Award Data

Analysis of nuclear material samples in the field has many advantages over laboratory analysis. Laboratory analyses can be slow, involve increased expense, lead to additional waste generation and disposal problems, and may introduce errors due to sample degradation or mishandling. In situ analysis mitigates all of these problems. The specific aim of this project is the development of a truly por ...

Research is proposed to develop and demonstrate innovative, revolutionary approaches in components and architecture, to improve fiber optic gyro (FOG) performance without increasing current FOG size and weight. Gyroscopes are critical components of many inertial measurement units (IMU) including proposed MDA systems such as Airborne Laser (ABL). The FOG is potentially a more reliable and less co ...

The objective of this proposal is to develop highly reliable technologies for initiating and venting large diameter SRMs subjected to slow cook-off. Systima with support from Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK), Tactical Propulsion and Controls Division, proposes to integrate auto-ignition propellant, safe and arm mechanisms, and novel techniques to sever large diameter rocket motor casing. In slow c ...

Orora Design Technologies proposes to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of a template-based solution to the design of high-performance radiation-hardened analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). Research will be focused on innovatice architectures for a Delta-Sigma ADC of 2.5 MSPS data rate at 16-bit or greater resolution with 250mW or less power consumption, and a pipelined ADC of 180MSPS data ...

A critical need for the ballistic missile defense system (BMDS) is the determination of the warhead type contained within the intercepted threat. Knowledge of warhead type is essential for effective consequence mitigation and determining the National Command Authority response to the threat. Since missile defense threat scenarios include attacks on theater assets and our allies, the BMDS architec ...

The problem of debris propagation and impact location has been studied since the formation of the Missile Defense Agency because accurate prediction of where and with what probability the fragments created during an intercept will impact the ground is crucial to the determination of possible collateral damage. The Kinetic Impact Debris Distribution (KIDD) fragmentation model provides a tool for p ...

Future missile detection systems will require improved thermal management for cooling gimbal-mounted sensors and optics. Current systems utilize cryocoolers placed on the gimbal, which necessitates the cryocooler heat to be rejected directly from the gimbal. A far superior approach in terms of payload mass would locate the warm elements of the cryocooler on the stationary platform near the space ...

The objective of the research is to produce a technology that will effectively automate the processes of recognizing security threats to BMDS under the conditions of unpredictable dynamic situations and the periods of heightened alerts. Our method will provide human operators with results in the context of tactical and operational BMDS situations and gives sufficient explanations needed for future ...

Detection, tracking, and identification of ballistic missiles can benefit significantly from improved correlation of the tracks and detections. Track and detections are coming from the optical sensors and the radar sensors for further fusion of data into the single picture of the situation. However, available association methods are not nearly robust enough. Several radar, EO, and IR sensor charac ...

The objective of this proposal is to develop enhanced clutter and interference suppression methods to perform target detection and identification in presence of a cluttered environment. In addition, protection against mainbeam jamming is also addressed here using distributed Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) sensor technology. For this purpose smart transmit beamforming using together with ad ...