Laser Beam Command Guidance

R K Mishra

doi:10.1117/12.951266

28 July 1989 Laser Beam Command Guidance

R K Mishra

Proceedings Volume 1042, CO2 Lasers and Applications; (1989) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.951266
Event: OE/LASE '89, 1989, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

A scheme for weapon guidance, using a coded laser beam which can replace currently used wire or similar link for transmitting guidance commands from ground station (launcher), has been proposed. The guidance unit consists of target acquisition and tracking system, CW laser and laser beam encoding mechanism. The target acquisition and laser beam modulator are mounted together on a two axes gimbal. The laser is mounted on another gimbal which also has two degrees of freedom. The steering commands of latter gimbal are derived from the former one so that the laser beam follows the axis of the acquisition system with time delay depending on the mission requirement. The transmitted laser beam is spatially and temporally coded with the help of optical modulator and a rotating neutral density filter respectively. The coded laser beam is received by an electro-optical sensor on board the weapon to generate the signals for weapon control. Angular resolution of the guidance unit depends on modulator's linear resolution and focal length of the collimating lens. The characteristics of the optical modulator, to achieve ks 0.1 mrad resolution, have been discussed. The transmitted power for Nd YAG and CO₂ lasers for a typical scenerio has been calculated.

Citation Download Citation

R K Mishra "Laser Beam Command Guidance", Proc. SPIE 1042, CO2 Lasers and Applications, (28 July 1989); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.951266

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