Detachable Bomb Pursuit Vehicle for Battle Damage Assessment

Deployment of precision weapons from Air Force platforms has increased the probability of achieving desired first-strike effects on ground targets. GPS/INS guided weapons are launched without target overflight from increasing standoff ranges and, in mostcases, the aircrew does not observe weapons impact and cannot make a battle damage assessment. High overhead or UAV imagery often is unavailable or is unable to discern target damage. Manned overflight for battle damage assessment/indication negates thesurvivability advantage provided by long-range precision weapons. The objective of this project is to continue development of a Detachable Bomb Pursuit Vehicle (DBPV) that will ride along with the precision weapon, detach itself during the terminal phaseof the weapon's flight, then acquire and track the weapon, transmitting real-time imagery of weapon impact and effects. Phase I focused on proving concept feasibility through analysis of weapon flight conditions, modeling of DBPV flight stability, anddetermination of required sensor performance. A system operation timeline and initial system architecture were developed. Phase II will focus on development of the tracking system and algorithms, release mechanism, and system integration. Prototypesystems will be fabricated and demonstrated in subsonic flight conditions to prove out the tracking approach and system concept. (P-030127)