Deployable Dual-Band Plasma Sensor

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has a pressing need to detect the photons emitted from small volumes of high-temperature plasma with directional data to locate the source. Corvid Technologies has developed a deployable dual-band plasma sensor concept in a previous Phase I program. The “dual-band” aspect refers to the system’s ability to image remote objects in both the ultraviolet and infrared spectral bands, which provides increased confidence in target detection. The plasma sensor concept was specifically designed to be deployed from vertical launcher systems currently aboard guided-missile destroyers but is adaptable to a variety of launch platforms. Corvid’s dual-band plasma sensor system is simple in design, scalable, and uses commercial off-the-shelf optical components and imaging sensors. Corvid is uniquely suited to advance the concept design, model, simulate, and test a prototype in the proposed Phase II effort. At the end of Phase II, Corvid will demonstrate through simulation analysis that the sensor system can successfully detect plasma sources in the atmosphere, construct a prototype and perform small-scale validation experiments, and demonstrate a computation platform capable of autonomously detecting and tracking targets in real time. Approved for Public Release | 25-MDA-12220 (23 Sep 25)