This invention deals generally with protecting both the Iridium satellite communications system downlink data received using an Iridium user handset (radio, or transceiver) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation data measurements obtained using a GPS receiver in a RF (Radio frequency) jammed environment. More particularly, this invention provides an integrated solution to the problem of protecting GPS and Iridium user links in a continuously or intermittently jammed environment.
in this specification and its claims, the terms “jamming” and “interference” are used interchangeably, and are meant to be construed broadly to include without limitation interference signals emitted by both narrowband and broadband jammers. Similarly, the term “GPS” is to be construed broadly, and must be read to include not only the United States' Global Positioning System and its transmitted signals, but all Global Navigation Satellite Systems (“GNSS”) using CDMA (“Code Division Multiple Access”) technology and their (i.e., GNSS's) broadcast signals. For avoidance of doubt, however, the claims herein describe such systems and signals as “GPS and other GNSS” systems and signals.
In a similar vein, the term “Iridium” communication system is to be construed broadly, and must be read to include not only the iridium communication system, but also all satellite and terrestrial communication systems operating in the 950 MHz to 1.65 GHz L-band spectrum that can be received by a broadband antenna covering the 950 MHz to 1.65 GHz range.
In general, Space Time Adaptive Processing (STAP) for anti-jam (AJ) is well-known (See, e.g., textbook E. D. Kaplan, C. J. Hegarty, Understanding GPS: Principles and Applications, Artech House, 2nd edition) and has been used to suppress jamming (i.e., interfering) signals that may corrupt data transmissions from GPS satellites. The most basic STAP filter design computes the STAP filter weights vector to minimize the output power of the filter while avoiding the null weight vector solution. We refer to this solution herein as Nulling. As the GPS signals are below the receiver system noise floor while jamming signals are commonly above the noise floor, the Nulling STAP filter tends to suppress the jammer signal(s) with little attenuation of the GPS signal, unless the GPS signals and jammer signals arrive at the antenna array from similar direction(s).
By contrast, in the case of data communications satellite systems such as Iridium, the signals at the receiver are typically positive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and thus are above the noise floor of the receiver. In this case Nulling will tend to suppress not only the interference but also the desired signal. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt a STAP filter design where the filter weights minimize the output power of the filter while being constrained to maintain the gain in the desired signal (i.e., Iridium space vehicle (SV) or Link-16 terrestrial platform) direction. We refer to this solution as Beamforming, realized using a Beamformer and represented by the Capon beamforming solution See, e.g., J. Capon, “High-Resolution Frequency-Wavenumber Spectrum Analysis,” Proc. IEEE, 57(8), August 1969, pp. 1408-1418 (hereinafter “Capon”); See also, N. L. Owsley, Systolic Array Adaptive Beamforming, NUSC Tech. Rep. 7981, Naval Underwater Systems Center, Newport, R.I., and New London, Conn., 21 Sep. 1987 (hereinafter “Owsley”)).
It is beneficial to combine the protection of communication link signals, i.e., an Iridium user handset (radio) (for satellite communication) or Link data communication transceiver (for terrestrial communication), with the protection of a GPS receiver signal (for satellite navigation) employing a common wideband receive antenna and signal processing circuits to reduce the size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) of the integrated interference protection system solution for both communication and navigation receive links. The Iridium user data channel offers a means to provide the GPS receiver with aiding data in support of assisted-GPS (A-GPS) navigation operations. Since Beamforming is applied to protect the iridium signal, the computation of the STAP weights requires knowledge of the line-of-sight (LOS) vector from the platform antenna array to the Iridium SV, along with the antenna array/RF electronics response in that direction. This in turn requires platform position information obtained by the GPS receiver (which itself is protected using Nulling). Platform orientation information, similarly, may be obtained via an inertial navigation system (INS) mounted on the platform. Alternate means of accessing platform position and/or orientation, such as with the aid of magnetic sensors or visual aids, are within the scope of the instant invention and the claims herein. The Iridium satellite position is known via the almanac information, or provided by other means known to ordinary persons skilled in the art.
Presently, there is no integrated anti-jamming solution which protects both Iridium data communications and GPS user navigation signals in an efficient compact system or otherwise, thereby permitting each system to benefit from the operations of the other under interference conditions. The data communications capability of Iridium allows provision of aiding data (e.g., GPS navigation message) to GPS, and GPS position data enables setting the beam direction in the beamforming to protect Iridium.
Space-constrained military platforms, such as submarines, unmanned aerial vehicles, and aircraft, have had an evolving unmet need for concurrently protecting both Iridium communication and GPS navigation systems against jamming at a lower SWaP-C. This is achieved herein by the synergistic integration of the radio communication-navigation links, instead of simply adding the SWaP-C of two individual subsystems. No such system is currently available in any size, let alone one that is compact enough for use with the small platforms, including drones, UAVs and helicopters, where space is at a premium.
For the above reasons, compact integrated antijam (“AJ”) systems using innovative antenna array design and signal processing solutions are required to simultaneously protect the iridium and GPS user equipment against interference while allowing installation and use aboard the smaller space-constrained platforms. The preferred solution herein integrates with a small broadband antenna array capable of operating at both GPS L1 and L2 bands as well as the Iridium user band.
The present invention solves the problem of concurrently protecting the Iridium and GPS user bands against interference in a suitably efficient and compact package using a small broadband controlled reception pattern antenna (sCRPA) that provides coverage of the GPS L1 and L2 bands along with the iridium user band. The GPS L1 band is centered at 1575.42. MHz with at least a 24 MHz bandwidth to accommodate the M-Code waveform. Similarly, the GPS L2 band is centered at 1227.60 MHz with at least a 24 MHz bandwidth to accommodate the M-Code waveform. The Iridium user band is centered at 1621.25 MHz with a bandwidth of 10.5 MHz, and so (like GPS) is also an L-band waveform. The integrated system disclosed herein achieves its antijam performance and size, weight and power goals by using a common broadband antenna and common front end signal processing for both the GPS receiver and the Iridium radio handset.
The GPS/Iridium AJ system 13 implements Nulling for the protection of the GPS L1 and/or L2 band transmissions and Beamforming for the protection of the Iridium user downlink transmission. Both Nulling and Beamforming algorithms run concurrently. Algorithms are implemented in a combination of hardware (HW), such as FPGA technology, and software (SW) running on a general purpose processor (GPP). An illustrative split between HW and SW functionality appears in
An RF pathway out of the anti-jamming system to the Iridium radio is provided 16. Similarly, an RF pathway out of the anti-jamming system to the GPS receiver is provided 17. The anti-jamming system performs digital up-conversion (DUC) and then RF up-conversion (not shown) to yield the necessary RF signals required by the Iridium radio and the GPS receiver.
An inertial navigation system (INS) may interact with GPS 18 where GPS (when available) provides calibration information for the inertial measurements unit (IMU, component of the INS), and the INS provides the Iridium/GPS receiver platform attitude information used in beam pointing needed by the Beamformer.
The instant specification is better understood using the drawings below. The drawings, however, are primarily for illustration and must not to be construed as limiting.
The GPS/Iridium AJ system 13 implements Nulling for the protection of the GPS L1 and/or L2. band transmissions and Beamforming for the protection of the Iridium user downlink transmission. Both Nulling and Beamforming algorithms run concurrently. Algorithms are implemented in a combination of hardware (HW), such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) technology, and software (SW) running on a general purpose processor (GPP). An illustrative split between HW and SW functionality appears in
The Nulling solution for the protection of GPS involves computing sample covariance matrices from the complex-valued, baseband (and, optionally, mode-formed) data output from the antenna array. The inverse of the sample covariance matrix is multiplied by a pseudo-steering vector to obtain the STAP-filter's complex-valued weight vector. The pseudo-steering vector is a unit vector where the unity-valued element normally corresponds to the branch center-tap of the omni-mode in mode-formed arrays. The Nulling solution is well-known art with already known performance characteristics and so further details are not provided. See, e.g., Understanding GPS: Principles and Applications, Editors: E. D. Kaplan and C. J. Hegarty, Artech House, 2006.
The Beamforming solution is closely examined in
In this latter processing, described in further detail below, the time-domain. K-samples are Fourier transformed (e.g., via NF-bin fast Fourier transform (FFT)), and the transformed data is formed into cross-spectral density matrices (CSDMs) 24, which may also be referred to as Fourier domain sample covariance matrices (per Owsley). The CSDMs are employed in the computation of Fourier domain STAP filter weights 25 as discussed below. Inverse FFT is employed to convert the Fourier domain weights into the time-domain 25 for use in the STAP filter 26. The STAP filter employs NF taps per finite impulse response (FIR) filter branch (
Thus,
The Beamforming algorithm employed herein is Capon's algorithm (See, e.g., Capon, and Owsley). This algorithm minimizes the STAP filter output power to achieve milling of the interference, while at the same time the gain response of the STAP filter is constrained to unity to prevent nulling of the Iridium user's downlink signal.
The Fourier bin m and segment (or block) v FTT coefficients for each mode are accumulated into a length L complex-valued column vector denoted Xm,v=[X1,v(ωm) X2,v(ωm) . . . XL,v(ωm)]T in
These CSDMs are applicable for the observation time k, and the computed beamformer STAP weights (see below) apply to these same samples as well.
Following Owsley, the following quadratic programming problem (QPP), when solved using the steering vector amp (defined below), yields the Fourier domain STAP weights, {circumflex over (W)}m:
for m=0,1, . . . NF−1 in general, or only some relevant subset of these indices such as those covering the Iridium user downlink band.
The steering vector is
a
m,p
=[A
1(θp, φp, ωm) A2(θp, φp, ωm) . . . AL(θp, φp, ωm)]T∈CL (2b)
This is from pre-stored antenna pattern and includes all RF electronics effects at frequency ωm (baseband equivalent, normalized frequency scale) in the pth signal direction (θp, φp) (i.e., azimuth, elevation) over all of the available antenna array modes k=1,2, . . . , L. Thus, Ak(θ, φ, ω) represents the mode (or element, if there is no mode forming) k antenna pattern.
The linear equality constraint in (2a) constrains the STAP filter gain to be unity in the desired DOA, and across the band for which the constraints are applied. Implicitly, a linear phase response is also imposed over that band. However, the Iridium transmissions are very narrowband and so the linear phase response characteristic of the solution from solving (2a) is not critical.
From the method of Lagrange multipliers, the solution to the constrained QPP in (2a) is as follows, which is the well-known solution to the Capon beamforming weights design problem:
The computation (3) is done for bin in covering the 10.5 MHz Iridium user band at complex baseband. The Fourier domain weights for a bin that is not in this band are simply set to zero. From Equation (3) we see that a given L-element solution vector contains the Fourier domain weights for all the modes at that bin index. Thus, an implementation must search through all solution vectors to extract all of the Fourier domain weights for any given mode of interest.
The Fourier domain weights from (3) are transformed into the time-domain using the inverse FFT so that filtering may be realized using STAP.
The Beamformer design described herein has been implemented as a prototype and tested a number of times against live in-sky Iridium satellite signals with broadband (BB) injected jamming signals. The Beamforming anti-jam (AJ) test procedure used was as follows:
The scope of the invention is to be limited only by the claims, and not by the drawings or description herein. The words “including”, “comprising”, “having,” “with” and other like words used herein are to be interpreted broadly and comprehensively. Moreover, any embodiments disclosed in the subject application must not be taken as the only possible embodiments. Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the scope of the claims herein.
The present invention was made with U.S. Government support under Contract No. N68936-13-C-0131 awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The U.S. Government has certain rights to this invention.