Patent ID: 8258998

Claim:
A system for protecting an aircraft against an incoming threat, the system comprising: (a) a wide-angle panoramic electro-optic sensor to substantially continuously search for said incoming threat, the wide-angle panoramic electro-optic sensor able to (i) produce and process images and (ii) detect a non-verified possible incoming threat; (b) a narrow-band electro-magnetic radar sensor, operable in Ka Band frequencies of approximately 26.5 GHz to approximately 40 GHz, to search for said incoming threat; and (c) a central computer (A) to activate said narrow-band electro-magnetic radar sensor only upon detection of the possible incoming threat by the wide-angle panoramic electro-optic sensor, and (B) to transfer to said narrow-band electro-magnetic radar sensor data, calculated by the central computer based on input from the wide-angle panoramic electro-optic sensor, the data indicating to the narrow-band electro-magnetic radar sensor to adjust its orientation towards the possible incoming threat; wherein the narrow-band electro-magnetic radar sensor is to transmit, towards said possible incoming threat, a radar waveform constructed based on an initial range between the aircraft and the possible incoming threat as estimated by the central computer based on input from the wide-angle panoramic electro-optic sensor.