Adaptive Multiwaveform Laser Radar

Rapid and reliable identification or discrimination of friendly and hostile targets at beyond visual ranges remains a major technical challenge that may be best served by advances in ladar technology. Next-generation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) ladar systems will tackle the difficult problem of detecting, identifying and imaging targets at great range. Ladar based ISR systems may also serve a critical role in detecting underground facilities by sensing chemical and biological effluents or performing battle damage assessment by sensing changes in the target signature (before and after strike) or by measuring a target’s vibration (i.e. engine on or off). Future missile defense systems, such as the Airborne Laser (ABL) or next-generation Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles (EKV), will rely on very long range ladar sensors to detect and track targets and discriminate targets from decoys. All of these applications require advances in the ladar technology to improve performance, reliability, cost, size, weight and power. In this program, Areté Associates will develop an adaptive multi-waveform ladar approach based on our proprietary high time-bandwidth product unambiguous ladar waveforms. The effort will specifically focus on the refining the waveform to include an interrogation component and features that will allow adaptive waveform operation for closed-loop target detection augmentation.