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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0075.PDF
SCIENCE SCOPE A forward-looking infrared (FLIR) has been configured as a night sight for a variety of U. S. military weapons. The Hughes Aircraft Company-built Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS) has been adapted for use with Stinger missiles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and all crew-served weapon systems. The TWS is a developmental passive infrared sensor employing a thermoelectrically cooled focal plane array that allows soldiers to locate targets and see at significant distances in battlefield conditions. It has a standard NATO weapons mount, and its telescope and reticle are easily changed to perform various duties. An enhanced version of a Position Location Reporting System (PLRS) provides high-priority data distribution capabilities in addition to basic position location and navigation functions. The Enhanced PLRS, (EPLRS), designed and built by Hughes for the U.S. Army, will provide near-real-time communication of critical data between elements of the Army's forward area air defense system (FAADS), ensuring reliable command and control of defense resources under constantly shifting battlefield conditions. In development and tests since the early 1970s, PLRS evolved from U.S. Marine Corps studies and Southeast Asian experience which highlighted a need for a system that could reliably track friendly forces on the battlefield. The first Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) to be test fired with a live warhead destroyed a target drone. The AMRAAM was launched at medium range from a U.S. Air Force F-16 traveling at Mach 0.9 at 10,000 feet. The target drone was flying at Mach 0.8 at 7,000 feet. When the AMRAAM came within close range, the missile's warhead detonated and destroyed the drone. Developed by Hughes, the AMRAAM is designed for use by the U.S. Air Force on F-15 and F-16 aircraft, by the U.S. Navy on F-14 and F/A-18 fighters, and on West German F-4F Phantoms, and United Kingdom's Sea Harrier and Tornado Air Defence Variant aircraft. Japan's first commercial communications satellite will have the highest communications capacity of any domestic satellite outside the United States. Once in orbit, the antenna shelf of the HS 393 JCSAT will remain stationary and pointed toward Earth to provide 24-hour communications. The satellite's propulsion unit and cylindrical skin of solar cells spin like a gyroscope to provide stability. Hughes is building two of the HS 393 satellites for Japan Communications Satellite Company. A new Space Based Radar Program will involve the placement of a constellation of sensor platforms in the Earth's orbit between 600 and 6,000 nautical miles in altitude for wide area surveillance of ships, aircraft, and cruise missiles. Hughes, as a member of the Grumman-led team, will define technology requirements and an implementation plan for the radar RF and processing sections, which will interface with Grumman's SBR system. An operational demonstration-validation phase will lead to a first launch in the mid-1990's. The Space Based Radar Program is a joint U.S. Air Force and Navy program. For more information write to: P. O. Box 45068, Los Angeles, CA 90045-0068 USA , f \ I HUGHES © 1989 Hughes Aircraft Company Subsidiary of GM Huahes Electronics
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