Reactive Missile Plume Simulator for Open-Air Testing

The Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Weapons Division, China Lake, has a requirement to develop a Reactive Missile Plume Simulator (RMPS) for open-air test and evaluation (T&E) of infrared (IR) missile warning and countermeasures systems. Adequate evaluation of Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) requires that missile plume signatures be simulated for both jammed and non-jammed missile conditions. The high DIRCM IR tracker resolution dictates a continuous spatial plume simulation. Technology Service Corporation (TSC) is proposing two innovative solutions to the RMPS requirement. The primary solution, based on technology employed in the Infrared Simulator and Target Array (ISTAR) system at NAWC, uses extended infrared sources configured end to end to define jammed missile trajectories. The sources (10 meters in length) are instrumented with detectors for IR bands I, II, and IV to monitor DIRCM. A secondary solution, with potential for high simulation fidelity and flexibility, uses a remotely-controlled Organic Air Vehicle with a compact IR source and IR band I, II, and IV detectors. Under Phase I, TSC will investigate these solutions and others, performing tradeoff studies to establish feasibility; then, in Phase II, TSC will develop and demonstrate a proof-of-concept system that will provide ISTAR with an initial RMPS capability.