Powered low cost autonomous attack system: cooperative, autonomous, wide-area-search munitions with capability to serve as non-traditional ISR assets in a network-centric environment
James C. Savage, John K. O'Neal, Robert A. Brown, Joseph E. Keeler · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2005
The Powered Low Cost Autonomous Attack System (PLOCAAS) is an Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate Advanced Technology Demonstration program. The PLOCAAS objective is to demonstrate a suite of technologies in an affordable miniature munition to autonomously search, detect, identify, track, attack and destroy ground mobile targets of military interest. PLOCAAS incorporates a solid state LADAR seeker and Autonomous Target Acquisition (ATA) algorithms, miniature turbojet engine, multi-mode warhead, and an integrated INS/GPS into a 36” high lift-to-drag airframe. Together, these technologies provide standoff beyond terminal defenses, wide area search capability, and high probability of target report with low false target attack rate with high load-outs. Four LADAR seeker captive flight tests provided the sequestered data for robust Air Force ATA algorithm performance assessment and non-sequestered data for algorithm development. PLOCAAS has had three successful free-flight tests in which the LADAR seeker and ATA algorithms have detected, acquired, identified, tracked, and engaged ground mobile targets. In addition to summarizing program activities to date, this paper will present requirements and capabilities to be demonstrated in the next phase of PLOCAAS development. This phase’s objective is to demonstrate the military utility of a two-way data-link. The data-link allows Operator-In-The-Loop monitoring and control of miniature, cooperative, wide-area-search munitions and enables them to serve as non-traditional Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets in a network-centric environment.