FARNBOROUGH: DERA displays diamond-based missile dome

Visitors to the DERA stand at Farnborough this year will see a protective dome for hypervelocity missiles manufactured from diamonds. DERA (Farnborough, UK) has joined a cooperative venture with De Beers Industrial Diamonds (DEBID) to produce the new material.

As explained to Aerospace Online by DERA Technical leader Tim Mollart, an infrared-seeking missile dome must combine the required optical properties with the ability to withstand rapid heating when launched. Diamond is considered to be ideal missile dome material combining excellent mechanical performance with excellent optical properties across the visible, near infrared and far infrared spectra. It is said to be the only candidate material for operation in the far infrared, which has the advantages of being more effective against countermeasures and tracking targets in cluttered background.

The dome material is fabricated using a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technique developed by DEBID. The growth is said to be a meta-stable process where diamond is formed from excited carbon atoms in a gaseous state at temperatures and pressures where graphite is thermodynamically more stable. After growth, the domes have to be configured into optical components, accurately processing the inner and outer faces to be parallel with highly polished surfaces.

DERA, Stand D40, Hall 1

Edited by Don Parry
European Correspondent, Aerospace Online