Davis :: ShipIR/NTCS Introduction

A target model is constructed from a 3D CAD surface model forming the basis for both a heat transfer model and surface radiance model. The plume trajectory and IR emission model (plume model) is capable of predicting the infrared signatures of both diesel and gas turbine propulsion systems.

Work on ShipIR (v1) began in 1990 and was delivered to Defence Research Development Canada (DRDC) Valcartier in June 1992. Sub-models for the plume, flare decoy and missile engagement were added in 1992–1994 and delivered as ShipIR/NTCS (v2). The Naval Threat Countermeasure Simulator (NTCS) refers to the threat viewing and analysis capability of the software (see Figure 2). The model has been adopted as both a NATO and US Navy standard, and the current release ShipIR/NTCS (v3.2) has received numerous NAVSEA accreditations from both the DDG and DDX program offices. Although it was originally developed for naval ships, it has also been adopted for use in a number of aircraft programs.

ShipIR/NTCS continues to be improved through projects funded by Davis, the US Naval Research Laboratory (US-NRL) and DRDC (Atlantic). DRDC Atlantic has played a vital role in the validation of ShipIR through the planning and execution of various joint signature trials using the Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessel (CFAV) Quest (see Figure 1). The software has been commercially available since 1995 and over 40 site licenses have been sold worldwide. Some of the major commercial users include Northrop Grumman (Newport News, Ship Systems), Lockheed-Martin (Naval Electronics and Surveillance Systems, Sippican), Bath Iron Works, Raytheon Missile Systems, Blohm and Voss (Germany), Navantia (Spain), Fincantieri (Italy), DCN (France), Celcius (Sweden), EADS CASA Military Aircraft Division (Spain) and Korean Aerospace Industries (S. Korea); as well as a large number of NATO and other EO-IR laboratories around the world.

Figure 2: ShipIR/NTCS component diagram

The ShipIR component of the model consists of several sub-models (see Figure 2). The background model includes an infrared sky radiance model and atmosphere propagation model using MODTRAN4, and a complex sea reflectance model based on the work by Mermelstein (1994) and Shaw and Churnside (1997).

Figure 1: FLIR camera image of Quest taken during Q276 on left, with simulated output from ShipIR/NTCS (v3.2) on right.

ShipIR/NTCS is a comprehensive software package for predicting the infrared signature of naval ships in their maritime background (see Figure 1). The software includes a generic imaging seeker model and IR flare countermeasure deployment model to simulate the engagement between a ship, its flare tactic and an infrared-guided missile. ShipIR and NTCS were developed by W.R. Davis Engineering for the Canadian Department of National Defence.