Dave H The US might lag (im not sure two generations is accurate, could you explain what would be one behind for a non techy?)
Since the early 90s, France have been looking at solutions designed to compensate for the sensor gap represented by the developement of US AESA/LPIs.
One of the aspect of the optronic systems is that they are comparatively cheaper and easier to develop and produce than GaAs radars such as that the US developed.
This is primarily a technologic and industrial issue and the reason behind the late appearence of AESA radars in europe although in the form of optimised GaAS modules comparible to the latest US technologies.
Europe have skipped the 4 previous GaAs technology generation for reasons of cost at least at production levels (They were too expensive to produce).
But this havent been so in the Optronic dpt, first a little bit of history:
In Kosovo, the US Apaches were struggling with their IR/Optronic systems with low performances in european weather conditions, low detection capabilties, low IR navigational capabilties and high error and false alarm rates of their IR missile approach warning systems all due to bad weaher conditions etc.
It was also true in the case of laser designation pods, France was the country with the highest kill rate of all the coalition (including the US) with 79% of success, BOTH MN with their SEMS and AdA were in front of everyone else as to the way they could use their laser guided weapons.
Since all NATO aircraft were submited to the same rules of engagement (altitude/Targets ID etc) it was obvious that pod performances became an issue as many attack had to be aborted and amunitions lost to laser breaks or/and loss of sight due to weather conditions.
This was partly due to the performances of the pods used by all NATO countries and encouraged France to research further and increase the amount of R&D dedicated to IR/UV/Optronic systems.
French aircarfts were also the best individually protected of all the coalition aircrafts with missile warning detectors (SAMIR) fitted to all jets A2A pylons, the only aircraft lost in this region, a Mirage 2000 N in Bosnia was reported as been for cause of engine failure when the crew was later recovered.
Despite the weather, the missile approach detector and associated defense system actually worked well and the MANPAD launched at it was usccessfuly decoyed, the engine died on the pilot when full military power was applied...
The goal for France was from then on to reduce the weather dependency of these systems as the major drawback of IR is performance degradation in bad weather conditions, which is a bummer when you base your defense on such a system (F-35 DAS).
There was a multiple need for this, TRIGAT Missile, AASM, new generation IR AAMs, Tiger totaly passive systems, PGMs used in greater number and the clear need fr more cost effective results, Optronics for ground and sea based defense SAMS, ground troops googles, MBT IR etc, so the industry investments could be recovered over a wider spectrum of specific systems.
OSF was the FIRST Western system to use 3-5mn bands as early as 1999, contract was passed to Thomson for the OSF in 1991 there was already a clear path to IR weather dependency reduction.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...-on-track.html
3-5mn bands = This wavelength provides "considerably better detection capability in humid conditions",
The 3-5mn were already being experimented with in laboratory conditions and research labs set up for some time and there have been a serie of other technology WORLD FIRST in French labs since in BOTH IR and GaN technologies.
As a result, with 1990's technology an OSF have far greater ranges in bad weather than a SNIPER and have been in constant developement since its first flight in 1999.
But it alredy is considered as being obsolescent in terms of cost/performances due to the age of its technologies and the resulting obsolescence problems.
During a test flight, a journalists reported OSF camera (near-IR) to be capable of locking on a Transall (low IR signature) beyhond MICA engagement range through a thin layer of cloud, the IRST wasn't mounted on this aircraft.
Considering the aircrafts speeds at the time that's <> 60 km at least.
The French gouvernement, advised by the procurement agency (DGA) decided to order only 37 OSFs and negotiated with the industrials the developement of an "OSF NG" as part of the roadmap including new generation of missile approach detectors with related technologies.
They will be developed with the technologies which have been maturing in labs for the past few years as well as those emerging and will go further to fill the capabiltiy gap between AESA radars and Optronic systems.
The US DoD have so far done little in the field of optronics, there have been a clear tendency for US manufacturers to associate with Israelis manufacturers to compensate for this but as a matter of FACT they are still not there as even the Israelis requierements were lower than that of the europeans for the simple reason that bad weather is a lot more common in Europe.
Here, one of my ARCHIVES from the old Thales website:
Defence Optronic Systems: Air: Air to Ground targetting
DAMOCLES
High performance, day/night, 3-5 µm multi-function targeting pod
Multi-function
Compatible with existing & future weapons systems
High performance/long stand-off range
Eye-safe laser range-finding system
Operational in all weather conditions/all theatres
Modular design for future upgrade incorporation
Selected by French Air Force
Main features
Day-night visual airborne target identification
Characteristics
NOTE: In this extract, the quoteS "Operational in all weather conditions/all theatres" AND "Day-night visual airborne target identification
Characteristics".
To do the same jobs, the future F/A-18/E/F will need TWO different pods, (Raytheon ATFLIR + IRST) the one dedicated to A2A been only talked about now.
DATE:17/04/07
SOURCE:Flight International
Super Hornet set to get air-to-air boost from USN
By Graham Warwick
The only difference is that it might be capable of cueing AIM-9Xs and that there is no reference stating that Damocles can do it althought it might be possible with sensor fusion (and a HMDS).
It will also use midwaves 3-5 µm Spectral band but is only on par with the existing AIDA pod from Thales specifically designed for aircraft with no OSF/IRSTs such as the Mirage 2000...
A few newbies from Europe and France:
World first: Developement and Production of high power/low working temperature GaN components (2006) future application = Low Band X AESAs.
World first: Infrared seekers, MADRID, a DGA issued Request for Proposals (RFP) for a low cost, anti-surface Rigid Imaging Infrared Seeker demonstrator with a strap-down architecture and new generation (SOFRADIR) IR detectors.
Breakthrough = Emergence of a large format infrared detector that helped to simplify the homing head line-of-sight system.
World first: Caladiom Camera.
An "Artificial" retina, CMOS programmable, which each individual pixel posseses a 45 bits processor.
Miniaturised computing power, integrated in each pixel, at the closest to the photons capture point is a world FIRST and a major technologic breakthrough.
Main advantages are: Movement detection, no need to produce an image for alert, extremly high sensitivity for low power consuption (<1.8W).
Electronic cortex piloting the retina carry over high-level treatments of situational analysis and only transmit alert as well as synthetic issues of these analysis.
The technology demonstrator, issued from bolométric technology have been succesfuly tested and R&D programme extended to carry the technology to IR Imagery, the goal being to create an IR Caladiom.
As yo can see France is clearly in the lead here...
