Improved Field of Regard for Strap Down Semi Active Laser Seekers

Missile systems such as Hellfire provide outstanding lethality, but use traditional gimbaled seeker heads that are too expensive and heavy to meet increasing missile loadout requirements. The reduced weight and lower cost of Strapdown Semi-Active Laser seekers enable missile loadouts that provide greater stowed kill capabilities and/or time on station. Areté Associates has developed a set of innovative concept designs that mitigate the performance limitations of a Strapdown seeker while maintaining all of its advantages. Areté design concepts fit into the following taxonomical structure: 1) Scanning Seekers, 2) Beam Splitting to Two Sensors, and 3) Focal Plane Arrays of Detectors. The design concepts are then evaluated against: Reliability, Detector Sensitivity (detection range), Weight, Cost, Size, FOR Coverage Rate, Compatibility with Proportional Navigation Guidance Algorithms, and extensions of the Total FOR and IFOV beyond minimum threshold. Initial downselection is made in the technical proposal. A 40º total Field of Regard and an Instantaneous Field of View of 8º is set as a minimum threshold requirement for any design concept. The SBIR Phase I program feasibility study will identify the design concept that maximizes performance within size and cost constraints and recommend a positive Phase II approach.