Space Dynamics Laboratory helps Navy
Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) has developed a real-time digital reconnaissance system equipped with the technology to effectively plan a mission during wartime. This system, which is partly funded by the United States Navy, will leave no time for enemies or targets to escape or relocate.
According to the press release issued by SDL, the Navy Input Station (NAVIS) “allows the operator to process, display and manipulate imagery as the aircraft is flying, enabling clarification of targets and instantaneous strikes.”
Darin C. Partridge, software engineer for SDL, said the NAVIS permits him to display the latitude and longitude of a target. It can also show exactly what is happening from the aircraft, he said. One of the special features of the NAVIS is its ability to show the kind of damage a certain selected ordinance can do to a targeted area, Partridge said.
The currently used wet film reconnaissance technology requires the pilot to first land before any pictures can be developed or studied, Partridge said. Although the wet film camera is able to take very high quality pictures, it is not real-time, and as a result, by the time the mission is planned, the targets might have already relocated or moved, he said.
“The whole purpose of this thing is to reduce sensor-to-shoot time,” Partridge said.
With wet film, they have to fly it, film it and land it before anything happens, Partridge said. They find what they want, and they have to develop and put it into the computer before they can even study it, he said.
“It takes time, it takes people, and it takes resources to do all that,” Partridge said.
Because NAVIS is real-time, the information filmed from an F/A-18F aircraft is transmitted and recorded instantly, Partridge said.
The instantaneous effect of NAVIS permits “someone who has the authority to make the decision, see it and tell them [pilots] what to do, rather than having them land,” Partridge said.
“The key advantage to this system is that this system is more sensitive to infrared,” said Glen H. Wada, SDL’s program manager.
“If you use wet film on the same [hazy] day you flew this [NAVIS], you cannot see anything,” Partridge said. “This [NAVIS] has the ability to penetrate haze.”
Partridge said although the NAVIS might have problems of its own, it is still better than wet film.
“One of the problems is that the data link has a range, and if you go outside the range you are going to lose the range and you won’t be able to see what he’s [pilot] taking pictures of,” Partridge said. “Or if it is a noisy environment, the data link can be disrupted.”
But even so, Partridge said, the data is still recorded in a tape which can be studied after the plane lands. With NAVIS, you can mark threat areas on the map during preplanning so the pilot can fly outside the threat areas and still be able to capture the data of the targeted or threat areas, he said.
“This [NAVIS] is a prototype system,” Wada said. “The next system is called The Shared Reconnaissance Pod [SHARP]. The intent of this system [NAVIS] is to bring this technology to the Navy and find out where the problems are and pass the information on to the SHARP program.”
NAVIS was put into demonstration in the parking lot of the Pentagon 15 days prior to the Sept. 11 incident, Partridge said.
According to the press release, “[NAVIS] will be ready for its scheduled deployment with a SHARP equipped F/A-18FE/F Super Hornet wing in 2003.”
When asked if NAVIS is currently being used in the war in Afghanistan, Partridge said he is unable to release the information.
As far as non-wartime is concerned, Partridge said NAVIS will still be used during trainings.
“They will fly this camera all the time for training just to keep their skills on top of things so that the intelligence here in the United States can be the best,” Partridge said.