Real time passive threat positioning system

• US 5,406,286 A
• Filed: 11/17/1992
• Issued: 04/11/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honeywell Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Garsik, Michael J., Tran, My, Rasinski, John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sotomayor, John B.
• Application Number:
  US07/977,328
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 342/13, 342/14, 342/15, 342/16, 342/17, 342/18, 342/19, 342/20, 342/189, 342/192, 342/195
• 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 data correlated real time passive threat positioning system uses parallel estimated navigation filters. A threat data correlation process accepts radar warning receiver track file data and generates correlated threat data. A threat data management system and a raw threat positioning system accepts aircraft heading and angle of arrival of the threat to generate a threat status indicator and a threat position measurement. Navigation filtering management apparatus accepts the threat status indicators and provide position filter controls. Parallel estimation navigation filters use the position filter control and the threat of position measurements to generate estimated threat positions for a number of threats. The estimated threat positions are updated and threat situation awareness is presented to the pilot in real-time. Elevation extraction apparatus uses a terrain data base and the threat estimated position to predict the elevation of the threat. Threat data including latitude, longitude and elevation is provided to other systems.

Claims

1. A real time passive threat positioning apparatus for an aircraft survivability equipment system comprising:

(a) a threat data correlation apparatus having a radar warning receiver track file input and a correlated threat data output;

(b) a threat data management apparatus having an input connected to said correlated threat data output and a threat status indicator output;

(c) a raw threat positioning apparatus having an angle of arrival input operatively connected to an angle of arrival threat data output, an aircraft heading input and a navigational vector input, said raw threat positioning apparatus providing a threat position measurement output;

(d) a navigation filtering management apparatus for controlling estimation filters and having a filter information input operatively connected to said threat status indicator output, said navigation filtering management apparatus providing a filter position control output; and

(e) at least one parallel estimated navigation filter apparatus for estimating at least one estimated threat position, said parallel estimated navigation filter apparatus providing an output and having an input connected to said filter position control output and at least one input connected to said threat position measurement output.

2. The real time passive threat positioning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said parallel estimated navigation filter apparatus comprises a kalman filter.

3. The real time passive threat positioning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the estimated threat positions are communicated from said parallel estimated navigation filter means to a threat data update apparatus for displaying the threats on a multifunction display.

4. The real time passive threat positioning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the estimated threat positions are provided to an elevation extraction apparatus for determining the elevation of the threat.

5. The real time passive threat positioning apparatus of claim 4 wherein said elevation extraction apparatus comprises a terrain reference navigation data base means, wherein the elevation of the estimated threat is determined from said terrain data base means.

6. The real time passive threat positioning apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a user data module operatively connected to said elevation extraction apparatus.

7. The real time passive threat positioning apparatus of claim 1 wherein said threat data management apparatus provides a status indication of whether a threat is an old threat or a new threat on said threat status indicator output.

9. The real time passive threat positioning apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for providing threats in real time to one or more airborne platforms, space platforms and ground bases.

8. A real time passive threat positioning data correlation method comprising the steps of:

(a) reading current threat data from a radar warning receiver;

(b) comparing old threat data to the current radar warning receiver threat data and determining if the old threat data is the same as the current threat data, if it is, returning to step (a);

(c) correlating the current radar jammer receiver threat data with a radar warning receiver converted threat data base and determining if there is a correlation, if there is not a correlation, providing the identified uncorrelated threat to an aircraft survivability system, switching the current threat to be the old threat and reverting to step (a);

(d) tagging the identified threat as the correlated threat to the system;

(e) identifying all threat data radar jammer not in common with threat data from the radar warning receiver;

(f) converting the current threat to be the old threat; and

(g) reverting to step (a).

10. An integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus comprising:

(a) data bus means having a data bus control input;

(b) means for aircraft survivability integration having a multifunction display output, a data bus control output connected to the data bus control input, a radar warning receiver control output, a pulsed radar jammer control output, a continuous wave radar jammer control output, and a missile approach detector control output said means for aircraft survivability further including a real time passive threat positioning means and a threat positioning output;

(c) radar warning receiver means connected to said data bus means, said radar warning receiver means having a radar warning receiver control input connected to said radar warning receiver control output;

(d) pulsed radar jammer means connected to said data bus means, said pulsed radar jammer means having a pulsed radar jammer control input connected to said pulsed radar jammer control output;

(e) continuous wave radar jammer means connected to said data bus means said continuous wave radar jammer means having a continuous wave radar jammer control input connected to said continuous wave radar jammer control output;

(f) missile approach detector means connected to said data bus means, said missile approach detector means having a missile approach detector control input connected to said missile approach detector control output; and

(g) multifunction display means having a multifunction display input connected to the multifunction display output, the multifunction display means further connected to a keyboard control unit.

11. The integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus of claim 10 further comprising means for providing estimated threat positions to threat data update means for displaying the threats on said multifunction display.

12. The integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus of claim 11 further comprising means for providing estimated threat positions to elevation extraction means for determining the elevation of the threat.

13. The integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus of claim 12 wherein the elevation extraction means further comprises a terrain reference navigation data base means for positioning the estimated threat within the data base means and for determining the elevation from the terrain data base means.

14. The integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus of claim 10 further comprising a user data module.

15. The integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus of claim 10 wherein said real time passive threat positioning means comprises means for correlating data from said radar warning receiver means.

16. The integrated aircraft survivability apparatus of claim 10 comprising means for providing threats in real time to airborne platforms, space platforms and ground bases.

17. The integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus of claim 10 wherein said means for aircraft survivability integration comprises a threat avoidance control output and the integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus further comprises threat avoidance means having a threat avoidance input connected to said threat avoidance control output.

18. The integrated aircraft survivability equipment apparatus of claim 10 wherein said means for aircraft survivability integration further comprises a decoy dispenser control output and said integrated aircraft survivability equipment state machine apparatus further comprises decoy dispenser means having a decoy dispenser input connected to the decoy dispenser control output.