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During the development of smart weapon's seeker/sensors, it is imperative to collect high quality signatures of the targets the system is intended to engage. These signatures are used to support algorithm development so the system can find and engage the targets of interest in the specific kill area on the target. Englin AFB FL is the AF development center for munitions; and in support of the development effort, the 46th Test Wing (46 TW) has initiated significant improvements in collection capabilities for signatures in the MMW, Infrared and Seismic, Acoustic and Magnetic (SAM) spectrum. Additionally, the Joint Munitions Test and Evaluation program office maintains a fleet of foreign ground vehicle targets used for such signature collection including items such as tanks, SCUD missile launchers, air defense units such as SA-06, SA-8, SA-13, and associated ground support trucks and general purpose vehicles. The major test facility includes a 300 ft tower used for mounting the instrumentation suite that currently includes, 10, 35 and 94 GHz MMW and 2-5(mu) and 8-12(mu) IR instrumentation systems. This facility has undergone major improvements in terms of background signature reduction, construction of a high bay building to house the turntable on which the targets are mounted, and an additional in- ground stationary turntable primarily for IR signature collection. Our experience using this facility to collect signatures for the smart weapons development community has confirmed a significant improvement in quality and efficiency. The need for the stationary turntable signature collection capability was driven by the requirements of the IR community who are interested in collecting signatures in clutter. This tends to be contrary to the MMW community that desires minimum background clutter. The resulting location, adjacent to the MMW tower, allows variations in the type and amount of clutter background that could be incorporated and also provides maximum utilization of the existing tower to mount the instrumentation suite or seeker and the in-place electronic support facilities. Additionally, major equipment improvements in SAM instrumentation and a SAM van have been acquired to provide a mobile SAM signature collection capability.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. |
