The U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research (ONR) has developed an infrared search and track (IRST) demonstrator system named the infrared sensor system (IRSS). This technology-base sensor was successfully developed and tested both in the laboratory and at-sea. IRSS now is being transitioned to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAUSEA) IRST Engineering and Manufacturing Development (E&MD) Program, where it will serve, with appropriate modifications, as the engineering development model (EDM) and will be fielded aboard a U.S. Navy ship. This paper summarizes the process of developing and fielding IRSS, describes test results accomplished at sea during 1996, and discusses the technical and engineering lessons associated with design, development and testing of IRSS. Results are presented covering the areas of sensor component and overall system radiometrics (e.g., sensitivity and dynamic range), channel uniformity, stabilization, and optical, electrical and information (i.e., signal processing/track) resolution.

Date Published: 13 August 1997
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 3061, Infrared Technology and Applications XXIII, (13 August 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.280375

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3061:
Infrared Technology and Applications XXIII
Bjorn F. Andresen; Marija Strojnik, Editor(s)