Simulation and analysis of jamming effects on a mid-wave infrared seeker system against blinding laser

Laser blinding effects pose a serious threat to the tracking capability of infrared seekers. Traditional laser jamming analysis models typically account for a certain interference factor, whereas actual jamming effects manifest through the intricate interplay of multiple physical processes. Moreover, most existing studies on anti-jamming techniques neglect to provide comprehensive image-level interference effects and targeted interference image datasets specifically for laser blinding scenarios. This paper establishes a multi-physical coupling interference model that integrates self-radiation from optical components, thermal radiation from mechanical structures, and thermal-induced variations in refractive index and transmittance. Furthermore, we develop a robust simulation framework, mapping the progression from thermal effects to image plane energy density, ultimately generating high-fidelity interference images. Finally, a blackbody radiation imaging experiment of the infrared seeker is implemented, successfully achieving bidirectional verification between experimental calibration and simulation extension. Experimental results demonstrate that the difference between the simulated self-radiation image of lens 1 and the experimental image is less than 2 %, verifying the accuracy of our method. Since experimental methods cannot measure thermal conduction in optical and mechanical structures or assess the impact of changes in refractive index and transmittance on imaging, the complete model’s simulation results consequently differ by up to ± 12 % from experimental results. This demonstrates that our framework surpasses physical testing, not only by producing physical changes difficult to capture experimentally, but also by generating laser blinding datasets specifically for anti-jamming AI training. The research presented in this paper allows pre-deployment hardening of seekers, significantly reducing costs compared to traditional approaches.