INFRARED CLUTTER REJECTION AND TARGET IDENTIFICATION SENSOR SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION OF DISTANT, PASSIVE THREATS IN A COMBAT ENGAGEMENT WHERE LARGE CLUTTERED BACKGROUNDS ARE PRESENT IS OF MAJOR CONCERN TO INFRARED SENSOR SYSTEMS. THE IDENTIFICATION OF BOTH THREAT, FRIENDLY AND NEUTRAL, TARGETS IN A CLUTTERED SCENE ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THE ADDED EDGE NEEDED FOR SMART BATTLE MANAGEMENT AND SURVIVABILITY. IN MANY CASES THE DETECTION AND DECLARATION OF A DISTANT POINT CAN GIVE THE ADDED TIME TO MAKE AN INTELLIGENT RESPONSE OR NON-RESPONSE TO A SITUATION. IN THE SPACE COMBAT ENVIRONMENT THE THREATS SUCH AS AIRCRAFT, DECOYS, MISSILES, ETC., JUST TO NAME A FEW, HAVE UNIQUE SPECTRAL SIGNATURES. MEASUREMENT OF THESE SPECTRAL SIGNATURES WILL ALLOW POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF THE POTENTIAL OR NON-POTENTIAL THREAT. EARLY DETECTION OF THREATS USING INFRARED SENSORS IN A CLUTTERED ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES A HIGH SIGNAL TO CLUTTER NOISE RATIO, I.E., EFFECTIVE CLUTTER REJECTION. THREE GENERIC CLUTTER REJECTION TECHNIQUES THAT ARE USED ARE: (1) SPATIAL DISCRIMINATION, (2) SPECTRAL DISCRIMINATION, (3) TEMPORAL DISCRIMINATION. THE USE OF SPECTRAL ANALYSIS BESIDES BEING AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE FOR IDENTIFICATION OF TARGETS ALSO ENABLES DIFFERENTIATION OF TARGET FROM CLUTTER. WE PROPOSE IN THIS SBIR TO INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF USING A NEW INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUE. "POINT MULTI-SPECTRAL SENSING" (PMSS), FOR MEASURING THE SPECTRAL SIGNATURES OF DISTANT POINT-LIKE OBJECTS. THIS TECHNIQUE USES LIGHT WEIGHT INEXPENSIVE DIFFRACTION OPTICS, COUPLED WITH SIMPLE DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING ALGORITHMS IMPLEMENTED WITH A PARALLEL PROCESSOR. THIS PROPOSED TECHNIQUE CAN IDENTIFY TARGETS AT RANGES COMPARABLE TO OR EXCEEDING THE RANGE AT WHICH THEY MAY BE DETECTED WITH MONOCHROMATIC INFRARED SURVEILLANCE AND WARNING SYSTEMS. THIS PROPOSED PROJECT HAS SEVERAL POTENTIAL USES FOR THE DOD IN THE AREA OF BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE, NON-COOPERATIVE TARGET RECOGNITION (NCTR), RECONNAISSANCE, AND STRATEGIC MISSILE WARNING JUST TO NAME A FEW.