Simulation of Dynamic Angle of Arrival Signals For Intercept Radars

Maintenance of US air superiority requires that current and future combat aircraft be equipped to counter an increasing diversity of aircraft and missiles. One cost-effective response to this requirement is the use of both computer and hardware simulation to test the response of US electronic warfare (EW) systems to different threats and engagement scenarios. Hardware EW simulations are conducted in shielded anechoic chambers both to control the test environment and to conceal the test scenarios from electronic intelligence gathering by potential adversaries. Historically, most laboratory tests of EW systems have used direct insertion of the simulated threat signals into the receivers of the system under test. Advanced airborne intercept radars currently under development use electronically steered arrays to passively locate and track other aircraft by their electromagnetic emissions. The need exists for a dynamic target simulator which emits signals that accurately simulate the signals from a distant moving target within the constraints of an RF anechoic chamber. S*R proposes to meet this requirement with a Radiated Direction of Arrival Simulator (RDAS) utilizing an array of antennas to simulate one or more moving emitters within the field of view of the passsive airborne intercept radar.