Missile Intercept Debris Cloud Signature Toolkit

A successful high-altitude (>100km) missile intercept by a kinetic-energy kill vehicle initiates a complex sequence of events and observable signatures occurring over a wide range of temporal, spatial, and spectral scales. The resultant debris cloud signatures contain highly desirable information on the intercept lethality and warhead contents (nuclear, biological, high explosive, or chemical). The debris cloud is also a source of background clutter potentially interfering with sensor operation. The project objective is development and validation of the Debris Cloud Signature Toolkit (DCST), software for simulation of signatures from the debris cloud resulting from a high-altitude missile intercept. DCST will model the spatial, temporal, spectral outcome of successful missile intercepts in a single, complete, and comprehensive (UV-LWIR spectral coverage) model. Additionally, we will develop and test an optically efficient breadboard snapshot spectral imager for eventual model validation. Based on the Phase I feasibility demonstration, this effort seeks to develop software modules for the important chemical, physical, and spectral aspects of these events and integrate these modules into DoD standard modeling software. The development and validation of the DCST represents a significant and innovative advancement to modeling, simulation, and analysis application tools for missile defense.