USE OF SATELLITE BASED MOBIL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR OVER THE HORIZON CONTROL OF SEABORNE POWERED TARGETS

SEABORNE POWERED TARGETS ARE CURRENTLY REMOTELY CONTROLLED VIA LINE OF SIGHT RADIO FREQUENCY SYSTEMS. IT IS DESIRED TO REMOVE THIS LINE OF SIGHT LIMITATION. THE PROPOSED SOLUTION WILL UTILIZE A TARGET BORNE LORAN C NAVIGATOR TO ESTABLISH LOCATION AND AUTONOMOUSLY CONTROL THE TARGET BETWEEN WAYPOINTS INSERTED INTO THE NAVIGATION. LOCATION DATA WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO A CONTROL STATION, FOR MONITORING PURPOSES AND CONTROL SIGNALS, I.E., TO SHUT DOWN THE TARGET, RELAYED BACK TO THE TARGET VIA A SATELLITE BASED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. THE PROPOSED PHASE I PROGRAM HAS BOTH DEMONSTRATION AND STUDY PARTS. IN THE DEMONSTRATION A TARGET WILL BE REMOTELY CONTROLLED AS NOTED ABOVE. THIS DEMONSTRATION WILL BE BASED ON THE RECENTLY (1989) INTRODUCED USE OF SATELLITE BASED DUPLEX MOBILE COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, AND ASSOCIATED HARDWARE, FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (TRUCK LOCATION AND DISPATCH). BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL, VERY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF THE ABOVE DEMONSTRATION TO WIDE SCALE RANGE USE, AN ASSOCIATED PART OF THIS PHASE I EFFORT WILL PROVIDE A FIRST COST ESTIMATE OF ADDITIONAL RANGE USE OF THE CONCEPT/HARDWARE.