Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control (ABC)
Abstract
The goal of the Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control (ABC) program is to improve the performance of high-energy lasers on tactical aircraft, against targets in the aft field-of-regard. In order to achieve a large field-of-regard, current optical turret designs protrude into the flow. This causes severe optical distortions in the aft field-of-regard due to turbulence in the wake and the unsteady shock movement over the aperture. These distortions decrease the power flux on target (the measure of lethality for a directed energy system) and consequently limit the utility of directed energy systems to targets in the forward field-of-regard. This program will optimize flow control strategies for pointing angles in the aft field-of-regard. The program will also explore the ability to synchronize the flow control system with adaptive optics. This effort will initially focus on wind tunnel testing to prove the feasibility of steady and periodic flow control techniques to reduce or regularize the large scale turbulent structures surrounding an optical turret. These tests will culminate in a hardware-in-the-loop demonstration utilizing flow control with an adaptive optics system in a full-scale wind tunnel test for the turret. Following successful wind tunnel demonstrations, a preliminary design of a flight test turret incorporating flow control will be undertaken. Completion of detailed design and fabrication will be carried on under the HELLADS program budgeted in PE 0603766E, Project NET-01.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2013
- Source ID
- eb74dc6e85a95181719ac4e9f2a0f4b6
Related Documents
- Root: TACTICAL TECHNOLOGY