SIGHTINGS


 
Revolutionary New 'Radarless'
Aerial Surveillance
Technology Revealed
From Lockheed Martin News
10-17-98
 
 
 
 
 
Lockheed Martin Corporation Lockheed Martin Announces `Silent Sentry(TM)' Surveillance System; Passive System Uses TV-Radio Signals to Detect, Track Airborne Objects
 
GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Lockheed Martin announced today (10-12) a new technology for surveillance, the Silent Sentry(TM) system, capable of detecting a wide range of airborne objects such as airplanes, helicopters and rockets in real-time, and with high accuracy.
 
The heart of Silent Sentry is its innovative Passive Coherent Location (PCL) technology developed by Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, which uses everyday broadcast signals, such as those for television and radio, to illuminate, detect and track objects. A passive detection system for U.S. government civil agency and military purposes, Silent Sentry transmits no radio frequency (RF) energy as conventional radars do and has no RF ``signature'' to alert enemy threats.
 
Instead, it uses the energy that already exists in airspace for detection purposes, and does not adversely impact or harm the environment. ``Television and radio transmissions blanket the Earth and extend into the far edges of space, can give Silent Sentry broad application for a wide range of surveillance tasks, and unlimited access to broadcast signals for accurate, precise detection and tracking of targets in real-time,'' said Terry Drabant, President, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems.
 
By using broadcast transmitters and signals available throughout the world, Silent Sentry casts a ``wider net'' than current radar systems and provides new levels of early detection, to reveal tangible proof of intruders and can enable rapid, defensive reaction to threats. The system can be deployed to plug gaps in radar coverage and enhance global awareness and command-control decision-making.
 
"Silent Sentry is a passive system which doesn't transmit a radar-like RF signature and cannot be detected. This quality gives it a superior level of security for surveillance operations, and is also an environmentally friendly solution,'' said Drabant, whose company has spent 15 years developing and successfully testing the innovative PCL technology.
 
Silent Sentry is a multi-static illuminator surveillance system which uses three or more broadcast signals to determine precise three-dimensional target trajectories, and unlike ``scanning'' radars, Silent Sentry provides continuous coverage of the airspace. The Silent Sentry product family includes versions which can be mounted in buildings and fixed structures, or in deployed configurations, such as trucks, or shelters, for rapid relocation.
 
Commercial technology such as powerful processors and high dynamic range receivers help make Silent Sentry a low-cost approach to effective and reliable surveillance system coverage against a wide range of potential threats.
 
A typically configured system includes Silicon Graphics, Inc.(R) processors, the Autometric Edge Product Family(TM) visualization and analysis software, and receivers built by Lockheed Martin from commercial products, and range in cost from $3 million to $5 million.
 
``As the cost of commercial technology falls, and performance climbs in proportion, the Silent Sentry system will become an even more affordable and increasingly attractive complement to existing surveillance systems,'' said Drabant.
 
Over the past 10 years, Missions Systems has successfully tested its enabling PCL technology in a variety of environments to prove its applicability in U.S. government military and civil agency applications.
 
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems is a business unit of the Corporation's Information & Services Sector. In addition to systems integration, Mission Systems provides command, control, communications and computers for DoD systems, software development for intelligence systems, technologies and systems for satellite navigation and surveillance, and the command and control of satellites.
 
Mission Systems is prime contractor for numerous command, control,communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) programs. Among the C4ISR programs are the Theater Battle Management Core Systems, Global Command and Control Systems -- Army, the All Source Analysis System, the Maneuver Control System, Global Transportation Network and the Computing Environment STRATCOM Architecture program. Lockheed Martin is also pioneering efforts to achieve interoperability among C4ISR systems through its privately-funded research and development initiative, called Project Rainbow. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md.,
 
Lockheed Martin is a highly diversified global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced-technology products and services. The Corporation's core businesses span space and telecommunications, electronics, information and services, aeronautics, energy and systems integration. Employing approximately 170,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 1997 sales surpassing $28 billion.
 
Silent Sentry is a trademark of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Silicon Graphics is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Autometric Edge Product Family is a trademark of Autometric, Inc. SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Corporation





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