Abstract

Air Weather Service (AWS) provides weather support to the Air Force, Army, the Department of Defense, and designated joint and combined operations in wartime and in peacetime. Army support is primarily centered on the battlefield while support to the Air Force extends from the drawing board to the battlefield. Support to weapons system designers helps optimize the effectiveness of weapon systems and minimizes the risk of severely degraded performance in adverse weather situations. Battlefield support ranges from observations of traditional weather elements at airfields to forecasts of lock-on range for precision guided munitions (PGMs). To provide this support, AWS uses observations that potentially at least could be enhanced using coherent laser radar technology.

© 1983 Optical Society of America