DeltaIV
Posts: 161
Joined: 3/3/2014 From: EUCCP Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Pancor FIXED DB v 440 The Tu-142MZ Bear F Mod.4 added the upgrade Korshun-KN-N surface search radar and the NK-12MP engines Just an interesting note, it also carried Amethyst LIDAR suite, as documented in several papers and also in The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems, 1997-1998. quote:
3.4.2 Amethyst – a Russian example Soviet scientists researched LIDAR technology parallel to their Western counterparts, and managed to place a system, although fragile, on some of their Bear F Mod 4 ASW aircraft. The system is called “Amethyst”, and uses a blue-green CO 2 laser. It scans from side to side as the aircraft moves forward covering a 100m wide swath. The pilot must maintain constant altitude and speed (100m altitude, 100m/sec = 200 knots speed), and the system has to be shut down whenever the aircraft turns. Each line in the display represents one scan, and deviates up and down to indicate range, in effect depth. The lines are scaled one meter apart, and very high projections or deep troughs extend over adjacent lines creating a shadow effect. The back-and-forth scan forms a green line on a standard Russian 525-line screen, measuring 20x25 cm, with a frame rate of 100Hz. Because the screen is relatively short, the image is compressed vertically, and is somewhat distorted toward the sides because the beam slants so deeply there. The system is calibrated to 50m depth, but it is said to be ineffective below 30m. The system requires interpretation by the operator, which in many cases can be difficult. Some operators never learn to interpret, but others do in a relatively short amount of time. The limitations on aircraft motion suggest that the system is mechanically range-gated, probably by a disk rotating in front of the receiver. The sensitivity of the receiver dictates that the aircraft must fly steady with no turns, as the change in angles and ranges to the sea surface most likely will burn out the receiving equipment. The system processes only one pulse at a time, and hence the strict limitations to aircraft speed as well. If the aircraft moves too quickly, part of one line is inserted into the next (Friedman 1997:663). Due to the strict limitations and the fact that the system has been installed on a Bear F and not the Russian primary ASW Aircraft, Il-38 May, one can speculate that the Russian armed forces has not pursued the technology further after the implementation of the Amethyst. While interesting, this is probably not really worth implementing though.
< Message edited by DeltaIV -- 8/2/2015 2:04:37 PM >
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