Raytheon Aircraft Corporation

Gregory Bengt Johnson

A system for determining high accuracy relative position solutions between two moving platforms is disclosed. This system is particularly suited for aircraft carrier approach and landing operations. More specifically, a system is disclosed that modifies existing Kinematic Carrier Phase Tracking (KCPT) solutions, which are useful for solutions between a moving platform and a fixed ground based platform, to provide an acceptable relative solution vector in aircraft carrier approach and landing operations, or other environments involving multiple moving platforms. The system disclosed provides a relative KCPT (RKCPT) process that achieves significant advantages over old KCPT process technology. To do so, the system utilizes multiple independent Kalman filters linked to multiple independent numerical ambiguity estimators to provide multiple sets of floating and fixed ambiguities for an accurate solution vector determination. In particular, three independent Kalman filters are disclosed, which are directed to the three highest elevation positioning space vehicles and which are linked respectively to three independent numerical ambiguity estimators. More particularly, the numerical ambiguity estimators may be Teunissen ambiguity estimators. The positioning space vehicles may be the current Global Positioning System satellites, and the system may focus on wide lane GPS data to limit the calculations conducted. An associated method for determining a relative solution vector between multiple moving platforms is also disclosed.

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West Jordan, VT, United States of America

Gregory Bengt Johnson