The Aerospace Corporation

David A Ksienski

James P McKay

Samuel S Osofsky

Keven S MacGowan

Gwendolyn M Shaw

Albert M Young

Walter L Bloss

Eric K Hall, Ii

Donna Branchevsky

Kyle A Logue

Thomas T Tam

Aidan R Wilson

Christopher P Woods

The disclosed threat response system(s) and method(s) provide a mean to secure an area around the clock. The system includes a plurality of microphones strategically located at various locations of the protected area, a plurality of acoustic beacons to provide navigational support one or more autonomous non-flying (ANF) drones, and a central controller. In one example each of the one or more ANF drones are equipped with an acoustic positioning system that uses beacon signals (e.g., mechanical waves) transmitted by the plurality of acoustic beacons to determine its position relative to the plurality of acoustic beacons. Once an acoustic event is detected, it is analyzed to determine whether there is a threat. When the threat is confirmed, the central controller dispatches one or more of the ANF drones to investigate and/or to engage the target.

Systems and methods for threat response

A phased array antenna system with intermodulation beam nulling device includes nulling phase shifters.

Phased array antenna system with intermodulation beam nulling

An antenna system includes a heptagonal antenna array having one center antenna element and seven circumferentially surrounding antenna elements offering improved near and far sidelobe rejection, which is well suited for mechanically-gimbaled and time delayed electrical steering antenna applications.

Heptagonal antenna array

Heptagonal antenna array system

A method for reducing intermodulation beams includes applying a beam-smearing phase distribution in addition to a beam-steering distribution for scanning to an array of antenna elements such that multiple higher-order intermodulation products are simultaneously reduced.

Higher-order intermodulation reduction using phase and angle smearing

An intermodulation product reduction or cancellation amplifier received two input signals that are split in quadrature wherein the inphase outputs are summed and then amplified as an inphase signal, and the quadrature outputs are fixed-phase phase-shifted, then summed and then amplified as a quadrature signal. The inphase and quadrature signals are fed into an output hybrid for canceling intermodulation products, where the fixed-phase phase shift is +/&#x2212;60&#xb0; for reducing 3rd order, +/&#x2212;36&#xb0; for reducing 5th order, and +/&#x2212;25.71&#xb0; for reducing 7th order intermodulation products, for examples, for improved signal communications of the two signals over a common antenna or link.

Multiple signal intermodulation reduction system

The hybrid active combiner and circulators serves as a coupler and is a three port network that integrates a directional coupler topology with active devices placed in the coupling paths in order to synthesize a low-loss active combiner circuit or a circulator device with minimal insertion losses. The coupler can have multiple stage amplifiers with transconductance values set according the Pascal's triangle for improved performance, and can function as a low cost and low weight transceiver well suited for various communications systems.

Hybrid active combiner and circulator

An intermodulation suppression method using phased array antenna electronics insignificantly degrades the desired primary main beams while substantially suppressing undesired intermodulation product beams, and particularly undesired third-ordered intermodulation product beams. The beam smearing method has two aspects, including phase smearing and angle smearing for respective subarrays to reduce the intermodulation-product beams of the phased array antenna beam patterns. With a 1 dB degradation of the primary main beams, a 6 dB to 10 dB suppression of the intermodulation product beams is achieved.

Phased array antenna intermodulation suppression beam smearing method

A phased array antenna system divides the array into a plurality of subarrays that are driven by fine phase shifters with each subarray having a plurality of antenna elements driven by respective coarse phase shifters that are preferably MEMS coarse phase shifters having low weight and low cost and are infrequently used for improved reliability for selecting a coarse beam coverage area while the fine phase shifters are used to scan a high-gain antenna pattern within the selected coarse beam coverage area. Two-bit MEMS phase shifters are used to scan the beams from subarrays to various coverage areas within the required antenna field of view, thereby providing coarse beam steering for an array.

Multiple beam steered subarrays antenna system

A grating lobe suppression method is applied to a phased array antenna system having antenna array elements that are grouped in regularly spaced subarrays each having a plurality of regularly spaced antenna elements within the subarrays for suppressing intermodulation grating lobes generated within a field of view of the antenna system when amplifying two modulated carrier communication signals at respective two different frequencies.

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Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

David A Ksienski