Real Time Enhanced Fine Tracking in Directed Energy Applications

**Q&A Updates for DAF26TZ05-NV005:** Q1 received substantive new answers: illuminator design required for fine track (preliminary designs acceptable for Phase I); passive imaging acceptable for coarse track; SWaP not primary Phase I concern but two nominal system designs provided (larger stationary: 20-30cm aperture, 3km coarse/1km fine range; smaller agile: 5cm aperture, 1km coarse/0.5km fine range); synthetic coarse track and 3D imagery available upon request; no preferred interface yet; no concrete performance metrics defined—performers to develop own or coordinate with gov't POCs. Q2 answers clarified: 1kHz is ballpark objective (corresponds to 50-100Hz closed-loop bandwidth); 100-200 microsecond end-to-end latency required; evaluation metrics include angular jitter, aimpoint error, track loss probability; detailed coarse/fine track challenge areas, nominal requirements, and example scenarios now provided (Group 1 UAS targets; ranges, update rates, latency, throughput, FOV, turbulence profiles, Cn² values specified); no aero-optics considered.

Status changed from Pre-Release to Open

**Summary of Q&A Changes:** Added 10 new clarification questions across two new Q&A sets (Q1 and Q2) addressing: illuminator sourcing, SWaP constraints, data availability, beam-control interfaces, track metrics, fine-track loop rate requirement classification, end-to-end latency limits, aimpoint-accuracy metrics, reference engagement scenarios, and atmospheric/turbulence design parameters. Previous answers (now labeled A3) remain unchanged.

**Changes to Q&A Section:** Updated technical specifications in A4 for fine track performance requirements: - Fine track update rates reduced from 1-5 kHz to 1-2 kHz - Fine track latency tightened from 200 µs to 1 ms to 100-200 microseconds - Coarse track range narrowed: 500-1000 m (previously 100-1000 m) for smaller systems; 1000-3000 m (previously 1000-5000 m) for larger systems - Fine track range reduced: 300-500 m (previously 100-1000 m) for smaller systems; 1000-1500 m (previously 1000-5000 m) for larger systems No new questions added; all four Q&As remain identical in topic and answer structure.

All four Q&As (Q1-Q4) received answers. Key updates: passive stereo and event-based sensors are acceptable for coarse tracking; proposals can leverage existing beam control systems without full closed-loop architecture; proposers may define requirements per their scenario. A4 added specific technical specs: coarse track (30-120 Hz, 10-33 ms latency, 512x512-1024x1024 images) and fine track (1-5 kHz, 200 µs-1 ms latency, 128x128-512x512 images).

These Q&As clarify that passive stereo vision, event-based sensors, and partial tracking pipelines are acceptable alternatives to active coherent sensing, and that proposers have flexibility to define their own performance parameters rather than meeting fixed Government specs—broadening the technical approaches eligible for Phase I proposals.

New opportunity: Real Time Enhanced Fine Tracking in Directed Energy Applications