Threat signal detection system

• US 5,291,199 A
• Filed: 01/06/1977
• Issued: 03/01/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS Inc.))
• Inventors: Crosby, Sabra R., Hensel, Emil, Klein, Donald B., Overman, Kelly C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Application Number:
  US05/757,404
• Time in Patent Office: 6,263 Days
• Field of Search: 343/117 R, 343/18 E, 343/55 A, 324/77 R, 324/77 B, 324/77 C, 324/77 CS, 324/77 D, 342/13, 342/175
• US Class Current: 342/13
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/021 Auxiliary means for detecting or identifying radar signals or the like, e.g. radar jamming signals

Abstract

A tracking system for predicting the incidence of threat signals having at least one beam at a predetermined location in space in which a receiver detects the incidence of the threat signals at the predetermined location, a tracker cooperates with the receiver to predict the detection of threat signals by the receiver, and a controller condenses threat signals from harmonically related beams of a pulse group detected by the receiver and controls the predictions of the tracker in response to the characteristics of the condensed threat signals.

Claims

1. A tracking system for predicting the incidence of threat signals having at least one beam at a predetermined location in space, said system comprising:

a receiver for detecting the incidence of the threat signals;

a tracker that cooperates with said receiver to predict the detection of a threat signal by the receiver; and

a controller that condenses threat signals from harmonically related beams of a pulse group detected by the receiver in response to a command signal from said controller, and that controls the predictions of said tracker in response to characteristics of the condensed threat signals.

2. A method for detecting radar threat signals, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting a group of radar beams having predetermined radar transmission characteristics; and

condensing at least one subgroup of pulses which have substantially equivalent carrier frequency and harmonically related pulse repetition intervals from the detected group of radar beams to detect at least one threat signal having a plurality of pulse stagger levels with at least one pulse repetition interval nonidentical to the others.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said condensing step includes:

determining the cycle time of the threat signal in response to the lowest common multiple of the beams in a condensed harmonic group and the shortest pulse repetition interval of the harmonic group;

standardizing the beams of the harmonic group with respect to the beam having a first time of arrival;

establishing an array of pulses detected within the determined cycle time;

deleting duplicate beams from the harmonic group;

finding the shortest repeating pattern in the established array of pulses; and

determining the stagger range of the threat signal.

4. A threat signal radar detection system including a radar receiver for receiving radar beams constituting a plurality of threat signals, said system comprising a controller for condensing from said received radar beams at least one group of pulses which have substantially equivalent carrier frequency content and harmonically related pulse repetition intervals to detect at least one threat signal, having a plurality of pulse stagger levels with at least one pulse repetition interval being nonidentical to the others, from the plurality of received threat signals.

5. A radar detection system in accordance with claim 4 wherein the controller condenses the at least one group of pulses from the radar beams received from the receive during predetermined dwell times.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein said controller determines the cycle time of the at least one detected threat signal from the lowest common multiple of the beams in a harmonic group and the shortest pulse repetition interval of the harmonic group, standardizes the beams of the harmonic group with respect to the beam having a first time of arrival, establishes an array of pulses detected within one cycle time, deletes duplicate beams of the harmonic group, finds the shortest repeating pattern in the array of pulses, and determines the stagger range of the threat signal.