Traditionally, the standard RS-170 format video camera has found limited application in airborne platforms. It has shown limited performance due to various factors encountered in this environment. Video camera applications in the scientific community have created camera configurations which are quite different from the standard video camera. The scientific applications require shorter integration periods, high sensitivity and narrow-band spectral response. Combinations of these needs have created specialized video cameras which negate some of the adverse factors of airborne video camera application and produce unique imagery well beyond the standard camera capability. This paper will explore the airborne environment and the application of the specialized video cameras.

Zeiss, in cooperation with Niletus, have developed an airborne Data Recording and Control System using high resolution reconnaissance cameras combined with video tape recording. Sensors are installed in a Dornier DO-228 aircraft for special earth survey missions which provide forest damage assessment in mountainous regions. Sensors include KS-153A wide angle- and telelens camera configurations. A laser distance meter provides autofocus capability for the telelens camera. Flight and mission data are recorded on film and video for cross-reference purposes during photo-interpretation. Special photogrammetric interpretation equipment then produces detailed maps used to direct corrective activities.

Recent developments in the transition from film to electro-optics in airborne reconnaissance have created a unique disparity between modem imaging sensor capabilities and those of the associated data recording hardware. Not only is high data rate digital recorder technology several steps behind that of sensors, as it does become available, it promises to be, at first, both large and expensive. In an effort to counteract serious setbacks in airborne reconnaissance systems development and short term deployment, an analog recording alternative deserves close attention. This paper describes a small format high bandwidth analog cassette recorder, HIBAR, currently being proposed to address this problem. Also described is such a recorder's role in today's chzinging threat and budget environments. Design goals are also provided.

Traditionally, aerial reconnaissance technology in the United States has been developed by government agencies and their contractors. More recently, however, it is the consumer entertainment industry that is providing the technology base for many of the reconnaissance needs. The present and future impact of these consumer entertainment products and developments on aerial reconnaissance are considered.

The measurement or estimation of the resolution (usually tribar) of an Electro-Optical (E-O) system is complicated primarily by two effects: 1) The phase of the periodic detector array relative to the periodic target bar spacing produces a moire effect in which the target can appear stronger and weaker. 2) The electronic signal is enhanced in some manner thereby precluding contrast as a limiter of resolution. The algorithm described in this paper avoids the phase problem by using only the continuous part of the generated noise, and avoids the contrast problem by using the signal-to-noise ratio as the resolution determining criterium. The acceptance spectrum of the human eye is used to define both signal and noise. A typical system with variable parameters is analyzed; the results indicate there are practical limits to the quality required of system elements.

This paper provides an informational description of an imagery interoperability architecture, being reviewed for implementation by the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (OSD/CI). The architecture furnishes the means for interoperability among digital electronic imagery reconnaissance assets of the United States and its allies. It identifies programs designed to establish interoperability through standards, formats, and limited hardware and software development. These programs rely upon the unique properties of digital electronics used in new "softcopy" sensor and exploitation systems as they replace traditional film based systems. This paper was condensed from the Rome Air Developqent Center (RADC) report, "Architecture for Electronic Imagery Interoperability."

This paper reviews the evolution of data annotation in airborne reconnaissance from the use of CRT Recording Head Assemblies (RHA's) to present LED RHA's and emerging video mixers.

Thi8 paper describes selected results of airborne, radiometric imaging measurements at 90 GHz and 140 GHz relevant for the application in reconnaissance. Using a temperature resolution below 0.5 K and an angular resolution of about 1 degree high quality images show the capability of discriminating between many brightness temperature classes within our natural environment and man-made objects. Measurement examples are given for cloud and fog penetration at 90 GHz, for the detection of vehicles on roads, and for the detection and classification of airports and airplanes. The application of different contour enhancement methods (Marr-Hildreth and Canny) shows the possibility of extracting lines and shapes precisely in order to improve automatic target recognition. The registration of the passive images with corresponding X-band synthetic aperture images from the same area is carried out and the high degree of correlation is dicussed.

Abstract not available.

The Reconfigurable Mobile System (RMS) is a highly mobile data-processing unit for military users requiring real-time access to data gathered by airborne (and other) reconnaissance data. RMS combines high-performance computation and image processing workstations with resources for command/control/communications in a single, lightweight shelter. RMS is composed of off-the-shelf components, and is easily reconfigurable to land-vehicle or shipboard versions. Mission planning, which involves an airborne sensor platform's sensor coverage, considered aircraft/sensor capabilities in conjunction with weather, terrain, and threat scenarios. RMS's man-machine interface concept facilitates user familiarization and features iron-based function selection and windowing.

After establishing a working-base image of given pixel-resolution and digitization, in conjunction with a calibration transform, the present method for image-processing based reconnaissance system performance evaluation gives attention to scaling, atmospheric, and MTF factors. The 'kernel spread-point definition', which is a weighted map of the redistribution of energy from a point object, is used to emulate lens-diffraction limitations, linear image motion, and simusoidal or random vibration. Recognition and identification criteria can be evaluated by simply looking at targets.

Dye diffusion technology has made a recent entry into the hardcopy printer arena making it now possible to achieve near-photographic quality images from digital raster image data. Whereas the majority of low cost printers utilizing ink-jet, thermal wax, or dotmatrix technologies advertise high resolution printheads, the restrictions which dithering algorithms apply to these inherently binary printing systems force them to sacrifice spatial resolution capability for tone scale reproduction. Dye diffusion technology allows a fully continuous range of density at each pixel location thus preserving the full spatial resolution capability of the printhead; spatial resolution is not sacrificed for tone scale. This results in images whose quality is far superior to the ink-jet or wax-transfer products; image quality so high in fact, to the unaided eye, dye diffusion images are indistinguishable from their silver-halide counterparts. Eastman Kodak Co. offers a highly refined application of dye diffusion technology in the Kodak XL 7700 Digital Continuous Tone Printer and Kodak EKTATHERM media products. The XL . 7700 Printer represents a serious alternative to expensive laser-based film recorders for applications which require high quality image output from digital data files. This paper presents an explanation of dye diffusion printing, what distinguishes it from other technologies, sensitometric control and image quality parameters, and applications within the industry, particularly that of Airborne Reconnaissance and Remote Sensing.

Current and forecast reductions in the defense budget are being compounded by the fact that certain programs are protected from budget cuts, to some extent, because of their highly classified nature. This fact is particularly true in the airborne reconnaissance field. Survival of unprotected airborne reconnaissance programs, according to a congressional staffer, can be considerably enhanced if they fall under the umbrella of verification/open skies, drug war, or special operations/low intensity conflict (SOLIC) areas of support. An application to the SOUC mission is an F-16 reconnaissance POD attached to the U-27 Cessna Caravan. The Caravan reconnaissance system consists of an infrared line scanning imagery sensor, a steerable forward-looking infrared sensor, and an electro-optic push broom imagery sensor. Also included is an imagery recorder, video management system and imagery data link. The U27 cabin is modified to provide the sensor operator with real time display and control of all sensors with a repeater display for the pilot. The caravan is not limited to the reconnaissance mission. Quick reconfiguration can provide for an airborne command post version, strike version with 50 caliber three-barrel Gatling gun and missiles, hospital medical evacuation, or transport. The aircraft is self sufficient and can operate off of minimally prepared landing strips. It appears that initiatives such as this are a direction that can significantly expand the airborne reconnaissance market, and requires the development of innovative new sensors and support systems.

The next generation of unmanned tactical reconnaissance aircraft are designed to coniplement manned reconnaissance aircraft in meeting the needs for high resolution tactical imagery in a high threat environment. The unmanned recce aircraft is well suited for applications in which the target area is well known and heavily defended. These targets are often located in rear areas well beyond the FEBA and outside of radio line-of-sight (LOS). The UAV must operate autonomously to record reconnaissance information and transmit this imagery in near- real-time when data link coiununications can be established with the controlling ground processing facility. This paper describes current concepts which improve the timeliness of data and provide additional synergism between manned and unmanned tactical reconnaissance systems. The UAV significantly extends the operational range and enhances versatility of tactical reconnaissance at low risk and low cost.

Demonstrations during the summer of 1988 culminated in a quick-turn Naval Air Development Center (NADC) engineering effort which demonstrated the feasibility of flying an Expeditionary Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (ETARS) Pod on an AV-8B Night Attack aircraft. Fairchild's AN/ASQ-197 Sensor Control-Data Display Set (SC-DDS), which had recently completed Full Scale Development (FSD) Testing for the Film version of F/A-18, was modified to control the Pod, its sensors, the video tape recorder and other communication equipment from a single rotary switch, four caution indicators and the standard AV-8B multiplex bus. This paper describes the functions performed by the AN/ASQ-197 Modified during the successful AV-8B ETARS feasibility flight demonstration program.

The installation of the Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System (ATARS) in the F/A-18D(RC) presented a complex set of design challenges. At the time of the F/A-18D(RC) ATARS option exercise, the design and development of the ATARS subsystems and the parameters of the F/A-18D(RC) were essentially fixed. ATARS is to be installed in the gun bay of the F/A-18D(RC), taking up no additional room, nor adding any more weight than what was removed. The F/A-18D(RC) installation solution required innovations in mounting, cooling, and fit techniques, which made constant trade study essential. The successful installation in the F/A-18D(RC) is the result of coupling fundamental design engineering with brainstorming and nonstandard approaches to every situation. ATARS is sponsored by the Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The F/A-18D(RC) installation is being funded to the Air Force by the Naval Air Systems Command, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Tactical Reconnaissance capability is at its lowest level in thirty years and getting worse. The paper deals with some of the recent history leading up to the present situation. It then discusses the current status and outlines some of the causes for the decline. The future is postulated and the initial steps to reduce the declining trend are presented.

Technology to implement very high speed digital signal processing has experienced rapid growth during the last decade. Techniques using this technology to reduce the data channel width required by an imaging reconnaissance system to achieve the timely transmission of data from sensor subsystems to remote exploitation subsystems are being developed at an increasing rate. The incorporation of these techniques into imaging reconnaissance systems promises payoffs in performance and co-operability with other collection systems within the restrictions imposed by existing and near-term projected data channels. This paper presents a summary overview of techniques available to designers using current technology. An analysis performed on a hypothetical system is used to illustrate the sensitivities of various algorithms to characteristics of and errors in individual system components; an analysis of the impact of the techniques considered on system performance. The techniques treated are restricted to lossy algorithms which preserve the essential imaging nature of the system to the end user i.e., the system output is in image form, not alphanumeric. Performance is defined as the ability of th system to collect and reconstruct scene image information. DPCM, ADPCM, and DCT compression techniques will be considered in the detailed treatment.

Disseminating operationally important, time-critical intelligence information to key decision makers at all echelons in a modern battlefield environment is a complex communications problem. Intelligence imagery collection by a variety of sensors is accomplished quickly, and delivery of this gathered imagery using data link technology can be accomplished in nearly real time. The gathered data can be quickly and correctly processed and interpreted using state-of-the-art techniques. Resultant products can be provided to collocated echelons almost immediately. However, geographically separated, front-line commanders seldom receive the final imaged products of this communication process in a timely manner. In many instances, they must rely on textual representations of the imagery to make critical operational decisions because the imagery is difficult to disseminate m a timely manner using existing communications systems. There is an operational need to provide real time intelligence imagery to geographically separated, operational users. The technology exists to develop a secondary imagery dissemination system to fill this need. The purpose of this paper is to review the requirements for such a system and to discuss briefly the feasibility of applying line-of- sight radio frequency communications technology to develop such a system. A brief operational scenario will also be presented where the existence of such a dissemination system could be very important.

Several years ago pushbroom slit and image spectrographs were one kind of most difficult multispectral scanners to realize. Since the microprocessor and CCD-based technology came rapidly up those system are now coming back. Many advantages are combined in these systems such as highest spectral and spatial resolutions, tremendous increase of number of bands to be recorded at the same time, choice of look directions, programmable band sets, real time displays of bandsets during recording, on line calibration and evaluation between recording in the aircraft. Major impacts on these records are drifts and rolls, caused by the aircraft, resulting in visible deviations from the preselected flight line. The deviations cannot be fully corrected during flights, but minimized by keeping the aircraft on its track next to the flight line. Computer controlled flight direction for the pilot or autopilot by GPS/INS with storing the tracking data together with a stabilized platform is an up to date answer.

The Houston Fearless 76 Government Projects Group has been actively engaged for more than twenty-five years as a sub-contractor and currently as a prime contractor in the design, manufacture, repair and logistics support of custom mobile ground stations and their equipment accommodations. Other associated products include environmental control units (ECU's), mobilizers for shelters and a variety of mobile power generation units (MPU's). Since 1984, Houston Fearless 76 has designed and manufactured four 8' x 8' x 22' nuclear hardened mobile shelters. These shelters were designed to contain electronic data processing/reduction equipment. One shelter is currently being operated by the Air Force as a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) approved and certified Special Corrpartmented Information Facility (SCIF). During the development and manufacturing process of the shelters, we received continual technical assistance and design concept evaluations from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Operations Analysis and Logistics Engineering Division and the Nondestructive Inspection Lab at McClellan AFB. SAIC was originally employed by the Air Force to design the nuclear hardening specifications applied to these shelters. The specific levels of hardening to which the shelters were designed are classified and will not be mentioned during this presentation.

Magnetic Bearings are being used to isolate sensors from the severe vibrational, thermal, and frictional environments encountered on airborne systems. Technology developed by Aura Systems in the design and fabrication of magnetic suspension systems shows great utility for the stabilization of airborne sensors. This paper will cover the performance results of a generic set of magnetic bearings capable of suspending 600 lbs, and the Magnetic Gimbal Fabrication and Test (MGFT) project, which consisted of fabrication and performance testing of a single axis magnetic bearing. The MGFT results show LINE OF SIGHT (LOS) accuracy from 3 to 8 p.rad with an angular disturbance of 48 rad/sec achieving vibration rejection of up to 79 dB. Also included is the description of the Advanced Missile Technology (AMT) project, which consists of fabrication and test of a single axis magnetic arc bearing for a small diameter missile. The AMT shows the capability to miniaturize the magnets and to provide extremely low friction under thermal loading. After proving the performance of magnetic bearings with the MGFT program a vast reduction in the size and weight of the magnetic bearing and associated electronics.

As pressure on our limited land base continues to increase, managers of public lands must have more accurate information within a shorter period of time in order to make logical, defensible decisions which are acceptable to members of the public. Remote sensing technology provides many tools required to gather much of the information required by decision makers. Some of the most heavily used tools are cameras, radar, and electro-optical scanners carried on airborne and spaceborne platforms. This overview provides a glimpse of aerial reconnaissance activities in the USDA Forest Service. Both personal knowledge and literature searches were used as references. Significant advances in sensors and applications have been made since 1985 and it is important for international civilian and military users to continue to cooperate in the acquisition and exploitation of airborne and spaceborne reconnaissance systems and products.

Loral Defense Systems-Arizona has developed a high-performance synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) for small aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) reconnaissance applications. This miniature radar, called Miniature Synthetic-Aperture Radar (MSAR), is packaged in a small volume and has low weight. It retains key features of large SAR systems, including high-resolution imaging and all-weather operation. The operating frequency of MSAR can optionally be selected to provide foliage penetration capability. Many imaging radar configurations can be derived using this baseline system. MSAR with a data link provides an attractive UAV sensor. MSAR with a real-time image formation processor is well suited to installations where onboard processing and immediate image analysis are required. The MSAR system provides high-resolution imaging for short-to-medium range reconnaissance applications.

New distortion-invariant correlation filters for reconnaissance applications (rotation-invariance) are considered. These use circular harmonic functions (CHFs) combined with minimum average correlation plane (MACE) filter techniques and new generalized rotation-invariant MACE filters using symmetry requirements.

Numerical calculations of modulation transfer functions (MTFs) for low-frequency mechanical vibrations are presented. The problem is significant in practical reconnaissance where primary vibrations are at frequencies too low to be described by the usual closed form Bessel function MTF. The low vibration frequency situation involves random process blur radii and MTFs which can only be handled statistically since no closed form solution is possible. This is illustrated here. Comparisons are made to a closed form approximate MTF solution suggested previously. Agreement is generally good, especially for relatively large and linear blur radius situations.

This paper describes a master system for SO/LIC activities concentrating on the reconnaissance element. The central element of reconnaissance is a pseudo-satellite balloon system that gives a SO/LIC commander his own realtime reconnaissance asset that allows him to be self sufficient in the key elements of a SO/LIC operation; namely, command, control, communications and intelligence.

A systems view is applied to delineate and develop some key issues in designing an E-O reconnaissance suite. The vital role played by dynamic range is stressed and its use for optimizing size and cost is explored. It is concluded that the configuration typically employed can be significantly improved by consolidating functions and using certain scene properties to simplify the implementation.

'Aerobureau' is an airborne newsroom capable of furnishing news-gathering, communications, logistics, remote sensing, and satellite-uplink TV transmission functions for live coverage of major events. The Aerobureau organization plans to market its services to U.S. and foreign news networks, cable services, and local TV stations. Aerobureau will be unique in its ability to operate over politically unstable and logistically remote and isolated locales.

Abstract not available.

Much of the information of interest to pilots in flight is display-limited, and is undergoing substantial expansion due to improved sensor output and signal processing; attention is accordingly given to digitally-based instrument display imaging in the present evaluation of high-resolution cockpit display technologies. Also noted are the advantages of digitally transmitted sensor data in cases where the airborne reconnaissance user may be able to analyze telemetered airborne data in real time and respond with requests to the pilot for more detailed information of specific battlefield sites.

Abstract not available.