Atmospheric propagation effects through natural and man-made obscurants for visible to MM-wave radiation

Modern, precision-guided weapons require that guidance and target acquisition/recognition systems take into account the effects of the propagation environment. Successful performance must be obtained under adverse weather conditions such as haze, clouds, fog, rain, and snow and under adverse battlefield conditions such as dust, smoke, and man-made obscurants. Sensors operate at wavelengths ranging across the millimeter, IR, and the visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Propagation effects vary drastically over this wavelength span and systems may employ a combination of sensors to mitigate adverse environmental conditions. The effectiveness of countermeasures such as multispectral obscurants and multispectral camouflage also depends on atmospheric properties. System performance is measured in terms of probability of detection, probability of recognition, and, ultimately, in terms of probability of a kill. A partial listing of the processes that affect theses probabilities and, in turn, are affected by the propagation environment includes extinction, angles and amplitude scintillation, target to background contrast, contrast transmission, and clutter characteristics. The symposium addresses the following topics: natural obscurants, multispectral camouflage, man-made obscurants and battlefield-induced phenomena, and target and background signatures.