LOW RCS TARGET DETECTION AND TRACKING SENSOR

THE OBJECT OF THIS PHASE I ACTIVITY WILL BE TO IDENTIFY THOSE ROBUST SIGNATURE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH ARE DIFFICULT TO SUPPRESS THAT MAY BE PRESENT IN A NUMBER OF ADVERSARIAL RESOURCES. A QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THEIR RELATIVE VALUE AND THE INFORMATION THAT THEY PROVIDE WILL BE DETERMINED AND RANKED TO IDENTIFY THOSE FACTORSWHICH CAN LEAD TO A ROBUST SENSOR DESIGN. THE APPROACH WILL EMPLOY AN N-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF THESE VARIOUS INPUTS TO DETERMINE THE ALGORITHIMS THAT CAN BE BEST USED FOR COMBINING THESE CHARACTERISTICS AND IDENTIFYING POSSIBLE REACTION MODES. FROM THIS ANALYSIS A BREADBOARD SENSOR DESIGN WILL BE CONFIGURED. THIS ACTIVITY IS A KEY INITIATIVE INFUTURE DEVELOPMENTS FOR STEALTHY BATTLEFIELD OPERATION AS NUMEROUS USCAPABILITIES ARE UNDOUBTEDLY BEING DEVELOPED. SENSOR DEVELOPMENTS FOR PHASE II ARE ANTICIPATED TO UTILIZE OFF-THE-SHELF EQUIPMENT TO DEVELOP A BREADBOARD TO INVESTIGATE SPECIFIC TARGET SIGNATURE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MAY BE EXPLOITED BY THE SENSOR DESIGN. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLCIATIONS - THIS ACTIVITY IS A KEY INITIATIVEIN FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS FOR STEALTHY BATTLEFIELD OPERATION AS NUMEROUSUS CAPABILITIES ARE UNDOUBTEDLY BEING DEVELOPED. SENSOR DEVELOPMENTSFOR PHASE II ARE ANTICIPATED TO UTILIZE OFF-THE-SHELF EQUIPMENT TO DEVELOP A BREADBOARD TO INVESTIGATE SPECIFIC TARGET SIGNATURE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MAY BE EXPLOITED BY THE SENSOR DESIGN.