EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- In a first-of-its-kind
demonstration, Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) successfully used fused stand-off
radar data to redirect a modified missile in flight to precisely track and
target a moving ground vehicle. Numerous Raytheon products and systems,
including the radars, communications systems, global positioning systems, and
missiles, worked together to display an advanced capability not currently
available to U.S. warfighters to destroy moving ground targets.
This successful test was the final Campaign I demonstration for the
Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE II) program, funded by the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and contracted through the
Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y. The objective of the AMSTE II
program is to provide battlefield capability to target and destroy moving
time-critical targets with little or no collateral damage.
The U.S. Air Force and DARPA are currently evaluating proposals for
Campaign II of the AMSTE II program. The objective of Campaign II is to
demonstrate the capability to maintain tracking on a nominated moving target
when other moving targets are in the vicinity.
The test was carried out on Wednesday, August 15 at the U.S. Navy's Air
Warfare Center (NAWC) in China Lake, Calif., with support from the U.S. Air
Force Flight Test Facility (FTF) at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. and Beale
Air Force Base, Calif.
Stephen Welby, DARPA Special Projects Office AMSTE program manager, said,
"These flight test successes not only validate the DARPA AMSTE concept, but
significantly open up the way to providing a new and critical capability to
engage threat systems with the required precision for low collateral damage
and the required stand-off to reduce risk to U.S. forces. An objective AMSTE
system would allow multiple, networked weapons and sensors to precisely track,
target and destroy high-value, moving, surface targets in real-time. This is
a powerful transformational capability for U.S. war fighters, and these flight
tests represent a key step in the process of moving AMSTE from technical
concept to operational reality."
Two airborne stand-off radar platforms and associated ground stations were
used in the test: a U-2 carrying Raytheon's upgraded ASARS-2A radar, and the
Sensor Emulation Platform (SEP), a modified A-3 carrying the Raytheon radar
currently in use on the Global Hawk. A testbed radar developed by the Sandia
National Laboratory was used as a surrogate for a fighter aircraft radar,
carried on a DeHavilland Otter. A remotely controlled wheeled vehicle at NAWC
China Lake was designated as the moving target.
A Raytheon Maverick missile was modified to enable it to receive
positional updates on the moving vehicle and correct its trajectory to
successfully engage the target. Two of the company's systems were used in the
missile modification: the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS)
communication system, which received target positional updates; and the GPS
Aided Inertial Navigation System (GAINS), which corrected the missile's flight
trajectory.
During the test, the stand-off radars and the SEP in flight simultaneously
tracked the designated target using GMTI radar and downlinked this data to
their ground stations. Ground station data was transmitted to the Integrated
Battlespace Arena facility at NAWC China Lake for fusion and tracking
processing. The processed data contained the target's precise geolocation for
each sweep of the stand-off and surrogate tactical radar. This data was then
transmitted through the EPLRS communication system to the modified Maverick
missile. Each time EPLRS received new geolocation data on the designated
target, GAINS adjusted the Maverick's flight trajectory. Throughout the test,
radar data was repeatedly gathered, processed, and transmitted to the missile
in flight. All test objectives were successfully completed.
William H. Swanson, president of Raytheon Electronic Systems, said, "This
successful test is an excellent example of numerous Raytheon systems working
together to achieve emerging mission requirements to identify and hit moving
ground targets. It clearly demonstrates how our technology can provide
'system of systems' solutions for the Department of Defense."
"This test also demonstrates how Raytheon's off-the-shelf hardware can be
readily adapted to meet new mission requirements," continued Swanson. "We are
confident in our ability to rapidly develop and deploy an AMSTE II system that
not only meets all technical mission requirements, but also provides cost
efficiencies and reduced risk to the DoD."
The Raytheon AMSTE II program team includes Sandia National Laboratory,
Orincon, Alphatech, TRW, L3Com and BAe Systems.
With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon Company is a global
technology leader in defense, government and commercial electronics, and
business and special mission aircraft.
Contact:
Mark Day
310.647.0784
SOURCE Raytheon Company
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Related links:
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
Mark Day of Raytheon, +1-310-647-0784
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