Laser tests call for 160 flights
| • | Graphic: Proposed test of laser imaging system |
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
KIHEI, Maui — The U.S. Air Force wants to begin testing a laser imaging system in the skies above Maui next month in hopes of using the technology to more efficiently collect information on enemy forces from unmanned aircraft.
A revised draft environmental assessment calls for up to 160 test flights — more than three times as many flights described in the original draft document released in April.
The flights, in a manned Twin Otter airplane, would occur over a 3 1/2-year period. The original document called for 50 flights over a 12-month period.
The Air Force wouldn't give an explanation for why the number of flights was being increased.
Air Force Research Laboratory spokeswoman Eva Hendren yesterday said such questions wouldn't be answered until after the public comment period concludes Nov. 15.
Much of the revised assessment and draft finding of no significant impact remains the same. It describes test flights that carry an invisible "eye-safe" laser imaging system designed to covertly illuminate night scenes.
Mele Stokesberry of Maui Peace Action said the group opposes the testing not only because of the potential noise and possible effect on wildlife, but because of what she called "the militarizing of Maui." She said many on Maui would rather see the Air Force use an area designed for military purposes.
According to the document, the plane will circle slowly over Maui between 4,500 feet and 12,000 feet during flights day and night, taking pictures primarily around the Maui Research & Technology Park in Kihei, where Air Force contractor Textron Systems Inc. maintains an office.
Images also would be taken of U.S. government property and, with the consent of the property owners, other locations, including "industrial buildings, vehicles, terrain features and infrastructure." The previous draft noted these areas as Ma'alaea and Kahului harbors, a water tank on Haleakala Ranch, the Hawaiian Sugar & Commercial Co. mill in Pu'unene, a wastewater plant in Kahului and the World War II bunkers off Mokulele Highway.
Lamps and beacons will be beamed into the sky only at "the lowest power levels, shrouded and aimed directly at the aircraft to minimize the impact on nocturnal species," according to the assessment.
The flights would generate noise levels of approximately 45.6 decibels, or about 9 decibels lower than federal night standards.
Officials with the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico earlier said Maui was chosen for the experiment in part to allow for refining the promising technology in the island's moist atmosphere.
Remote-controlled aerial vehicles are playing an increasing role in the U.S. war arsenal. In Iraq, they provided key reconnaissance and fired on and destroyed about a dozen military targets.
Current technology relies on high-resolution, conventional cameras at day and infrared sensors at night.
The proposed laser system apparently works both day and night, and is able to find objects in the dark that cannot be detected by humans or conventional infrared methods.
Comments may be sent to AFRL/DEOS, 3550 Aberdeen Drive SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117, or by e-mailing Michelle.Hendricks@kirtland.af.mil. Copies of the environmental assessment are available at Maui public libraries in Kihei, Wailuku and Kahului.
