WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio — Military sensors experts at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Mission Systems segment in Linthicum, Md., will help U.S. Air Force researchers enhance the effectiveness of long-range surveillance radar by blending-in electro-optical technologies like visible-light, infrared, multispectral, and hyperspectral sensors.
Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, have announced a $16.5 million contract to Northrop Grumman for the Precision Real Time Engagement Combat Identification Sensor Exploitation (PRECISE) project.
Northrop Grumman is helping the U.S. Air Force enhance long-range surveillance radar by blending-in electro-optical sensor technologies.
PRECISE seeks not only to fuse several different RF and electro-optical sensors, but also to enhance current radar technologies through signal processing, alternative bandwidths, and similar approaches.
Radar has been used for decades, yet potential U.S. adversaries are looking for ways to reduce radar’s effectiveness — especially at long ranges, Air Force researchers explain. PRECISE seeks to improve radar signal processing and fuse other sensors with radar to break ambiguities and improve confidence in declaring targets at long ranges.
The project primarily will develop enabling technologies that advance combat identification for warfighters, and will focus on radar-based identification of air and ground targets for reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft.
Promising enabling technologies developed in the PRECISE program may be integrated onto a surveillance aircraft for flight demonstration.
For more information contact Northrop Grumman Mission Systems online at www.northropgrumman.com, or the Air Force Research Laboratory at www.wpafb.af.mil/afrl.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
