Tactical Cryptologic Exploitation of Over-The-Horizon (OTH) Radar

Navy combatant ships have a requirement to detect and track all ships, aircraft and missiles of tactical significance to the battle group. EMCON by own forces or opposing forces reduces the effectiveness of the Navy's cryptologic systems, creating a need to regain vital lost information. Over-the-horizon radars detect and track aircraft and ships at long ranges by bistatically processing ionospheric backscatter radiation. This proposal exploits the use of existing OTH radars to enhance U.S. Navy cryptologic capabilities. This work will define and develop the required signal processing algorithms, provide a system design tor bistatic processing of OTH radar signals, and evaluate the p.erformance of the recommended system design and its potential tactical value to a battle group commander.