Evaluation of Atmospheric Effects for Operational Tactical Decision Aid.
Abstract
The Tactical Decision Aid (TDA) is an integrated target/atmosphere/sensor model that is used to estimate target acquisition ranges for infrared sensors. It employs an extensive 8000-plus line computer code, LOWTRAN-6, to evaluate the atmospheric extinction of infrared signals for various climatological conditions. The Operational Tactical Decision Aid (OTDA) is a simplified version of the TDA housed on an HP-41CX, a hand-held computer, and is intended for field use. Since LOWTRAN-6 is too voluminous to be employed for the OTDA, precomputed extinction data tables are currently in use. Manual input of data from the tables to the OTDA is cumbersome and is prone to erroneous readings. Therefore, compact atmospheric extinction models were developed for various types of atmospheric extinction which are significant for the TDA application. The models were developed based on the LOWTRAN-6 computation and were verified through extensive accuracy analysis. For automated generation of a database for accuracy analysis, an interactive driver for LOWTRAN-6, called DGU, was developed. The program can create input decks for LOWTRAN-6 from interactive sessions, run LOWTRAN-6, and post process the LOWTRAN-6 generated data. Finally, the obtained models were integrated into a program, called CTRAN, and coded onto a VAX computer in FORTRAN and in Reverse Polish Notation for the HP-41CX. Keywords: LOWTRAN; Tactical decision aids; Atmospheric Absorption; Transmittance Modeling; Aerosols.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 09, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA194205
Entities
People
- Ken Tomiyama
Organizations
- Pennsylvania State University