INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FOR REDUCING COSTS OF GUIDED MUNITIONS

AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO REDUCING THE TOTAL LIFE CYCLE COST OF OWNERSHIP OF GUIDED MUNITIONS IS PROPOSED. FOCUS OF THE APPROACH IS ON THE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO A MILLIMETER WAVE TARGET SEEKER FRONT END (TRANSMITTER, RECEIVER AND ANTENNA). COST REDUCTION IN LARGE SCALE MANUFACTURING IS POSSIBLE THROUGH USE OF THE FIBER INTEGRATED MILLIMETRICS, A CIRCUIT METHOD WHICH ALLOWS COMPUTER AUTOMATED SURFACE MOUNTING OF ALL COMPONENTS AND DEVICES. THE PROPOSED APPROACH WILL INTRODUCE STANDARDS INTO THE CIRCUIT DESIGN APPROACH SUCH THAT ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT COSTS WILL ALSO BE REDUCED. FRONT END QUALITY ENHANCEMENT THROUGH COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING WILL NOT ONLY LOWER PRODUCT COST BUT MINIMIZE COST OF OWNERSHIP THROUGH EXTENDED SHELF LIFE. A COMPREHENSIVE FOUR YEAR PROGRAM IS ENVISIONED LEADING TO A VALIDATED AND OPERABLE MANUFACTURING FACILITY CAPABLE OF MASS PRODUCING UNDER AUTOMATED COMPUTER CONTROL A VARIETY OF MILLIMETER WAVE FRONT END CONFIGURATIONS AT SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER COST THAN MORE CONVENTIONAL METHODS. THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL INVOLVE COST MODELING TO QUANTIFY POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED FACILITY METHODS.