Interferometric Faint Object Tracker (iFOT) for Missile Defense

Optical Physics Company (OPC) is proposing to design and prototype an enhanced sensor system for acquiring and actively tracking ballistic missiles in their ascent phase at strategic ranges. The enabling technology is OPCs interferometric faint object tracker (iFOT), which offers unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity. OPC envisions building a custom iFOT and integrating it with a pulsed laser source to form a complete sensor system for acquisition, tracking and pointing (ATP). The common inertial reference approach described in detail in the proposal enables substantial power savings for the illuminator laser source. The Phase I effort will start with a trade study of the sensor configuration, mounting options, and the illuminating pulsed laser source. This will be followed by modeling and analysis, including analysis of previous acquired iFOT and other tracker data to validate the performance expectations. Finally OPC will formulate a preliminary design and test and characterization plan for the Phase II prototype and conclude the Phase I effort with a Preliminary Design Review. Approved for Public Release 14-MDA-8047 (14 Nov 14)