Miles Jamison 
- Boeing has completed ground, flight and tracking tests for its new seeker technology
- The Ultra Low-Cost Seeker demonstrated target detection and tracking performance in both land and maritime environments
- The tests have shown that the ULCS could withstand demanding flight conditions and operational stresses
Boeing has completed a series of tests for its Ultra Low-Cost Seeker, or ULCS, as the company aims to build an affordable radar seeker for offensive and defensive weapon programs
What Tests Has Boeing Completed?
The seeker underwent evaluations in an anechoic chamber, captive-carry testing and high-speed flight trials aboard a scaled rocket, Boeing said Tuesday.
During earlier captive-carry testing aboard a Beechcraft 1900 aircraft, the sensor was flown over land and maritime environments to verify its target detection and tracking capabilities. The company also tested the technology at Spaceport America in New Mexico, where ULCS tracked an unmanned aerial vehicle from the ground and monitored a reflector drone while mounted on a surrogate rocket.
Boeing said the seeker successfully detected and tracked targets throughout the tests while withstanding acceleration and vibration loads.
How Does the Seeker Work?
ULCS combines commercially available components that Boeing has adapted for military applications with a modular architecture designed for streamlined manufacturing. Boeing developed the technology to deliver a lower-cost seeker capability for precision-guided munitions that can track moving targets and support air, land and maritime strike missions in various weather conditions while remaining suitable for high-volume production.
Bob Ciesla, vice president of precision engagement systems at Boeing, said the company is pursuing a common sensor architecture built on Weapons Open Systems Architecture standards that can be shared among multiple programs.
