Ultra-Fast Fiber Optic Fish Net Sensor System for Target Hit-Point Detection

In order to address MDA’s need for highly integrated instrumentation both on and off-board targets that can be used to determine position and attributes of hit and misses for kinetic and/or directed energy weapons the IFOS team proposes using a fiber optic “fish net” with Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors as a hit grid for embedding in a target missile body to determine the hit point. In Phase I, IFOS will demonstrate feasibility by constructing and testing a proof-of-principal model based on a high speed/high resolution FBG interrogator and develop advanced signal processing algorithms to identify the hit point in a test coupon with an embedded array of FBGs. The proposed innovation is the miniaturized hit grid package including sensors and interrogator with PC/104 form factor based on all-fiber-optic sensing system replacing the existing electrical sensors/cabling and reducing the system weight, cost, size, footprint while improving performance and reliability. The hit grid package also contains an integrated, high-efficiency telemetry transmitter capable of being programmed to operate in either upper or lower S-band, or L-band to address potential bandwidth and link margin issues due to high bit rates in the vicinity of 20 Mbps.