Geolocations with Distributed Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) Sensors

SSPI proposes to developa SIGINT tool thatwould produce high-accuracy emitter position estimatesfor a large class of measurement types including propagation time (PT),time difference of arrival (TDOA), frequency difference ofarrival (FDOA), and angle ofarrival (AOA). If the sourceis known to be near the surface of the earth and a digitizedterrain map is provided, this information can be used to enhancethe quality of the estimate. The robustnessand general applicability of the proposed MaximumLikelihoodapproach make it ideally suitedfor high-accuracy geolocation through the combining of multiple geo-observables from distinct types of SIGINT sensors.The proposed general-purpose geolocation technique can be used for law enforcement and emergencyservices to locate a transmitter. The technique is also applicable for FCC to locate unauthorized transmitters. Another potentional applicationis to locate malfunctioning or modified radios in a cellular or PCS communicationssystem.