Programs at the Army Missile Command on strategic and tactical applications of laser radar center around determination of the target signatures and cross sections which drive laser power requirements. The strategic concepts use the narrow beam width, short pulses, and short wavelengths to achieve high spatial and doppler resolution. Candidate lasers include CO2, CO, HF, DF, and Nd. Power, coherence length, pulse to pulse coherence, ability to chirp, and good beam quality are of interest. The tactical concepts use high power 10.6 micron pumped extreme infrared lasers in the 100 to 1000 micron band to enable the Army to see through bad weather with imaging laser radar. The driving problem in sizing laser requirements is the lack of target information. This paper will describe some early predictions of laser power requirements.

Date Published: 21 July 1976
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 0076, Ultra High Power Lasers for Practicable Applications, (21 July 1976); doi: 10.1117/12.954762

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0076:
Ultra High Power Lasers for Practicable Applications
LeRoy E. Wilson, Editor(s)