ARM Climate Research Facility Lends Support to Military Flare Tests

Published: 31 October 2004

Prior to the flare tests, SGP personnel informed local landowners and fire departments about the nature of the tests, particularly the large amount of smoke anticipated from the flares. ARM file photo.

On October 19 and 20, 2004 a series of aircraft flares were ignited at the ARM Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site on behalf of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. While the flares burned, measurements were collected from infrared sensors on board the High-Altitude Laser Observatory (HALO) aircraft developed and operated by L3-Aeromet. During the tests, personnel from Johns Hopkins University and L3-Aeromet operated ground-based instruments from the elevated deck of the SGP Guest Instrument Trailer, which received high marks for the excellent facilities it offers visiting scientists. Data collected during these tests will be used in the development and testing of techniques to reduce “optical clutter” from surveillance images.

Representatives of Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB) organized the tests, which were approved by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and coordinated with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Hanscom AFB personnel prepared the test site by spreading a layer of sand over a 10-m by 10-m area in the pasture just north of the SGP Central Facility, so that the prevailing southerly winds would carry the smoke from the flares away from the site personnel and instrumentation. SGP personnel secured the area with fencing and provided safety oversight for the tests, while representatives of Armtec Esterline Corporation, the flare manufacturer, set up and ignited the flares. A post-test inspection was carried out at the ignition site to ensure all materials associated with the flares were collected.

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The ARM Climate Research Facility is a DOE Office of Science user facility. The ARM Facility is operated by nine DOE national laboratories, including .