Optical air data system fusion with remote atmospheric sensing

A system comprising:

• an optical air data system operative to measure aerosol and molecular scattering of light from an interrogation region;
• an optical instrument separate from the optical air data system, the optical instrument operative to measure aerosol and/or molecular scattering of light from the interrogation region;
• and
• a processor operative to receive data from the optical air data system and data from the optical instrument, wherein the processor is configured to perform one or methods comprising:
• (a) a first signal analysis and data fusion method, comprising:
• determining an aerosol and/or molecular concentration in the interrogation region from the received data;
• modifying a data analysis algorithm to optimize any remaining unknown parameters;
• and
• outputting enhanced air data parameters;
• (b) a second signal analysis and data fusion method, comprising:
• determining an aerosol concentration, or presence thereof, in the interrogation region from the received data;
• dynamically optimizing hardware settings in the optical air data system to enhance a signal level and avoid system saturation;
• and
• outputting enhanced air data parameters;
• or
• (c) a third signal analysis and data fusion method, comprising:
• determining an aerosol and/or molecular concentration, or presence thereof, in the interrogation region from the received data;
• estimating a confidence level of an air data algorithm in the processor;
• verifying optical health of the optical air data system;
• and
• reporting the optical health to an external user.