Summary

Many of the over 75,000 cruise missiles in the world today are in the hands of developing nations that could arm them with biological, chemical, or even nuclear agents.  The Defense Intelligence Agency and Central Intelligence Agency believe that the threat of U.S. cities coming under cruise missile attack from ships off the coast is real, sophisticated, evolving, and dangerous.  The primary challenge for theater and national cruise missile defense is the development of a reliable look-down platform to detect, track and identify incoming missiles and support the over-the-horizon engagements in a timely manner.  The Army is developing an surveillance and fire control radar system called Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor system (JLENS) using commercially available aerostats as the platform of choice.  These lighter than air vehicles are deployed at altitudes of up to 15,000 feet and provide a detection, tracking and fire control support capability out to a  range of over 200 miles.  Although aerostats could provide cost-effective cruise missile detection, it is imperative that their operational availability be close to 100%.  Currently, they must be retracted to prevent failure of the aerostat fabric or tether due to high wind gusts, damage to the tether and electronics by lightning, and to replace helium that leaks through the aerostat fabric.  These constraints limit the operational availability of currently available aerostat platforms.

The mission of the Aerostat Design and Manufacturing (ADaM) Program is to facilitate long-range research in the design and manufacture of affordable aerostats with improved performance and increased availability in support of the JLENS program.  With the guidance of the JLENS program office, research conducted at Clemson University, Penn State, Alabama A&M, Mississippi State, and the University of Alabama will be transferred to industrial partners of the program and made available to other aerostat manufacturers as required.  Penn State provides the mechanical and aerodynamics expertise needed for the development of flight dynamic models and control systems.  Flight dynamic models allow simulations that predict aerostat performance, optimal aerostat design throughout the flight envelope which minimizes the stresses that can lead to fabric and/or tether failure, and flight control systems that increase the stability and robustness of the aerostat platform.

Collaborator

Chris Jarvis, Clemson University

For further information:  cdrahn@psu.edu. 

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