Portable electro-optic device for performing serviceability check on IR guided missiles

Electro-optically guided weapons are the most potent and widely used munitions on land-based, aerial and ship-borne platforms because of their proven precision strike capability. Two such guided weapon categories include the IR guided surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles and laser guided bombs and missiles. The efficacy of the mission is critically dependent on the successful deployment of the weapon. This not only necessitates that periodic functionality check be carried out on these weapons, it should also be possible to perform functionality check also known as serviceability check even after they are strapped on to the launch platform. Serviceability check in the strap-on condition ensures a much higher hit probability. This paper presents the design and development of a portable electro-optic device that generates IR signatures in 3–5-μm band having the desired amplitude and spectral shape to match the IR signatures of target aircraft. A prototype was built using the proposed concept. The prototype was characterized in terms of its output amplitude and wavelength spectrum. The prototype was used to perform serviceability check on IR seekers of foreign origin. Test results are presented in the paper.