Evaluation Engineering - 6

Multimode Seeker
Strikes Successfully
at Redstone Arsenal
The U.S. Army reports outstanding results for its first
open-air testing of an advanced multimode seeker
during two days of recent
testing at the Redstone
Arsenal in Alabama. The
new seeker is meant as an
upgrade to the Precision
Strike Missile system, adding advanced Spiral One signal tracking capabilities. The
experimental missile tracking
system was operated at 50%
capacity, tracking moving
targets while mounted on a

IMTS is Latest Trade Event to Cancel
pod under the wing of an aircraft. The multimode seeker
stems from the Land-Based
Anti-Ship Missile program
that began in 2015 to help the
Army target enemy ships with
its long-range precision fires
capability. During its development, it was learned that the
system was also capable of
tracking radio signals from
land-based targets as well
as ships, such as mobile radars and communications
systems on vehicles. The use
of multiple sensors makes it
possible to locate targets of
interest even without good
coordinates.
"We think we're on the right
track," said Brigadier General
John Rafferty, director of the
Long-Range Precision Fires
Cross-Functional Team.
Rafferty explains that the
Army hopes to field the
Precision Strike Missile system in 2023, with the Spiral

EVALUATION ENGINEERING JULY 2020

The International Manufacturing Technology Show is the latest
major trade show to close up shop due to the global pandemic.
The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), which
stages the biannual show in Chicago, said late Monday that the
2020 edition of IMTS has been cancelled after show officials said
they could not get assurances from state or city officials that the
venue would be cleared to open in time for the September show.
"In early May, [Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker] introduced a fivephased plan to reopen Illinois businesses. As it reads, the plan
specifically states that conventions are included in phase 5 of
the plan," wrote AMT Vice President Peter Eelman in a letter
on the IMTS website. "The conditions that must be met for
the implementation of phase 5 feature either the availability
of a vaccine for the COVID 19 virus or a highly effective treatment protocol, neither of which are expected to occur in the
coming months."
Citing the "difficult and challenging circumstances" around
the ability to open the show on time, AMT announced the cancellation. "While this saddens us, the health and safety of our
exhibitors and audience remains our top priority," Eelman wrote.
IMTS is the largest North American manufacturing show and
was expected to fill more than 1.6 million square feet of exhibit
space at Chicago's McCormick Place. Hannover Messe USA, the
first branded Hannover Messe show outside of Germany, has
been co-located with IMTS for the past eight years and brought
industrial automation and control systems to be part of an event
that already included machine tools and CNC machines.
As has happened with other global trade events affected
by the 2020 pandemic, IMTS officials plan to introduce a livestreaming version of its existing IMTS network and a new digital platform, called IMTS Spark, that Eelamn wrote would be
launched shortly.

One capability integrated by
2025. The functionality will
extend the firing range of the
Army Tactical Missile System
(ATACMS) by more than 500
km. "We've got our eyes wide
open on the development of
this program," said Rafferty.
"We have a small intelligence
and targeting team. And one
of their primary functions is
to make sure that in our approach to developing weapon
systems that we have the right
targets in mind." Mike Turner
of the Aviation and Missile
Center at Redstone Arsenal,
added: "We think that's going
to provide significant advantage to us in our long-range
fires, rockets, and missiles."
Miniaturization of multiple on-board processors
has made it possible for the
seeker system to acquire and
track multiple targets within
a small housing. Part of the
testing will explore operation
at full capacity, with testing
moving to the White Sands
Missile Range in New Mexico
during autumn 2020. Rafferty
acknowledges that industry
partner, Lockheed Martin,
can be credited for outstanding safety measures during
the testing.

DoD Adds Sites to
Study 5G Technology
Even the U.S. Department of
Defense is getting ready for
Fifth Generation (5G) cellular wireless communications
technology, or at least how to
defend against it on a battlefield. The DoD has announced
seven more military installations in the U.S. as places to
learn more about 5G through
experimentation and testing.
The locations are part of the
DoD's 5G development roadmap known as "Department
of Defense 5G Strategy." The

Evaluation Engineering

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