Silicon-Based Visible/Near-Infrared Affordable Missile Warning Sensor

The proposed effort, in response to Office of Naval Research STTR Topic N03-T020, is to develop a prototype affordable visible/near-infrared missile warning sensor (AMWS), which uses conventional silicon based CCD technology as a detector. This sensor would ultimately form part of a Directed Infrared Counter-Measure (DIRCM) system designed to protect naval aircraft from anti-aircraft missiles. To mitigate the effects of clutter at visible and near-infrared wavelengths, the AMWS employs an extremely narrow-band filter. This filter has been designed to have a wide on-band field-of-view, while maintaining its narrow bandpass. This enables the AMWS to have an operational field of view of 100 degrees. As part of the proposed development a production prototype will be designed and built and then undergo rigorous field testing.