Maritime Atmospheric State (MASt) LIDAR Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Topic No.: N161-054 Topic Title: Maritime Atmospheric State (MASt) LIDAR Proposal No.: N161-054-0293 Firm: Michigan Aerospace Corporation 1777 Highland Drive Suite B Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 Contact: David Johnson Phone: (734) 975-8777 Web Site: http://www.michaero.com Abstract: Michigan Aerospace Corporation (MAC) is pleased to provide this proposal to address the sensor needs identified in the Navy topic N161-054: Maritime Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare (EMW) Environmental Sensing. Atmospheric turbulence can distort the measurements of electro-magnetic (EM) and Electro-Optic (EO) sensors. The Surface Navy has interest in predicting EM and EO propagation from surface ships to support the prediction of radar, electronic warfare, laser, and communications systems performance. Other atmospheric parameters, such as winds, density, visibility, icing, and turbulence are needed for marine aviation up to 5 km. MAC proposes a Direct Detection Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system coupled with an ultraviolet (UV) Raman channel to provide simultaneous wind speed/direction, density, temperature, extinction, cloud height, water vapor/ice mass fractions, dew point and optical turbulence. This proven technology will provide real-time, 3-dimensional, altitude ranged environmental state information and has the capability to scan from the sea surface up to 5km of altitude. This Phase I effort will provide the necessary design and modeling basis for a Phase II demonstration. Benefits: The MASt LIDAR system will be useful for gathering atmospheric data required for electromagnetic propagation prediction, general weather awareness and measurement of the environment near a vessel to advise inbound and outbound aircraft of local conditions. With systems on a number of vessels in a given region, Navy meteorologists will have more data beyond what they get from balloonsondes and dropsondes and the point measurements from ships. Such consistent multi-altitude atmospheric data will provide weather models and battlespace managers with better overall atmospheric knowledge in a given region. Less-rugged land-based variants would allow military and civilian installations to gather accurate upper-atmospheric measurements without launching a balloonsonde, again providing more data for meteorologists for forecasting and local weather reporting of all kinds. Return