Active Laser Tracker for KKV

"Ballistic missile defense requires the ability to find, track and intercept a threat missile before it can reach its target. The kinetic kill vehicle (KKV) is a fundamental means to intercept and destroy the threat. To be successful, the KKV must be ableto acquire and track the target autonomously while steering itself on an intercept course. It must do this within a very small Circular Error Probable (CEP) against a target of one meter diameter or less, that may employ countermeasures. To be effectivethe interceptor must hit the threat warhead, not the threat booster tank. One measure of the interceptor's effectiveness is its "probability of kill" (P kill). ATA's Active Laser Tracker for the KKV program is based on an innovative application ofactive laser target acquisition and tracking technology, on the interceptor, to increase Pkill. Our solution works either during exoatmospheric powered flight or coast. It offers advantages over alternate approaches including:1)earlier target acquisition, 2) higher sensor resolution and 3)lack of sensor saturation during terminal intercept, and better target discrimination. The performance advantages offered by ATA's Active Laser Tracker (ALT) system poise it to be the "acquisition and tracking system of choice" for future Ballastic Missile Defense (BMD) KKV, and other DoD missile interceptor programs. It also provides ameans to increase the performance of current interceptors through