Airdrop ballistic winds operationally capable lidar

The Airdrop Ballistic Winds (ABW) team, within the Air Force Research Labor atory, Sensors Directorate, Electro-Optic (EO) Sensor Technology Division, Multi-Function EO Branch (AFRL/SNJM), at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, conduc ted flight tests of its 2 micron laser radar (lidar). This system, called t he Operationally Capable Lidar (OCL), was installed in a modified C-130 fue l pod. The OCL was designed to: 1) provide real-time, 3-dimensional maps of wind fields between the aircraft and the ground; and 2) significantly impr ove airdrop accuracy from high altitudes. This paper briefly describes the OCL, the Precision Airdrop Simulation (PADS) tool, and flight test activiti es, including the Precision Airdrop Integrated Demonstration which was cond ucted at Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG), Arizona, from 29 August through 12 Sep tember 1998.