Optical warning system

Claim 1

In an aircraft which has a radar antenna for receiving radar signals illuminating the aircraft and in which the received radar signals are directed to a radar processor, remote from the radar antenna, having a plurality of filtering circuits, each of which has predetermined characteristics to filter out particular radar signals having those characteristics, and in which the filtered signals are directed to a display unit for the pilot to inform the pilot as to the type of radar signals illuminating the aircraft, the improvement comprising a system for enabling optical signals, such as laser beams, which are illuminating the aircraft to be processed and displayed to the pilot to inform the pilot that the aircraft is being illuminated by such optical signals, and wherein the system may be implemented with a small number of additional components and without adding additional wiring to the aircraft running from the optical detector to the equipment for processing the optical signals and displaying them to the pilot, and comprising: a. an optical detector means for detecting optical radiation of interest illuminating the aircraft and for producing a signal indicative of the received radiation; b. means, responsive to the signal from said optical detector means, for analyzing the signal to determine selected parameters of the illuminating optical beam; c. generator means, responsive to said analyzing means, for generating electrical signals having predetermined characteristics of radar signals such that the electrical signals will be passed by a particular filtering circuit within said radar processor; aNd d. said display unit being responsive to the passage of electrical signals by said particular filtering circuit to indicate to the pilot that the aircraft is being illuminated by an optical signal.