Calculation of infrared signature for aerial targets MQM-178 and BQM-167i
Publish date: 2025-04-04
Report number: FOI-R--5736--SE
Pages: 52
Written in: Swedish
Keywords:
- aerial target
- signature
- infrared
- IR signature
- MQM-178
- BQM-167i
- 3D scanning
- CFD calculations
- IR calculations
Abstract
The aerial target drones MQM-178 and BQM-167i owned by FMV have had their infrared signatures measured in several bands, which is presented in another report. Measurements were made at different altitudes, flight speeds and aspect angles and have provided validation data for the signature calculations presented in this report. The method used to calculate the infrared signatures is based on the results of flow calculations using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) methods. Prior to these CFD calculations, computational meshes have been made for the studied objects. These meshes are in turn based on CAD (Computer Aided Design) models that have been developed based on data from 3D scans of the objects. The agreement between calculated and measured signatures for the target dronesis based on an ocular inspection generally satisfactory. However, the uncertainty regarding atmospheric transmission (dampening) is large, which significantly affects the results. The test campaign also shows that motion blur in the measured images has an integrating effect on the pixel values in the image. This report only shows a limited part of all calculation results and comparisons with measurement data as this information demonstrates the authority's ability to predict infrared signatures, which is protected information.