What is the difference between seeker lock and merely acquiring a target?

What is the difference between seeker lock and merely acquiring a target?

• A. Acquisition identifies a target; lock indicates the seeker has locked onto the target and controls guidance after launch.
• B. Acquisition and lock are the same thing.
• C. Lock occurs before acquisition.
• D. Acquisition occurs after launch.

Answer: (A)

In seeker-guided missiles, the difference comes down to recognition versus a committed steering state. Acquisition is when the seeker detects a target and begins to track it; you’ve identified that something is there and you’re forming a tracking data set (bearing, range, rate) to know where the target is relative to the missile. Locking, on the other hand, is the point where the seeker has stabilized on that target and the guidance system has enough precise information to command steering toward intercept after launch. With a lock, the missile’s autopilot can use the gathered data to steer the missile and keep the target centered in the seeker's field of view, enabling active guidance from launch onward. That’s why simply acquiring a target isn’t the end state—the system still needs to achieve a lock to actively guide the missile. If you only acquire, you have detection and initial tracking, but without a lock, the guidance commands aren’t solidified. The order is acquisition first to identify and begin tracking, lock to confirm stable tracking and enable guidance, and then guidance uses that locked data to steer to the target after launch. The other statements mix up the sequence or equate the two terms, which doesn’t fit how seeker guidance works.

In seeker-guided missiles, the difference comes down to recognition versus a committed steering state. Acquisition is when the seeker detects a target and begins to track it; you’ve identified that something is there and you’re forming a tracking data set (bearing, range, rate) to know where the target is relative to the missile. Locking, on the other hand, is the point where the seeker has stabilized on that target and the guidance system has enough precise information to command steering toward intercept after launch. With a lock, the missile’s autopilot can use the gathered data to steer the missile and keep the target centered in the seeker's field of view, enabling active guidance from launch onward.

That’s why simply acquiring a target isn’t the end state—the system still needs to achieve a lock to actively guide the missile. If you only acquire, you have detection and initial tracking, but without a lock, the guidance commands aren’t solidified. The order is acquisition first to identify and begin tracking, lock to confirm stable tracking and enable guidance, and then guidance uses that locked data to steer to the target after launch.

The other statements mix up the sequence or equate the two terms, which doesn’t fit how seeker guidance works.