We present new techniques for passive ranging with a dual-band IR search and track (IRST) sensor aboard a ship. Three distance estimation methods are described: the atmospheric propagation model, the apparent surface of the target, and target motion analysis (TMA). These methods are tested on the sensor output of real data during cold water trials (CWTs). They are evaluated by comparing with simultaneously obtained radar reference data at the test site. Results of these three passive ranging and three fusion processes, combining the preceding methods, are presented. This demonstrates the effectiveness of IR passive ranging techniques in the anti-air-warfare scenario. Majority voting fusion shows that improvement of the distance estimation is achieved in the CWT scenario when combining these three different methods. A range-error reduction of 41% is obtained, and a typical uncertainty of 5% is at a 8-km distance. During warm water trials (WWTs) the TMA algorithm was adapted to deal with a dynamic environment of the antisurface warfare scenario (ASuW). These WWTs prove that TMA in combination with an IRST system can extend the basic IRST functionality significantly for a dynamic ASuW scenario.@en

Several sensor fusion approaches are in use for detection of land mines. These are based on different techniques and show different results. Meaningful comparisons of fusion algorithm performance are difficult, because the performance achievable may be limited by the data acquired and the sensors used. Especially in comparing such dissimilar situations, it is important to compare measures that are not dependent of sensor peculiarities or layout of test lanes. Nonetheless, a quantitative comparison of algorithms is necessary to identify the most effective fusion techniques. This comparison must sometimes be done when the algorithms are being applied to different data sets. In this paper we describe a methodology to evaluate the performance of sensor-fused mine-detection systems. This process can be used to compare different minedetecting sensors in well-defined scenarios. Keywords: Mine detection, sensor fusion, test and evaluation methodologies, system design.@en