Accuracy and Reliability of a Short-Baseline Narol System
Abstract
The primary objectives of this Indirect Bomb Damage Assessment (IBDA) experiment were to incorporate results of Operation Redwing into an operational-type short-baseline Narol system and to study the reliability and accuracy of the system as a function of yield, range, type of propagation paths, and lightning-transient interference. Narol nets, each consisting of two unmanned slave stations and one manned master station, were established at Albuquerque, New Mexico, Vale, Oregon, and Rapid City, South Dakota. Forty-three lines of position (from a possible 49) were obtained having average errors of 0.5 nautical miles for the Albuquerque net, 0.4 nautical miles for the Vale net, and 0.8 nautical miles for the Rapid City net. These lines of position gave fixes having an average error of 0.8 nautical miles. In general, the times of detonation were measured with an error of less than 10 milliseconds. Lightning transient data were recorded and analyzed throughout the test series at various times of the day. In general, it was found that there were no consistent patterns peculiar to the waveforms, field strengths, or pulse durations of these transients that would distinguish them from the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear detonation. To speed data reduction and analysis, an area-gating system was tested. With this system, the film records of electromagnetic transients originating within a 10-mile radius of the detonation were marked electronically, thereby reducing the amount of data that had to be analyzed. The area-gating system was tried on six shots. On each, data were collected for about one-half hour, and the area-gating system correctly marked the record for concurrent identification and analysis. With the record so marked, operators were able to select the correct pulse, analyze it, and report the fix and detonation time in less than fifteen minutes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1957
- Accession Number
- ADA377850
Entities
People
- Richard A. Houghten
- Richard B. Harvey
Organizations
- Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories