Development of Jet Vanes for Solid Propellant Missiles

Jet vanes as a means of guidance for missiles are reliable, low in cost, and produce less than 1% thrust loss. Jet vane metals or alloys must meet certain requirements, the primary one being a melting point above the missile's flame temperature. Alloys of tungsten and molybdenum appear to be the most promising. Comparing sintered and cast metals, castings for jet vanes are very satisfactory, and are preferable over the sintered material.