1. BACKGROUND.

The Flying Infrared Signatures Technology Aircraft (FISTA) program was started in 1974 to provide calibrated infrared (IR) measurements of aircraft in order to understand the phenomenology of aircraft signatures. This data was also used as the basis for the development of the Spectral and Inband Radiometric Imaging of Targets and Scenes (SPIRITS) database. This work is presently being done for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) by Utah State University, Stewart Radiance Laboratory, under Contract F19628-93-C-0183.

2. SCOPE.

Advanced weapon system designers and operational forces require calibrated IR databases and models of infrared signatures of targets, backgrounds, and effects of the natural and disturbed environment. The FISTA program has provided a large volume of spectral, spatial, and temporal data on aircraft, missiles, many surface targets, and extensive background measurements. Analysis for measurements are made in direct support of, but not limited to, operational programs from the National Air Intelligence Center (NAIC), Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Air Force Information Warfare Center (AFIWC), Air Force Electronic Warfare Evaluation System (AFEWES), the F-22 SPO and other operational commands.

3. OBJECTIVES.

The objectives are twofold. First, to obtain and convert spectral, spatial and radiometric IR signature data from measured to absolute units, and perform detailed analyses and studies on this data with emphasis on system requirements. Second, to install, operate, maintain, repair, and remove equipment necessary to perform airborne IR spectral, spatial, and radiometric measurements of backgrounds, atmospheric structure, and targets. These measurements will normally be conducted in the 0.2 to 15 micrometer wavelength region from the

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FISTA and the ground-based mobile facility Flying Infrared Signatures Technology Trailer (FISTT).

1. Obtain and convert spectral, spatial and radiometric IR signature data from measured to absolute units and perform detailed analyses and studies on the data in accordance with the following requirements. Required turn-around times for data reduction and analysis are often thirty (30) days or less. Estimates for the amount of data to be handled are approximately ten (10) data flights per year, each flight being approximately four (4) hours in duration, with full data being recorded on all appropriate instrument systems. Provide a complete reduction of in-flight and ground-based data of aircraft, rocket, background, and target signature measurements made with interferometers, spatial mappers, and radiometers using existing data reduction software.
2. Convert the measured spectral, spatial and radiometric IR signature data from measured units to absolute calibrated units at the AFRL provided reduction facilities at Hanscom AFB, MA.
3. Perform manipulations as required to compensate for noise, specific measurement artifacts, and other effects such as: atmospheric transmission, plume radiation, sun-glints, engine emissions and background emissions (from clouds, terrain, oceans, urban areas, and other backgrounds). Review, determine, and identify characteristics associated with the normalization of directional and bi-directional reflectance data from paint samples taken from measured targets. This will include obtaining and converting measured reflectance data into a format necessary for use in modeling and analyzing in-flight and ground-based data.

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Provide methods of describing IR signature parameters using existing computational analysis models that include the primary sources of infrared radiation (2-15 um) for aircraft, rocket, and ground targets based on the IR phenomenology of these targets.

4. Digitize and transfer data from interferometers, spatial mappers, and radiometers into a format necessary for further processing. This initial digitization will place data into a format necessary for use in existing computer systems. This initial phase will include selection of specific frame items from data runs for reduction and/or further analysis and will be accomplished at the AFRL facilities.
5. Use existing AFRL signature analysis software to determine which target signature components are significant and evaluate their characteristics. This software will include effects such as: scattered sunshine, skin thermal emission, skin bi-directional reflectance, skin solar heating, scattered earthshine, exposed hot-part, specular reflections of hot parts off aircraft fuselage, and exhaust molecular emissions.
6. Use existing AFRL background analysis software to analyze and improve the understanding of IR radiation from various environmental elements of particular scenes. Analysis shall consider the effects of these environmental elements on the target signature and its contrast signature for use in design of advanced infrared systems. The software includes environmental effects such as aerosols, molecular atmospheric absorption, surface radiance emission, solar scatter, clouds, and man-made surface structures.
7. Use existing AFRL state-of-the-art atmospheric transmission/radiation calculations to account for the effects of the intervening atmosphere between the measurement platform and the target.

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8. This will include applying these corrections to high- resolution interferometric (0.1 cm- 1) and spatial mapper (0.1 mrad) data to provide an understanding of radiance bands for further study.
8. Use existing AFRL software to analyze strategic and tactical aircraft signatures in various atmospheric scenarios and provide spectral plots of apparent scene contrast radiance, target radiance and background radiance as would be seen from a satellite or other long-range detection-viewing platform. Compare models of target signatures with actual measurements made by the AFRL and other sources provided through the AFRL. Use existing AFRL software to compare analyzed description of target data with data from sources not previously used in analysis and show level of agreement or disagreement. Provide assessment or reasons for any significant differences that occur.

1. In support of in-house and customer efforts AFRL utilizes a wide variety of IR measurement instrumentation onboard FISTA and the FISTT to characterize operational targets and their backgrounds. The contractor will operate and maintain this existing innovative measurement equipment and compatible recording devices as necessary to harmonize the FISTA capabilities as dictated by various mutable customer requirements.
2. The particular instruments used for each mission are selected based on the data requirements of the requesting agencies program. These instruments are maintained and housed at AFRL and are installed on the FISTA or the FISTT prior to each field deployment. The contractor provides operation, maintenance, and reconstruction, of this AFRL owned instrumentation while at AFRL,

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and additionally installation, operation, maintenance, and removal while deploying onboard the FISTA or the FISTT.

3. Three or more Michelson interferometers are typically used simultaneously on the FISTA to collect IR spectral data of targets and backgrounds. These instruments have been specially

designed for the harsh vibration and electrical noise environment of the FISTA NKC-135 aircraft. They are manually tracked using visible light reflected from the optical train by a dichroic mirror. A coaligned Amber Engineering Indium Antimonide (InSb) imager is used as a bore-sighted IR tracking device. Interferometer data is recorded on digital optical disks in IBM compatible MSDOS computers and is backed up on analog recorders.

2. One FLIR is a calibrated 5 to 14 micrometer spatial mapper based on a Honeywell Forward Looking Infrared Imager. Ten filters are available on an ambient temperature filter wheel. The detector's peak detectivity is at 11.5 um. A ten-faceted- mirror serially scans the scene radiation horizontally across each of the nine Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (HGCdTe) detector elements, in a row, in succession. The output from an individual detector element is delayed in time and integrated with the output of the other sight elements in that row to produce a video line. Two video lines are produced during each mechanical horizontal scan since the focal plane has two rows of detector elements that are staggered vertically. Object space is scanned vertically across the two rows of nine detector elements by a mechanical nodding mirror. A complete scan of the scene is produced every 1/60 second. Each line of output is coupled to a field-stop imaged at the intermediate focal plane. The dwell time on the field- stop establishes a zero-reference voltage for each horizontal line. The recorded video contains the difference between each point in the scene and the field-stop radiance, the field-stop temperature being recorded in a status line inserted on each image.

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3. The processed analog output from the instrument is recorded on broadcast quality Betacam videotape.
3. The second FLIR is a commercially procured AGEMA model 900 camera with a three by five degree FOV, recording digitally to 4.5 gigabyte burst drives.
4. The SAIRS instrument is a Medium/Short Wavelength (M/SW) IR staring mode sensor developed by the AFRL. The sensor is based on a two-dimensional platinum silicide focal plane array with integral charge coupled device (CCD) readout. It has eight operator selectable IR filters and a lens transmission approximately uniform over the 1.3 to 5.0 micrometer regions. Output from the instrument is digitized to 12 bits, corrected for non-uniformity, and recorded on an Ampex model DIS 120i digital recorder. Simultaneously, it is also attenuated, offset, converted to analog and processed for backup recording in Betacam video format.

1. The contractor will provide up to four (4) flight qualified professional personnel, with TOP SECRET clearances, scientifically trained and well-versed in IR techniques, to accompany Air Force personnel on the Air Force FISTA (NKC-135A) aircraft for the purpose of data collection. A total of six hundred and forty (640) hours total per year of flight duty time is nominally required for all four (4) flight qualified personnel. These flight qualified personnel will be required to obtain and maintain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) class III flight examination certificates, and Air Force physiological, survival and aircraft familiarization training to initialize and maintain flight qualification status.

 

 

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4. The contractor will provide adequate manpower with proper mix of levels of skills such as Scientists, Engineers, Technicians, Research associates, Computer programmers and administrative personnel.
3. The contractor will collaborate with AFRL Scientists for field campaigns, scientific data analysis and on publishing scientific papers based on cooperative work.
4. The contractor will obtain prior approval before implementing change/s in configuration of (both) hardware and software of the various FISTA systems.
5. Consultations will be required at AFRL-Hanscom, there shall be up to 45 meetings per year with a minimum of two days notice

7. DD Forms 1423.

Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) The contractor shall prepare R&D status reports and contracts funds status reports as required.

8. BASE SUPPORT.

The use of AFRL facilities will be provided to the selected contractor. These facilities in Building 1105B will include office space, computers, programs, and TOP SECRET classified material storage for up to four (4) persons. This includes the use of one desk, chair, and file cabinet each. One (1) class 20 telephone for official calls to perform the work under the proposed contract will be also provided. No new office facilities or additional services are required.

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9. SOFTWARE DATA TO BE PROVIDED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

1. In order to process the IR image and spectral data two separate systems, Image Processing Language (IPL), and Spectral Processing Language (SPL) were developed and will be provided to the contractor.
3. IPL performs the basic functions of image processing to display, digitize, histogram, etc., and provides a means to calibrate the data into absolute units. IPL is an implementation of a List Processing (LISP) programming language called tLISP. tLISP was designed to aid in the production and debugging of complex scientific models. tLISP itself is primarily a Formula Translation (FORTRAN) program with a few assembly language routines used when FORTRAN was unable to perform the desired functions. This scheme allowed ease in interfacing but required FORTRAN-like data structures. The IPL extensions to tLISP provide hardware level functions for the particular set of image processing board and frame grabber used. The hardware used for IPL is an IBM compatible computer. SPL is a spectral processing system designed to work with data collected with the Michelson interferometers.
3. SPL is written in FORTRAN and was developed to meet the unique data requirements of emission spectroscopy, and contains many features that have been customized for that purpose. It is capable of digitizing and co-adding analog interferometric data and then Fourier processing it into the frequency domain. SPL is designed as a high end-processing package, and uses high-speed computers. Frame Grabber and Co-processor boards provide the display capabilities.

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10. Software is not deliverable.

Software will not be developed under this proposed contract.

11. TRAVEL.

Travel will be required in support of data flights, flight qualification, data reduction and analysis, software installation, scientific meetings, and conferences.