3D-LZ helicopter ladar imaging system

James Savage; Walter Harrington; R. Andrew McKinley; H. N. Burns; Steven Braddom; Zoltan Szoboszlay

doi:10.1117/12.853625

29 April 2010 3D-LZ helicopter ladar imaging system

James Savage, Walter Harrington, R. Andrew McKinley, H. N. Burns, Steven Braddom, Zoltan Szoboszlay

Proceedings Volume 7684, Laser Radar Technology and Applications XV; 768407 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.853625
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2010, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

A joint-service team led by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions and Sensors Directorates completed a successful flight test demonstration of the 3D-LZ Helicopter LADAR Imaging System. This was a milestone demonstration in the development of technology solutions for a problem known as "helicopter brownout", the loss of situational awareness caused by swirling sand during approach and landing. The 3D-LZ LADAR was developed by H.N. Burns Engineering and integrated with the US Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate's Brown-Out Symbology System aircraft state symbology aboard a US Army EH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The combination of these systems provided an integrated degraded visual environment landing solution with landing zone situational awareness as well as aircraft guidance and obstacle avoidance information. Pilots from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps achieved a 77% landing rate in full brownout conditions at a test range at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. This paper will focus on the LADAR technology used in 3D-LZ and the results of this milestone demonstration.

Citation Download Citation

James Savage, Walter Harrington, R. Andrew McKinley, H. N. Burns, Steven Braddom, and Zoltan Szoboszlay "3D-LZ helicopter ladar imaging system", Proc. SPIE 7684, Laser Radar Technology and Applications XV, 768407 (29 April 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.853625

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