Assessment of Weather Sensitivities and Air Force Weather (afw) Support to Tactical Lasers in the Lower Troposphere Thesis

The Department of Defense (DoD) is spending millions of dollars on many Directed Energy (DE) programs. One of the programs, known as the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL), requires the use of a high-energy laser in order to destroy ground targets from a standard C-130H aircraft. The ATL, which is still not fully operational and battle field ready, presents a great amount of potential for maintaining military superiority during wartime. One factor that affects the effectiveness of the ATL weapon system is that the operation of the ATL involves the propagation of a high-energy laser through an atmosphere that is made up of moving air molecules, cloud droplets, aerosols, and other weather phenomena. ATL scientists need to develop a full understanding of the interaction effects between a high-energy laser beam and the atmosphere through which it propagates. Achieving this understanding is important for many reasons. In particular, the high cost of DE weapons systems makes each propagation event expensive. Having an understanding of the atmosphere in which a high-energy laser propagates will increase efficiency and effectiveness of the ATL weapon system, which in turn will decrease cost of operation. A tool that allows for the ATL war-fighter to determine the atmospheric effects on laser propagation currently does not exist. This study creates a stepping-stone toward creating a High Energy Laser Tactical Decision Aid (HELTDA) in which the war-fighter will be able to determine the effectiveness