REAL-TIME ADAPTIVE NUCLEAR CLUTTER MITIGATION

ADVANCED SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS WILL BE REQUIRED TO OPERATE IN A TRANS-ATTACK AND POST-ATTACK ENVIRONMENT. THE HIGH ALTITUDE CLUTTER FOR SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT IS NOT ACCURATELY CHARACTERIZED. THE PROPOSED OPTICAL TECHNIQUE PROVIDES A REAL-TIME ADAPTIVE CAPABILITY TO REJECT NUCLEAR CLUTTER AND OPTIMIZE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. THIS TECHNIQUE UTILIZES A DUAL-STATE OPTICAL SYSTEM WHOSE IMAGING PROPERTIES ALTERNATE BETWEEN TWO MODES WITH TIME AND A DETECTOR WHOSE OUTPUT IS PROPORTIONAL TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE MODES. THE TWO STATES OF THE DUAL STATE OPTIC ARE GENERATED BY APPLYING CONTROLLED PATTERNS OF SMALL AMPLITUDE, HIGH FREQUENCY OSCILLATIONS TO ONE OF THE COMPONENTS IN THE OPTICAL SYSTEM, SUCH AS THE SECONDARY MIRROR. THE OSCILLATIONS WHICH ARE SOFTWARE PROGRAMMABLE CAN BE VARIED IN REAL TIME TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE IN AN UNKNOWN NUCLEAR ENVIRONMENT.