http://news.yahoo.com/u-navy-laser-weapon-performing-beyond-expectations-official-003157566.html
YAHOO! NEWS
U.S. Navy laser weapon performing beyond expectations: official
Reuters By David Alexander
22 hours ago [ Retrieved 2:50 PM Thursday 11 December 2014 Pacific Time USA ]
By David Alexander
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A laser weapon deployed aboard the USS Ponce in the Gulf has performed beyond expectations in four months of operational testing, the chief of Navy research said on Wednesday, lifting hopes for a new U.S. defense against cheap anti-ship arms.
Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, head of the Office of Naval Research, said the $40 million laser weapon was fully integrated into systems aboard the USS Ponce at the end of the summer for a year of testing.
"This is the first time in recorded history that a directed energy weapons system has ever deployed on anything," he said.
New video of the 30-kilowatt laser showed it dazzling a small aerial drone in two seconds, frying its electronics and sending it plummeting into the sea before it had time to catch fire.
Another showed it targeting a hard-to-see rocket-propelled grenade aboard a small, distant attack boat, causing the device to detonate and send a spray of shrapnel across the water.
"We're not testing it any more. This is operational. It's on a ship in the Persian Gulf," Klunder said. "This isn't something we've got in a box we're saving for ... a special moment. They're using it every single day."
The deployment of the weapon comes as the Pentagon is concerned about losing the technological edge that has enabled it to rapidly overcome rivals on the battlefield for decades.
Many countries are developing precision munitions, long-range missiles and other systems to counter U.S. superiority. China, Iran and other nations have developed accurate anti-ship missiles to force the U.S. Navy to operate further from their shores.
The Navy laser lifts hopes for a more powerful 100-150 kw system able to deliver a jolt of energy that could destroy a multimillion-dollar missile for about a dollar, giving the U.S. military an asymmetric edge in countering anti-ship threats.
The more powerful laser is under development and expected to be deployed on a ship by 2017, Klunder said, adding that if effective, it could be widely produced and deployed on ships.
While the current laser aboard the Ponce has not yet engaged an actual threat to the vessel, it has been tested against the kind of targets it is expected to counter.
"That's all worked well. As a matter of fact, we've never missed," Klunder said. "If we have to defend that ship today, we will destroy a threat if it comes inbound."
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March 2015 Regular Exam
Fire Controlman (FC)
E-5 Bibliography (Bib)
Effective October 2014
FC2
Occupational References
NAVEDTRA 14099A, FIRE CONTROLMAN VOLUME 2--FIRE-CONTROL SYSTEMS AND RADAR FUNDAMENTALS
http://navybmr.com/study%20material%203/NAVEDTRA%2014099A.pdf
UNITED STATES NAVY
NONRESIDENT TRAINING COURSE
Fire Controlman, Volume 2 - Fire-Control Radar Fundamentals
NAVEDTRA 14099
Page 2-10
CLOSE-IN WEAPON SYSTEM RADAR
The Mk 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS — pronounced “sea-whiz”) is a stand-alone, quick-reaction time defense system that provides final defense against incoming air targets. CIWS will automatically engage anti-ship missiles and high-speed, low-level aircraft that penetrate the ship’s primary defenses. As a stand-alone weapon system, CIWS automatically searches for, detects, tracks, evaluates for threat, fires at, and assesses kills of targets.
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UNITED STATES NAVY
NONRESIDENT TRAINING COURSE
Fire Controlman, Volume 2 - Fire-Control Radar Fundamentals
NAVEDTRA 14099
Page 2-13
SSDS options range from use as a tactical decision aid (up to the point of recommending when to engage with specific systems) to use as an automatic weapon system. SSDS will correlate target detections from individual radars, the electronic support measures (ESM) system, and the identification-friend or foe (IFF) system, combining these to build composite tracks on targets while identifying and prioritizing threats. Similarly, SSDS will expedite the assignment of weapons for threat engagement. It will provide a “recommend engage” display for operators or, if in automatic mode, will fire the weapons, transmit ECM, deploy chaff or a decoy, or provide some combination of these.
Q2. What classes of ship use the AN/SPY-1 radar system?
Q3. In the Mk 99 MFCS, the terminal guidance phase of a SM-2 missile is controlled by what illuminating radar?
Q4. Name the three modes of operation of the AN/SPQ-9 radar?
Q5. The NATO SEASPARROW missile is controlled by what fire control system?
Q6. What class of ship uses the Combined Antenna System (CAS) and the Separate Target Illumination Radar (STIR)?
http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=173788
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) fires a Standard Missile (SM) 2 during a missile firing exercise.
140323-N-ZZ999-019
WATERS NEAR GUAM (March 23, 2014) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) fires a Standard Missile (SM) 2 during a missile firing exercise. Curtis Wilbur is participating in Multi-Sail 2014, an annual exercise in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Kelly Wu/Released)
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UNITED STATES NAVY
NONRESIDENT TRAINING COURSE
Fire Controlman, Volume 2 - Fire-Control Radar Fundamentals
NAVEDTRA 14099
Assignment Questions
Page 8
2-17. What verbal command authorizes the launching of a missile at a hostile target?
1. “Batteries release”
2. “Batteries charged”
3. “Fire all batteries”
4. “Fire all weapons”
2-18. From which of the following sources do you confirm that the target has been destroyed or neutralized?
1. Ship’s lookouts
2. Ship’s sensors
3. Anti-air warfare commander
4. ESM equipment only
2-19. Which of the following functions is part of the modern fire control problem?
1. Informing the warfare commander of the threat
2. Confirming target resolution
3. Making a weapon selection
4. Making equipment ready for tracking
2-20. What is the ultimate goal of all subsystem components in solving the fire control problem?
1. To quickly locate the target
2. To neutralize the target
3. To detect the target
4. To select the right weapon
2-21. There are three phases involved in target detection by a weapon system. What is the second phase?
1. Surveillance and detection
2. Interpret the behavior of the target
3. Measuring or localizing the target’s position
4. Classifying the target
82-22. Which phase uses either reflected energy or received energy emitted from the target to detect a target?
1. First
2. Second
3. Third
4. Fourth
2-23. In tracking a target, a collection of motors and position-sensing devices called a servo system helps to successfully engage a target. The operation of such a system is based on what inherent concept?
1. Error reduction
2. Feedback
3. Zeroing
4. Rate reduction
2-24. What is the definition of “system error”?
1. The difference between where the sensor is located and where the target is going
2. The difference between where the target is pointing and where the target is actually going
3. The difference between where the sensor is pointing and where the sensor is located
4. The difference between where the sensor is pointing and where the target is actually located
2-25. What devices are used in servo systems to detect the position of and to control the movement of power drives?
1. Gun mounts
2. Missile launchers
3. Optical encoder
4. Radar antennas
2-26. The effective engagement and neutralization of a target requires that a destructive mechanism, such as a missile warhead, be delivered to the vicinity of the target. Which of the following factors should be considered in the design of an effective destructive mechanism?
1. Propulsion system
2. Fuzing mechanism
3. Warhead design
4. All of the above
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UNITED STATES NAVY
NONRESIDENT TRAINING COURSE
Fire Controlman, Volume 2 - Fire-Control Radar Fundamentals
NAVEDTRA 14099
Page 1-18
Tracking Radar/Fire-Control Radar
Radar that provides continuous positional data is called tracking radar. Most tracking radar systems used by the military are also called fire-control radars, the two names being interchangeable. A fire-control tracking radar system produces a very narrow, circular beam.
PHASES OF RADAR OPERATION
The three sequential phases of radar operation (designation, acquisition, and track) are often referred to as modes and are common to the target-processing sequence of most fire-control radars.
Detect-to-Engage Sequence
The basic sequence can be divided into six fundamental operations
Page 1-19
PREDICTION.—The second operation of the fire control problem that must be performed is the computation of the gun/launcher positioning angle (line of fire) and the weapon flight path trajectory. This operation consists of two parts. First, the system processes received data into a usable form. Then the fire control computer performs arithmetic operations to predict the future position of the target.
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UNITED STATES NAVY
NONRESIDENT TRAINING COURSE
Fire Controlman, Volume 2 - Fire-Control Radar Fundamentals
NAVEDTRA 14099
Page 1-14
MISSILE GUIDANCE RADAR
Phases of Guidance
Missile guidance is generally divided into three phases
Page 1-15
TERMINAL PHASE.—The terminal or final phase is of great importance. The last phase of missile guidance must have a high degree of accuracy, as well as fast response to guidance signals to ensure an intercept. Near the end of the flight, the missile may be required to maneuver to its maximum capability in order to make the sharp turns needed to overtake and hit a fast-moving, evasive target. In some missiles, maneuvers are limited during the early part of the terminal phase. As the missile gets closer to the target, it becomes more responsive to the detected error signals. In this way, it avoids excessive maneuvers during the first part of terminal phase.
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UNITED STATES NAVY
NONRESIDENT TRAINING COURSE
Fire Controlman, Volume 2 - Fire-Control Radar Fundamentals
NAVEDTRA 14099
Page 2-19
Engaging the Target
Effective engagement and neutralization of the target requires that a destructive mechanism, in this case a warhead, be delivered to the vicinity of the target (see figure 2-24). How close to the target a warhead must be delivered depends on the type of warhead and the type of target. In delivering the warhead, the
Page 2-20
aiming, launch, type of weapon propulsion system, and the forces to which the weapon is subjected enroute to the target must be considered. The weapon’s capability to be guided or controlled after launch dramatically increases its accuracy and probability of kill. The use of guidance systems also dramatically complicates system designs. These factors as well as the explosive to be used, the fuzing mechanism, and warhead design are all factors in the design and effectiveness of a modern weapon.
Q9. What is the sequence of events in fire control that begins with the initial detection of an enemy target and ends with the destruction of that target?
Q10. What phase of target detection estimates the type, number, size, and identity of a target?
SUMMARY
This chapter has given you an overview of many of the radar systems used in today’s Navy. The goal of this chapter was not to tell you about every radar system or every detail of every radar system, but to simply explain what radar systems are found on which ships in the Navy and on what types of ships you will find various radar systems.
One of the key tools used for the “detect-to-engage” scenario is radar systems. Understanding how your ship accomplishes the detect-to-engage scenario is extremely important to every Fire Controlman. Doing so will give you a clear, firm grasp of what your ship does in a battle scenario and how you fit in the big picture of naval warfare for your ship. You should also understand the fire control problem in relationship to this scenario. The detect-to-engage process and fire control problem work together to accomplish the goal of destroying an enemy target. Each ship has its own, unique configuration of weapons and radar systems; it is your responsibility as a Fire Controlman to learn how these work together in the detect-to-engage sequence and the fire control problem.
- posted by H.V.O.M - Kerry Wayne Burgess 3:30 PM Pacific Time Spokane Valley Washington USA Thursday 11 December 2014
