Lightweight Communication Equipment for Interceptor Communications

For high-speed ballistic intercept applications, the targeting sensor must be forward-looking in order to acquire, track, and neutralize the target. Traditional forward-looking sensors must reside near the nose of the projectile where hypersonic aerothermal loads can exceed 1000°C; effectively blinding IR seekers and producing extreme thermal loads on sensor electronic components. As more advanced hypersonic railgun weapons continue to be developed, this thermal loading only stands to increase, further pushing the limits on available materials and requiring sensors to reside under a protective radome, for ablative heat shielding. FIRST RF has developed a novel conformal, high-temperature and high-shock compatible, forward-looking, high gain antenna, suitable for use in hypersonic seeker applications. This capability fully enables dual mode IR and RF targeting for the 40 mm railgun projectile as a multi-threat kill vehicle. The FIRST RF design uses sensors with technology demonstrated in extreme thermal and mechanical conditions. It also implements low-cost manufacturing techniques that minimize scrap. The part count is low and the construction method is very simple and robust. This overall solution significantly lowers cost, while also considerably reducing performance risk associated with high thermal and mechanical environmental conditions.