Evaluation of the effects of some remarkable internal and external factors on an infrared seeker

Seekers are one of the most important subsystems of guided aerial munitions such that they are used both to detect and track prespecified targets within specific engagement scenarios. Among them, infrared (IR) types constitute a significant portion of seekers. Actually, performance characteristics of seekers depend on some certain factors. Regarding the type of their sources, these factors can be classified as internal and external factors. Sensitivity, resolution, optics, detectors, dome geometry, and materials happen to the most significant internal factors acting on the IR seekers while atmospheric transmittance, and visibility can be counted within the remarkable external factors. In this study, the basic effects of the above mentioned internal and external factors on the performance characteristics of a generic IR seeker is examined and corresponding interpretations are presented at the end of the work.