Improved Real-Time Ionospheric Compensation for Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR) Radars

The objective of this study is to identify an ionospheric model for improving, in real time, the ionospheric propagation error corrections for the ARPA long range tracking and instrumentation radar (ALTAIR) located at the Kwajalein Missile Range (KMR). The study consists of (1) performing a state-of-the-art review of the various ionospheric models, (2) designating an ionospheric model for ALTAIR based on low-latitude transionospheric propagation comparison of the various ionospheric models, (3) comparing the selected model with the present ALTAIR ionospheric model and with the electron content data rcorded at KMR, (4) identifying the ionospheric measurements which should be conducted at KMR prior to incorporating the ionospheric model in ALTAIR and (5) assessing the potential use of the ionospheric model at other geographic locations.