Space travel has been the spark of imaginary adventures for over a hundred years. Jules Verne wrote "From the Earth to the Moon" in 1864. A popular film today is "Avatar" which takes place on a hypothetical planet some distance away where a very valuable mineral (unobtainium) is in abundance. One of the things that always bugs me about these science fiction stories is that they always underestimate the sophistication of future technology. Avatar is supposed to take place over 140 years into the future, and the military is still flying around in a type of helicopter and firing weapons that have chemically propelled bullets. And the worst thing is that they miss the target most of the time (also true in Star Trek). I am quite confident that in 100 years we will have fire control systems in handheld weapons that will ensure better accuracy, if only to conserve energy. I can imagine that many of you are hoping that in 100 years the whole notion of weapons is obsolete.
Today we improve the accuracy of air dropped ordnance, and reduce collateral damage, by using a target designator system. Can anyone tell me how these work?
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Butch Shadwell
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† Our friend Butch volunteers a bit too much, he never quite catches up to the current month.
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After complaining about the inaccuracies in SiFi movies I asked the following question. "Today we improve the accuracy of air dropped ordnance, and reduce collateral damage, by using a target designator system. Can anyone tell me how these work?"
Nearly all ordnance that comes from the air these days uses intelligence of some kind to direct them to the target. This improves the probability of realizing the desired effect and minimizing collateral damage. Most target designators employ a designator laser beam. These may be projected from a platform in the air, e.g.-spotter or bomber aircraft, or from the surface, e.g.- soldiers with their eyes on the target. This beam is usually not in the visible light range and is modulated in some fashion to make it easier to distinguish from other natural or man made light sources. The ordnance then carries technology that can identify and then guide the device to the source of the reflected, properly modulated, light. But I bet you already knew that.
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