A SHIPBOARD MULTISENSOR SOLUTION FOR THE DETECTON OF FAST MOVING SMALL SURFACE OBJECTS

Detecting a small threat object either fast moving or floating on shallow water presents a formidable challenge to shipboard sensor systems, which must determine whether or not to launch defensive weapons in a timely manner. An integrated multisensor concept is envisioned wherein the combined use of active and passive sensor is employed for the detection of short duration targets in dense ocean surface clutter to maximize detection range. The objective is to develop multisensor integration techniques that operate on detection data prior to track formation while simultaneously fusing contacts to tracks. In the system concept, detections from a low grazing angle search radar render designations to a sensor-search infrared sensor for target classification which in turn designates an active electro-optical sensor for sector search and target verification.