For three years the US Coast Guard Research and Development Center has been developing a novel airborne search technique. It shows promise of detecting liferafts with a 95% probability at a search rate of 250 nmi/sup 2//hr. An experimental design is presented in which the Naval Air Development Center modifies a high-performance IR (infrared) scanner to record on magnetic tape. The method described is based on flying the equipment in a P3 over Block Island Sound under a variety of weather conditions, and replaying the taped signals into a laboratory imaging apparatus intended to simulate an aircraft search station. The effectiveness of the overall technique can thus be evaluated.
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