Attention amta authors!

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a joint Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and US Navy (NAWC/AD) project designed to improve the quality and repeatability of RCS

measurement data taken on any government or industrial RCS measurement facility. Part I of the paper will concentrate on activities at the Air Force Research Laboratory Advanced Compact Range. Part II will focus on the US Navy Atlantic Test Range activities [5].

RCS measurement systems represent extremely complex electro-mechanical systems containing a myriad of complex hardware and software subsystems. To maintain a high level of confidence in RCS data produced by these ranges, a quality assurance program was established in 1997. The DoD Range Commander’s Council Signature Measurement and Standards Group (RCC/SMSG) cosponsored the AFRL and NAWC/AD joint project to test and demonstrate a single standard for documenting

the procedures and processes for the three distinct DoD RCS ranges shown in Figure 1. The program began by establishing a customized ANSI-Z-540 RCS based quality assurance documentation handbook [3]. Though this document provided a context for the documentation standard, it provided few details regarding the evaluation criteria and certification review processes needed to complete “certification”. The remainder of this paper will describe the establishment and use of objective evaluation criteria, the certification review process, and the overall success of the two ranges, which have successfully fulfilled the certification review process.

To avoid repeating the background provided by [3], we begin by precisely defining what “RCS certification” means in the context of the DoD demonstration program. From [6]: “ ’RCS Certification’ as used in the DoD demonstration program, is hereby defined as having successfully completed a detailed review, of an RCS Range Book by a peer review committee using published evaluation criteria.” The detailed review is essentially a compliance assessment that a range has met the relevant quality assurance documentation standard for ANSI Z-540. In this program, certification is a review committee’s positive assessment of compliance with the ANSI-Z-540 standard and an endorsement of the range’s measurement processes. RCS Certification is NOT a rating system or a specific review committee endorsement of day-to-day quantitative capabilities (accuracy, uncertainty, etc).

To better understand certification contextually, let’s review each major element of the certification statement. (a) We begin by defining the “RCS Range Book”. From [3], an “RCS range book” is a detailed technical and quality assurance document written in accordance with ANSI-Z-540 standard by the range to be certified. The range book thoroughly describes all aspects of the RCS measurement range. It’s 20 distinct sections describe every major aspect of range operations, procedures, calibration, and equipment. The range book also explains how the range is organized and operated on a day-to-day basis. The range book is meant to be a ready daily reference for the range staff, as well as a document a potential customer could review prior to using the RCS facility for a test. (b) The “published evaluation criteria [7] are a set of approximately 140 specific written evaluation criteria that the range book must fulfill in order to become “RCS certified”. The evaluation criteria provide a complete listing of the specific minimum information content required for each of the twenty range book sections. Since the evaluation criteria are known to the range “up front”, they provides a definitive guide for the range staff to help prepare the range book material.

The evaluation criteria are also used by the range to “self review” or “register” the range book by the host organization prior to certification review by a third party. (c) The peer review committee consists of three volunteer RCS experts from Government, Industry, and/or academia who reviews the specific RCS range book to makes an objective judgment whether the range book complies to the Z-540 standard using the evaluation criteria of (b). The volunteer reviewers provide feedback to the range on non-compliant range book sections, and work with the range in question to help them revise the range book to be fully compliant to the standard. Literally, the review committee is there to help the range complete the certification process. Note that AFRL and Atlantic Test Range facilities were solely reviewed by RCS experts employed outside DoD to avoid any perceived conflict of interest. The on-going 46TG RVUMS certification review also employs non-DoD reviewers.

The RCS certification process may seem complicated at first glance. To reduce confusion, let’s break this task into a manageable step-by-step process recipe that any range can follow. To illustrate the overall DoD RCS review process, refer to Figure 2.