Missile Plume Temporal Intensity Fluctuation Exploitation

The time-varying plume infra-red (IR) signature modulation provides a marker that allows a plume signal to be discriminated, in frequency space, from a cluttered background. From the perspective of Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), it provides a novel opportunity for Early Launch Detection & Tracking (ELDT) of threat targets. For BMD-related development of guidance sensors for interceptors, the modulation character in a spatially resolved plume acquires increased significance. Absence of an engineering-oriented, plume signature modulation phenomenology model has hindered exploitation of this distinctive phenomenon for ELDT & Boost Phase Intercept (BPI). CRAFT Tech proposes development of a rapid turnaround hypertemporal intensity (HTI) model, calibrated by flight measurements, and demonstrated via application to liquid and solid propellant fueled threat systems of interest to MDA. The novel modeling utilizes stochastic turbulence estimation techniques for extending conventional plume signature methodology into the hypertemporal regime. The model is supported by a comprehensive HTI database of spectral characteristics derived from past/upcoming flight measurements, launch observations and restrained firings, representing liquid and solid propellant-fueled threat and surrogate systems. A seamless architecture for combined hypertemporal flowfield & IR modeling, with a GUI-driven Expert Interface, has been envisioned leading to the development of the RPFM-HTI code.