Abstract
It is shown that aerodynamic jump for a nonspinning kinetic energy penetrator is not – as conventional definitions may infer – a discontinuous change in the direction of motion at the origin of free flight, nor is it the converse, a cumulative redirection over a domain of infinite extent. Rather, with the aid of an alternative kinematical definition, it is shown that aerodynamic jump for such a projectile is a localized redirection of the center-of-gravity motion, caused by the force of lift due to yaw over the relatively short region from entry into free flight until the yaw reaches its first maximum. A rigorous proof of this statement is provided, but the primary objective of this paper is to provide answers to the questions: what is aerodynamic jump, what does it mean, and what aspects of the flight trajectory does it refer to, or account for.