The Loral laser radar, or commonly referred to as simply “ladar,” is a 1.06-micron scanning breadboard laser radar system currently being used in the U.S. Air Force’s ladar development program. Loral Corp., now Lockheed-Martin Missiles and Fire Control – Dallas, built the ladar system in the mid 1990’s. The system is serving an integral part in the ever-expanding world of laser-guided munitions. Although the exact function of the laser radar is highly classified, the basic principle of the system is rather simple. A pulse laser is sent through a series of mirrors, filters and lens, where the laser beam is filtered and deflected 180 degrees about the breadboard, until finally being aimed into a giant telescope (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Loral Laser Radar System Schematic

The laser beam is shot out of telescope into the surroundings in front. The beam bounces off any object within the beam’s radius, and reflects that object’s image back into the lens. The beam then travels back through a different series of mirrors, filters and lens until it reaches the receiver housing of the system. Inside the receiver housing of the ladar system the laser beam is split into two different beams by a cubic crystal. The crystal sends one of the beams horizontally on the same plane while the other beam is sent 90 degrees vertically upward. Each laser beam is sent through a lens where the beam is aimed toward a fiber optic cable. This fiber optic cable in turn relays the information to a central computer that interprets the data the laser beam recorded. This information can vary from the image of tanks, troops, geographic feature to anything possibly imagined. The computer can also be programmed to identify the object by exact size, make, model and origin. One can see how a system like this can be very resourceful in today’s military world. The problem with the system at its current state is that it sits on a 2X2 foot breadboard that makes it very heavy and immobile. Another common occurrence is that when the system is exposed to changes in climate, the data begins to become erratic and eventually inaccurate