Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Carl D Wise

Norman F Powell

Peter A Stenger

Andrew Walters

Frank W Hays

Brian T McMonagle

David Krafcsik

Tujuana Hinton

Craig Heffner

Kevin LaCour

Steven D Block

Robert Sisk

Steven S Handley

Fred C Kuss

Joseph Paquin

Richard J Wiegand

Thomas K Lisle, Jr

Clinton W Moulds

William A O'Berry

Milton R Lang, Jr

David R Iny

Vincent M Heazel, Jr

A synthesized aperture radar imaging system is disclosed. The system includes an antenna reflector and a radar signal transceiver configured to generate a plurality of radar transmission signals and to receive a respective plurality of reflected radar signals. The system also includes a wave reflection device configured to sequentially reflect each of the plurality of radar transmission signals onto separate respective spot-portions of the antenna reflector. The plurality of radar transmission signals can be transmitted from the antenna reflector to a target and reflected from the target as the respective plurality of reflected radar signals. The system further includes a synthesized aperture radar controller configured to integrate the plurality of reflected radar signals and to generate a high-resolution, three-dimensional image of the target from the integrated plurality of reflected radar signals.

Synthesized aperture three-dimensional radar imaging

A vertically integrated Ka-band active electronically scanned antenna including, among other things, a transitioning RF waveguide relocator panel located behind a radiator faceplate and an array of beam control tiles respectively coupled to one of a plurality of transceiver modules via an RF manifold. Each of the beam control tiles includes a respective plurality of high power transmit/receive (T/R) cells as well as dielectric waveguides, RF stripline and coaxial transmission line elements. The waveguide relocator panel is preferably fabricated by a diffusion bonded copper laminate stack up with dielectric filling. The beam control tiles are preferably fabricated by the use of multiple layers of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) material laminated together. The waveguide relocator panel and the beam control tiles are designed to route RF signals to and from a respective transceiver module of four transceiver modules and a quadrature array of antenna radiators matched to free space formed in the faceplate. Planar type metal spring gaskets are provided between the interfacing layers so as to provide and ensure interconnection between mutually facing waveguide ports and to prevent RF leakage from around the perimeter of the waveguide ports. Cooling of the various components is achieved by a pair of planar forced air heat sink members which are located on either side of the array of beam control tiles. DC power and control of the T/R cells is provided by a printed circuit wiring board assembly located adjacent to the array of beam controlled tiles with solderless DC connections being provided by an arrangement of 'fuzz button' electrical connector elements.

Low profile active electronically scanned antenna (AESA) for Ka-band radar systems

A local area positioning system which includes a plurality of platforms or nodes consisting of airborne and/or ground based vehicles that are coupled in a platform-to-platform local area network. The platforms themselves establish a spatial reference system for location and communication between platforms is accomplished using directive millimeter wave beams, and where measurements and communicated estimates of node locations, in a local inertial reference frame, are processed via Kalman tracking filters to generate updated estimates of position and velocity vectors associated with each node.

Local area positioning system

A method for distinguishing between multiple noise jammer sources having different noise modulation bandwidths. Noise signals are detected by a receiver having a bandwidth substantially the same as the bandwidth of the jammer noise source. The dwell time of the noise pulses formed by the receiver provides a means for determining the noise modulation bandwidth of a noise jammer source.

Noise jammer discrimination by noise modulation bandwidth

A method for distinguishing between multiple noise jammer sources having different noise spectral bandwidths. Noise signals are detected over a relatively narrow detection bandwidth. The percent of time that the jammer spectral noise is within the fixed detection bandwidth is used to estimate the jammer spectral bandwidth.

Noise jammer discrimination by noise spectral bandwidth

Apparatus for generating noise is described incorporating means for generating a noise frequency spectrum, a plurality of voltage controlled oscillators and means for coupling the voltage controlled oscillators to an output. The invention overcomes the problem of a single voltage controlled oscillator which could not slue and settle at an appropriate frequency prior to being coupled to an output which resulted in undesired frequencies being generated during this slueing and settling time.

Frequency spectrum noise generator

The repetition frequency tracking apparatus utilizes the input signal to start a timer to provide the correct phase. When the timer sweeps through the right frequency, the tracker will lock to a single pulse train within a two octave frequency spectrum. After the lockup, the tracker is switched to a free running mode to provide pseudo synchronous running through durations of missing input pulses. Accurate tracking is provided by the use of an early late gate phase discriminator for phase sensing and correcting to zero, errors at all locking frequencies.

Pulse repetition frequency tracker

A circuit for detecting the occurrence of incoming pulses at a predetermined repetition rate while remaining unresponsive to pulses occurring at an even harmonic of such rate, the circuit including a clock pulse generator and resettable counter arranged to count the pulses produced by the generator and to produce an output representing its current count, resetting means for resetting the counter to its '0' count state when an incoming pulse arrives at a time after the arrival of a preceding pulse which started the clock pulse generator which is equal to or greater than the time between pulses occurring at the repetition frequency to be detected, signal producing means for producing an output signal only when the time of arrival between such incoming pulses is equal to the time between pulses at the repetition frequency to be detected, and output signal suppressing means arranged to prevent the production of an output signal when an incoming pulse arrives at a time after the arrival of an incoming pulse which started the clock pulse generator equal to one-half the time between incoming pulses occurring at the repetition frequency to be detected. The clock pulse generator has a preferably variable repetition frequency which is a multiple of the repetition frequency to be detected.

Pulse repetition frequency detector

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Severna Park, MD, United States of America

Carl D Wise