Indian Head's IMPASS System Proves to be Right on Target
NAVSEA News Wire
12/13/2002
By Tara Landis, NSWC Indian Head Division Public Affairs
INDIAN HEAD, Md. -- In a recent Gulf of Mexico Exercise (GOMEX) mission, Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division's Integrated Maritime Portable Acoustic Scoring and Simulator (IMPASS) system successfully detected bomb drops from aircraft as well as ordnance shot from a ship's gun system.
The two-day effort, which included testing at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida by the U.S. Air Force's 46th Test Wing, as well as aboard USS Ticonderoga (CG 47) in the Gulf of Mexico, proved IMPASS' success as it reached another significant phase in development.
IMPASS was first conceived in 1998 under the Secretary of Defense's Live Fire Testing and Training Program. It was initially designed to recognize a high explosive 5-inch round when it impacts water. It has since proven to be flexible enough to detect inert 500-pound bombs and may also be beneficial for other acoustic/detonation impacts.
In 2000, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) needed a system that would address restrictions being placed on weapons training facilities and the associated threat of being unable to conduct training critical for military readiness. It became apparent that a replacement for bombing ranges was needed. The Virtual At-Sea Training (VAST) system, with Indian Head Division's IMPASS as an integral component, was born to fulfill that need and allow virtual testing to be performed.
Each IMPASS system is composed of seven buoys, five of which are deployed in a pentagon shape in the water, one is for the ship's position and the seventh is a spare. The five buoys act together and triangulate the location of any impact. The ship's crew, or spotter, views a realistic presentation - a landmass with topography similar to a real-world scenario for example - which correlates with an area over the open ocean.
Once the ship is a proper distance away from the buoy field, it engages and shoots at the virtual target. The actual ordnance lands in the water within the array of buoys. The buoys then send a signal back to 'score' the hit. A global-positioning satellite (GPS) provides precise positioning data of the buoys and firing platforms. Once detected, the data is transmitted to the system controller who then uses the GPS locations and times to triangulate and display the impact locations of the round.
For these initial trials, two computers were used: one provided feedback on accuracy, the other was used within the ship to help with training. Future plans call for a satellite up-link allowing for simultaneous and faster operations.
During trials at Eglin, the IMPASS system successfully detected 18 non-exploding bombs dropped from A-10 aircraft. Chris Karabin, a computer engineer in Indian Head's Weapons Simulation Department, was the lead for the systems software interface. Over a three-day effort, Karabin worked with Eglin engineers to integrate two computer programs necessary for the system to work: Test and Evaluation Enabling Architecture (TENA) and the Navy Visualization Program (NVP) tool.
Developed by Eglin engineers, TENA allows applications to communicate by sharing a common view of range instrumentation assets, providing tracking and display of range participants (vehicles, weapons and ships). IMPASS was successfully integrated with Eglin's TENA-based application allowing for buoy positions and computed impact locations to be transmitted to Eglin's TENA-based application for display.
The NVP tool, a product of Coastal Systems Station (CSS) in Panama City, Fla., provides a display of high-resolution satellite imagery over virtual landmasses. NVP was also successfully integrated with Eglin's TENA-based application. IMPASS impact locations were transmitted through the TENA-based application to NVP where they were geographically translated from sea to land and rendered as virtual land explosions at Eglin AFB. Due to their coordinated efforts, the system worked flawlessly. Network links between Eglin AFB, CSS Panama City, and Dam Neck, Va. permitted the GOMEX to be observed in all three locations in real time.
The following day the crew aboard the Ticonderoga successfully engaged a computer-simulated target with explosive and non-explosive ordnance shot from the ship's MK45, 5-inch, 54-caliber gun. Initial indications showed that the VAST system successfully 'scored' exactly where the ordnance rounds landed in the water - virtually, right on target.
As communication and satellite technology advances, the IMPASS and VAST systems have leveraged that technology to better train the warfighters who will ultimately deploy weapons in battle.
Validating this technology and the system's relevance to the military, Col. Dennis F. Sager, Commanding Officer of the 46th Test Wing commented, "While the results are preliminary, the data looks promising. We're encouraged by the capability this system brings to our testing efforts and to our pilots. It's exciting to think that we'll be able to use this portable system, and convert these wide open spaces to valuable testing areas."
Indian Head Division's IMPASS and VAST systems continue to move forward with testing and qualifications. A complete qualification of IMPASS with the USS O'Bannon's (DD 987) 5-inch gun team is scheduled in the near future.
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