
Launch platform	Douglas AD Skyraider McDonnell F2H Banshee

The Low-Cost Aerial Target, or LOCAT, was designed as an inexpensive target rocket for use by the United States Army during the late 1960s. The missile was tested by the U.S. Army, but failed to win a production contract.

Design and development

Developed by Philco-Ford in the late 1960s, the LOCAT rocket was intended to be a high-speed, low-cost expendable target rocket for use in the air defense training role, being used in training exercises for anti-aircraft gunners and missile operators by the U.S. Army.^[1]

Intended to be extremely simple and inexpensive in its construction, the fuselage tube of LOCAT was constructed from rolled paper tubing,^[2] while the rocket's stabilising fins were made of molded plastic. An aluminum coating was applied as a surfacing to enhance the rocket's radar signature, and three solid-fuel rockets of the type used by Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets were used for propulsion.^[1]

Operational history

Forty examples of the LOCAT rocket were ordered by the United States Army during 1969, for operational evalulation to determine if they were suitable in the target-drone role. The contract included an option for ordering production quantities if the rocket was considered acceptable for service.^[3] Although LOCAT proved to be reasonably satisfactory in the Army's testing, and it was estimated that, even when compared to reusable drones, LOCAT offered a 50% savings in cost over other methods of target training,^[4] no production contract was placed, the MTR-15 BATS being judged superior for the Army's purposes.^[1]

References

Notes

1 2 3 Parsch 2002
↑ Popular Science, Volume 193, p.108. 1968
↑ The Aerospace Year Book, Volume 48, p.155.
↑ Industrial Research, Volume 10, p.236. Dun-Donnelley Publishing, 1968.

Bibliography

Parsch, Andreas (2002). "Philco-Ford LOCAT". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2011-01-07.

United States tri-service rocket designations post-1962

MGR-1 AIR-2 MGR-3 RUR-4 RUR-5 MER-6 ADR-7 ADR-8 ADR-9 ADR-10 ADR-11 ADR-12 MQR-13 AGR-14 MTR-15 MQR-16 FGR-17 GTR-18

See also: LOCAT United States tri-service missile and drone designations post-1962 Research rocket designations

Types of missile

By platform	Air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) Air-to-air missile (AAM) Air-to-surface missile (ASM) Ballistic missile Cruise missile Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Shoulder-fired missile Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) Surface-to-air missile (SAM) Surface-to-surface missile (SSM)

By target type	Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) Anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) Anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) Anti-ship missile (AShM) Anti-submarine missile Anti-tank missile (ATGM) Land-attack missile (LACM)

By guidance	Active radar guidance Semi-active radar guidance Passive homing Track-via-missile Anti-radiation Command to line-of-sight guidance Command off line-of-sight guidance Pursuit guidance Beam riding Infrared guidance Laser guidance Unguided rockets Wire guidance TERCOM DSMAC Inertial guidance Astro-inertial guidance Satellite guidance Compass

Lists	List of military rockets List of missiles List of missiles by country List of anti-ship missiles List of anti-tank missiles List of ICBMs List of surface-to-air missiles

See also: Sounding rocket

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