AFRL Tests 3D-LZ Risk Reduction Technology

  • Published
  • By Beverley Thompson
  • AFRL/RY
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  AFRL tested an industry-developed receiver preprocessor built for an upcoming three-dimensional landing zone (3D-LZ) program aimed at mitigating helicopter brownout via high-performance LADAR [light amplification for detection and ranging]-based technology. The Office of the Secretary of Defense Rapid Reaction Technology Office funded H. N. Engineering Corporation's development of the risk reduction device, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Strategic Technology Office funded its testing, which AFRL conducted using a dust course and properly equipped helicopters at the Army's Yuma Proving Ground (Arizona). The preprocessor discriminates dust returns from hard-target returns, a critical distinction for pilots working to overcome the potentially catastrophic effects of backscatter during rotorcraft approach and landing in dry, arid environments or similarly dusty (i.e., brownout) conditions.

H. N. Engineering developed the preprocessor based on previously applied techniques--specifically, those the company used in devising the height-above-ground, all-weather laser fuze component of the Army's Land Attack Standard Missile. The preprocessor underwent subsequent incorporation into a SEEBAIR LADAR system that also included a two-axis scanning capability.

Researchers used the risk reduction preprocessor to collect thousands of ground-based data records as helicopter flybys generated dust clouds. Likewise, the unit's integration into the SEEBAIR system installed aboard a UH-1 helicopter ensured the capture of ample airborne data as well. The research team conducted evaluations during fully obscured landings, both at the Yuma obstacle course and at theater-realistic test sites. The ground and airborne data will facilitate preprocessor performance validation; it will also contribute to further development of the technology. The results of this test indicate that the receiver preprocessor will provide significant risk reduction for AFRL's 3D-LZ high-performance LADAR program.