Simulation of laser beam propagation over land and sea using phase screens: a comparison with experimental data

Understanding and predicting laser beam propagation effects in the atmosphere is of importance for laser countermeasures and related applications. Turbulence effects cause beam wander, beam broadening and intensity scintillations reducing e.g. the power in bucket and the tracking accuracy. Modelling laser beam propagation in turbulence using successive phase screens provides an efficient tool for performance predictions. In this work phase screens are used to model laser beam propagation over land and sea. Different phase screens generators utilising the Kolmogorov or von Karman spectra were considered. Critical parameters using phase screens include the number of screen applied along the propagation path, inner- and outer scale size, variations in the structure parameter and spatial frequencies. Effects such as beam wander, angle-of-arrival fluctuations and intensity scintillations are discussed. The simulated results are compared with experimental data recorded at different ranges, various turbulence strengths and for single- and double paths. A generic example describing laser countermeasure against an infrared homing missile in a naval scenario is presented.