The warfighter needs to know, unambiguously and in real time, the total threat situation ("picture") that endangers successful completion of the operational mission--whether the warfighter is at the battlespace command level, the battlegroup level, in the single-seat cockpit, or on the front line. For optimal response in a threat environment--whether the response is one of threat avoidance, ECM, lethal counter attack, evasive maneuver, or in combination--the warfighter needs to positively know the threats that are present, their parameters, locations, and intentions in time to invoke that response.
The S&T in the threat warning subarea will provide the next generation of advanced receivers, processors, antennas/apertures, and software algorithms to directly address future warfighter requirements. One of the key future requirements will be to integrate and correlate (i.e., sensor fusion) a wide variety of multispectral sensors (i.e., RF, IR, EO, UV, acoustic) to obtain a much improved all-weather, all-geometry threat situation awareness. On a component level, circuit miniaturization and digital trends will yield affordable receivers, which have improved operational performance and are lighter, smaller, more reliable, and more prime power efficient. Planned improvements in receiver/processor performance, COTS and open-adaptive, real-time, symmetric-multiprocessing (RTSMP) architectures will provide faster threat detection and recognition and an increased ability to decipher multiple, simultaneous, coherent, complex-modulation signals. Digital receivers incorporating these processor advantages will allow rapid reconfiguration of the receiver at the unit level through software updates in lieu of expensive and time-consuming hardware changes. Advanced location algorithm developments, coupled with antenna/apertures more accurate in angular threat determination, and advances in sensor technology and information fusion techniques will provide unambiguous resolution of the threat environment ("situation awareness"), thereby allowing the warfighter to optimize his/her response. Threat warning technology has multiple opportunities to make tri-service transitions into combat systems with RF or EO/IR receivers.
3.10.2.1 Goals and Timeframes. The primary focus of this subarea is to provide the warfighter the ability to detect, geo-locate, identify, track, and classify potential threat and friendly systems at long range with high accuracy. This new technology includes receivers, antennas/apertures, processors, sensor-fused algorithms, and signal analysis algorithms, which will provide adequate time to respond with appropriate countermeasures. Major goals and associated timeframes are listed in Table X-11.
3.10.2.2 Major Technical Challenges. Development of a high-accuracy subdegree direction finding (DF) capability requires interferometric techniques, close tolerance amplitude/pulse tracking RF receiver components, and low signal threshold detection. Development of functional elements, using monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) packaged into 1/30 of the current volume, is the major technical challenge for an all MMIC EW receivers. The complex task of assembling a digital RF receiver involves the development and integration of high-speed, high-resolution digitizers and high-throughput digital processing for spectral analysis and dynamic range extension. Achieving real-time threat identification and location includes pulse-level specific emitter identification (SEI) extraction, processing, and automation. In order to develop a highly stable RF receiver for detection and tracking of hostile emissions requires expanded processing bandwidth and dynamic range for environment characterization. In the area of EO/IR, the major technical issues are to increase the detection range of existing sensors by 100%; improve their angle-of-arrival determination to better than 1 degree; enhance probability of detection to over 95%; and reduce false alarms to less than one per hour. The EO technology challenges include increasing sensor sensitivity and dynamic range, providing angle-of-arrival information for CM cueing, and increasing the detection bandwidth to encompass the aforementioned laser threats. Threat identification, off-axis detection, and ATR with jam-resistant software require component/processing improvements.
| Application/Mission | Short Term (1-2 Years) | Mid Term (3-5 Years) | Long Term (6+ Years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improved threat emitter location and combat identification. | Develop and demo integrated hardware with multiple software algor-ithms to perform real-time threat ID and location. | Develop and demo integration of precise location/ identification with offensive targeting cues to yield rapid subdegree threat geolocation. | |
| Develop and flight demo single RF aperture with 2-deg DF, 2( coverage, real-time threat ID, and geo-location. | |||
| Single EO aperture, hemi-spherical 2-deg DF flight demo. | Develop EO sensor and fiber optic technology to detect, identify, and localize laser-based threats | Develop and demo fully integrated multispectral 2-deg DF ES system. | |
| Demo 1-deg passive missile warning with UV sensors. | Develop and demo 2x UV detection range with uncooled IR FPA. | Demo IR distributed aperture warning system. | |
| Increased receiver processor throughput and fusion of offboard data. | Develop techniques for fusion with RF sensors to improve capability to detect and classify threats. | Develop and demo full real-time information in the cockpit (RTIC), automatic response reasoning, and real-time "out" of the cockpit (RTOC) capabilities. | |
| Common digital receiver architecture and significant size reduction. | Develop and demo an EW receiver fabricated entirely from MMIC for aircraft, ships, and other platforms. | Develop and demo a wide-band, digital receiver for EW applications to be used onboard aircraft and ships. | Develop and demo DSP & fiber optic integration with RTSMP directly behind intercept apertures. |
| Worldwide merchant ship tracking. | SEI equipment on board at least one platform in all major theaters. | Develop and demo combat identification using SEI technology. | Develop weapons-embedded SEI. |
3.10.3 S&T Investment Strategy
In executing the threat warning subarea, focus is maintained on specific technology demonstrations that synergistically integrate advanced antennas/apertures, processors, receivers, and software algorithm technologies. National investments among the various technology development and demonstration efforts are allocated in accordance with their potential payoff to warfighting needs, affordability, and relative contribution to achieve threat warning goals.
3.10.3.1 Technology Demonstrations. Threat warning encompasses multiple technology demonstration efforts as captured by the MWS technology DTO (WE.48.08) and two JWSTP DTOs (H.07 and H.09). The latter set concentrates on the areas of precise identification, geo-location of threat emitters in real time, and fusion of onboard sensor information with offboard theater asset information to provide unambiguous situation awareness and integrated multispectral electronic support warning with optimal multispectral response. Key to the Joint Warfighter Critical Objectives of Information Superiority and Combat Identification will be the efforts demonstrating RTIC and, in the reverse path, real-time information RTOC. By tying multispectral EW sensors into the digital battlefield/battlespace, all air and surface platforms and joint command operation centers will have situational awareness for subsequent targeting, battle damage assessment, and mission planning--while avoiding fratricide.
3.10.3.2 Technology Development. The service efforts in the threat warning subarea are divided into three classes and support the technology demonstrations identified above:
3.10.3.3 Basic Research. Basic research initiatives that contribute to the threat warning subarea include physics supporting detector technologies, sensor research, and sensor improvements; advanced semiconductor and opto-electronic materials; high-temperature superconductor materials; chemistry for improved detector and sensor technology and submicron processes (for faster, efficient, affordable DSP devices and for uncooled EO/IR focal plane arrays); advanced machine reasoning (e.g., artificial intelligence); and advanced electromagnetics/antenna principles for broadband, low-signature, coherent curved/planar/distributed apertures.
