Optical Propagation Improvement System (OPIS)

A system that provides a large field of regard for propagation of a laser beam from a transonic platform will be evaluated at larger scale and in greater detail (with more realistic and detailed geometry) than the successful Phase I demonstrations. Critical and practical issues identified in phase I will be addressed during the Phase II effort. The design includes a concept to address the fact that shocks do develop in transonic flow. A simple test in Phase I demonstrated the shock control capability. A second feature demonstrated in Phase I provided a simple and effective means of controlling optical aberrations and a successful method of adaptive-optic correction. In a preliminary Phase I evaluation of the basic concept, the mean intensity of the beam divided by that of a theoretically ideal propagating beam was increased from 0.22 to 0.61. The Phase II plan offers the opportunity to refine the successes of Phase I for both improved capability and closer fidelity to a real operational system.