Harnessing Light Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century (1998) / Chapter Skim
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4 Optics in National Defense
4 Optics in National Defense
Pages 169-194
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From page 169... ...
Combat is repugnant to Western civilization, but it is a reality that we must face squarely because alternatives to victory are not an option. The stark realism of Desert Storm emerged from the television coverage with a technological perspective never before seen.
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From page 170... ...
technological approach has featured defense sponsorship of leading-edge research and development at levels necessary to maintain strong defense leadership in the world. Defense support of research has included activities that range from basic research at universities to system-level developments in industry.
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From page 171... ...
For example, the use of commercial computer displays in military field equipment could result in considerable savings, provided the displays are fully functional in the military environment. A grand challenge for developers of military systems is the incorporation of commercial designs, components, and test capabilities into military systems that must not only work in extreme conditions, but also interoperate reliably with other military equipment.
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From page 172... ...
Desert Storm pilots stated that they "owned the night" with their night vision capability; the strategy of shunning daylight flights in Iraq and Kuwait during the war contributed greatly to their low casualty rate. The level of activity in a technology can be gauged by the amount of DOD resources devoted to potential future system applications, as well as to exploratory and advanced development.
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From page 173... ...
_ . _ / · species detection I LASER BASK · Iaser sat comm · RF photonics · Iaser weapons · fiber-optic gyro / · eyesafe lasers / · fiber optics / · Doppler radar / Iaser RF/designator / · HUD / · hyperspectral · Iaser gyro ~· multispectral · Jammers ~ / · SAR / · night vision uncooled / fuz~missile guidance #1 · missile guidance #2 DETECTOR BASED _ · night vision 1 st · night vision 2nd · sat surveillance #2 1 l , _ ~ / ~ · night vision /~ · sat surveillance #1 ~ , 1 70 80 90 00 10 Year applications is becoming blurred.
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From page 174... ...
Consistent with current acquisition policy for all new systems, the cost-performance-requirements envelope must be optimized for new surveillance programs. As a result, DOD is now designing new surveillance systems with today's available optics technology that emphasize system demonstrations to mitigate development risk.
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From page 175... ...
system, a $22 billion mix of other optical surveillance satellites to be launched into various orbits over the next 20 years, constitutes the next generation of global IR eyes for DOD. C h a p t e r 4 Highly classified photographic satellite surveillance details have also recently emerged (Wheelon, 1997)
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From page 176... ...
Early night vision units amplified reflected starlight and demonstrated considerable tactical advantages. Battlefield night vision devices now use passive detection of IR, which senses the heat radiated from objects in the scene.
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From page 177... ...
, with signal processing in chips followed by conventional display of the image. Figure 4.3 shows a cooled thermal imaging roadmap that details the progress of this class of night vision devices for Army applications.
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From page 178... ...
producibility ~| Missile ~ ' \ FIGURE4.4 Progressin uncooled thermal imaging forArmy applications. (Courtesy of J
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From page 179... ...
Laser light projects long distances in very narrow beams because of its short wavelength, unlike radio waves that spread out. So optical power is more efficiently delivered to a target, and this simple idea is the essence of most military uses of lasers.
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From page 180... ...
The technologies common to this class of laser systems include acquisition, pointing and tracking, fieldable optics with domes or aerodynamic windows, bore-sighted detectors, and laser operation somewhere in the visible to 1 0-pm IR spectral ranges where the atmosphere is transparent to I aser red iation. Laser Range Finders, Designators, Jammers, and Communicators This category of lasers was developed first, then laser power levels were gradually increased to the weapons class range discussed in the next section.
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From page 181... ...
The sportsman will recognize this illuminator as the basis for the rifle spotting beam. Retrofit and upgrade of the entire class of pulsed range finder and target designator units so important to our success in delivering precision munitions in Desert Storm are proceeding.
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From page 182... ...
There have since been many technology advances in high-energy lasers, and both ground and airborne demonstrations have validated the basic weapons concept (Figure 4.6~. Laser weapons designs and matching mission roles, such as the destruction of sensors in imagers, missile guidance, and surveillance systems, are understood well enough that advanced system development cou Id proceed if national security required it (Knowles, 1 996~.
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From page 183... ...
Adaptive optics control of laser beams constitutes a major recent breakthrough in laser weapons system developments. Ground-based lasers can now potentially negate satellite threats.
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From page 184... ...
project sponsored by Ballistic Missile Defense Organization enjoy broad support for multiple missions. As a result of the Air Force New World Vistas study, systems and operations analysts are very active in matching laser concepts to today's problems.
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From page 185... ...
The extension of digital techniques into the terabit region, development of special sensors by the Navy, parallel and serial local area networks for avionics, and both backplane and chip-to-chip communication projects are under way. Other nondigital uses of fiber optics include the FO gyro (discussed below)
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From page 186... ...
The Air Force New World Vistas study calls for better cockpit displays to relieve overworked pilots; hence, display technology must keep pace with the means to rapidly process and analyze data. DOD has identified flat-panel displays (FPDs)
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From page 187... ...
The DOD FPD technologies include plasma, electroluminescence, and AMLCD. Displays utilizing these technologies are operable under high ambient light levels and can be made rugged for field use.
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From page 188... ...
Miniature and low power Head mounted 0.5-4 in. Weapon mounted Body worn Special Techniques This section provides an overview of techniques that address special military applications and/or mission requirements.
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From page 189... ...
For other uses such as missile guidance, smaller, lower-accuracy units are necessary.
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From page 190... ...
Image and electronic signal processing have long been fostered by research organizations within DOD, such as the Office of Naval Research. Acousto-optic modulator-based signal correlators have been designed and incorporated into military products, although widespread field deployment has not yet occurred.
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From page 191... ...
The DOD objective of keeping the military technologically sharp so that our nation will not be blindsided by a foreign power adds a longer-range dimension to R&D that firms find indispensable to innovation. Small companies are becoming increasingly important as a source of advanced optical technology for rapid insertion into new DOD systems.
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From page 192... ...
Since DARPA accounts for roughly 70% of DOD's science and technology budget, very close cooperation with the military services and other agencies is needed to avoid the disruptions that have occurred in the past. With science and technology projects undertaken by many university, government, and industry laboratories, planning must be closely coordinated and continuity maintained to extract maximum benefit from these activities.
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From page 193... ...
Erosion of the optical technology base through benign neglect or lack of federal agency coordination must not be allowed; the return on investment is very high. After decades of work, fieldable laser devices can now provide the power levels, spectral diversity, and adaptive optics configurations necessary as countermeasures to extreme threats, especi al Iy from m issi le attack.
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From page 194... ...
Infrared focal plane array technology.
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