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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0347.PDF
SCIENCE SCOPE • ® A Hughes Aircraft Company "Smart Weapons" program will result in a sophisticated, autonomous air vehicle with a complete onboard suite of sensors and intelligent munitions. This next generation of "Smart Weapons" will be completely automated and will fly complex military missions, from takeoff to landing, without pilot or crew. The sensor suite, and its associated artificial intelligence-based mission manager, will be able to "see" in all weather, provide "visual" navigational updates, detect and recognize targets and defenses, deploy intelligent weapons, and replan attack routes, all based on the mission plan, the image data fusion and interpretation. An infrared sensor system for the joint services' V-22 Osprey aircraft will help crews navigate and land in darkness and during periods of poor visibility. The Infrared Detection Set (IDS), developed by Hughes, senses small differences in radiated heat and provides a TV-like image of the surrounding area. The V-22, the first of the new tilt-rotor aircraft for the U.S. Armed Forces, is able to take off and land like a helicopter, but fly like a plane. Hughes will start flight testing the IDS in early 1989, with flight test support continuing through 1991. Hughes designed and built a probe for the Galileo Mission, which is expected to unlock the secrets of Jupiter, providing scientists with data about the planet's atmosphere. Scheduled for launch from the Space Shuttle in late 1989, Galileo will employ a solid-fueled Inertial Upper Stage rocket, aided by gravity assists from Venus and Earth, to boost itself from the Shuttle's orbit to the giant planet. Once Galileo is within reach of outer Jupiter, the Hughes-built probe will be released into the Jovian atmosphere. During its 60-minute descent to the surface, the probe will continually broadcast scientific data back to Galileo, which will then transmit the information to Earth. A new Probeye® thermal video system achieves true portability by using thermoelectric cooling, which eliminates the need for gas or liquid nitrogen supplies. Using rechargeable batteries, the Probeye Model 7100, built by Hughes, is a complete thermography system that provides a visual display of the temperature distribution of a scene being viewed by the infrared imager. The Model 7100 features enhanced capabilities to provide more information and a wider range of applications than previous thermal video systems, and provides a display resolution of 240 infrared scan lines—four times greater than previous Probeye viewers. A faster, deeper running, more accurate torpedo will counter enemy submarine threats through the year 2000. The Mk-48 Advanced Capability (ADCAP)' wire-guided torpedo, under production at Hughes for the U.S. Navy, uses an advanced digital-based active sonar, an inertial measurement unit, a signal processor and two computers to home in on fast moving targets in shallow water, high seas, strong thermal gradients, even under ice. A long, thin communications wire between the torpedo and submarine serves as a real-time relay for changes in the torpedo's attack functions, improving the probability of interception. For more information write to: P. O. Box 45068, Los Angeles, CA 90045-0068 USA i HUGHES © 1989 Hughes Aircraft Company Subsidiary of GM Hughes Electronics
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