MODULE 4

RADARS/ ELINT AND PROCESSING OF DIGITAL SIGS

HANDLING DIGITAL SIGS

1. Basics of Digital Sigs

a. Characteristics of Digital Signals
(1) Bit Interval. It is the time required to send one single bit.
(2) Bit Rate. It refers to the number of bit intervals in one second.
Therefore bit rate is the number of bits sent in one second. Bit rate
is expressed in bits per second (bps). Other units used to express
bit rate are Kbps, Mbps and Gbps. Detail is as fol:-
(a) 1 kilobit per second (Kbps) = 1,000 bits per second
(b) 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) = 1,000,000 bits per second
(c) 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) = 1,000,000,000 bits per
second

(3) Pulse. Pulse is a single disturbance that moves through a

transmission medium. This medium may be vacuum (in case of
electromagnetic radiations) or matter.
(4) Pulse Width. Pulse width (PW) sometimes called pulse duration
(PD), is the time that the transmitter is sending out RF energy.
PW is measured in microseconds.
(5) Pulse Repetition Frequency. Pulse Repetition Frequency
(PRF) is one of the most important characteristics of a pulse
radar signal. PRF is the rate at which pulses or pulse groups
are transmitted. Generally PRF is the number of pulses generated
per second. It is expressed in hertz (Hz).
(6) Pulse Repetition Interval. Pulse Repetition Interval (PRI) Pulse
Repetition Interval is also known as pulse repetition time (PRT).
PRI is the time required for a complete transmission cycle. This
is the time from the beginning of one pulse of RF energy to the
beginning of the next. PRI is measured in microseconds.
 (7) Rest Time. Rest time is the time between the end of one
transmitted pulse and the beginning of the next. It represents the
total time that the Radar is not transmitting. Rest time is measured
in microseconds.
(8) Peak Power. The power output of radar is normally expressed in
terms of peak power or average power. Peak power is the
amplitude, or power, of an individual radar pulse. It is simply the
power, measured in watts or megawatts that are radiated when the
transmitter is on. The power radar transmits is normally used to
determine the maximum detection range of that radar.
(9) Antenna Pattern. Antenna pattern is the directional dependence of
strength of radio waves from antenna or another source.
Antenna pattern describes how antenna radiates energy out into
space or how it receives energy.
(10) Beam Forming. It is a signal processing technique used in
conjunction with an array of antennas to provide reception. It
allows forming pencil beams to receive a signal radiating from a
specific location.
(11) Signal to Noise Ratio (S/N). The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio is
defined as comparison of desired signal level and background
noise level. It is a measure of the ability of the victim Radar to
detect targets.
(12) Recovery Time (RT). Recovery time (RT) is the time immediately
following transmission time during which the receiver is unable
to process returning radar energy.
(13) Listening Time (LT). Listening time (LT) is the time the receiver
can process target returns. Listening time is measured from the
end of the recovery time to the beginning of the next pulse.
Listening time in measured in microseconds.
(14) Range Resolution. Range resolution is the ability of a radar
system to distinguish between two or more targets on the same
 bearing but at different ranges. The degree of range resolution
depends on the width of the transmitted pulse, the types and sizes of
targets, and the efficiency of the receiver and indicator.
(15) Antenna Gain. Antenna gain indicates how strong a signal an
antenna can send or receive in specified direction. Antenna gain as
a parameter measures the directionality of a given antenna. An
antenna with low antenna gain emits radiation in all directions
equally, whereas a high gain antenna will preferentially radiate in
particular directions.
(16) Data is represented in a digital system as a vector of binary
variables.
(17) Digital Systems can provide accuracy (dynamic range) limited only
by the number of bits used to represent a variable.
(18) Digital systems are less prone to error than analog systems.
(19) Data representation in a digital system is suitable for error
detection and correction.
b. Advantages of Digital Signals
(1) Digital Data. Digital transmission certainly has the
advantage where binary computer data is being transmitted. The
equipment required to convert digital data to analog format and
transmitting the digital bit streams over an analog network can be
expensive, susceptible to failure, and can create errors in
information.
(2) Compression. Digital data can be compressed relatively easily,
thereby increasing the efficiency of transmission. As a result,
substantial volumes of voice, data, video and image information can
be transmitted using relatively little raw bandwidth.
(3) Security. Digital systems offer better security. While analog
systems offer some measure of security through the scrambling of
several frequencies. Scrambling is fairly simple to defeat. Digital
information, on the other hand, can be encrypted to create the
appearance of a single, pseudorandom bit stream. Thereby, the true
meaning of individual bits, sets of bits, or the total bit stream cannot
be determined without having the key to unlock the encryption
algorithm employed.
(4) Quality. Digital transmission offers improved error performance
(quality) as compared to analog. This is due to the devices that
boost the signal at periodic intervals in the transmission system in
order to overcome the effects of attenuation. Additionally, digital
networks deal more effectively with noise, which always is present in
transmission networks.
(5) Cost. The cost of the computer components required in digital
conversion and transmission has dropped considerably, while the
ruggedness and reliability of those components has increased over
the years.
c. Formulation of EOB & Linkage with Other Sensors
(1) EOB. An electronic order of battle is a listing of non-
communications emitters and its parameters, nomenclature,
location, site function and any other pertinent information obtained by
ELINT system that has military significance.
(2) Electronic Tactical Situation Picture (eTSP). ELINT systems
at a tactical level, provides near-real-time information which can
be fused into the Electronic Order of Battle (EOB) for situational
awareness and then can further be fused with other intelligence
data from the ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance) system to develop a common operational
picture of the battlefield which is known as the Electronic Tactical
Situation Picture (eTSP). EOB is fused with threat library and data
from other ISR sources to produce eTSP.
(3) EW Operation Centre (EWOC). EWOC is operation centre where
eTSP and EOB are analysed and decisions are taken. Flowchart of
EWOC is shown in Figure.

EWOC Flow Chart

(4) Formulation of EOB. Generating an electronic order of
battle (EOB) requires identifying SIGINT emitters in an area of
interest, determining their geographic location or range of mobility,
 characterizing their signals, and, where possible, determining their
role in the broader organizational order of battle.

(5) Extraction of eTSP from EOB. After the formulation of EOB and
signal analysis on intercepted signals a tactical situation picture of
on ground activity is extracted. This eTSP will give us the
information of enemy’s on ground environment. It will provide the
real time information such as their deployment of emitters.
 INTRO TO RADAR/ ELINT

1. Basics of RADAR/ ELINT

a. RADAR. Radar is acronym for ‘’Radio Detection And Ranging’’. Radar

is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the objects
and their location, angle or velocity. The IEEE (Institute of electrical and
electronic engineers) and NATO has officially standardized the RADAR
frequency band nomenclature as summarized

Frequency IEEE NATO

Range Standard Standard

3-30 MHz HF A Band

30-250 MHz
VHF
0.25-0.3 GHz B Band

0.3-0.5 GHz UHF

 Frequency IEEE NATO
Range Standard Standard

0.5-1 GHz C Band

1-2 GHz L Band D Band

2-3 GHz E Band

S Band
3-4 GHz F Band

4-6 GHz G Band

C Band
6-8 GHz H Band

8-10 GHz I Band

X Band
10-12 GHz

12-18 GHz Ku Band J Band

18-20 GHz
K Band
20-27 GHz
K Band
27-40 GHz Ka Band

40-60 GHz L Band

W Band
60-100 GHz M Band

IEEE and NATO Standard Frequency Bands

b. RADAR Working Principle. The electronic principle on which Radar

operates is very similar to the principle of sound-wave reflection.
Radar uses EM energy pulses and the radio frequency (RF) energy is
transmitted to and reflected from the reflecting object. A small portion
of the reflected energy returns to the Radar set. This returned
energy is called an echo. Radar uses the echo to determine the direction
and distance of the reflecting object. It refers to electronic equipment that
detects the presence of objects by using reflected EM energy. This permits
 Radar systems to determine the position of airplanes, ships or other
obstacles that are invisible to the naked eye because of distance,
darkness or weather. Under some conditions a Radar system can
measure the direction, height, distance, course and speed of these
objects.

Radar Principle

Radar Block Diagram

c. Types of RADAR
(1) Types of RADAR by Topology. Types of RADARs according to
its topology are:-
(a) Monostatic RADAR. A RADAR arrangement in which the
transmitter and the receiver are located in the same place
and usually form the same piece of RADAR equipment.
(b) Bistatic RADAR. A bistatic RADAR consists of separately

located (by a considerable distance) transmitting and

receiving sites.
(c) Multistatic RADARs. Multistatic RADAR consists of
multiple, spatially diverse transmitters and/or receivers.

(d) Over The Horizon RADAR. Over the horizon RADAR

is a type of RADAR system with the ability to detect targets
at very long ranges, typically hundreds to thousands of
kilometers, beyond the RADAR horizon.
Over The Horizon RADAR
 (2) Types of RADAR by Application
(a) Ground Surveillance RADAR (GSR). GSR also known as
battle field surveillance RADARs (BFSR) are used to detect
and track movement of troops, vehicles, low flying aircraft etc.
(b) Air Surveillance RADAR. Air Surveillance RADAR system
used to detect and track the aircrafts.
(c) Track-While-Scan (TWS) RADARs. It can track one or
more targets while continuing to look for more targets.
(d) Monopulse RADARs. Measure target characteristics/
information from each received pulse (rather than from
sequences of several pulses).
2. Jamming Tech Related to Radar
a. Radar jamming. Radar jamming is one principal component of
electronic combat. Specially, it is the electronic attack (EA) component
of electronic warfare (EW). Radar jamming is designed to counter the
Radar systems that play a vital role in support of an enemy operation. The
primary purpose of radar jamming is to create confusion and deny critical
information to negate the effectiveness of enemy Radar systems.
b. Types of Radar Jamming
(1) Noise Jamming. Noise jamming is produced by modulating a RF
carrier wave with noise, or random amplitude changes, and
transmitting that wave at the victim radar frequency. It relies on high
power levels to saturate the radar receiver and deny range and,
occasionally, azimuth and elevation information to the victim Radar.
Noise jamming takes advantage of the extreme sensitivity of the
radar receiver and the transmission pattern of the Radar antenna to
deny critical information to the victim radar.
(2) Deceptive Jamming. Basic concept of deceptive jamming is to
produce a pulse of radio signal similar to the one that the target
radar would produce when it reflects off the aircraft. Such jamming
 can be defeated by tracking original Radar signal and extracting its
pulse repetition frequency (PRF).
(3) Barrage Jamming. Barrage jamming is a jamming technique
where high power is sacrificed for the continuous coverage of
several radar frequencies. The jamming signal is spread over a
wide frequency range, which lowers the ERP at any one frequency.
This type of jamming is useful against frequency agile radars,
against a radar system that uses multiple beams, or against
multiple radar systems operating in a specific frequency range. By
spreading the jamming over a wide frequency range, there is
some level of jamming no matter what frequency the radar uses.
(4) Spot Jamming. One way to take advantage of the noise jammer's
simplicity, but raise the jamming signal power, is to use a spot
jammer. The earliest spot jammers were very narrow band
jammers covering a bandwidth of 10 megahertz or less. This narrow
band spot jammer was tuned to the anticipated frequency of the
target radar. When it is necessary to jam a number of radars at
different frequencies, more than one jammer is used. The jamming
signal can be adjusted for any changes in the operating frequency of
the radar.
(5) Swept-Spot Jamming. When high power density is required over a
large bandwidth, one solution is to take spot jamming and sweep it
across a wide frequency range. This preserves the high power
density but allows the jamming to cover a large bandwidth. The
jamming spot is swept across a broad frequency range at varying
speeds. With this technique, a number of radar systems can
be covered. Because of their high jamming power, swept-spot
jammers are able to cover a number of radars operating in a broad
frequency range. However, jamming is not continuous. Fast swept-
spot jamming can approximate continuous jamming by causing a
phenomenon known as ringing.
Military Applications of RADAR
1. Use in Air Defense. In air defense, radar is used for long range air
surveillance, short range detection of low altitude “pop up” targets, weapon control,
missile guidance, non-co-operative target recognition and battle damage assessment.
The proximity fuze in many weapons is also an example of a radar. An excellent
measure of the success of radar for military air defense is the large amounts of money
that have been spent on methods to counter its effectiveness. These include electronic
countermeasures and other aspects of electronic warfare, antiradiation missiles to home
on radar signals and low cross section aircraft and ships. Radar is also used by the
military for reconnaissance, targeting over land or sea as well as surveillance over the
sea.
2. Use in Battlefield. In the battlefield radar is asked to perform the functions of air
surveillance (including surveillance of aircraft, helicopters, missiles and unmanned
airborne vehicles) control of weapons to an air intercept hostile weapons, location
(mortars, artillery and rockets), detection of intruding personnel and control of air
traffic.
3. Use for Ballistic Missile Defense. The use of radar for ballistic missile
defense has been of interest ever since the threat of ballistic missiles arose in the late
1950s. The longer ranges, high supersonic speeds and the smaller target size of
ballistic missiles make the problem challenging. There is no natural clutter problem in
space as there is for defense against aircraft, but ballistic missiles can appear in the
presence of a large number of extraneous confusion targets and other
countermeasures that an attacker can launch to accompany the reentry vehicle
carrying a warhead. The basic ballistic missile defense problem becomes more of a
target recognition problem rather than detection and tracking. The need for warning of
the approach of ballistic missiles has resulted in a number of different types of radars
for performing such a function. Similarly radars have been deployed that are capable
of detecting and tracking satellites.
4. Use in Tactical Air Control. Both airborne and shipboard radars are a
major link in an operational system. It directs fighter aircrafts to a favorable position
for intercepting enemy aircraft. The air control officer can determine the number of
fighters so they can successfully attack and destroy the enemy. Airborne early warning
(AEW) aircraft, equipped with high-powered radars, are used in tactical air control.
These aircraft extend the range of air control radar by operating in areas outside the
range of the shipboard or land-based radar. The Aviation Electronics Technician (AT)
rating maintains AEW equipment.
5. Use in Fire Control. The highly directional characteristics of radar make it
suited for directing fire control systems. Focusing the radar energy into a narrow beam
enables it to display target position with a high degree of accuracy. At the same time,
it also displays target range. The primary purpose of fire control radar is to determine
the correct position and altitude of the aircraft. Radar, in its early stages of
development, was useful as an aid to the human eye under poor visibility conditions. It
also provided a more accurate and faster means of range measurement. Presently, it
provides a faster and more accurate method of directing fire control than is humanly
possible. This feature is extremely important considering the high speeds of today’s
aircraft and missiles. The time available to launch an intercept weapon effectively is
measured in fractions of a second.
6. Identification of Friend or Fo e (IFF). The problem of distinguishing
friend from foe in warfare has increased be- cause of the increased speed of aircraft
and ships. Radar can detect both sea and air targets at long range. However, it
displays both friend and enemy similarly on the scope. It is not practical to wait until
the target has been visually identified to begin preparing for battle. A method other
than visual recognition must be used for early identification of the target. IFF is an
electronic system that allows a friendly craft to identify itself automatically before
approaching near enough to threaten the security of other naval units. A transponder
in the friendly aircraft receives a radio-wave challenge (interrogation). The transponder
transmits a response to a proper challenge. Upon receiving the proper challenge, the
transponder automatically transmits a coded reply, which tells the challenger that a
friend has been challenged. The transponder stays in a standby condition and
transmits only when the proper challenge is received. The challenger’s receiver
accepts the reply of the challenged target and presents the replies on an indicator. All
operational aircraft and ships of the armed forces to carry transponders to give their
identity when challenged.
7.

Radar Beamwidth
b. Beamwidth and its Implications. The beamwidth of a radar system
is the horizontal and vertical thickness of the radar beam. Beamwidth
depends on antenna design and is normally measured in degrees from the
center of the beam to the point at which the power drops off by half. This
half-power point is -3dB in power drop-off. Beamwidth governs the
azimuth and elevation accuracy and resolution capability of a radar
system in the same way that pulse width governs radar range accuracy
and resolution.
(1) Azimuth Determination. In order for a radar system to
figure out target azimuth, the antenna must be aligned with a point
of reference and pointed at the target during the transmission and
reception of several pulses of radar energy. If the antenna is
referenced to true North, the azimuth of the target can be measured
relative to true North. Azimuth determination is based on the
position of the antenna when the target is being illuminated. To
provide accurate azimuth determination over a large area, many
radars employ a narrow beam and scan the antenna in a
predictable pattern. The most common scan pattern is a 360deg
circular scan at a constant rate. As the radar beam sweeps, a
 target is detected and displayed. The position of the antenna, when
the target is displayed, shows the relative azimuth.

Horizontal Beamwidth Comparison

Horizontal Beamwidth and Azimuth Resolution

The azimuth accuracy of a radar system is determined by
the horizontal beam width (HBW). In the above figure, radar
system A has a horizontal beam width of 10deg. As the beam
sweeps, the target is illuminated for as long as it is in the beam.
This means that the target covers 10deg in azimuth. Radar system
B has a beam width of 1deg. A target displayed will cover 1 deg in
azimuth. The narrower the horizontal beam width, the better the
azimuth accuracy.
(2) Azimuth Angular Resolution. Azimuth resolution is the ability
of a radar to display two targets flying at approximately the same
range with little angular separation, such as two fighters flying line-
abreast tactical formation. The azimuth resolution capability
corresponds to the minimum azimuth separation required between
two targets for separate display. Azimuth resolution depends on the
horizontal

The radar system in Figure has a horizontal beam width of

10deg. The two targets are so cIose in azimuth that the return
echoes are blended into one return. The radar system in Figure
has a horizontal beam width of 1deg. The radar beam not only hits
the targets, but passes between them without causing a return. This
allows the radars to display two distinct radar returns. A small
horizontal beam width improves azimuth resolution. An important
remark has to be made immediately; the smaller the beam width
θ, the higher the directivity of the radar antenna. Figure shows the
two targets at different bearings having same ranges. The angular
 resolution as a distance between two targets calculate the
following formula:

(3) Elevation/Altitude Angular Resolution. Since a radar beam

is three-dimensional, the vertical beam width is the primary factor in
determining altitude resolution capability. Altitude resolution is the
ability of a radar to display two targets flying at approximately the
same range and azimuth with little altitude separation, such as two

fighters flying a vertical stack formation. The altitude resolution

capability corresponds to the minimum altitude separation required
between two targets for separate display. The radar system in has
a vertical beam width of 10deg. The two targets are so close in
altitude that the return echoes depicted on the range height
indicator (RHI) are blended into one. The radar system depicted in
Figure has a vertical beam width of 1deg. This small beam not only
hits the targets, but passes between them without causing a return.
This allows the radar to display two distinct targets. The same
Equation will be used to calculate the altitude/elevation resolution.