Wilmington, MA, August 23, 2004--Textron Systems has been awarded a $49.9 million contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base (Albuquerque, NM) for research into light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) systems. The five-year program will enable the U.S. Air Force and Textron Systems to develop technology to support USAF assets and test sites for prototyping and understanding the role of non-weapons-class lasers, laser radars, laser sensing, remote sensing and measurement systems, target acquisition and tracking, and general imaging systems.
Textron will continue development of high-power laser radar systems to support long-range tracking and identification of space objects. In addition, the program will operate and upgrade the Maui Space Surveillance System (MSSS) laser radars and imaging capabilities for ground-to-space and ground-to ground laser radar missions. Testing will take place at the Maui Space Surveillance Site on top of Mount Haleakala in Hawaii.