LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT CANNOT BE DETECTED BY STANDARD RADAR BECAUSE OF INTERFERENCE FROM CLUTTER.

LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT CANNOT BE DETECTED BY STANDARD RADAR BECAUSE OF INTERFERENCE FROM CLUTTER. THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES A COHERENT LASER RADAR SYSTEM APPROACH, CONSISTING OF 2 KM SPACED LASER RADAR SITES THAT SCAN THE SKY IN ELEVATION ANGLE, WHICH CAN DETECT AIRCRAFT BETWEEN THE HORIZON AND 300 METER ALTITUDE. EACH SITE WILL BE BATTERY POWERED AND INTERCONNECTED BY A FIBEROPTIC LOCAL AREA NETWORK TO A CENTRAL RECEIVER SITE. THIS PROPOSED STUDY WILL DEVELOP AN OPTIMUM OPERATIONAL SCENARIO FOR THE SYSTEM, DO SYSTEM SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS BASED ON LESS THAN IDEAL ATMOSPHERIC VISIBILITY CONDITIONS, IDENTIFY KEY HARDWARE COMPONENTS, DETERMINE THEIR SUITABILITY FOR THE PROPOSED SYSTEM, AND INDICATE WHERE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT IS REQUIRED. A PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND TEST PLAN FOR DEMONSTRATION OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM AT A TEST RANGE WILL BE DEVELOPED.