Explosive device countermeasures

• US 7,987,068 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2009
• Issued: 07/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co., Curators of the University of Missouri (University of Missouri)
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co., Curators of the University of Missouri (University of Missouri)
• Inventors: Schultz, Eugene M., Niksch, Richard A., Curry, Randy D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barbee; Manuel L
• Application Number:
  US12/411,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20090182525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: 702/127, 250/250, 324/637
• US Class Current: 702/127
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/136 Magnetic, electromagnetic, acoustic or radiation systems, e.g. ground penetrating radars or metal-detectors
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/32 Decoy or sacrificial vehicles; Decoy or sacrificial devices attachable to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 13/0068 the high-energy beam being of microwave type, e.g. for causing a heating effect in the target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/38 Jamming means, e.g. producing false echoes
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 3/62 by exposing communication, processing or storing systems to electromagnetic wave radiation, e.g. causing disturbance, disruption or damage of electronic circuits, or causing external injection of faults in the information

Abstract

A method and system for mitigating the effectiveness of IEDs are disclosed. The method can include detecting IEDs by sensing the presence of a non-linear electronic component of an IED. The presence of a non-linear electronic component of the IED can be detected by illuminating the device with a high power microwave signal containing a plurality of radio frequencies of electromagnetic radiation and receiving sum and/or difference frequency components that are produced by interaction of the illuminating signals with a non-linear IED component and subsequently re-radiated.

Claims

1. A method for mitigating effectiveness of an improvised explosive device (IED), the method comprising:

detecting a presence of the IED by detecting a presence of a non-linear electronic component of the IED, wherein detecting the presence of the non-linear component of the IED comprises;

illuminating the IED with a first signal containing a first plurality of frequencies and having a comparatively wide beam, and

receiving a first complex signal return including at least one of sum or difference frequencies or harmonics produced by interaction of the first signal with one or more of the LED'"'"'s non-linear components;

in response to detecting the presence of the IED, verifying the presence of the IED by determining whether a signature of the first complex signal return is consistent with expected IED signatures;

in response to verifying the presence of the IED, determining a location of the IED by;

illuminating the IED with a second signal containing a second plurality of frequencies and having a comparatively narrow beam,

receiving a second complex signal return including at least one of sum or difference frequencies or harmonics produced by interaction of the second signal with one or more of the IED'"'"'s non-linear components, wherein the second plurality of frequencies are higher than the first plurality of frequencies, and determining a round-trip propagation time of the second signal and the second complex signal return; and

in response to determining the location of the IED, disabling the IED by directing a burst of electromagnetic radiation to the determined location of the IED.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the frequencies of the first signal comprise at least two frequencies of microwave radiation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the verifying comprises comparing at least one of sum or difference frequencies or harmonics of the first complex signal with stored signature data in order to confirm detection of the IED.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the frequencies of the second signal comprise at least two frequencies of microwave radiation, wherein the second signal is transmitted by a narrow beam antenna.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second complex signal is a microwave signal, wherein the receiving the second complex signal is performed using a narrow receive beam.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the second complex signal comprises receiving microwave re-radiated energy, wherein the determining the location of the IED comprises using a highest available frequency component of the re-radiated energy.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the disabling the IED comprises illuminating the IED with a burst of comparatively higher power microwave radiation using a comparatively narrow beam antenna.

8. A system for mitigating effectiveness of an improvised explosive device (IED), the system comprising:

a first transmitter and a first transmit antenna for illuminating the IED with a first signal containing a first plurality of frequencies and having a comparatively wide beam;

a first receiver and a first receive antenna for receiving a first complex signal return including at least one of sum or difference frequencies or harmonics produced by interaction of the first signal with one or more of the IED'"'"'s non-linear components to detect a presence of the IED;

a detection verification system for verifying a presence of the IED in response to the detected presence of the IED based on whether a signature of the first complex signal return is consistent with expected IED signatures;

a second transmitter and a second transmit antenna for illuminating the IED with a second signal containing a second plurality of frequencies and having a comparatively narrow beam;

a second receiver and a second receive antenna for receiving a second complex signal return including at least one of sum or difference frequencies or harmonics produced by interaction of the second signal with one or more of the IED'"'"'s non-linear components to determine a round-trip propagation time of the second signal and the second complex signal return and a location of the IED in response to the verified presence of the IED, wherein the second plurality of frequencies are higher than the first plurality of frequencies; and

a third transmitter and a third transmit antenna for disabling the IED in response to the determined location of the IED by directing a burst of electromagnetic radiation to the determined location of the IED.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first transmitter is a microwave transmitter.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the first transmitter is a dual band microwave transmitter.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the first transmitter is a high power microwave transmitter.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the first transmitter is a wide beam microwave transmitter.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the first receiver is tuned to a specific frequency component of a re-radiated signal from the IED.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the third transmitter is a high power burst transmitter for rendering IEDs ineffective.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the third transmitter is a high power microwave burst transmitter for rendering IEDs ineffective.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the second antenna has a relatively narrow beam.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein the first antenna has a relatively wide beam.

18. The system of claim 8, wherein the first, second, and third transmit antennas and the first and second receive antennas are dedicated antennas.

19. The system of claim 8, wherein two or more of the first, second, and third transmit antennas and the first and second receive antennas are shared antennas.

20. The system of claim 8, wherein the first, second, and third transmitters and the first and second receivers are dedicated transmitters and receivers.

21. The system of claim 8, wherein two or more of the first, second, and third transmitters and the first and second receivers are shared transceivers.

22. A system for locating an improvised explosive device (IED), the system comprising:

means for detecting a presence of the IED by detecting a presence of a non-linear electronic component of the IED, the detecting means comprising;

means for illuminating the IED with a first signal containing a first plurality of frequencies and having a comparatively wide beam, and

means for receiving a first complex signal return including at least one of sum or difference frequencies or harmonics produced by interaction of the first signal with one or more of the IED'"'"'s non-linear components;

means for verifying the presence of the IED by determining whether a signature of the first complex signal return is consistent with expected IED signatures in response to the detecting means;

means for determining a location of the IED in response to the verifying means, the determining means comprising;

means for illuminating the IED with a second signal containing a second plurality of frequencies and having a comparatively narrow beam,

means for receiving a second complex signal return including at least one of sum or difference frequencies or harmonics produced by interaction of the second signal with one or more of the IED'"'"'s non-linear components, wherein the second plurality of frequencies are higher than the first plurality of frequencies, and

means for determining a round-trip propagation time of the second signal and the second complex signal return; and

means for disabling the IED by directing a burst of electromagnetic radiation to the determined location of the IED in response to the determining means.