INFORMATION FEEDBACK CONTROL FOR DIRECTING STEERABLE ESM ANTENNAS

TO KEEP PACE WITH RAPIDLY GROWING NUMBERS OF EXOTIC EMITTERS, AND TO KEEP EQUIPMENT SIZE, WEIGHT AND COST DOWN AT THE SAME TIME, FURTHER ESM SYSTEMS MUST EMPLOY INTELLIGENT INFORMATION PROCESSING PROCEDURES TO PERFORM THEIR JOBS OF GENERATING COMPLETE, ACCURATE, AND UP-TODATE "MAPS" OF THE ENEMY'S RADAR ENVIRONMENT. INTELLIGENT DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES ARE REQUIRED TO ALLOW THE ESM SYSTEM TO FOCUS ON DATA THAT ARE MOST NEEDED TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM'S PRESENT MAP OF THE ENEMY DISPOSITION. ANTENNA BEAM STEERING OFFERS ESM SYSTEMS A POWERFUL FOCUSING TOOL. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP AN INTELLIGENT BEAM SCANNING STRATEGY, BASED UPON THE PRINCIPLE OF INFORMATION FEEDBACK CONTROL (IFC), WHICH EXPLOITS AN ESM SYSTEM'S FOCUSING CAPABILITIES TO ACHIEVE THE MAPPING GOAL.