Employment
Homeland Protection and Tactical Systems — Division 4
The Homeland Protection and Tactical Systems Division is leading MIT Lincoln Laboratory efforts in the homeland defense and security, air traffic control, counterterrorism, and U.S. Air Force Red Team areas. The division has world-class expertise in systems analysis, system development, and field testing, and is leading a Laboratory-wide Blue Team effort to support rapid innovation capability. It focuses on a wide variety of areas including biological-chemical sensing, air vehicle survivability, electronic attack and electronic protection, detection of improvised explosive devices, and homeland air surveillance and air control. Recent efforts include architecture studies for the defense of civilians and facilities against potential biological attacks, development of the Enhanced Regional Situation Awareness system for the air defense of the National Capital Region, and development of technology for civil and military air traffic control. In addition, the division operates the Lincoln Laboratory Flight Facility, which provides aircraft, personnel, and ground support services for Laboratory programs' flight operations.
| Groups |
Group 42—Surveillance Systems
The Surveillance Systems Group develops integrated sensing and decision-support systems for both air traffic control and homeland protection. Current programs focus on new sensor, data fusion, and net-centric systems for improving capacity, safety, and security within the U.S. airspace; however, some programs now span the air, land, and maritime domains. Key accomplishments include the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System; the Enhanced Regional Situation Awareness system, which improves the identification and response to airborne threats in the National Capital Region; and Runway Status Lights, which improves the safety of taxiing aircraft at major airports. The group works all phases of the solution to a problem from original concept development through development of operational prototypes. To accomplish these goals, the group employs a broad base of technical expertise in systems analysis, software architecture and development, RF and digital hardware design, and system integration.
Group 43—Weather Sensing
The Weather Sensing Group develops sensors, automated forecasting systems, and decision-support tools to reduce the impact of adverse weather on commercial aviation. To accomplish this goal, the group combines MIT Lincoln Laboratory expertise in innovative signal, image, and sensor data-fusion processing with physical insights furnished by staff meteorologists. Key accomplishments have included the development of the Federal Aviation Administration's Terminal Doppler Weather Radar, ASR-9 Weather Systems Processor, Integrated Terminal Weather Systems, and Corridor Integrated Weather System.
Group 45 – Advanced Capabilities and Systems
The Advanced Capabilities and Systems Group provides assessments of novel technologies and system concepts in solution of significant defense and intelligence needs and, where appropriate, rapidly develops prototype solutions to demonstrate concepts or provide fieldable capability. To accomplish these goals, the group taps Laboratory-wide knowledge and couples this with the group's strong systems analysis expertise. Modeling, often supported by quick measurements and tests, is used to evaluate the feasibility of proposed solutions to problems, as well as to creatively develop new alternatives. Products of this assessment process include briefings and proposals for follow-on development efforts. Where a rapid capability is sought, the group often leads multigroup coalitions in the execution of these efforts.
Group 46—Advanced System Concepts
The Advanced System Concepts Group conducts systems analysis on a broad range of problems related to homeland protection and force protection. Activities include sensor and system modeling, mission requirements analysis, and architecture development. A variety of technologies are examined, including radar, optical, acoustic, biological, and chemical sensors. Modeling and the analysis of field measurements are used to quantify the ability of current and proposed technology to meet mission requirements. This work includes analysis, algorithm development, and field testing.
Group 47—Chemical and Biological Defense Systems
The Chemical and Biological Defense Systems Group develops systems and technology for disaster preparedness, detection, mitigation, and attribution, with emphasis on chemical and biological defense. Principal sponsors are the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. The work of the group is highly interdisciplinary; as a result, the backgrounds of the researchers are diverse, including engineering (electrical, mechanical, chemical, biomedical), physics, mathematics, computer science, chemistry, and biology. Rigorous systems analyses produce system architectures and recommend research areas to guide government investment. These analyses are grounded by modeling and simulation of threats and defenses and by data analysis. Sensor development is conducted at several levels, including initial measurements of detection signatures, proof-of-concept experiments for biological or chemical assay or electro-optic sensors, integration into autonomous sensors along with development of the associated electronics and algorithms, and rigorous field testing in relevant environments. The group develops and tests multitechnology integrated systems in operational settings. The integrated systems include significant algorithm development to fuse multisource information. Emerging thrusts in the group include support for additional homeland security missions, natural disaster management, forensics, and electronics and algorithm support for other MIT Lincoln Laboratory missions.
Group 48—Tactical Defense Systems
The Tactical Defense Systems Group works on air defense issues, in particular, air vehicle survivability, vulnerability of U.S. Air Force (USAF) aircraft to weapons systems, electronic countermeasures, and air surveillance for homeland defense. The group focuses on understanding USAF and threat air defense systems through tests and measurements. Test activities include flight, field, and laboratory testing. The group operates two airplanes, both highly instrumented, and numerous ground systems as needed for test efforts. The group also develops new hardware for testing and prototype systems as well as for instrumenting existing sensors. There are a few major field-testing campaigns each year. Local testing is used to validate flight readiness. Data collected from testing are analyzed and compared with models in concert with Group 49, Systems and Analysis. The group's activities continue to evolve in parallel with USAF efforts, but the emphasis remains on providing answers to questions from our USAF sponsors by conducting field measurements using state-of-the-art instrumentation and then analyzing the resulting data.
Group 49—Systems and Analysis
The Systems and Analysis Group provides technical analyses to senior USAF leadership on a broad range of issues, including survivability of advanced USAF aircraft versus modern air defenses; the impact of current and future electronic attack and electronic protection techniques; the effectiveness of advanced weapon systems; the capabilities and limitations of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; and the vulnerability of precision-guided munitions to threat counters. These system analyses rely on a large body of air defense modeling and simulation tools for RF, IR, GPS, and directed-energy systems, which are validated via participation in an active program of laboratory measurements and flight testing in conjunction with Group 48, Tactical Defense Systems.
Flight Facility
The mission of the Lincoln Laboratory Flight Facility is to provide airborne platforms in support of specific research and development programs at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The Test Flight Facility provides a method of validation with actual field-collected data. The Flight Facility's research aircraft are flown, maintained, and managed by a professional staff of pilots, certified maintenance technicians, and administrative personnel. The first priority is safety of flight. All flight operations are conducted by using procedures and equipment that meet or exceed all Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements. As a result of various past airborne testing programs, mission-specific procedures have been developed. These procedures and the Federal Aviation Regulations provide for safe and successful operations. The Lincoln Laboratory Flight Facility was created in the 1970s to support Division 4's early air-to-air collision avoidance research programs sponsored by the FAA. As the need for more extensive airborne testing increased, the Lincoln Laboratory Flight Facility has expanded to support a variety of Department of Defense and FAA programs. The facility currently operates seven aircraft.
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