Frequency Agile Target Array Controller

摘要

NRL has developed and operates a large number of unique test facilities to conduct its research. One such facility, the Central Target Simulator (CTS), was designed to conduct real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations over the 8-18 GHz frequency range to evaluate and improve U.S. Navy electronic warfare (EW) systems, technologies, and techniques for countering the antiship missile (ASM) threat. The CTS uses actual radio frequency (RF) system hardware (e.g., missile seekers, EW equipment) and mathematically derived computer models to perform a realistic electromagnetic and physically dynamic simulation of the various elements of naval tactical engagements. Many of the more advanced missiles that now threaten U.S. Navy ships use radar seekers with frequency agile capabilities to acquire and track their targets. In addition to rapidly reducing (decorrelating) the effects of sea clutter, frequency agile radars are also better able to resist the effects of noise and interference. For instance, noise jamming (the intentional emission of RF energy at same transmit frequency) is a common method for interfering with radar operation. However, if the missile radar is frequency agile, effective jamming becomes more difficult to achieve because of the need to either spread RF energy over the full agility bandwidth or make an intelligent prediction of the next incoming transmitted frequency (which can be very difficult in a tactical scenario). Accordingly, NRL is actively pursuing the development of effective countermeasure technologies for such threat systems, and the CTS facility was recently upgraded to generate RF target returns that accurately follow the pulse-to-pulse frequency agile transmissions for such seekers.