Search and Track Missile Detectors Ready for Testing

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control of Orlando, Fla., has delivered six Infrared Search and Track sensors to Boeing Co. for the Air.borne Laser missile defense system. Four of the sensors were sent to Boeing's Wichita, Kan., facility, where the company is customizing a 747-400 that will serve as the system's platform. The others were sent to its "Virtual Lab" in Seattle for integration and one month of testing with the system's tracking software.

Together, the sensors will enable the Airborne Laser to monitor the combat space 360° around the aircraft and up to hundreds of miles away. The system will locate, track and target theater ballistic missiles for destruction with a chemical oxygen iodine laser. The instruments are based on Lockheed Martin's F-14 IRST long-range, passive infrared sensors.