Discrimination Payload Deployment System Technology

A major MDA/SMDC thrust area is the development of methods to improve discrimination of warheads from decoys by altering signatures and/or kinematics characteristics of potential threats. Some of the discrimination systems being evaluated/flight tested for this application require discrimination system payloads to be deployed from carrier vehicles. Maximizing the capability of discrimination systems is critical to identifying the real threats. Incorporation of new payload ejector technologies into payload deployment systems offers the opportunity to significantly decrease the size and weight of the payload carriage/deployment system. Decreasing the size and weight of the payload carriage/deployment system offers the opportunity to increase the payload’s size/weight and discrimination payload’s capability. New payload deployment technologies offer the opportunity to simplify the design and operation of the payload deployment system and offer significant reductions in the size/complexity of the payload deployment system. An integral part of the Phase II program will be functional testing of a subscale discrimination payload in a test tank. The results from this test will be used to validate discrimination payload design assumptions that form the basis of the payload deployment system. The Phase II Discrimination Payload Deployment System program will end with the design/development of a flight ready discrimination payload dispenser.