Sea-Skimming Missile Tracking

The Air Force requires a system to provide over the horizon tracking to support development and test of Sea Skimming Missiles (SSM). Under this SBIR Phase I effort, Defense Research Associates, Inc.(DRA) will document system requirements, identify and assess sensor technologies capable of performing the missile tracking task, develop a system design to meet the requirements using the most promising technologies identified, and will design a follow-on test program to demonstrate the system’s capabilities. The technology assessment will be performed in the context of a complete system, taking into consideration the requirement to operate while mounted on Liquid Robotics’ Wave Glider Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). DRA’s tracking system will be designed to receive a cue on the location of the SSM during the test, steer the tracking sensor in the direction of the approaching missile, stabilize the sensor due to USV motion, detect the missile when within range, maintain track on the SSM until it proceeds over the horizon, and providing track data back to the cueing system throughout the tracking phase.