Dazzle.

This is coolbert:

Pilots of U.S. manned bomber aircraft flying SIOP missions [Single Integrated Operational Plan] will have to contend with the effects of dazzle.

"Single Integrated Operational Plan (or SIOP) is a blueprint that tells how American nuclear weapons would be used in the event of war. The plan integrates the nuclear capabilities of manned bombers, long-range intercontinental missiles and ballistic-missile firing nuclear submarines. The SIOP is implemented in case the United States is under nuclear attack or if a nuclear attack on the United States is imminent."

Read further about the SIOP by clicking here.

If the SIOP is being implemented, B-52 pilots will know they are going into a nuclear environment!!

"dazzle - - (DOD) Temporary loss of vision or a temporary reduction in visual acuity; may also be applied to effects on optics."

"flash blindness - - (DOD, NATO) Impairment of vision resulting from an intense flash of light. It includes temporary or permanent loss of visual functions and may be associated with retinal burns."

"What is flash blindness?

The initial thermal pulse from a nuclear blast can cause eye injuries in the forms of flash blindness and retinal scarring. Flash blindness is caused by the initial brilliant flash of light produced by the nuclear detonation."

Dazzle is the effect upon the eye caused by the brilliant light of a nuclear detonation. Aircraft ON a SIOP mission would fly in an environment where atomic weapons might be detonating all over the place. At times these detonations would occur within the range of vision of the pilots [ahead of them]. These detonations may even be from air defense units of the enemy attempting to shoot down a U.S. manned bomber with nuclear weapons!! Dazzle alone can damage the eye temporarily or even permanently, causing a loss of vision. This is something that pilots on SIOP missions cannot tolerate!!

"Nuclear flash eye protection

From the early days of developing nuclear weapons is was evident that one of the side effects of the blast was an extreme flash effect, so strong that the human eye would be severely affected without protection."

"Impact on aircrew

It is easy to imagine how disruptive temporary blindness would be to an aircrew operating in a complex hostile environment . 10 minutes is an extremely long time not being able to see your instruments or operate your weapons systems, and even two minutes is a long time, especially if you are in the middle of a high-speed low level penetration flight. The need for protection is therefore evident."

To protect the vision of pilots on SIOP missions from dazzle, a variety of goggles were developed. It is not enough to place flash curtains either on the inside or the outside of the cockpit. The pilots NEED to SEE outside the aircraft to be able to fly on their mission!!

And a goggle has been developed that meets the needs of SIOP mission pilots. This is the PLZT goggles. Electronically powered and controlled, of a ceramic material. Are placed over the helmet when needed. These goggles detect the flash of a nuclear detonation and instantaneously go opaque, protecting the vision of the pilots. A remarkable device!

"The PLZT goggles
The most advanced thermal flash protective devices in use are the PLZT goggles. These goggles are made of sandwich composite of polarized glass with an inner layer of a transparent electro-optic ceramic called PLZT. When linked to an electric current, the lenses are clear. But any dangerous flash of light, such as lightning or a nuclear blast, instantaneously breaks the circuit. This causes the lenses to go black, protecting the vision of anyone wearing the helmet."




The addition of what is called the EVS [Electro-Optic Viewing System] also enables the pilots of a B-52 to fly in a nuclear environment "buttoned up", relatively impervious to nuclear flash blindness. That is to say, metal "flash curtains" can be applied to the outside of the bombers wind screen, and the plane can be flown by TV CAMERA, two of which are located in chin turrets of the aircraft. Originally intended for low-level flight operation, an added bonus of these cameras may very well be protection against nuclear flash blindness!!

"ELECTRO-OPTICAL VIEWING SYSTEM:

Under the nose section are the steerable chin turrets for the AN/ASQ-151 electro-optical viewing system (EVS), which consists of the Raytheon AN/AAQ-6 Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) in the starboard turret and Northrop Grumman AN/AVQ-22 low-light-level television camera (LLTV) in the port turret. The images from the EVS are displayed on monochrome screens on the flight deck and on the lower deck.

* One of the most visible updates to the B-52 was the "ASQ-151 Electro-Optical Viewing System (EVS)", referred to as "Evs", which provided the Buff with sensors for low-level flight operations. The EVS cluttered the Buff with
two cheek blisters, a Hughes "AN/AAQ-6 forward looking infrared (FLIR)"
camera in the right blister and a Westinghouse "AN/AVQ-22
low light level television (LLTV)" camera in the left blister.
The FLIR provided images from the heat of objects in the field of view,
while the LLTV could pick up scenes illuminated only by starlight.

The two imagers could be steered, and in fact Buff crews call the LLTV a "steerable TV (STV)", and they could be rotated backwards in their blisters to protect them when not in use.



Please note the blisters on either side of the chin below the cockpit. Those are the cameras.

The EVS included new cockpit displays not only provided imagery from the cameras but also displayed flight status information, substantially reducing cockpit workload. EVS made low-level operations much easier and safer. It also reduced the aircraft's vulnerability against adversary defenses, since the sensors allowed the bomber to be flown without use of navigation radars that could reveal the aircraft's presence, and allowed the Buff to be flown when it was "buttoned up" with flash curtains for a nuclear strike."

[it would be necessary for these TV cameras to have VERY FAST automatic gain controls [AGC's] on them. The intense light from a nuclear blast might very well destroy or overwhelm the camera, all the pilot seeing is a white screen!!]

To what extent these goggles and TV's help protect against directed energy weapons, lasers and such, from being used to "blind" U.S. pilots on SIOP missions is just not clear. It is reputed that potential adversaries do have such weapons, and could potentially use them in case of nuclear war. Perhaps devices have already been developed to protect the crews of U.S. manned bombers from such a threat??!!

coolbert.