Automated Warhead Characterization System (AWCS)

Mechanical Solutions, Inc.’s (MSI’s) Phase II.5 SBIR Project for the Navy will continue the development and transition of an automated fragment and debris characterization technology, which will be applied to the accurate, time-effective assessment of weapon effectiveness and collateral damage. The DoD and the Navy are interested in enhancements in the technologies through which fragmentation is captured and characterized, which will expand the present test and evaluation (T&E) capabilities for the accurate characterization of warhead fragmentation. In the project’s Base segment, MSI will post-process the image data from debris tests for Naval Surface Weapons Center Dahlgren Division (Dahlgren), in support of the Enhanced Weaponeering and Collateral Damage Estimation Program.  The efficient video image data analyses will enhance various subsequent analyses that are performed, which use as input the processed results of the structure debris tests.  MSI also will develop an automated debris tracking software system for Dahlgren, which will enable the efficient extraction of the debris fragment velocities, trajectories and mass estimates while providing a solution to the shortcomings of manual image analysis for the post-processing of video data from structure debris tests. During Options I and II of the project, the technology development’s focus will shift to the characterization of warhead fragments from Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) China Lake.  Since test procedures do not facilitate the direct correlation between certain fragment parameters, uncertainties exist with respect to the warhead Collateral Damage Estimates for the Warfighter. MSI’s further development of the Automated Warhead Characterization System (AWCS) will mitigate the risks which are associated with these uncertainties significantly.  MSI will acquire and post-process the image data from debris tests at China Lake, will advance the existing AWCS software system with enhancements to the algorithms and the user interface, and will introduce upgrades to the AWCS hardware.  MSI’s AWCS will provide expanded and enhanced data acquisition capability, reduced turnaround time, and streamlined operation for the end user, and the software and hardware upgrades which will be made through this effort will enable the transition of a full system to China Lake by the end of the performance period.  The AWCS project will address specific milestones that will provide accurate and cost-effective T&E capability to the warhead test engineers, thereby enhancing the warhead collateral damage estimates, and providing the warfighter with increased targeting opportunities. The AWCS Phase II.5 SBIR Project also will constitute a collaborative effort, since MSI’s performance of the project’s segments will expand on the automated fragment tracking and characterization software algorithms which MSI developed previously for China Lake through the Navy SBIR Program.