Helicopter Flight Test of the Obscurant Penetrating Autosynchronous Lidar (OPAL) in Degraded Visual Environments: Part II - See-through Capability Assessment

In support to the Directorate of Technical Airworthiness and Engineering Support (DTAES-6) of Canada's Department of National Defence (DND), DRDC Valcartier is currently evaluating the Obscurant Penetrating Autosynchronous Lidar (OPAL) developed by Neptec Technologies Corp. This sensor is targeted at supporting rotary-wing aircraft operating in degraded visual environments (DVE) during critical flight phases (i.e. take-off and landing). OPAL consists of a scanning pulsed lidar that generates 3D images of obstacles on the landing zone that are engulfed in an obscurant cloud. The sensor performance evaluation study is conducted in three phases under the MATPILA project (Multipurpose airborne 3D polarimetric imaging ladar assessment). Phase I focused on acquiring knowledge on brownout and whiteout phenomenologies and on defining proper testing conditions and performance metrics for Phase II. Phase II aimed at quantifying the sensor see-through capability as a function of optical depth and target reflectivity. Phase III consisted of in-flight validation trials. This paper presents Phase I to III with an emphasis on control environment test and on the in-flight validation trials.