Lockheed Martin Corporation

Randall Deen Morris

John B Stetson, Jr

Naresh Raman Patel

Frank Joshua Raphael Reifler

A monopulse radar operating at low angles of elevation (LOE) receives returns from a target by a direct path and by a path including a reflection from that portion of the Earth's surface lying between the radar and the target. The surface-reflected signal tends to cause errors in the estimate of the elevation of the target. A radar system directs at least upper and lower overlapping beams at LOE toward the target for receiving returns. The upper and lower beams may be sequential or simultaneous. Real and imaginary portions of the sum (&#x3a3;) and difference (&#x394;) signals are generated for each beam. The monopulse estimates of elevation &#xea; derived from the real portion of the &#x3a3; and &#x394; signals are processed to produce correction signals for upper and lower beams. Each correction signal is weighted and summed to correct the estimate of elevation.

Monopulse radar estimation of target altitude at low angles of elevation

An arrangement for coordinating positional and angle information made on separate relatively moving platforms, such as aircraft, having independent coordinate systems, uses measurements of a common reference made on both platforms. The measurements are transmitted to a common location. Measurements made at a first time are processed to determine two of three coordinate transformation angles. After a period of time, a second set of measurements is used to determine the third coordinate transformation angle. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the direction of motion of one of the platforms is controlled to be orthogonal to a coordinate axis of the other platform. When the coordinate transformation is determined, it can be used to coordinate or align navigation instruments, weapons, or the like. In one embodiment of the invention, a missile is directed toward a target, in a situation in which the target is viewed from the missile and another moving vehicle.

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Medford, NJ, United States of America

Randall Deen Morris