System for Detection, Identification, and Geolocation of Radio Emitters with low-Swap Sensors (DIGRESS)

There is currently no convenient, effective way to detect, identify, and geolocate (DIG) personal UHF/VHF radio communications devices in field operations. These are commonly used by adversary command, control, and spotter activity. The techniques used by special ops, search and rescue, and electronic warfare personnel do not satisfy this need because soldiers in field situations lack the time, mobility, highly trained personnel, specialized equipment, and airborne ELINT assets that these methods variously require. There is new opportunity in increased availability to ground forces of micro/small unmanned aerial systems (MUAS). These can provide altitude, LOS, and mobility for sensor equipment. Two main challenges remain, however: onboard payload SWAP limits direction-finding (DF) prospects, and operation of the system can still be challenging. We are developing: small, actively tuned antennas; receiver hardware, and data fusion algorithms that can overcome the limitations for traditional direction-finding (DF) systems. The system has less than one foot-pound-watt SWAP, with good DIG performance, to be verified in phase1. It will automatically collect and combine data from any available system receivers, DIG the emitters present, and show a visual summary of results, along with aids to the operator including UAV trajectories for optimal geolocation speed and accuracy.