Comprehensive, Wide Area Littoral and Land Surveillance (CWALLS)
The LIDAR apparatus disclosed in this application provides a capability, when deployed on airborne platforms, to increase area search rates to over 1000 square kilometers per hour which is an increase of over a factor of 100 better than the current state of the art. This apparatus operates in the SWIR and Blue-green spectral bands and provides a capability to detect and recognize small objects on the land and sea surface and below the sea surface.
1 . A LIDAR apparatus which provides high area search rates while maintaining high spatial resolution and high sensitivity enabling detection and recognition of small objects while performing the wide area search function.
2 . The LIDAR apparatus of claim 1 may contain a linear array of several thousand detectors.
3 . The LIDAR apparatus of claim 1 may contain an array of very small detectors with near photon counting sensitivity.
4 . The LIDAR apparatus of claim 1 may contain a laser that operates in the Short Wavelength Infrared spectral region.
5 . The LIDAR apparatus of claim 1 may contain a laser that operates in the Blue-Green spectral part of the visible light spectrum.
5 . The LIDAR apparatus of claim 1 may contain a wide field of view optical system that transmits and receives the various laser wavelengths of the lasers contained with the apparatus.
6 . The LIDAR apparatus of claim 1 may contain mechanical elements that point that transmit and receive optical elements in the wide swath pattern executed to achieve the area search functions.
7 . The LIDAR apparatus of claim 1 may contain signal processing elements that use time of flight techniques to determine the precise range to elements viewed by the apparatus.