Askold Meusling

Responsive communications jamming against radio-controlled improvised explosive devices

Responsive communications jamming is an emerging technology for electronic-warfare applications. In contrast to state-of-the-art barrage jammers, which continuously jam entire frequency bands irrespective of current signal activities, responsive jammers regularly perform wideband scans of the radio spectrum and are thus able to react to observed signals. By this means, the available transmit energy can be focused on currently relevant spectral areas, which potentially leads to significantly improved jamming efficiencies. In this article, we provide a tutorial overview of this jamming technology with focus on vehicle- or convoy-protection jamming against radio-controlled improvised explosive devices (RCIEDs). Bringing in experience from our product development as well as from theoretical studies, we discuss various system design aspects of responsive anti-RCIED jammers and point out the main technological challenges. In particular, the issues of jam-duration optimization and time synchronization of multiple responsive jammers are discussed in some detail.

Jam-duration optimization for responsive vehicle-protection jammers

In this paper, we consider responsive communications jamming for vehicle protection against radio-controlled improvised explosive devices (RCIEDs). Unlike barrage jamming systems, which operate in an open-loop fashion, responsive jammers scan the radio spectrum on a regular basis and are thus able to react to upcoming signal activities. This allows to focus the available jamming energy on relevant time fractions and frequency bands, which potentially leads to significantly improved jamming efficiencies. In the first part of the paper, we provide a tutorial overview of the various theoretical and practical challenges that are associated with this new jamming technology. In the second part, we turn to the problem of jam-duration optimization for a given set of jammer and RCIED parameters. Simulations as well as analytical results are presented which show that with a suitable choice of the jam duration a responsive jammer can achieve an excellent performance, both in the case of a single and multiple relevant RCIED threats.

A 1–30 GHz 3-bit vector modulator based on ultra-wideband IQ-generation for MIMO-radar-systems in SiGe BiCMOS

MIMO phased array radar systems benefit from beamforming in order to increase system dynamic and detection range. Therefore, an ultra-wideband IQ signal generation concept for driving a vector adder, which produces the desired phase shift in each channel of a MIMO phased array radar system, has been developed. The classic concept to generate wideband quadrature signals that uses a frequency doubler and a static frequency divider brings a 0°/180° phase uncertainty at the dividers outputs which makes this concept useless when using multiple TX-channels at once like in beamforming MIMO phased array radars. Therefore, the classical concept has been enhanced with two possible solutions which are presented in this work. The novel concepts are able to operate from 1–30 GHz.

A system concept for a 3D real-time OFDM MIMO radar for flying platforms

In this paper a new system concept for a low cost, miniaturized and real-time imaging radar system for flying platforms is presented. The proposed solution is based on the MIMO radar architecture, orthogonal signals for simultaneous transmit capabilities and highly integrated SiGe chipsets. Using beamforming techniques at the receiver together with radar processing techniques, a 3D sensing of the range, azimuth, elevation and Doppler information for an arbitrary number of objects can be estimated through a simultaneous transmission and with real-time hardware implementable FFT processing techniques. A top-level system concept and a complete parametrization is proposed for a radar system which is intended for obstacle warning for helicopters and to enhance flight safety in approach, landing and take-off phases of flight even in degraded visual conditions. The full OFDM MIMO Radar system has been implemented and tested in a MATLAB environment and simulation results are here presented. This paper is the first step towards the implementation of a compact and real-time radar system demonstrator.