Innovative Manufacturing Processes: Advanced Optical Processor Insertion

The projected ballistic missile defense (BMD) threat environment is extremely challenging. The linear frequency modulation (LFM) waveforms used by current radars have limitations in these projected environments. The use of advanced waveforms is desired for these imaging tasks, but they require both wideband analog to digital converters and intensive digital processing. Optical front-end receivers have been shown to have significant advantages over wideband all-digital processing. Under previous efforts, Essex developed an opto-electronic radar signal processor, called the Advanced Optical Processor (AOP). The AOP permits the use of advanced waveforms, such as pseudo-random number (PRN) codes and chaotic waveforms. A second generation AOP has been developed and soon will be tested at both MIT/LL and KMR with the ALCOR radar. The AOP characteristics indicate that this radar image formation technology can be used to support the challenges posed by modern ballistic missile defense threat environments in the near future for both discrimination and kill assessment. This proposed effort will augment the testing at KMR with testing and data collection at selected radar site(s) in support of AOP2 demonstration for insertion into Missile Defense Agency (MDA) radars. A second task will be to perform system testing to identify specific system components which can be improved to enhance system performance within the radars identified for potential insertion. All such enhancements discovered shall be presented to the Government. Those jointly agreed to as desirable enhancements shall be designed, implemented, and tested to assess AOP2 performance improvement.