Air-launchable gliding sonobuoy

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a low-cost air-launchable gliding sonobuoy store in which a single component provides both gliding to a desired location at sea and floatation after reaching the surface of the sea.
Another object is to provide an air-launchable inflatable wing having surfaces controllable for gliding along a desired flight path.
A further object is to provide an air-dropped store suitable for loading into an existing multi-store launch tube in an aircraft, and which deploys a wing for gliding along a predetermined flight path after ejection from the launch tube.
A still further object is to provide a dual-purpose wing for gliding in a predetermined flight path and for floating in a generally erect attitude in the sea.
Still another object is to provide an inflatable gliding buoy which can be packaged within a relatively small prelaunch configuration suitable for use in an existing multi-store launch tube, and which is relatively simple in design, reliable and inexpensive to manufacture.
These and other objects and aspects of an air-launchable gliding sonobuoy store according to the invention are achieved with an inflatable membranous wing folded in a collapsed state within a cylindrical canister of separable sections held together by a weak-link fastener.
Several canisters may be stacked in a single launch tube and ejected sequentially.
Upon leaving the launch tube, a condition-activated gas supply inflates the wing into a generally dihedral configuration as the force of the inflation breaks the weak-link fastener and jettisons the canister sections.
A payload including a steering mechanism and a hydrophone suspension system in the wing provides a center of gravity located below and forward of the center of pressure for spontaneous orientation of the wing to a steady glide attitude.
The steering mechanism controls left and right deviations from the glide path by skewing the wing's trailing edge.
The center of gravity is also located below the metacenter of the wing and payload when floating with a trailing wing portion extending generally erect and above the surface