X-Band Radar Target (DART X-Band)

The widespread proliferation of radar systems has fundamentally changed the modern operational environment.  Radar systems that detect or target airborne assets have become ubiquitous since the Cold War.  They are also highly mobile, making them difficult to track and target.  The current Department of Defense (DoD) emitter test and training infrastructure resembles the outdated structure of a Cold War-era Integrated Air Defense System (IADS).  Modern adversary threat environments are characterized by multiple short, medium, and long-range surface to air missile systems (SAMS), each consisting of numerous radars. Emitters used for training and testing are extremely expensive, resulting in low density in the test and training environment. They are large and cumbersome to relocate or use in a mobile manner.  The Combat Air Force (CAF) needs an alternative to test and evaluate tactics and systems effectiveness against a threat-representative environment. Evaluating the Offensive Counterair – Suppression of Enemy Defenses (OCA-SEAD) mission necessitates a low-cost, mobile, representative threat emitter solution that currently does not exist.  DEWM has developed DART, or DEWM’s Attritable Radar Target. DART emulates modern surface threat RF signatures in line with the Air Force’s current global challenges.  Aside from being a low-cost, targetable system, DART is also man-portable, allowing for easy operation. Unlike existing, costly emitters, DART has a different purpose and is built from the ground up to be a target, not a trainer. Deployment of our system will revolutionize how combat flying squadrons conduct munitions training by providing a realistic target. This will directly enhance combat flying squadrons’ ability to perform in a contingency environment and increase the likelihood of success in mission execution.