The goal of the Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control (ABC) program is to improve the performance of high energy lasers on tactical aircraft against targets in the aft field of regard. This program will optimize flow control strategies for pointing angles in the aft field of regard and will also explore the ability of the flow control system to be synchronized with adaptive optics.
The goal of the Aero-Adaptive/Aero-Optic Beam Control (ABC) program is to improve the performance of high energy lasers on tactical aircraft against targets in the aft field of regard. This program will optimize flow control strategies for pointing angles in the aft field of regard and will also explore the ability of the flow control system to be synchronized with adaptive optics. This effort will initially focus on wind tunnel testing to prove the feasibility of steady and periodic flow control techniques to reduce or regularize the large scale turbulent structures surrounding an optical turret. These tests will culminate in a hardware-in-the-loop demonstration using flow control with an adaptive optics system in a full-scale wind tunnel test for the turret. Following successful wind tunnel demonstrations, a preliminary design of a flight test turret incorporating flow control will be undertaken.