Air Force, Lockheed to Integrate Laser Sensor into Weapons

To assess the viability of its cooled tri-mode seeker for integration onto Air Force weapons platforms, Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Md., has signed a five-year cooperative research and development agreement with the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Munitions Directorate.

The partners will work together over the next five years to assess the capabilities of the tri-mode weapon, emerging targeting concepts and guidance techniques.

Data and analysis from the assessment will enable AFRL to develop a baseline for integrating seekers onto future US Air Force weapons platforms intended to engage stationary and mobile targets in day, night and adverse weather conditions.

The company’s cooled tri-mode seeker is based on three combat-proven weapons systems: Javelin, Longbow and Hellfire. It combines a semiactive laser sensor, an imaging infrared sensor and a millimeter wave radar into a single seeker with a common aperture.

All three of the sensor modes run simultaneously and share information in flight, allowing warfighters to defeat moving and stationary targets on land, at sea, in adverse weather and in an obscured or countermeasure environment, with true fire-and-forget capability.

Lockheed Martin, a global security company, manufactures advanced technology systems, products and services.

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