INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS FOR FORCE SUPPORT FROM SPACE

OPERATIONAL MILITARY FORCES ARE IN NEED OF TIMELY, ALL-WEATHER TARGETING DATA. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE OF FORCES IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER, WHICH NEED TARGETING SUPPORT TO MEET THE OBJECTIVE OF THE NEW FOLLOW ON FORCES ATTACK (FOFA) STRATEGY FOR THE DEFENSE OF EUROPE. WE PROPOSE AN ASSESSMENT OF THE UTILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF A SPACE-BASED, PHASED ARRAY SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR) FOR PROVIDING THE REQUISITE TARGETING SUPPORT. WE ALSO PROPOSE TO ASSESS APPLICATIONS OF A SPACE-BASED TARGETING SAR OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN THEATER. WE WILL QUANTIFY THE CONTRIBUTION THAT THE TARGETING SAR CAN MAKE TO INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRENTLY AVAILABLE OR PLANNED STRIKE SYSTEMS. WE WILL THEN ESTABLISH DESIGN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SAR SENSOR, PROCESSOR, AND SPACECRAFT. WE WILL PARTICULARLY EXPLORE TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS THAT MAY ALLOW THE TARGETING-SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS TO BE MET WITH RELATIVELY SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT SPACECRAFT. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE CONCEPTS THAT WILL ALLOW THE USE OF SURVIVABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES TO LAUNCH OR RECONSTITUTE THE SPACECRAFT CONSTELLATION. FINALLY, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A FULL SIMULATION OF THE SAR TARGETING SYSTEM.