HBOTM Air-to-Ground Laser Link

ABSTRACT:A program to build, test, and demonstrate an air-to-ground free-space optical communications (FSOC) system is proposed. The program is targeted toward the need to transmit surveillance and other data from tactical airborne platforms to the ground. Current data capabilities in this area are limited by either satcom availability/expense or by TCDL data rates and bandwidth allocation issues. The program pairs existing FSOC terminals with existing airborne and ground gimbals. RF and beacon cueing will be used for rapid acquisition. No major new hardware or software elements will be developed. Any new such elements will be for system and network configuration, gimbal mounting of the optical antenna and cueing hardware, aircraft installation, and test support. The program will demonstrate that FSOC hardware and software is now mature enough to support broad fielding of affordable FSOC downlink systems with no high-risk or high-dollar development efforts required. The program includes a flight test to demonstrate acquisition, tracking, and data transfer in a realistic operating environment. Performance data will be collected, analyzed, and reported as deliverable to the project.BENEFIT:An air-to-ground FSOC system provides a real-time data off-load path for a large range of sensor platforms, including the deployment of multi-sensor payloads for wide-area persistent surveillance. Such a multi-sensor airborne system would have many high-value applications, including security, emergency response, search and rescue, reconnaissance, and crime-scene investigation. Security applications, for instance, include event security (sporting events, parades, inaugurations, public marches and protests), border and coastal patrol, and port and harbor security. Emergency response applications include situational monitoring and assessment of areas affected by terrorist events, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and large-scale fires. Any application that uses airborne sensors now could potentially benefit from the increase in sensor coverage offered by the system. Along those lines, potential customers include all the military branches, border patrol, coast guard, and port security agencies, FEMA and its international equivalents, and state and local law enforcement agencies. As the system maturity increases and prices fall, news gathering agencies might also be potential customers.