SYSTEM, DEVICE AND METHOD OF PROTECTING AIRCRAFTS AGAINST INCOMING MISSILES AND THREATS

• US 20120298748A1
• Filed: 03/28/2012
• Published: 11/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bird Aerosystems Limited
• Original Assignee: Bird Aerosystems Limited
• Inventors: FACTOR, Ronen, DRAGUCKI, David, CAPLAN, Ariye Yehuda, BEN ARI, Zahi, ZELIKMAN, Semion, LI-RAN, Royee
• Granted Patent: US 8,672,223 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/400
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/02 Anti-aircraft or anti-guided missile or anti-torpedo defence installations or systems cartridges or missiles for producing smoke or for dispensing radar chaff or infrared material F42B5/15, F42B12/48, F42B12/70; informative reference: details of radar or sonar systems G01S7/00; jamming or electronic countermeasures G01S7/38, G01S7/495, H04K3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 13/005 the high-energy beam being a laser beam
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/38 Jamming means, e.g. producing false echoes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/495 Counter-measures or counter-counter-measures using electronic or electro-optical means

Abstract

The present invention includes a system for protecting an aircraft against one or more incoming threats. The system includes one or more electro-optic sensors to scan an area around the aircraft for one or more possible incoming threats, and to generate an indication signal once an incoming threat is detected; an integrated unit combining a Missile Approach Confirmation Sensor (MACS) with Directed Infra-Red Counter Measure (DIRCM), to verify the incoming threat and to activate a countermeasure against the verified incoming threat; and a processor to receive data from said one or more electro-optic sensors and the integrated MACS-DIRCM unit, and to select a countermeasure technique for deployment against the incoming threat.

Claims

1. A system for protecting an aircraft against one or more incoming threats, the system comprising:

one or more electro-optic sensors to scan an area around the aircraft for one or more possible incoming threats, and to generate an indication signal once an incoming threat is detected;

an integrated unit combining a Missile Approach Confirmation Sensor (MACS) with Directed Infra-Red Counter Measure (DIRCM), to verify the incoming threat and to activate a countermeasure against the verified incoming threat; and

a processor to receive data from said one or more electro-optic sensors and the integrated MACS-DIRCM unit, and to select a countermeasure technique for deployment against the incoming threat.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more electro-optic sensors substantially continuously sense the area around the aircraft for incoming threats.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the MACS-DIRCM unit comprises a plurality of MACS-DIRCM units having a plurality of non-identical fields-of-view, respectively.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a dual-axis steering gimbal to slew said MACS-DIRCM unit to a direction of the incoming threat.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said MACS-DIRCM unit comprises one or more pulse Doppler radar units.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said MACS-DIRCM unit comprises a high-power laser transmitter.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a verification functionality and a countermeasure functionality of the MACS-DIRCM unit are mounted on a common gimbal.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the MACS-DIRCM unit comprises:

a threat parameter generator to generate threat parameters during verification of a threat, and to provide said threat parameters to a countermeasure generator for construction of a countermeasure waveform for the incoming threat.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the MACS-DIRCM unit comprises:

a threat parameter generator to generate threat parameters during verification of a threat, and to provide said threat parameters to a spectrum selector to select spectrum occupancy for a countermeasure unit.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein said countermeasure generator comprises means to update countermeasure parameters based on updated verification parameters.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said countermeasure generator comprises a target locator to determine a target location during verification of the threat.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein said high-power laser transmitter is part of an antenna structure of said MACS-DIRCM unit.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a housing comprising a radome, wherein said radome allows transmission of electromagnetic signals and optic signals.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein said countermeasure generator is to be activated during activation of a verification functionality of said MACS-DIRCM unit.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein said countermeasure generator is to be activated after completion of a verification functionality of said MACS-DIRCM unit.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor comprises:

a data fusion unit to perform data fusion of data from the one or more electro-optic sensors and from the MACS-DIRCM unit.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more MACS-DIRCM units are connected to one or more laser generators in parallel.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the MACS-DIRCM unit is implemented as a single Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) able to perform both verification and countermeasure functions.