Media Platforms Design TeamAiming weapons from a stealth aircraft like the F-35 is not easy. The infrared sensors used to find targets in the air and on the ground need a 360-degree view, so they must hang outside the airframe. However, the shape of any exterior hardware produces a telltale signature on enemy radar, so Lockheed Martin engineers put the targeting optics in a multifaceted sapphire structure jutting out of the fuselage under the aircraft’s nose. “The material is the same as you find in a supermarket checkout bar-code scanner,” says Don Bolling, Lockheed’s business development manager for the electro-optical targeting system (EOTS). From the outside, the beveled shape of the damage-resistant panels will reflect radar in meaningless patterns, in the same way the airplane’s other surfaces are shaped to defeat enemy tracking. Inside, a focal-plane array produces two kinds of infrared images: high-resolution images for targeting, and less distinct “search and track” images to follow distant objects of What’s Inside F-35’s DeadeyeMedia Platforms Design TeamLaser Assembly Diode-pumped laser finds the range of targets and designates and guides smart weapons. Fiberoptic Link Connects the sensor to the airplane’s central computer. 360-degree Gimbal Assembly Passive sensors turn to capture thermal images of targets. Range Receiver Measures the reflected laser to gauge distance. Spot Tracker Allows airplane to see ground troops’ or another aircraft’s targeting lasers. Fast-Steering Mirror Corrects unwanted movement while tracking targets. Joe PappalardoJoe Pappalardo is a contributing writer at Popular Mechanics and author of the new book, Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight.
