<title>IRSTORM: Infrared seeker trade-off requirements model</title>

Abstract

Engineers at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWPNS), China Lake, Calif., have modeled air-to-air missile seekers and their components within a larger missile engagement simulation framework. At China Lake, seeker simulation tools historically have been specific to individual seeker components. However, recent advances in computational power have allowed a team to develop a simulation that analyzes entire seeker systems as they behave on the missile airframe, both before launch and during flyout to the target. The tool is called the Infrared Seeker Trade-Off Requirements Model II (IRSTORM II). IRSTORM II is a modular seeker engagement simulation that incorporates some of the country's best IR modeling work in missile flyouts, IR target signatures and imagery, optics, detectors, and signal processing. Currently in Phase III development, this simulation is ever-evolving, and this report describes the work done in Phase II and the plans for future improvement.