Sea skimming, anti-ship cruise missiles pose an increasing threat to naval forces, as evidenced by the falkland war casualties. tsc proposes a new concept for oth detection, warning and tracking: a netof expendable hf (high frequency: 3-30 mhz) radars operating in the ground wave mode, installed in… More

A principal lesson larned from the falkland war was that, without airborner radars, shipboard air defensed had very little warning time to react to attck from low altitude missiles and aircraft. a new concept for providing such warning uses a net of standard navy sondbuoys, which are configured as a… More

To keep pace with advanced threatd, future combat systems must take full advantage of all information available in the shipboard sensors. this study addreses improvements to integrated automatic detection and tracking (iadt) systems in two areas: increasing the base of sensor data and extending the… More

In the proposed program, TSC will evaluate candidate synthetic radar signature validation techniques. The objective is to provide the Air Force with a procedure for evaluating model-validation metrics for radar models used in developing Non-Cooperative Target Recognition (NCTR) techniques and… More

(U) The advent of technology (e.g., GaAs MMIC amplifiers and DRFM devices) has enhanced the development of inexpensive expendable repeater/transponder jammers that can mimic an airborne radar's signal coherently, and modulate it to deceive, confuse or obfuscate the radar/receiver, effectively… More

Reduced weight, wide bandwidth, and improved immunity from electromagnetic interference are some of the potential benefits of introducing photonics technology in advanced active-array radar antennas, for space-based systems technology in advanced active-array radar antennas, for space-based systems… More

Technology Service Corporation proposes a program of analysis, simulation and, in Phase II, experimentation to demonstrate the effectiveness of focal plane array (FPA) radar technology to address significant Navy problems. This includes carrier landing in severely reduced visibility, detection and… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) proposes two frequency agility techniques designed to deny ARM receivers acquisition of the radar signals. Both techniques--Coherent Frequency Hopping (CFH) and Coherent Agile Sideband Defense (CASCADE)--attempt to avoid the ARM bandwidth by use of extensive… More

Solid state active phased array antennas promise to provide very low sidelobe capability. However, they will be subject to short term calibration drift and element failures. This compels an on-line, operational self calibration capability. TSC proposes a completely internal, on-line self calibration… More

A ground-based clutter emulation transponder is proposed for the cost-effective development and testing of airborne space-time adaptive processing (STAP) algorithms. The deisgn of the clutter emulator is based on uniquely modulating each output of a radar transponder having multiple transmit… More

Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) flight in a conventional helicopter is extremely taxing for two pilots under visual flight rules (VFR) conditions. There is a desire to develop an all-weather Automated NOE (ANOE) system that will allow a single pilot to safely fly a helicopter at altitudes near 50 feet.… More

Robotics technology now provides precise position control of objects over large displacements in multiple axes. Laser devices have evolved that can produce accurate position data in three coordinates using a single laser source. Correction algorithms for near-field measurements have been developed… More

As airborne systems and their missions become more complex, the F-22 ATF, it is important to test the coordinated operation of the navigation and targeting suites against advanced threats. The Air Force plans to build an evaluation facility of installed IR sensors in the Benefield Anechoic Chamber… More

One of the important concepts in current Air Force planning is the vision of Cost and Mission Driven Avionics. A key element in achieving the goals of this vision is the concept of deep integration of avionics sensor suites for navigation and weapon delivery. The architecture which enables this… More

The objective of this Phase I SBIR task is to determine the feasibility of improving the realism and fidelity of the IR scenes using features from DMA databases and related earth mapping technology. TSC will derive direct transfer methods of visible-to-IR imagery. If the necessary realism and… More

The growing threat to Navy ships from low flyers, coupled with the increasing importance of brown watery, littoral, scenarios in Navy planning, heightens the need for high fidelity propagation modeling. Such modeling is essential not only to the understanding of ship's sensors performance, but also… More

The proposed program will develop automatic geologic and terrain feature classification algorithms, emphasizing those that exploit the additional height and terrain slope information provided by IFSAR imagery. To accomplish this, existing 3 m resolution 1FSAR imagery will be used to identify… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) proposes to demonstrate a signal-to- noise ratio (SNR) motor that can measure and display, in real time, the SNR of pulsed and/or CW microwave signals with very high accuracy. The design of the unit is based upon the rotating phase reference (RPR) measurement… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) proposes to design a stabilized crystal oscillator for low noise operation in a shook and vibration environment. Oscillator stability to a continuing problem In both Military and commercial radars which operate in vehicles, aircraft, *Up*, etc., since the… More

A critical factor in the development of multi-line, passive, towed acoustic arrays is measuring the relative location of each acoustic sensor element in the array. Require- ments for measurement accuracies are expected to be the order of 2 to 4 cm to optimize beamforming. TSC proposes the … More

The Air Force has a requirement to ground test installed IR/EO sensors by direct signal injection of computer generated imagery (CGI) into their post detector electronics. Specifically, the Air Force desires to develop a flexible Universal Programmable Interface (UPI) that can properly condition… More

An innovative program is proposed that will incorporate unique high-fidelity models of Navy AEW platforms, sensors and algorithms, and of environmental interference and propagation effects into a powerful existing, Government- owned simulation. This approach will provide the Navy with a… More

The future direction of Air Force avionics is to provide effective avionics in a budget constrained world. Autonomously operated snros fo the past will be relaced with integrated avionics. Future test facilities must provide sensor stimulation ranging from RF through UV frequencies. One approach… More

The objective of this topic is to develop distributed simulations for collaborative engineering and virtual prototyping of avionics systems. In Phase I, Technology Service Corporation (TSC) and its subcontractor, Tecolote REsearch, Inc. (TRI), propose to assess, develop, and demonstrate a system … More

Revolutionary advances in the technology of avionics sensors have led to many new ways of employing those sensors. One of the most important is the ability to timeshare many avionics functions using shared aperatures and agile beam techniques.One of the critical radar functions is the collection of… More

The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) routinely evaluates foreign sensor capabilities for intelligence gathering and procurement related efforts. Historically, the performance of radars in "Blue Water" environments was the focus during these assessments. Modern scenarios place emphasis on… More

Current radar technology for the detection, location and targeting of fixed and mobile targets hidden by foliage or camouflaged is severely limited. These systems typically operate in the UHF/VHF band using ultra-wideband, synthetic aperture techniques to obtain high resolution images of concealed… More

41083 November 20, 1996 Technology Service Corporation The Department of Energy has the mission to perform research in areas related to arms control and nonproliferation. While Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is considered to be one of the key sensors… More

Currently deployed radar systems have limited capability to maintain tracks on targets in a dense target environment. Dropped tracks and track switching difficulties often arise as a result of infrequent track updates, inadequate resolution, inaccurately extrapolated tracks and detection position… More

The growing threat to Navy ships from low flyers, coupled with the increasing importance of brown watery, littoral, scenarios in Navy planning, heightens the need for high fidelity propagation modeling. Such modeling is essential not only to the understanding of ship's sensors performance, but also… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) proposes to demonstrate a signal-to- noise ratio (SNR) motor that can measure and display, in real time, the SNR of pulsed and/or CW microwave signals with very high accuracy. The design of the unit is based upon the rotating phase reference (RPR) measurement… More

A critical factor in the development of multi-line, passive, towed acoustic arrays is measuring the relative location of each acoustic sensor element in the array. Require- ments for measurement accuracies are expected to be the order of 2 to 4 cm to optimize beamforming. TSC proposes the … More

Revolutionary advances in the technology of avionics sensors have led to many new ways of employing those sensors. One of the most important is the ability to timeshare many avionics functions using shared aperatures and agile beam techniques.One of the critical radar functions is the collection of… More

Currently deployed radar systems have limited capability to maintain tracks on targets in a dense target environment. Dropped tracks and track switching difficulties often arise as a result of infrequent track updates, inadequate resolution, inaccurately extrapolated tracks and detection position… More

Modern situational awareness is supported by a multiplicity of sensors. These provide target information over spatial scales from a few square meters to hundreds of square kilometers. When combined with geographic and other environmental information, the volume of data available to commanders is… More

The detection and tracking of slow to moderate speed ground moving targets with a foliage penetration radar operating on a UAV such as a Global Hawk will require an endo-clutter signal processing capability. A concept is proposed that utilizes a suite of both conventional algorithms and innovative… More

Interceptor missiles have traditionally used PN (Proportional Navigation) for terminal homing guidance. However, modern threats have become faster, more stealthy, and more maneuverable. Terminal homing missile performance requirements have also become more stringent, such as for direct-hit… More

TSC will develop methods to perform fast, precise geopositioning of data types with respect to a single coordinate system. The primary focus will be to precisely register an EO/IR image, that has a poor or non-existent camera model, to an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) image.… More

Microwave Power Module (MPM) applications would benefit from improved performance characteristics such as increased electrical efficiency, reduced cooling requirements, and reduced size and weight that are largely determined by the performance of the vacuum power booster MPM component. … More

The detection of low velocity targets by a high PRF surveillance radar such as the E-3 AWASCS is exacerbated by the two different clutter return phenomena: the J-Hook return and the Horseshoe return. The J-Hook return is observed primarily when the antenna points downward. In these geometries… More

SAR is a critical technology for obtaining military and economic intelligence, terrain height and cover information, and a variety of other data. Because of its long coherent integration times and wide bandwidth, SAR is extremely vulnerable to RF interference, intentional noise jamming and coherent… More

The rapid beam agility and wide bandwidth achievable with modern electronically scanned antennas (ESAs), and particularly active ESAs (AESAs), provide airborne radars with a means for electronic protection (EP) against electronic attack (EA) threats in a hostile environment.TSC proposes an EP… More

The Navy has an objective to develope technology for active phased arrays where the transmitter source utilizes Microwave Power Modules (MPMs). The use of MPM-driven phased arrays offers the potential of eliminating cooling (required by most active solid-state T/R modules), and reducing weight,… More

The Integrated Infrared Complex at the Air Force Electronic Warfare Evaluation Simulator (AFEWES) Hardware-In-The-Loop (HITL) facility in Fort Worth, Texas, simulates high fidelity IR signatures for realistic testing and evaluation of IR sensors and countermeasures; a current growth requirement is… More

Not Available Single wall carbon nanotube - polymer composites will be synthesized and investigated for EMI shielding applications. Bundles of nanotubes will be prepared by an arc discharge process and dispersed in several polymer hosts as a physical mixture. Composites made from as-grown and… More

Not Available Solid state active array (SSAA) radars are expected to play an increasing role in the development of future surveillance, acquisition, and tracking systems. They provide the advantage of being able to schedule beams arbitrarily, thus facilitating performance-enhancing functions such… More

Not Available Future flight vehicles are expected to achieve high performance by actively controlling unsteady aerodynamic and nonlinear aeroservoelastic (NL-ASE) phenomena. At present, the fundamental mechanisms that contribute to unsteady flow phenomena and nonlinear effects are not well… More

To develop and evaluate effective engagement capabilities againstlow elevation, anti-ship, threats, the Navy surface radarcommunity must have accurate, efficient, and robust models ofelevation angle measurement in the presence of ocean waves,standard and anomalous propagation, and land. During Phase… More

The ability to rapidly adapt mission plans is key to operational success on the modern battlefield. Although particularly true for front-line forces, long-term success also requires capable and aware force sustainment. Therefore, this ability is equallycritical for Combat Service Support (CSS). … More

One of the most promising approaches to alleviating the limitations of detecting and targeting time-critical, fixed and mobile ground targets that use CC&D techniques, is the use of FOPEN radars. These radars, which operate in the VHF/UHF bands using UWBtechniques, can obtain high-resolution (~ 0.5… More

The new FOPEN SAR ATD testbed and future Global Hawk UAV-based operational system being developed by DoD will have the ability to detect targets concealed beneath the foliage. Area delimitation and local context exploitation are critical elements of thisnew surveillance capability. TSC proposes to… More

The new FOPEN SAR ATD testbed and future Global Hawk UAV-based operational system being developed by DoD will have the ability to detect targets concealed beneath the foliage. Area delimitation and local context exploitation are critical elements of thisnew surveillance capability. TSC proposes to… More

The simulation of sensor effects (image degradation by MTF and noise) is an important feature of high-end IR and NVG sensor simulation. Sensor effects simulation for these high-end systems is performed on postprocessor units or VME boards at a cost of $30Kor more. The increasing use of low-cost… More

Increasing application of 3-D simulation requires more efficient production of largehigh-fidelity databases derived from sensor imagery. Realistic databases requireboth 3-D models of buildings and structures, and high-resolution terrain imagery.At present, remote imagery must be manually processed… More

Increasing application of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensors requires end-to-endsensor simulations to test sensor designs for varying environments and target scenes.One component of an HSI simulation is a synthetic scene simulator that generatessimulated radiance images in the sensor's… More

Atmospheric refractivity conditions have significant influence over radio frequency (RF) propagation in the Earth's troposphere. Refractivity conditions can vary from sub-refraction to strong-trapping, thereby altering radar detection, measurement, andclutter performance across its coverage volume.… More

The complex jamming threat to Navy radars, such as the AN/SPY-1 radar family, consists of barrage and modulated noise jammers on the one hand, and analog and digital deceptive jammers on the other. Vulnerability to jamming will generally increase withgrowing radar sensitivity and the evolving… More

To evolve High Range Resolution based NCTR algorithms for application to shipboard TBMD, Self Defense, and Area Defense missions, the Navy surface radar community needs a comprehensive tool that combines detailed target, propagation, and environmentmodels with a flexible coherent radar model. RF… More

Clusters of cooperating small satellites with synchronized RF payloads are under investigation by AFRL/VS to construct a robust distributed/sparse aperture system with additional degrees of freedom for improved C4ISR mission performance. Linear toelliptical cluster formations, relative… More

Clusters of cooperating small satellites with synchronized RF payloads are under investigation by AFRL/VS to construct a robust distributed/sparse aperture system with additional degrees of freedom for improved C4ISR mission performance. Linear toelliptical cluster formations, relative… More

The Air Force needs the ability to land aircraft in all weather conditions, at any given point on the globe, within 24 hours notice. This implies the need for a rapid instrument approach procedure (IAP) development capability, which will depend ondetailed knowledge of terrain and vertical… More

The Air Force needs the ability to land aircraft in all weather conditions, at any given point on the globe, within 24 hours notice. This implies the need for a rapid instrument approach procedure (IAP) development capability, which will depend ondetailed knowledge of terrain and vertical… More

The ability to rapidly adapt mission plans is key to modern operational success. Although this is particularly true for combat forces, it is equally critical for the logistics structure that supports them. Although the availability of logistic decisionsupport systems is increasing, an information… More

The rapid adaptation of mission plans is key to success on the modern battlefield. Although particularly true for combat forces, long-term front-line success also requires fully capable and aware force sustainment. Therefore, this ability is critical forCombat Service Support. While the… More

"Modern LPI radars, such as Signaal's SCOUT coastal surveillanceradars, pose a serious challenge to conventional EW support (EWS)receivers, which will typically intercept the LPI radar signal atranges shorter than the radar's detection range. This negativedetection margin makes naval vessels such… More

Increasing application of visual simulation has led to a need for more efficient production of large high-fidelity databases derived from remote sensing imagery. Realistic databases require both 3-D models of buildings and structures, and high-resolutionterrain imagery. At present, remote imagery… More

"Atmospheric refractivity has significant influence over radiofrequency (RF) propagation in the Earth's troposphere.Refractivity conditions can vary from sub-refraction to strong-trapping, thereby altering radar detection, measurement, andclutter performance across its coverage volume. Current… More

"The objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of fusing extracted Ballistic Missile threat feature data from S- and X- Band radars to improve the probability of correctly identifying the lethal object, compared to using data from either an S- or an X-Band radar alone. This effort will make use… More

"Fleet Submarine Broadcast System (FSBS) VLF/LF communications are severely bandwidth limited due to the high Q of the transmit antennas and the low frequency of the VLF/LF band. The existing communications modes were designed using Minimum Shift Key (MSK)waveform modulation built into analog… More

"Navy operational emphasis continues to shift to the complex littoral scenarios associated with expeditionary warfare, strike operations, and coastal TBMD. Rapid and accurate target classification and identification become crucial to maintaining effectiveship self-defense posture in the presence of… More

"This Phase II SBIR will develop and demonstrate an integrated setof technologies that allow increased information throughput onVLF/LF radio communications links with minimal impact on thebroadcast network's near-global coverage. The integratedtechnologies include 1) an advanced message… More

"GMTI radars including Joint STARS, U-2S and Global Hawk provide abundant data on ground vehicles that can be exploited for military traffic analysis. AFRL/Rome has developed the web-based MTI exploitation (MTIX) system to catalog GMTI data, kinematictracks, SAR imagery and provide broad… More

"Current methods of tracking high-value, ground-moving targets often fail to provide continuous tracks due to extended periods of missed detections that result from terrain blockage, foliage attenuation, or target line-of-sight velocities that fall belowthe sensor minimum detectable velocity. When… More

The capability of airborne SARs to perform foliage penetration is severely limited by the strength of the foliage canopy return. The capability exists for enhancing the detection of selected targets hidden beneath the foliage canopy through the use ofmulti-phase center (aperture) data. The… More

"Existing techniques for overland height finding may not be compatible with the antenna configurations of emerging and future airborne surveillance radar systems. For example, both monopulse and space-time adaptive processing (STAP) have traditionally beenbased on monolithic, planar apertures… More

"TSC proposes an Active Maintenance and Sustainability Support (AMaSS) system. AMaSS is based on the concept of a Critical Item (CI), defined as "a component or a product whose failure can significantly affect safety, operating success orrepair/replacement costs." AMaSS will allow technical… More

"The Enhanced Infrared (IR) Laboratory at the Air Force Electronic Warfare Evaluation Simulator (AFEWES) Hardware-in-the-Loop facility in Fort Worth, Texas, simulates high fidelity IR signatures for realistic test and evaluation of IR missile seekers andcountermeasures. A current growth requirement… More

"Distributed aperture approaches for future, space-based C3ISR systems, such as the AFRL/VS TechSat 21, have significant advantages over current monolithic designs. While several signal-processing approaches are being developed to exploit the spatial andwaveform diversity offered by a distributed… More

"Distributed aperture approaches for future, space-based C3ISR systems, such as the AFRL/VS TechSat 21, have significant advantages over current monolithic designs. While several signal-processing approaches are being developed to exploit the spatial andwaveform diversity offered by a distributed… More

"Modern low-probability of intercept (LPI) signals, such as spread spectrum frequency hopping and direct sequence coded waveforms (FHSS/DSSS), typified by wireless cell phone, IEEE 802.11, and Bluetooth signals, pose a serious challenge to conventionalsignal interceptors. Since Special Operations… More

Joint STARS, Global Hawk UAVs and space-based radars provide long-term GMTI data over wide areas that can be exploited to detect ground target threats, support Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) and understand vehicle traffic patterns. InPhase 1, Technology Service Corp. (TSC) teamed… More

With the increasing technical maturity of smaller, lighter high-resolution sensors and small tactical UAVs, it is highly desirable to collectively employ these low-cost assets to perform ISR missions. These missions include wide area surveillance (WAS);tracking of time critical targets; final,… More

The Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF), a state-of-the-art installed system test facility (ISTF) at Edwards Air Force Base is systematically upgrading its capabilities to include DT&E (Developmental Test and Evaluation) and OT&E (Operational Test andEvaluation) of emerging infrared and… More

There is a growing interest in augmenting airborne GMTI surveillance assets with a space-based radar (SBR) capability. SBR GMTI would provide: deep coverage into areas typically denied airborne assets; extended surveillance; increased area coverage rates;and a steep look-down capability for foliage… More

The Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF), a state-of-the-art installed system test facility (ISTF) at Edwards Air Force Base, California, is systematically upgrading capabilities to include infrared and electro-optical system testing. Meaningful testing ofthreat warning and countermeasure systems at… More

TSC will assess the improved engagement performance opportunities against maneuvering boosting ballistic missile threats by improving the interceptor guidance laws. Both intentional and unintentional boost phase threat ballistic missile maneuvers will beestimated and characterized. Interceptor… More

TSC will develop rigorous mathematical techniques to combine digital terrain elevation data from diverse multi-sensor sources to automatically generate a composite Digital Elevation Map (DEM). Sensor sources to be included for Phase I algorithmdevelopment and evaluation include existing DEMs,… More

In this effort, Technology Service Corporation (TSC) will develop and demonstrate a radar-based technique to enhance the rapid detection and location of buried land mines. An acoustic signal energizes resonant modes in buried mines, and those sympatheticvibrations are detected by the radar. The… More

In this effort, Technology Service Corporation (TSC) will develop and demonstrate a radar-based technique to enhance the rapid detection and location of buried land mines. An acoustic signal energizes resonant modes in buried mines, and those sympatheticvibrations are detected by the radar. The… More

The objective is to demonstrate that the fusing of extracted Ballistic Missile (BM) threat feature data from S- and X-Band radar observations improves the probability of correctly identifying the lethal object, compared to using data from either an S- or X-Band radar alone. This effort will make… More

The Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF), a state-of-the-art installed system test facility (ISTF) at Edwards Air Force Base, California, is systematically upgrading capabilities to include testing of infrared and electro-optical (IR/EO) weapons systems, notably missile warning and directional infrared… More

The increasing maturity of light-weight, high-resolution sensors and small UAVs enables more ambitious ISR missions to be accomplished at lower cost. An affordable small UAV sensor suite can be configured for missions that are too "dull, dirty and dangerous" to risk manned aircraft. Missions… More

When compared to airborne GMTI radar, space-based radar provides: (1) deep coverage into areas typically denied airborne assets; (2) greater ease and flexibility for re-tasking the sensor to new areas; (3) greater area coverage rates; and (4) a steep look-down capability which minimizes terrain… More

Existing techniques for overland height finding against slow, low-flying air targets may not be compatible with the antenna configurations of emerging and future airborne surveillance radar systems. For example, both monopulse and space-time adaptive processing (STAP) have traditionally been based… More

The Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF), a state-of-the-art installed system test facility (ISTF) at Edwards Air Force Base, California, is systematically upgrading capabilities to include infrared and electro-optical system testing. Future capabilities and testing will also include operation of… More

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is soliciting innovative solutions to multi-sensor modeling and simulation in four areas: (1) large-scale scene modeling, (2) physics-base modeling tools, (3) simulation of algorithm performance, and (4) simulation of ATR and sensor fusion in systems. This… More

The TSC Phase I study will examine novel deterministic approaches to (1) multi-sensor motion parameter estimation and (2) reconstruction of multi-band radar static patterns, for exploiting multiple radars at different frequencies to discriminate the lethal re-entry vehicle from among the large… More

TSC will develop innovative methods to automatically extract Vertical Obstructions (VOs) from multiple sources of remotely sensed imagery. Initial estimates of the locations and heights of VOs will be extracted from Interferometric SAR (IFSAR) based DSMs using a modified version of TSC's existing… More

Unlike the past, modern conflicts are increasingly regional and asymmetric. This has prompted the Army to transform to Future Combat Systems (FCS) via an Objective Force - responsive, deployable, agile, versatile, lethal, survivable and sustainable. Strategic Manuever is key to this force - the… More

The short radar sensor baseline and low RF frequencies required to penetrate foliage on typical UHF GMTI radars cause the azimuth extent of the main beam to be quite large, producing large azimuth error ellipses that limit the target location accuracies that these systems can achieve. Since… More

Airborne GMTI radars that are used to detect ground-moving targets concealed beneath the forest canopy are characterized by small radar baselines and UHF carrier frequencies. The azimuth resolution of the radar beam and the resulting target azimuth error ellipses are quite large. Since accurate… More

RFI and signal security are indelibly intertwined in military FOPEN radar systems. RFI is a dual problem for FOPEN radars: on transmit, the radar signal interferes with other friendly systems operating in the same band; on receive, these systems' signals interfere with radar operations. A common… More

TSC and TAI propose to develop a simulation that will generate hyperspectral thermal IR imagery for user-specified scenes including targets, cultural and natural features, and terrain. The simulation uses the DoD standard MuSES model for target and feature signatures, with new extensions to support… More

During Phase I, TSC designed an X-band MTI omni-directional radar (MTIOR) for OAV an UGS applications. We demonstrated that the radar could detect moving dismounted personnel to a range of 3 km in a 3-m resolution cell, with a probability of detection )PD) > 80%, and ground vehicles with PD > 95%,… More

In an effort to enhance the OAV and UGS missions within the context of the Future Force vision, the Army has a need for an ultra-lightweight (objective: 2 lb) MTI radar sensor capable of 360 deg detection of moving dismounted troops at ranges of up to 3 km (objective) in desert terrain, under… More

Delivery of training materials via the Web is rapidly becoming an essential method of delivering training in an efficient and cost-effective manner, both in the military and civilian environments. Widely dispersed training audiences, however, require various levels of access control to training… More

Multisensor data fusion is a critical technology for many Navy missions and platforms. Platforms such as the E-2C, JSF and others require highly reliable tracking and classification of air platforms and ground targets within a tactical region. One critical design decision is the use of… More

Space-based radar concepts employing large (~ 300 m length) semi-rigid, active phased array antennas are being investigated for surveillance missions that include detecting surface moving targets in severe clutter environments. To achieve the required transmit and receive antenna pattern… More

The purpose of this Phase I effort is to introduce a new 3D imaging algorithm, to explore the range of circumstances within BMD where the technique can be successfully employed, and to investigate associated data processing requirements. MDA seeks a technique for exploiting its radar assets to… More

UAV-based GMTI radar offers the capability to detect anomalous vehicle and personnel activity in real-time to cue narrow field of view EO/IR sensors for identifying enemy targets in the presence of normal vehicle and foot traffic. Data mining is the process of extracting useful information from… More

SAR imaging is a key capability for Army programs such as Future Combat Systems and Aerial Common Sensor. Coherent change detection (CCD) is a powerful technique to examine large SAR images and identify areas where enemy activities have occurred. However, continual changes occur in populated… More

In Phase II, TSC proposes to further develop and validate a novel approach to: (1) multi-sensor motion parameter estimation and (2) reconstruction of multi-band radar static patterns, which was successfully demonstrated in Phase I. The overall goal of this research is to provide the radars of Aegis… More

As airborne radar missions migrate to orbital platforms, the required size of the RF aperture increases significantly with operating range. This places additional limitations on allowable mass and stowed volume relative to effective launch vehicle options These large physical apertures, high… More

TSC will demonstrate multi-sensor three-dimensional Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging using both coherent and non-coherent wideband radar networks. TSC will extend its innovative algorithm called Space-Time Radar Imaging that images scatterers attached to a rigid body by modeling… More

As the US continues to dominate air-to-air combat, the ability to maintain complete air supremacy will be challenged primarily from the ground. Airborne operations that require low altitude flight at relatively low speeds for any duration of time are particularly vulnerable to ground-based threats.… More

The TSC team proposes to develop a new generalized Space-Time Adaptive Processing (Generalized STAP) algorithm that discriminates among classes of scatterers. The new generalized formalism is applied to the problem of 3D ISAR imaging of the reentry vehicle (RV) or another object in the ballistic… More

Array antennas are conglomerations of many small radiating antennas, referred to as array elements. In common antenna pattern analyses the element pattern is considered to be uniform; element to element. Overall transmit or receive patterns are then described as products of two factors: the element… More

Data resources available for automatic feature extraction (AFE) have expanded significantly in the last few years. Available sensor data now includes high-resolution multispectral and hyperspectral sensors, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and accurate height measurement sensors such as LIDAR and… More

Transiting littoral waters safely is particularly complex for a UUV or USV, especially during military operations in low visibility, since there may be a high density of commercial vessels, fishing vessels, ferries, utility/patrol vessels, and military vessels moving on independent paths. Safe… More

TSC will further develop a new three-dimensional Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging algorithm that creates a 3D radar image of a ballistic target in arbitrary torque-free motion and simultaneously estimates its complete rotational state. The algorithm development and testing will be… More

SAR imaging is a key capability for Army programs such as Future Combat Systems and Aerial Common Sensor. Coherent change detection (CCD) is a powerful technique to examine large SAR images and identify areas where enemy activities have occurred. Coherent change detection (CCD) is a powerful… More

Radar-guided medium-range missiles with look-down/shoot-down capability, such as AAMRAM, give the U.S. decisive air superiority over any adversary. However, low-flying targets provide a daunting challenge at beam aspect, where the target signal is embedded in high-amplitude ground clutter returns. … More

Combat ID performance is driven not only by the need to prevent fratricide and minimize collateral damage but also by the increasingly important requirement to reduce the cost associated with expending high-cost weapons on low-value targets and decoys. During Phase 1 TSC will develop a system… More

The false alarm issue being extensive and multifaceted, based on both varying environments and radar types, modes, and capabilities, TSC proposes to design (Phase I) and construct a prototype (Phase II) of a high fidelity test-bed that will provide for the development of counter false alarm… More

The Air Force 311th Human Systems Wing at Brooks City-Base, San Antonio, Texas, has a requirement to develop a Laser Eye Protection (LEP) Field Evaluation Device to "field check" protection levels of LEP devices such as goggles, visors, and spectacles. The team of Technology Service Corporation… More

TSC proposes to extend proven techniques that extract traffic parameters from GMTI radar measurements and tracks for input to mathematical models that characterize target behavior. TSC will adapt an existing MIT traffic model that has been developed to estimate the vehicle flow between specific… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) proposes to analyze and develop an innovative multi-static radar concept based on the principles of generalized Space Time Adaptive Processing (STAP) to coherently detect airborne and ground moving targets in the presence of the severe clutter and interference… More

The Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) relies on a geographically dispersed set of sensors operating across different frequency bands. As tracking and discrimination techniques that combine information from multiple BMDS assets are superior to techniques that rely on individual sensors alone,… More

Debris in a missile complex can significantly impact performance of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The presence of debris can affect the accuracy of tracks on potentially threatening objects and the ability to reliably identify threatening objects versus non-threatening objects. It is… More

The Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Weapons Division, China Lake, has a requirement to develop a Reactive Missile Plume Simulator (RMPS) for open-air test and evaluation (T&E) of infrared (IR) missile warning and countermeasures systems. Adequate evaluation of Directional Infrared Countermeasures… More

An effective noncooperative target recognition (NCTR) system relies on the successful integration of three critical components: sensor, signature database, and classifier. These three components must be addressed concurrently and optimized in a mutually consistent manner to arrive at an effective… More

Algorithms will be generated to discriminate among humans, land animals and surface vehicles and to characterize dismount activities in advanced radar systems that can detect and track low RCS, slowly moving targets. These algorithms will utilize both micro-level features (e.g. Doppler spectra,… More

TSC proposes a Phase I SBIR research effort to establish the feasibility of integrating a Wideband Signal Processing (WBSP) adjunct processor into the RF path of the TACAMO VLF receiver system in order to allow multiple wideband blanking/filtering stages to reduce the impact of atmospheric noise… More

TSC proposes to estimate and display local propagation conditions (refractivity) using selected shipboard communication signals in real-time, i.e. estimate Refractivity-From-Communications (RFCOM). The proposed approach frames the problem as a non-linear least squares estimation problem involving… More

The Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Weapons Division, China Lake, has a requirement to develop a Dynamic Color Ratio Infrared Simulator (DCR-IRS) source for open-air test and evaluation (T&E) of missile warning and countermeasures systems. "Two-color" IR sensors employed by missile warning systems… More

Future U.S. conflicts increasingly involve operations against insurgents in asymmetric environments. Ongoing operations have demonstrated that insurgents can effectively disrupt the Army's ability to establish and maintain the logistical lines of communication (LOCs). Insurgent success is based on… More

Advanced UAV-based GMTI radars such as AACER and VADER offer the potential to reliably detect the anomalous behavior of both military vehicles and dismounted troops in real-time to cue narrow field-of-view EO/IR sensors and identify enemy targets amongst civilian vehicle and foot traffic. In Phase… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) will develop techniques and software to perform persistent surveillance against moving and stationary vehicles, including move-stop-move targets, using the FORESTER radar system when configured to fly a circular flight path around the desired target area. The… More

The false alarm issue being extensive and multifaceted, based on both varying environments and radar types, modes, and capabilities, TSC proposes to design (Phase I) and build (Phase II) a prototype of a radar simulation Testbed that will provide for the development of counter false alarm techniques… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) and the University of Connecticut (UCONN) will develop a birth-to-death tracking concept that utilizes rotational information to improve track handover between: 1) forward-based radars, 2) mid-course ballistic missile defense tracking radars, and 3) the IR sensor… More

In the training industry, widely dispersed training audiences (particularly for Web-based content) require various levels of access control to training materials. The use of smart cards, biometrics, and other tokens as security access/user identity verification keys provide an avenue not only to… More

In Phase I, TSC and the University of Arizona developed a new generalized Space-Time Adaptive Processing (Generalized STAP) algorithm that discriminates among classes of scatterers that move on generalized space-time paths. The new formalism was applied to three-dimensional (3D) imaging of objects… More

In Phase II, TSC proposes to further develop and validate a novel approach to multisensor 3D radar imaging and simultaneous motion parameter estimation, which was successfully demonstrated in Phase I. 3D radar images produced by TSC's algorithm offer a means of estimating the size of targets in… More

IEDs are primary insurgent weapons that have caused almost half the U.S. casualties in Iraq. To date, our response has included improved vehicle armor, persistent surveillance, and electronic warfare to defeat Radio-Controlled IEDs. The CREW Duke system developed by SRC has been a phenomenal success… More

MIMO is an innovative radar technique that can provide angle and velocity resolution advantages in phased array radars such as OTH systems. TSC plans to: 1) identify the architectural design requirements for signal generation and matched / mismatched filtering, and 2) develop simulations predicting… More

The Phase I program demonstrated the feasibility of using optical and LIDAR data to accurately extract structures, vertical obstructions, power lines, and road networks. In the Phase II program, TSC proposes to further develop the extraction techniques, and to develop prototype software at TRL… More

TSC has proposed a combat dismount wearable passive device that can be interrogated at a distance by an operational radar to identify and locate friendlies in environments including all weather, darkness, and forested conditions. The device will have omni- directional high backscatter gain for the… More

TSC will develop a promising new generalized Space-Time Adaptive Processing (Generalized STAP) algorithm that discriminates among classes of scatterers by forming adaptive filters over the fundamental measurement dimensions of radar element, pulse time and wideband frequency. The new generalized… More

Radar data collected on U.S. domestic missile flight tests has revealed significant debris environments. Solid rocket boosters have been found to create particularly dense debris environments, but deployment hardware debris is typically also present, both for solid and liquid fuel boosters. Data… More

Extracting Lines of Communication (LOCs) is crucial for mission planning and target interdiction. LOCs consist of unmapped foot trails, dirt roads and rivers / streams in some areas where U.S. forces operate. Forested areas are a particular challenge because optical sensors cannot penetrate… More

In Phase I, TSC and the University of Connecticut developed an innovative track handover algorithm which combines estimated rotational motion states with measured radar or IR data to correlate tracks. Rotational motion states are derived from S-band or X-band radar measurements using TSC's Static… More

The goal of the TSC/GTRI program is to enhance expeditionary (or other small force) ISR capabilities by providing: 1) improved performance for an aggregate of existing or near-term airborne sensors, mobile ground sensors and UGS, 2) more efficient use of data links, and 3) target discovery… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) and our academic partner Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) present an innovative approach to radar imaging of ships and other maritime targets that exploits monostatic, bistatic and multistatic wideband radar signals. The new signal processing technique is… More

The Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Weapons Division, China Lake has a requirement to develop a Reactive Missile Plume Simulator (RMPS) for open-air test and evaluation (T&E) of infrared (IR) missile warning and countermeasures systems. Adequate evaluation of Directional Infrared Countermeasures… More

As the US continues to dominate air-to-air combat, the ability to maintain complete air supremacy will be challenged primarily from the ground. Airborne operations that require low altitude flight at relatively low speeds for any duration of time are particularly vulnerable to ground-based threats.… More

The goal of the proposed Phase II work is to advance the development of ultra narrowband (UNB) multistatic systems for urban environments by developing algorithms, simulating radar performance, performing design tradeoff studies, and building a basic data collection system. The TSC program includes… More

TSC proposes to develop a prototype of its WideBand Signal Processor (WBSP) adjunct processor concept for atmospheric noise suppression enhancement of the VLF/LF receive suite (MMRT receivers) of the E-6B TACAMO aircraft. This prototype will be integrated and tested at the TACAMO Systems… More

The Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Weapons Division, China Lake, has a requirement to develop a Dynamic Color Ratio Infrared Simulator (DCR-IRS) source for open-air test and evaluation (T&E) of missile warning and countermeasures systems. "Two-color" IR sensors employed by missile warning systems… More

Array antennas are conglomerations of many small radiating antennas, referred to as array elements. In common antenna pattern analyses the element pattern is considered to be uniform; element to element. Overall transmit or receive patterns are then described as products of two factors: the element… More

Our primary technical objective is to complete the development of TSC's innovative concept for coherent multistatic AMTI or GMTI from radar systems that utilize a single high altitude transmitter and multiple close-range receivers moving with arbitrary, but known trajectories. This concept is based… More

The ability to perform persistent, wide-area surveillance of the air and sea approaches to the U.S. mainland has been and remains a primary mission requirement for both the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). In addition to major… More

In Phase I, Technology Service Corporation (TSC) demonstrated a new technique for three-dimensional (3-D) radar imaging called 3-D algebraic reconstruction, which relies on radar bandwidth rather than pulse-to-pulse coherence to achieve 3-D resolution. Th

IEDs are primary insurgent weapons that have caused almost half the U.S. casualties in Iraq. Our response has included persistent surveillance and electronic warfare to defeat Radio-Controlled IEDs. The CREW Duke system developed by SRC has been a phenomenal success in jamming RC-IEDs and has saved… More

Traditional adaptive processing utilizes the return signal in a manner designed to extract maximal information from a given radar return. MIMO radar processing, which is predicated on a totally digital receiver and an AESA transmitter is envisioned to take this one step further via the transmission… More

In Phase I, TSC investigated innovative anomaly detection algorithms for application to advanced UAV-based GMTI radars including VADER, AACER and FORESTER. TSC demonstrated a promising technique for reliably detecting and tracking anomalous groups of dismounts in simulated urban / suburban… More

The California Operation of Technology Service Corporation (TSC/CA) proposes a comprehensive program to develop GMTI persistent surveillance algorithms that discriminate human combatants from moving animals under foliage. TSC/CA will use measured and simulated radar data of human and animal targets… More

Even the most sophisticated countermeasures such as replica decoys and an antisimulated RV can be correctly discriminated based on their detailed physical properties; features that can be extracted using the radar and IR sensor assets of the BMDS using advanced discrimination algorithms. But to… More

Mobility Air Force assets deployed in forward positions are vulnerable to enemy air defenses and require protection, typically provided by high-power standoff jammer aircraft loitering outside the range of enemy missiles while radiating powerful waves of wideband energy at an entire region of enemy… More

Current simulators can display very detailed imagery over very large geographic training areas in both visual and sensor channels. To provide a high-fidelity sensor channel, the simulation must be physics-based, and must rely on knowledge of the material properties of the simulation area. The… More

The performance of a Non-Cooperative Target Identification (NCTI) system is sensitive to both the quality of the signatures in the database and the extent to which the database is complete. Impediments to portability and hybridization can detrimentally impact the databases, and also significantly… More

According to recent studies, future U.S. conflicts will increasingly involve asymmetric operations against insurgents. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated that asymmetric environments can disrupt the Army's ability to establish and mainta

The United States is heavily invested in, and dependent on, space assets for both military and commercial applications. These assets must be protected from man-made and natural space objects that pose a threat. An improved all-weather, day or night Space Object Identification (SOI) and tracking… More

In Phase I, TSC developed a clutter mitigation technique that will allow radars of the BMDS to better detect, track and discriminate targets in the presence of tumbling dipole clutter and jamming countermeasures. The clutter mitigation technique is based on a novel adaptive signal processing… More

TSC and Purdue University will demonstrate a lab prototype of software and hardware capable of doing high speed monitoring of a Lithium-Ion cell. This monitoring needs to be specifically designed to predict failures. When a predictive failure is indicated a defensive countermeasure needs to be… More

TSC proposes to develop a software algorithm for improving the detection, tracking, and discrimination of threat objects in the presence of a dense environment of debris. Debris of the type to be addressed in the proposed work can rapidly increase the radar''s track load to the point where tracks… More

Missile defense radar applications face increasing challenges in their detection, tracking, and discrimination functions. They include (a) noise jamming and clutter environment that become more severe as the required system sensitivities grow larger; (b) deceptive jamming that becomes more insidious… More

Under this effort TSC will structure a circular-orbit UHF SAR backprojection algorithm to operate in real-time and provide fully polarimetric imagery that is orthorectified and geo-registered. The algorithm re-quirements will be determined for operation on a massively-parallel computer system (such… More

The burgeoning use of UASs in all classes of airspace may cause situations where other aircraft, whose paths and missions are independent, intrude on each other's airspace. This situation resulted in the requirement for a sense-and-avoid (SAA) sensor that will satisfy FAA's due regard and… More

TSC proposes to capture essential requirements analysis and systems engineering in Modeling Languages, and integrate the result with a real time network-to-processor level integrated development environment application, specifically for spacecraft On-Orbit Checkout (OOC). Through a standards based… More

The discrimination of lethal RVs within the ballistic missile complex is a challenging task. In Phase I, TSC demonstrated a nonparametric Bayesian classifier that can efficiently estimate the Probability Density Function (PDF) used in the Bayes classifier. A novel method of mapping N-dimensional… More

GMTI radars are excellent at detecting slowly moving targets, but typically do not have the capability to classify the moving object. For FOPEN radars such as FORESTER, the operators would like to know if targets are wild animals, pack animals, indigenous humans or dismounted combatants. Or if a… More

Mobility Air Force assets deployed in forward positions are vulnerable to enemy air defenses and require protection, typically provided by high-power standoff/support jammer aircraft loitering outside the range of enemy missiles while radiating high-power jamming waveforms at large region of enemy… More

Radar signature databases are critical elements of combat aircraft target identification systems that must accurately reflect the target configurations at the time the identification is to be made. However, there are numerous effects that can cause the databases to be less than optimal in terms of… More

The challenges faced by airborne and ground-based sensors in detecting, classifying, identifying, associating and tracking difficult moving targets, such as insurgent forces, operating in difficult terrain such as mountains and forests will be addressed. Our team will quantify the performance that… More

ABSTRACT: In Phase I, TSC and SDL will develop holographic circular SAR (CSAR) processing algorithms that allow a scene to be viewed in three dimensions over 360 degrees in azimuth and with a large elevation angle extent. Our approach is to coherently combine a set of CSAR images collected with… More

Technology Service Corporation (TSC) proposes to apply the Dynamic Logic (DL) algorithm to perform target detection and tracking using data from multiple radar and IR sensor assets in the ballistic missile defense system (BMDS). This iterative algorithm performs these two tasks simultaneously, and… More

Due to variations in design and configuration, no one sensor can fully and reliably detect all the possible IED threats to the modern warfighter. By utilizing the advancements in processing capability and data transfer of modern computing, we can reduce the burden on single sensors. What if sensors… More

Low-frequency synthetic aperture radars (SARs), which tend to have very broad antenna beams and relatively small waveform bandwidths, are inherently vulnerable to unintentional RFI and to intentional electronic attack (EA). EA is typically performed using either: 1) a barrage noise or swept spot… More

In Phase I, Technology Service Corporation (TSC) demonstrated the feasibility of a signal processing technique for improving the detection, tracking, and discrimination of threat objects in the presence of a dense environment of debris. For Phase II, TSC proposes to develop a signal processing… More

TSC will develop software that exploits the rich geometric diversity of high resolution UHF-band SAR when the SAR flies a circular flight path about the scene of interest. TSC will develop and implement software that processes both UHF-band and VHF-band TRACER data to: 1) generate VideoSAR frames… More

In Phase I the team of TSC and SDL will initiate an effort to collect polarimetric target and clutter signatures, identify polarimetric features and algorithms for detecting and classifying targets, and understanding the sensitivity to target aspect angle, grazing angle and radar resolution. In… More

In Phase I, TSC and the University of Connecticut developed an innovative track handover algorithm which combines estimated rotational motion states with measured radar or IR data to correlate tracks. Rotational motion states are derived from S-band or X-band radar measurements using TSC"s… More

Technology Service Corporation proposes an approach to placing object discrimination on firm foundations in a systems theory and mathematical framework. Using System Identification concepts, we establish the relationships among threat object characteristics and behaviors; rotational motion… More

ABSTRACT: Air defense systems using Passive coherent location (PCL) radars are a concern for the US Air Force because of the PCL receivers"reduced vulnerability to electronic detection and precision weapons, and because of their potential for enhanced detection of low-observable US aircraft.… More

ABSTRACT: TSC proposes to develop a software tool for modeling the dynamic multistatic coherent RF signatures of targets illuminated by munition fuze imaging sensors at sub-millimeter wavelengths. TSC will leverage a signature modeling tool that was developed by TSC for the Air Force under a recent… More

ABSTRACT: The Air Force has a requirement to test Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems in an RF Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL) simulation. The simulation requires that a large number of computations to determine the simulated target and clutter signals be performed in a short amount of time to… More

Increasing data rate requirements from Navy communication systems, motivated in part by future sensor netting applications, drive a corresponding need to utilize broader communication bandwidths. It is envisioned that such bandwidth broadening will cause increased conflicts with other systems in the… More

The U.S. Army is currently investing in the development of affordable electronics for defense systems. Specifically, affordable active phased arrays are being explored for the purpose of reducing the cost of missile seekers. As threat types, ranges and ballistics become more and more abundant and… More

Tactical counter-concealment aerial sensors that are currently being developed by the U.S. Army operate at VHF, UHF and/or L-band frequencies. These radars must operate in environments in which there can be a significant amount of unintentional radio frequency interference (RFI) (i.e.… More