EW REQUIREMENTS FOR HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLES

THE USE OF EW ON A HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLE AND IN A HIGH SPEED, HIGH ALTITUDE FLIGHT REGIME PRESENTS SOME UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS AS CONTRASTED WITH LOW ALTITUDE LOWER SPEED FLIGHT PROFILES. DIFFERENCES IN TACTICS, SIGNATURES, RESPONSE TIMES, EFFECTIVE THREATS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE OBVIOUS FACTORS THAT MAKE HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLE EW A POTENTIALLY DIFFERENT ENTITY THAN MORE CONVENTIONAL VEHICLE EW SYSTEMS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND STRUCTURE OF A HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLE EW SYSTEM DEFINED PRIOR TO EXTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VEHICLE ITSELF. THE BASIC PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSED PHASE I PROGRAM IS TO START THE PROCESS OF DEFINING THE HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLE EW REQUIREMENTS. A SUCCESSFUL EFFORT IN PHASE I WILL RESULT IN THE DEFINITION OF GENERAL EW REQUIREMENTS FOR HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLES AND IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREAS THAT NEED FURTHER WORK OR MATURITY BEFORE THEY CAN BE APPLIED TO HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLE EW SUITES.