Directed beam alignment system testing program

A technique has been developed for six-degree-or-freedom coordinate frame alignment between remote battlefield vehicles. It was developed specifically for a High Energy Laser Weapon application which must hand off a target from a radar vehicle to a laser vehicle to milliradian accuracy. Laboratory hardware was used from rooftops in Redondo Beach to validate the concept experimentally. In a field environment, an alignment should take less than 30 sec, work to ranges beyond 3 km, and work in visibilities less than 4 km.