MBDA for SELEX - « Electro-Optical Sensors »

Descriptif de l'événement

Context

Request Rational

MoD and French DGA have reached agreement to work together “to deliver cost effectively the research needs of MoD and DGA whilst building the technology base of a future European guided weapon capability”. This is the ITP where MBDA is acting as the prime contractor. An important outcome from this work will be to establish a mechanism to ensure the capture and exploitation of novel technologies emerging from Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Universities. It will also ensure the free flow of technology and information across national boundaries within trans-national companies (except where national security restrictions have been applied) both to deliver research outputs more effectively and to improve industrial capability and effectiveness.

SELEX Galileo

SELEX Galileo is part of the Finmeccanica group and belongs to the defence electronics sector. It employs over 7,000 people in UK, Italy, and the United State.

SELEX Galileo is a leader in surveillance, protection, tracking, targeting, navigation and control, and imaging systems. SELEX are leading the EO Domain of the Innovation and Technology Programme (ITP). The projected budget for the EO sensors domain is of the order of €1.3m/year with 1/2 coming from MOD/DGA and a matched amount from industry.

Global Objectives

The MoD & DGA objectives are to:
• Deliver the research needs of MoD and DGA while building the technology base of a future European guided weapon capability,
• Provide a portfolio of advanced technologies generating transformational and disruptive responses to capability needs arising in the 2010-2020 timeframe,
• Increase effectiveness and reduce through life costs, manpower needs and deployed logistics costs of future missile systems in satisfaction of the common capability and technology needs of the government and industries of the UK and France.

Guidelines for Bidders

EO Research Domain Objectives

The objective of the research in this domain is to improve the existing performance for EO sensors in a cost effective manner. The emphasis should be on novel techniques currently at low Technology Readiness Level (TRL).

The areas of interest may include the following:

• Lower cost components and sub-systems
• Lower cost and more cost effective sensors
• Lower through life costs
• Improved target/background discrimination capability
• Improved ability to defeat all types of countermeasure
• Low observability

Potential Applications

- The potential application of the developed technology is for missile seekers.
- SELEX Galileo is looking for partners to work on this exciting project but also to form long term working relationships that will allow long term cooperation and partnership.
- The application timescale is envisaged to be developed within the next ten years.

Expected proposed solutions

The scope of EO Sensor studies should be directed towards on-board missile sensors.

EO Technologies beneficial to passive, active and SAL seekers, passive and active proximity fuzes and EO altimeters should be considered plus any other novel EO sensors that evolve from the studies.

All projects should seek to address the evolving new capability requirements that future weapon systems will require.

Projects may centre on EO components, sub-systems or complete sensor systems and may be based on concept, design or hardware studies. In functional terms the boundary between the sensor and any processing hardware should be structured so that it does not include image processing algorithm development or any signal processing development beyond that needed for the immediate conditioning of output signals

Without precluding any innovative proposals, a selection of topics from above have been identified are listed below, which should support these aims. This is not intended to be a completely comprehensive list but is provided to give an indication of areas that could be addressed under this programme. However, innovative solutions in other EO areas which address fundamental missile performance and/or cost reduction issues will also be welcomed.

A sample of novel techniques which may support these aims are listed below:

• Mature multi-colour detector arrays
• Improved reliability for detector cooling (more resistant to contamination)
• Cheaper, lower power cooling engine (for detector cooling)
• New beam steering techniques
   1. Cheaper gimbals
   2. Fast, solid state beam steering
• Processing on the detector chip
• Use of fibre optics
• Utilisation of extra data for improved discrimination
   1. Polarisation
   2. Hyper-spectral data

Project Drivers

All sectors could use enhanced EO sensors.

The highest priority areas for the future are:
• Air to Ground (including anti-ship)
• Air Defence (including Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD))

Commercial & IPR Issues

The current statement of IPR conditions is included separately within this call. It is expected that an NDA will eventually be required with all potential bidders. Please include any commercial caveats you consider necessary with any response.

MoD Terms and Conditions shall be flowed down to all potential bidders for review in due course.

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How can you contribute to this project?

Please give any idea that you think would revolutionize the electro-optics for guided weapons.

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