Geo-location of jamming signals

• US 10,254,411 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2014
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MBDA UK Ltd. (MBDA SAS)
• Original Assignee: MBDA UK Ltd. (MBDA SAS)
• Inventors: Littlefield, Colin Aaron, Whitworth, Timothy, Ying, Yeqiu, Wallis, Graham Patrick, Dumville, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Issing, Gregory C.
• Application Number:
  US14/916,646
• Publication Number:
  US 20160349375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/03 Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/21 Interference related issues ; Issues related to cross-correlation, spoofing or other methods of denial of service
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/215 issues related to spoofing
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/06 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/22 including jamming detection and monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/90 related to allowing or preventing navigation or positioning, e.g. GPS

Abstract

A ground-based source of a jamming signal capable of disrupting a GNSS satellite-based navigation system, for example a GPS jammer, is located with a detector carried by a suitable platform, for example an airborne UAV or missile. The detector, when the platform is at a first location, measures a characteristic of the jamming signal. The platform and its detector are then moved to a chosen second location, from which a further measurement of the jamming signal is made. The measurements made by the detector are then used to determine the location of the source of the jamming signal.

Claims

1. A method of locating a ground-based source of a jamming signal capable of disrupting a satellite-based navigation system, wherein the method comprises using a detector at locations on a path to make measurements of one or more characteristics of the jamming signal, the method comprising the following steps:

using the detector at a first location on the path to make one or more of the measurements;

choosing a second location on the path from which one or more further of the measurements are to be made by the detector;

moving the detector from the first location to the second location;

using the detector at the second location to make said one or more further measurements;

choosing a third location on the path from which one or more yet further of the measurements are to be made by the detector, the third location being displaced from the straight line passing through both the first and second locations;

moving the detector to the third location;

using the detector at the third location to make the one or more yet further measurements;

calculating at least one other location based on one or more of the previous measurements made by the detector from which one or more additional of the measurements are to be made;

moving the detector to the at least one calculated other location;

using the detector at the at least one calculated other location to make the one or more additional measurements; and

using measurements made by the detector of the one or more characteristics of the jamming signal to determine a location of the source of the jamming signal.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of choosing the second and third locations are effected by means of the detector having a pre-set path of movement shaped to provide a multiplicity of locations spaced apart in at least two orthogonal directions.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the pre-set path of movement includes movement along at least two different curved paths, the detector undergoing rotational movement of more than 270 degrees.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of choosing the second and third locations are effected in dependence on one or more previous measurements made by the detector and such that the first, second and third locations are spaced apart in at least two orthogonal directions.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the third location is chosen in dependence on the location judged to be the most likely position of source of the jamming signal.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the measurements made by the detector include the strength of the jamming signal and the measurements made by the detector of the strength of the signal as measured at a multiplicity of different locations are used to determine the location of the source of the jamming signal.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the measurements are made at a multiplicity of locations sufficiently spaced apart in at least two orthogonal directions for measurements from such locations to be sufficient for locating the position of the source of the jamming signal.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises a step of confirming the location of the source of the jamming signal with the use of a secondary detector which measures characteristics of the source of the jamming signal other than characteristics of the jamming signal itself.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein when the detector is at the first location one or more characteristics of the jamming signal are measured by means of two spatially separated antennae associated with the detector.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the jamming signal has characteristics such that relative time of arrival information may be extracted from the jamming signal and the method includes a step of extracting relative time of arrival information from the measurements made at the first and second locations and using such information when determining the location of the source of the jamming signal.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method includes:

notionally dividing a space covering the possible location of the source of the jamming signal into a multiplicity of cells,

using the measurements made by the detector to calculate for each cell a probability of the jammer signal source being located in that cell,

making successive further measurements with the detector at different locations and updating after each successive further measurement the probabilities allocated to the cells, and

predicting the location of the jammer source as being in a cell or in one of a plurality of cells grouped together after a certain level of confidence is reached.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein

once the probability of the source of the jamming signal being located within a given cell falls below a threshold, the location of the jammer source is assumed not to be in that cell, and, consequently

the step of updating the probabilities allocated to the cells after subsequent measurements is performed only in respect of the remaining cells after omitting the one or more cells discounted as being sufficiently improbable locations of the jammer.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the detector forms part of, or is carried by, an airborne vehicle moving at a speed greater than 10 meters per second.

14. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of targeting and destroying the source of the jamming signal.

17. A method according to claim 11, wherein once the location of the jammer source has been predicted to be in a cell, the method further increases the precision of the detected location of the jammer source by sub-dividing the cell into smaller cells and repeating the method of claim 11.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a detector for measuring one or more characteristics of a jamming signal capable of disrupting a satellite-based navigation system;

a processor; and

a memory storing a jammer location and likelihood computation module and a fly-path computation and prediction module, the processor when executing the jammer location and likelihood module and the fly-path computation and prediction module is configured to;

choose a fly-path comprising a first location, a second location, a third location and at least one further location;

receive detection results from the detector from the first location, the second location, the third location and the at least one further location, the detection results indicating measurements of the one or more characteristics of the jamming signal at respective locations, wherein the at least one further location is calculated based one or more previous detection results; and

determine a location of a ground-based source of the jamming signal from the detection results.

16. An airborne vehicle comprising

a detector for measuring one or more characteristics of a jamming signal capable of disrupting a satellite-based navigation system;

a processor; and

a memory storing a jammer location and likelihood computation module and a fly-path computation and prediction module, the processor when executing the jammer location and likelihood module and the fly-path computation and prediction module is configured to;

choose a fly-path comprising a first location, a second location, a third location and at least one further location;

receive detection results from the detector from the first location, the second location, the third location and the at least one further location, the detection results indicating measurements of the one or more characteristics of the jamming signal at respective locations, wherein the at least one further location is calculated based one or more previous detection results; and

determine a location of a ground-based source of the jamming signal from the detection results.