Award Data

The U.S. military envisions a range of cryocooler systems that can enable specific operational requirements. For missile defense applications, Triton is targeting cooling of infrared focal plane arrays (FPA) in optics which address surveillance, missile threat warning systems and missile seeker systems in general. Triton Systems Inc proposes to develop thermal management solutions for space elec ...

We are proposing an innovative approach to sensor fusion and target recognition based on transductive inference with support vector machines. Our proposed algorithm will apply innovative discrimination to the fusion of sensor (feature) and contextual scenario information through the development of robust algorithms and software necessary to collect, process, and fuse information from multiple sour ...

A major issue that inhibits the performance of current long wavelength infrared (LWIR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) in THAAD seekers is the residual non-uniformity (RNU). This non-uniformity (larger that 0.2% in FPAs fabricated with the current technology) leads to major restrictions on FPA integration times and optics temperatures. We propose to design and develop a 640x512 two-color mid-wavelength ...

Significant interest exists in developing radar algorithms to screen debris and small fragments from objects of interest in a ballistic missile defense threat complex. RCS statistics alone may not be sufficiently reliable to perform this screening function. A statistical model of radar debris fragments with realistic phase and amplitude variations suitable for large scale Monte-Carlo testing of ...

MDA is developing deployable airborne systems such as the Airborne Laser (ABL) for boost-phase missile defense. The ABL’s mission would significantly benefit from enhanced target detection and ranging capabilities. We propose an active sensing system compatible with ABL that is based on HgCdTe avalanche photodiodes (APDs), which are an attractive choice for active sensing applications because t ...

We propose a large format collinear MWIR/LWIR 2-color HgCdTe IR Focal Plane Array with multiband enhancement capabilities that can be integrated into a kill vehicle interceptor to perform rudimentary signal pre-processing and cell memory functions thereby elevating seeker abilities to acquire, track, and discriminate enemy targets. This proposed approach, supported by the MKV Program (Lockheed Ma ...

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are attractive candidates for use as power sources in military, aerospace, commercial, and vehicular applications because they have high specific energy (up to 200 Wh/kg) and energy density (~ 500 Wh/L) and long cycle life (1,000 – 80,000 cycles currently depending on the depth of cycling). However, the production of these batteries for defense applications is ofte ...

PhaCTIV - Phase Change Thermally Initiated Venting System The Phase Change Thermally Initiated Venting System (PhaCTIV) consists of the following: 1) A structual plate (external) - low melt alloy - structual plate - thermal barrier (internal). 2) Structural plates are joined together with low-melt alloy having an operating range of 230°C to greater than 480°C, depending on requirements. 3) Therm ...

A successful intercept of a missile by a kinetic energy kill vehicle initiates a complex sequence of events and associated observable signatures that occur over a very wide range of temporal, spatial, and spectral scales. The signatures contain highly desirable information on the lethality of the intercept (glancing blow or deadly impact) and on the contents of the warhead (nuclear, biological, or ...

Agiltron proposes a high-performance dual-band imager for the IRST sensors used in the ABL Wide Area Surveillance System (WASS). To meet the needs of the MDA, the proposed imager will feature simultaneous dual-band MWIR/LWIR operation for increased discrimination capability; megapixel resolution for increased field of view, detection range, and angular resolution; uncooled operation for minimized ...