CHAPTER 9 - BATTLEFIELD ILLUMINATION Flashcards
(40 cards)
What are the 2 types of Aircraft Parachute Flares?
- visible light for unaided night capabilities
2. near infrared light for aided use
What type of flare is visible light?
What type of mixture does it burn and how hot?
LUU-2B/B
magnesium mixture
high intensity, near sunlight, 1,900,000 candlepower
What type of flare is near- infrared?
Can you see it with the naked eye?
LUU-19
almost invisible to the naked eye, only useful with NVDs
How many variants of the infrared flare are there?
3
LUU-19/B
LUU-19A/B
LUU-19B/B
What are the 4 basic components of the flares?
- mechanical timer
- parachute
- igniter
- illuminate candle
What are the 2 types of BI missions?
Preplanned Illumination
On-Call Illumination
What are the 3 basic BI targets?
- Point Target - small area of interest (LZ, extraction point), single flare or group of flares used over a point
- Linear Target - road or river, string of flares released parallel to target
- Area Target - DZ or large objective area, single or string of flares used
BI
What are the different drop patterns?
Racetrack - effective for constant illumination of a point or area target
Continuous Orbit - effective for constant illum of point target
90- to 270-degree Turn - similar to instrument procedure turn. Effective for constant illum of linear target
What equipment is required to conduct BI?
(1) flare dispenser
(1) flare dispensing rod
Flare storage box (up to 32 flares per box)
(2) pairs of welder gloves
(4) 2.5 gal pressurized water fire extinguishers
(1) shovel
Smoke masks for everyone
Pallet
If in a threat environment and the flare storage box is not armored, what shall be armored?
Pallet upon which it is secured
How is the flare dispenser constructed?
Heavy-gauge aluminum that is strengthened to support the weight of the cargo door.
When planning a BI mission, what factors should be considered?
- threat
- type of mission
- deconfliction
- target to be illuminated
- illumination level required by supported unit
Lux level examples
500-1000: typical office lighting
100: residential room lighting
<10: ability of eye to perceive orange and blue is degraded
0.1: perception of yellow and blue-green is degraded
<0.03-0.05: cones in retina largely cease to respond and objects seen in gray
Flare storage boxes should be secured to what?
standard 463L pallet or Type V platform
BI
Dropping at high altitudes do what for you?
- increase range from threat weapons
- make a/c aural signature difficult to acquire
- allow for longer timer settings which reduce chance of C-130 being illuminated by own flares
BI
What is a consideration if dropping above 10,000’ MSL?
limited loiter time due to available oxygen aboard a/c
Burn time of LUU-2B/B
Burn Descent of LUU-2B/B
Parachute Descent Rate of LUU-2B/B
4 minutes
2,000 ft
8.3 fps
Burn time of LUU-19/B
Burn Descent of LUU-19/B
Parachute Descent Rate of LUU-19/B
9 minutes
7,500 ft
14 fps
Burn time of LUU-19A/B
Burn Descent of LUU-19A/B
Parachute Descent Rate of LUU-19A/B
7 minutes
6,000 ft
14 fps
Burn time of LUU-19B/B
Burn Descent of LUU-19B/B
Parachute Descent Rate of LUU-19B/B
7 minutes
6,000 ft
14 fps
What are all the different timer setting options?
500, 1000, 1500, 2000-11000 in 1,000 ft increments
250 not authorized
Under ideal (very clear) conditions, assuming a benchmark min of 0.0022 lux, how much will a single LUU-2B/B illuminate?
Single LUU-19?
a target area for NVD imaging at a range of approx. 22,500 meters
4,000 meters = equivalent to crescent moon
How do you apply the transmissivity to achieve actual lux?
Ex. Light Haze = transmissivity is 0.55
0.0022 x 0.55 = 0.0012 actual lux
To avoid aural detection how far away should the C-130 loiter until flares are requested?
what way should you be oriented?
holding area 10-12 NM away from target area
perpendicular for ease of navigation
only in permissive environment should a/c loiter over target area
