Facilities related to airplane development (10) Electromagnetic wave -related facilities
P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft under test on IBST.Pay attention to the structure of the surrounding walls
The Pataxent River base has been visited at a public event, but of course IBST should not be open to the public.So I don't know which is the IBST of the building in the aerial photograph.However, it can be speculated that the actual machine is put in and tested, so that there is a size that can be entered and exit from the parking area or the runway, and that there is a size that can fit in with plenty of room.
Radio dark room and RCS measurement
Another facility involving electromagnetic waves is a radio wave room.There is a facility called "Sensitive Room" to conduct a test about acoustic, but it is good to think that it is an electromagnetic wave version.In fact, the internal appearance is very similar, and the "△△" is arranged so that the electromagnetic waves do not return to the provisions by reflecting them on the wall.
The radio room is used when testing a radar or an electronic warfare device, for example.If it is a stealth machine, it is also used to measure the radar reflective cross -sectional area (RCS: Radar Cross Section).
Air Force Plant NO in Fortworth, Texas, which is assembling F-35 fighters.4 (this is operated by Lockheed Martin), along with manufacturing and assembly lines and painting facilities, and a radio room for the last RCS measurement test.I was shown the assembly and painting facilities, but I couldn't show the radio room.
In addition, RCS measurement is not necessarily performed indoors like a radio wave room, but in some cases, it is implemented outdoors.An example of the facility for that is NRTF (National RCS Test Facility) at Holoman Air Force Base, New Mexico
The problem is the pillar that supports the aircraft that becomes a testing.The reason is that the support also reflects radar radio waves.It would not be a job if it was truly received and "Radar radio wave reflection is large!"Therefore, during RCS measurement, the design of the pillar supporting the aircraft is also a problem.
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