PASSIVE NON-COOPERATIVE TARGET RECOGNITION SENSOR

THE POLARIZATION CHARACTERISTICS OF AIRCRAFT INFRARED SIGNATURES HAVE BEEN STUDIED AS A MEANS TO ENHANCE THE PERFORMANCE OF LONG RANGE PASSIVE INFRARED DETECTION SYSTEMS OPERATING IN THE PRESENCE OF CLUTTER. THESE STUDIES ALSO GENERATED EVIDENCE THAT THE AMOUNT AND ANGLE OF POLARIZATION AS WELL AS ITS SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION ARE UNIQUE BETWEEN DIFFERENT TYPES AND CLASSES OF AIRCRAFT. IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE AN AIRCRAFT'S SIGNATURE POLARIZATION CHARACTERISTICS ACCURATELY ENOUGH TO USE THEM FOR LONG RANGE PASSIVE IDENTIFICATION. A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS TECHNIQUE WAS PERFORMED BY AERODYNE RESEARCH, INC. THIS WORK WAS SUPPORTED BY HONEYWELL SYSTEMS RESEARCH CENTER, MINNEAPOLIS AS PART OF THE AIR FORCE/WRIGHT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER SPONSORED MULTI-ATTRIBUTE IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS (MAIDA) PROGRAM. THE CALCULATIONS WERE MADE WITH AERODYNE'S IR SIGNATURE POLARIZATION FOR TWO AIRCRAFT OF DIFFERENT SIZE AND SHAPE, AT THE SAME RANGE, ASPECT AND FLIGHT CONDITION. THE CALCULATIONS WERE MADE WITH AERODYNE'S IR SIGNATURE POLARIZATION MODEL: "POLAR". OUR ANALYSIS OF THIS PRELIMINARY STUDY INDICATES THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENCES IN AIRCRAFT SIGNATURE POLARIZATION WHICH MAY BE EXPLOITED FOR TARGET IDENTIFICATION. HOWEVER, THE STUDY WAS LIMITED IN SCOPE AND ITS RESULTS CANNOT BE REGARDED AS CONCLUSIVE AERODYNE PROPOSES TO CARRY OUT A MORE EXTENSIVE STUDY OF AIRCRAFT SIGNATURE POLARIZATION TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE IS SUFFICIENT VARIABILITY TO MAKE IT FEASIBLE FOR USE IN PASSIVE TARGET RECOGNITION.