Raytheon has won a $38.6 million contract to develop laser radar (LADAR) sensor technology for the next generation of Ballistic Missile Defense Organization interceptors as part of the US Army's Advanced Discriminating LADAR Technology (ADLT) programme.
Raytheon will develop a range-resolved, Doppler imaging LADAR sensor to provide exoatmospheric kill vehicles and other missile defence systems with additional target discrimination capability. The ADLT LADAR system uses an ultrastable laser transmitter to interrogate targets. The reflected energy is received and Doppler-processed to gather range and velocity data and create a range-resolved Doppler image which shows the target's micro-motions. Raytheon has tested an initial prototype of the sensor.
Source: Flight International