AAWSAP DIRD, Detection and High-Resolution Tracking of Vehicles at Hypersonic Velocities, November 2010

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Figure 8. Laser-Based Chronograph.
Currently, the best devices for the detection of hypersonic vehicles are based on the
reflection of radio and microwave radiation through RADAR and upon the detection of
infrared energy emitted by the ionized gases surrounding high-speed vehicles and in their
wake. Optical and RADAR methods are also based on electromagnetic energy, yet make use
of different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum as shown in Figure 9. Longer wavelength
photons, or quanta of electromagnetic energy, have less energy than short wavelength
photons. As a result, detection of short wavelength radiation tends to be more line-of-sight
as in infrared or other optical methods. Longer wavelengths, used in RADAR, tend to bend
around the Earth and can provide over-the-horizon detection of ICBMs, reentry vehicles, and
other hypersonic vehicles.
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