Advanced techniques for generating infrared (IR) scenes of a maritime environment for use in an imaging infrared (IIR) Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) are discussed. The enhancements include the incorporation of a cluttered sea surface using an improved version of the Mermelstein sea-surface model. The US Naval Research Laboratory has implemented this capability for generating uncorrelated clutter into IR scenes for use in the CRUISE_Missiles ASCM model. These techniques for capturing the more complex features of the environment will become increasingly important as more low-observable (LO) ships, advanced imaging ASCMs and new IR decoy techniques are designed and deployed. This paper presents the design and implementation of a static clutter model, as well as a qualitative validation of the synthesized scenes based on field data.
An infrared field trial has been conducted by a NATO science panel on IR ship signatures, TG-16. This trial was planned, designed and executed for the expressed purpose of the validation of predictive IR ship signature simulations. The details of the trial were dictated by a thoughtful validation methodology, which exploits the concept of "experimental precision." Two governmental defense laboratories, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and the US Naval Research Laboratory have used this trial data to perform a validation analysis on the ShipIR IR signature code. This analysis quantifies prediction accuracy of the current versions of the code and identifies specific portions of the code that need to be upgraded to improve prediction accuracy.
An integrated naval infrared target, threat and countermeasure simulator (SHIPIR/NTCS) has been developed. The SHIPIR component of the model has been adopted by both NATO and the US Navy as a common tool for predicting the infrared (IR) signature of naval ships in their background. The US Navy has taken a lead role in further developing and validating SHIPIR for use in the Twenty-First Century Destroyer (DD-21) program. As a result, the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has performed an in-depth validation of SHIPIR. This paper presents an overview of SHIPIR, the model validation methodology developed by NRL, and the results of the NRL validation study. The validation consists of three parts: a review of existing validation information, the design, execution, and analysis of a new panel test experiment, and the comparison of experiment with predictions from the latest version of SHIPIR (v2.5). The results show high levels of accuracy in the radiometric components of the model under clear-sky conditions, but indicate the need for more detailed measurement of solar irradiance and cloud model data for input to the heat transfer and in-band sky radiance sub-models, respectively.
Various methods for the calibration and error estimation of imaging radiometers are described. The methodologies are presented in the form of specific examples of the calibration of the Naval Research Laboratory's airborne infrared (IR) radiometric measurement system. Two imaging radiometers are part of this system and are used to perform radiometric measurements on a variety of targets and backgrounds over a spectral range of 3 to 12 μm. The calibration procedures for these radiometers are presented along with an extensive error analysis that examines in detail 16 different sources of error. Such an error analysis clearly illustrates the need for proper calibration procedures.
KEYWORDS: Radiometry, Error analysis, Signal to noise ratio, Imaging systems, Temperature metrology, Radio optics, Sensors, Infrared imaging, Thermography, Calibration
An error analysis for IR imaging radiometers is summarized. In all, a total of 14 different sources of error are considered in the determination of a total cumulative error. Since the accuracy of a radiometer is the best judge of its usefulness, such an error analysis can be used in the design of an imaging radiometric system. Trade-off studies can be performed in such a way as to minimize the total cumulative error of the system. Examples of how minimizing the total error impacts the design of a number of radiometer sub-systems are presented.
Performance improvement of a dual-band (3-5-micron and 8-12-micron) imaging radiometer is considered. The results of optical and subsystem modulation transfer function (MTF) analyses indicate that primary performance limitations include severe chromatic aberration in the 3-5-micron (SW) channel and the combination of slow SW detector time constant and poorly tuned high-frequency boost circuit. A new SW detector lens and telescope objective pair have been designed to reduce the chromatic aberration. An improved boost circuit provides MTF with the same noise-equivalent bandwidth. An InSb detector/preamp hybrid is being investigated for a possible replacement of the low-bandwidth HgCdTePC detector currently being used.
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