Covert Penetration Systems Future Strategic Aircraft Missions Will Require A New Sensor System Approach

This paper discusses past, present and future strategic aircraft requirements for ingress and egress, then focuses on the tech-nologies of the CO₂ Laser Radar and the Automatic Target Recognizer. Present systems currently consist of a mix of various sensors which are not correlated until each is presented to the operator. Additionally, active sensors are highly detectable by threat warning systems, while passive sensors do not provide critical range information. CO₂ Laser and AIR tech-nologies will significantly contribute to the resolution of these issues.