SYSTEM FOR LOCATING TANK MOUNTED GUNS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED EFFORT IS TO QUALIFY AN INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUE FOR DETECTING TANK MOUNTED GUNS USING NON-IMAGING (THERMAL) SENSORS. TWO EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES WILL BE PERFORMED TO CHARACTERIZE THE INDUCED RESPONSE OF TANK MOUNTED GUNS. THE TWO TECHNIQUES ARE QUITE DIFFERENT, ONE IS ACOUSTIC AND ONE IS ELECTROMAGNETIC, BUT THE BASIC DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENTS IS VERY SIMILAR. A BROADBAND SOURCE WILL BE USED TO EXCITE THE GUN BARREL OF A TANK (OR A SCALE MODEL OF A TANK). MEASUREMENTS USING EXISTING SENSORS WILL BE PERFORMED TO DETERMINE THE RESPONSE OF THE GUN. VARIATIONS IN SYSTEM/EXCITATION WAVE WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE EXPERIMENT DESIGN. THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA WILL BE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE THE SIGNAL STRENGTHS AND SPECTRUM OF THE GUN RESPONSE. SUFFICIENT DATA WILL BE PROCESSED TO NORMALIZE OUT UNCERTAINTIES IN THE DATA DUE TO SOURCE VARIATIONS. AVAILABLE DISTANT DATA WILL BE USED IN ESTIMATING THE DETECTION RANGE OF EACH TECHNIQUE. ANALYTICAL MODELS WILL BE USED TO VERIFY THE EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS. ONE OF THE TECHNIQUES WILL BE SELECTED FOR DEVELOPMENT INTO A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN. THE SYSTEM CONCEPT WILL BE DETAILED ENOUGH TO INCLUDE SOURCE REQUIREMENTS, SENSORS AND PROCESSING NECESSARY FOR THE LOCATION TECHNIQUE. THE CONCEPT WILL BE DOCUMENTED IN A FINAL REPORT ALONG WITH THE EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL RESULTS. THE COMPLETE DETECTION SYSTEM, DEVELOPED DURING PHASE II, WILL PROVIDE THE ABILITY TO LOCATE TANKS AT DISTANCES OF 2 TO 4 KM. IN ADDITION TO THE MILITARY SYSTEM APPLICATIONS, THE LOCATOR SYSTEM COULD BE UTILIZED IN TREATY MONITORING. IT COULD SERVE AS A BACK-UP TECHNIQUE TO ON-SITE INSPECTIONS AND NATIONAL TECHNICAL MEANS PROVIDING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE LOCATION OF CONCEALED OR COVERED TANKS THAT MUST BE MONITORED UNDER THE CONVENTIONAL FORCES IN THE EUROPE TREATY.