Flight demonstration of new NRL real-time data acquisition system and laser video waveform sampler

A new NRL Laser Video Waveform Sampler and Real-Time Data Acquisition System were installed in a RP-3A aircraft and data were obtained in a test flight over the Great Dismal Swamp area on 28 June 1982. The data are in time amplitude pairs, which give both range and reflectivity, and are stored on magnetic tape. The returns show reflections from various levels of the canopy. The results show that it is possible to profile a complicated terrain in order to determine the vegetation and undergrowth height and the relative reflectivities of the various surface.