Avionics Navigation Systems Second Edition

AVIONICS NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
Avionics Navigation Systems. Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried

Copyright © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
AVIONICS NAVIGATION
SYSTEMS
SECOND EDITION
Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried
A WILEY -INTERSCIENCE PUBLICATION
JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data:

Avionics navigation systems / Myron Kay1on, Walter Fried [editors].
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-471-54795-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Avionics. 2. Aids to air navigation. I. Kayton, Myron.
II. Fried, Walter.
TL695.A82 1996
629.135'1-dc20 96-23729
Printed in the United States of America
10 9
CONTENTS
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxi
List of Contributors xxiii
1 Introduction 1
Myron Kayton
1.1 Definitions
1.2 Guidance versus Navigation
1.3 Categories of Navigation 2
1.4 The Vehicle 3
1.4.1 Civil Aircraft 3
1.4.2 Military Aircraft 5
1.5 Phases of Flight 7
1.5.1 Takeoff 7
1.5.2 Terminal Area 7
1.5.3 En route 7
1.5.4 Approach 8
1.5.5 Landing 8
1.5.6 Missed Approach 9
1.5.7 Surface 9
1.5.8 Weather 9
1.6 Design Trade-offs 9
1.7 Evolution of Air Navigation II
1.8 Integrated Avionics 15
1.8.1 All Aircraft 15
1.8.2 Military Avionics 16
1.8.3 Architecture 17
1.9 Human Navigator 19
2 The Navigation Equations 21

Myron Kayton
l.l Introduction 21
2.2 Geometry of the Earth 23
v
vi CONTENTS
2.3 Coordinate Frames 26

2.4 Dead-Reckoning Computations 29
2.5 Positioning 32
2.5.1 Radio Fixes 32
2.5.2 Line-of-Sight Distance Measurement 33
2.5.3 Ground-Wave One-Way Ranging 35
2.5.4 Ground-Wave Time-Differencing 36
2.6 Terrain-Matching Navigation 37
2.7 Course Computation 38
2.7.1 Range and Bearing Calculation 38
2.7.2 Direct Steering 41
2.7.3 Airway Steering 41
2.7.4 Area Navigation 42
2.8 Navigation Errors 44
2.8.1 Test Data 44
2.8.2 Geometric Dilution of Precision 48
2.9 Digital Charts 49
2.10 Software Development 51
2.11 Future Trends 52
Problems 52
3 Multisensor Navigation Systems 55

James R. Huddle, R. Grover Brown
3.1 Introduction 55
3.2 Inertial System Characteristics 57
3.3 An Integrated Stellar-Inertial System 61
3.4 Integrated Doppler-Inertial Systems 64
3.5 An Airspeed-Damped Inertial System 67
3.6 An Integrated Stellar-Inertial-Doppler System 68
3.7 Position Update of an Inertial System 69
3.8 Noninertial GPS Multisensor Navigation Systems 69
3.9 Filtering of Measurements 70
3.9.1 Single Sensor, Stationary Vehicle 70
3. 9.2 Multiple Sensors, Stationary Vehicle 71
3.9.3 Multiple Sensors, Moving Vehicle 72
3.10 Kalman Filter Basics 72
3.1 0.1 The Process and Measurement Models 73
3.10.2 The Error Covariance Matrix 75
3.10.3 The Recursive Filter 75
3.11 Open-Loop Kalman Filter Mechanization 77
3.12 Closed-Loop Kalman Filter Mechanization 79
3.13 GPS-INS Mechanization 81
CONTENTS vii
3.13.1 Linearizing a Nonlinear Range Measurement 81

3.13.2 GPS Clock Error Model 82
3.13.3 11-State GPS-INS Linear Error Model 83
3.13.4 Elaboration of the 11-State GPS-INS
Error Model 90
3.14 Practical Considerations 91
3.15 Federated System Architecture 93
3. 16 Future Trends 96
Problems 96
4 Terrestrial Radio-Navigation Systems 99

Bahar 1. Uttam, David H. Amos, Joseph M. Covino, Peter Morris
4.1 Introduction 99
4.2 General Principles 99
4.2. I Radio Transmission and Reception 99
4.2.2 Propagation and Noise Characteristics I 04
4.3 System Design Considerations Ill
4.3.1 Radio-Navigation System Types 11 I
4.3.2 System Performance Parameters 114
4.4 Point Source Systems 116
4.4.1 Direction-Finding 116
4.4.2 Non directional Beacons 120
4.4.3 Marker Beacons 121
4.4.4 VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) 122
4.4.5 Doppler VOR 126
4.4.6 Distance-Measuring Equipment (DME) 127
4.4.7 Tactical Air Navigation (Tacan) 133
4.4.8 VORTAC 138
4.5 Hyperbolic Systems 138
4.5.1 Loran 138
4.5.2 Omega 155
4.5.3 Decca 171
4.5.4 Chayka 173
Problems 176
5 Satellite Radio Navigation 178

A. 1. Van Dierendonck
5.1 Introduction 178
5.1.1 System Configuration 179
5.2 The Basics of Satellite Radio Navigation 180
5 .2. I Ranging Equations 181
viii CONTENTS
5.2.2 Range-Rate (Change-in-Range) Equations 183

5.2.3 Clock Errors 184
5.3 Orbital Mechanics and Clock Characteristics 184
5.3.1 Orbital Mechanics 184
5.3.2 Clock Characteristics 190
5.4 Atmospheric Effects on Satellite Signals 192
5 .4.1 Ionospheric Refraction 192
5.4.2 Tropospheric Refraction 195
5.5 NAVSTAR Global Positioning System 197
5.5.1 Principles of GPS and System Operation 197
5.5.2 GPS Satellite Constellation and Coverage 200
5.5.3 Space Vehicle Configuration 204
5.5.4 The GPS Control Segment 207
5.5.5 GPS Signal Structure 213
5.5.6 The GPS Navigation Message 218
5.5.7 GPS Measurements and the Navigation
Solution 226
5.5.8 Aviation Receiver Characteristics 229
5.5.9 Differential GPS 248
5.5 .I 0 GPS Accuracy 253
5.6 Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System
(GLONASS) 257
5.6.1 GLONASS Orbits 257
5.6.2 GLONASS Signal Structure 258
5.6.3 The GLONASS Navigation Message 261
5.6.4 Time and Coordinate Systems 262
5.6.5 GLONASS Constellation 262
5.7 GNSS Integrity and Availability 262
5.7.1 Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring
(RAIM) 263
5.7.2 Combined GPS/GLONASS 267
5.7.3 Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) 268
5.7.4 Pseudolite Augmentation 275
Problems 279
6 Terrestrial Integrated Radio Communication-Navigation

Systems 283
Walter R. Fried, James A. Kivett, Edgar Westbrook
6.2 JTIDS Relative Navigation 284
6.2.1 General Principles 284
6.2.2 JTIDS System Characteristics 285
CONTENTS ix
6.2.3 Clock Synchronization 286

6.2.4 Coordinate Frames and Community
Organization 288
6.2.5 Operational Utility 290
6.2.6 Mechanization 290
6.2.7 Error Characteristics 297
6.2.8 System Accuracy 299
6.3 Position Location Reporting System 299
6.3. I General Principles 299
6.3.2 System Elements 300
6.3.3 Control Network Structure 301
6.3.4 Waveform Architecture 302
6.3 .5 Measurements 304
6.3.6 Position Location and Tracking 306
6.3.7 Tracking Filter 307
6.3.8 Network and Traffic Management 308
6.3.9 System Capacity and Accuracy 309
6.3.1 0 PLRS User Equipment Characteristics 310
6.3.11 System Enhancements 310
Problems 312
7 Inertial Navigation 313

Daniel A. Tazartes, Myron Kayton, John G. Mark
7 .I Introduction 313
7.2 The System 314
7.3 Instruments 317
7 .3.1 Accelerometers 317
7.3.2 Gyroscopes 324
7.3.3 Optical Gyroscopes 326
7.3.4 Mechanical Gyroscopes 342
7.3 .5 Future Inertial Instruments 34 7
7.4 Platforms 348
7 .4.1 Analytic Platform (Strapdown) 348
7.4.2 Gimballed Platform 361
7 .4.3 Inertial Specifications 364
7.5 Mechanization Equations 365
7.5 .1 Coordinate Frames 365
7.5.2 Horizontal Mechanization 368
7.5.3 Vertical Mechanization 373
7.6 Error Analysis 376
7.6.1 Purpose 376
x CONTENTS
7.6.2 Simulation 376

7.6.3 Error Propagation 377
7.6.4 Total System Error 379
7.7 Alignment 379
7.7.1 Leveling 382
7.7.2 Gyrocompass Alignment 384
7.7.3 Transfer Alignment 386
7.7.4 Attitude and Heading Reference Systems
(AHRS) 389
7.8 Fundamental Limits 389
Problems 390
8 Air-Data Systems 393

Stephen S. Osder
8.2 Air-Data Measurements 394
8.2.1 Conventional "Intrusive" Probes 394
8.2.2 Static Pressure 394
8.2.3 Total Pressure 396
8.2.4 Air Temperature 398
8.2.5 Angle of Attack and Angle of Sideslip 399
8.2.6 Air-Data Transducers 400
8.3 Air-Data Equations 402
8.3.1 Altitude 402
8.3.2 Mach Number 405
8.3.3 Calibrated Airspeed 406
8.3.4 True Airspeed 407
8.3.5 Altitude Rate 407
8.4 Air-Data Systems 407
8.4.1 Accuracy Requirements 407
8.4.2 Air-Data Computers 409
8.4.3 Architecture Trends 412
8.5 Specialty Designs 413
8.5.1 Helicopter Air-Data Systems 413
8.5.2 Optical Air-Data Systems 418
8.5.3 Hypersonic Air Data 421
8.6 Calibration and System Test 422
8.6.1 Ground Calibration 422
8.6.2 Flight Calibration 423
8.6.3 Built-in Test (BIT) 423
Problems 424
CONTENTS xi
9 Attitude and Heading References 426

Myron Kayton, Willis G. Wing
9.2 Basic Instruments 427
9.2.1 Gyroscopes 427
9.2.2 Gravity Sensors 428
9.3 Vertical References 429
9.3.1 The Averaging Vertical Reference 431
9.3.2 Rate Compensations 433
9.3.3 Acceleration Corrections 434
9.3.4 Maneuver Errors 436
9.4 Heading References 436
9.4.1 Earth's Magnetic Field 437
9.4.2 Aircraft Magnetic Effects 438
9.4.3 The Magnetic Compass Needle 439
9.4.4 Magnetometers 440
9.4.5 Electrical Swinging 443
9.4.6 The Directional Gyroscope 444
9.5 Initial Alignment of Heading References 446
Problems 447
10 Doppler and Altimeter Radars 449

Walter R. Fried, Heinz Buell, James R. Hager
I 0.1 Doppler Radars 449
I 0.1.1 Functions and Applications 449
I 0.1.2 Doppler Radar Principles and
Design Approaches 451
I 0.1.3 Signal Characteristics 4 72
10.1.4 Doppler Radar Errors 4 77
10.1.5 Equipment Configurations 490
I 0.2 Radar Altimeters 491
10.2.1 Functions and Applications 491
10.2.2 General Principles 492
10.2.3 Pulsed Radar Altimeters 492
I 0.2.4 FM-CW Radar Altimeter 493
I 0.2.5 Phase-Coded Pulsed Radar Altimeters 497
Problems 500
11 Mapping and Multimode Radars 503

Jack 0. Pearson, Thomson S. Abbott, Jr., Robert H. Jeffers
xii CONTENTS
11.2 Radar Pilotage 504

11.3 Semiautomatic Position Fixing 509
11.4 Semiautomatic Position Fixing with Synthetic
Aperture Radars 5 II
11.4.1 Unfocused Systems 514
11.4.2 Focused Systems 516
11.4.3 Motion Compensation 518
11.5 Precision Velocity Update 522
11.5 .I Mechanization 523
11.5.2 PVU Measurement Errors 525
11.5.3 PVU Kalman Filter 527
11.5.4 PVU Mode Observability Concerns 529
11.6 Terrain Following and Avoidance 529
11.6.1 Radar Mode and Scan Pattern
Implementation 532
11.6.2 Terrain Measurement 534
11.6.3 Aircraft Control 536
11.7 Multimode Radars 538
11.8 Signal Processing 539
11.9 Airborne Weather Radar 540
11.9.1 Radar Reflectivity of Weather Formations 542
11.9.2 Weather Radar Processing 543
11.9.3 Radar Detection of Microburst and
Wind Shear 544
11.10.1 Electronic Scanned Arrays 546
11.10.2 Radar Processing 54 7
11.10.3 Radar Receiver/Exciter Function 548
11.10.4 Interfaces and Packaging 549
11.10.5 Displays 549
Problems 549
12 Celestial Navigation 551

Edward J. Knobbe, Gerald N. Haas

12.1.1 Evolution of Celestial Navigation 551
12.1.2 General System Description 552
12.2 Star Observation Geometry 553
12.3 Theory of Stellar-Inertial Navigation 557
12.3.1 Modeling and Kalman Filtering 558
12.3.2 Information and Observability 562
CONTENTS xiii
12.4 Stellar Sensor Design Characteristics 564

12.4.1 Telescope Parameters 564
12.4.2 Star-Signal Power 567
12.4.3 Sky Background Power 568
12.4.4 Star-light Detection 572
12.4.5 Focal Plane Array Processing 573
12.5 Celestial Navigation System Design 575
12.5 .I Time Reference 575
12.5 .2 Star Observation and Pointing Errors 57 6
12.5.3 Stabilized Platform Configuration 578
12.5 .4 Strapdown IMU Configurations 5 81
12.6 Star Catalog Characteristics 583
12.6.1 Star Catalog Contents 584
12.6.2 Star Catalog Size 584
12.6.3 Planet and Moon Avoidance 586
12.6.4 Star Position Corrections 586
12.7 System Calibration and Alignment 590
12.7.1 Factory Calibration 590
12.7.2 Pre-flight and In-flight Calibration and
Alignment 592
Problems 594
13 Landing Systems 597

D. B. Vickers. Richard H. McFarland, William M. Waters, Myron Kayton
13.2 Low- Visibility Operations 597
13.3 The Mechanics of the Landing 600
13.3.1 The Approach 600
13.3.2 The Flare Maneuver 603
13.3.3 The Decrab Maneuver and Touchdown 603
13.3.4 Rollout and Taxi 604
13.4 Automatic Landing Systems 605
13.4.1 Guidance and Control Requirements 606
13.4.2 Flare Guidance 606
13.4.3 Lateral Guidance 607
13.5 The Instrument Landing System 608
13.5.1 ILS Guidance Signals 608
13.5.2 The Localizer 613
13.5.3 The Glide Slope 614
13.5.4 ILS Marker Beacons 618
13.5.5 Receivers 618
13.5 .6 ILS Limitations 619
xiv CONTENTS
13.6 The Microwave-Landing System 620

13.6.1 Signal Format 621
13.6.2 The Angle Functions 621
13.6.3 Data Functions 625
13.6.4 Aircraft Antennas and Receivers 626
13.6.5 Mobile MLS 627
13.6.6 Precision DME (DME/P) 627
13.7 Satellite Landing Systems 628
13.7. I Augmentation Concepts 628
13.7.2 Position Solutions 629
13.7.3 Research Issues 630
13.8 Carrier-Landing Systems 630
13.8.1 Description of the Problem 630
13.8.2 Optical Landing Aids 633
13.8.3 Electronic Landing Aids 634
13.9.1 Pilot Aids 636
13.9.2 Satellite Landing Aids 638
13.9.3 Airport Surface Navigation 638
13.9.4 Carrier Landing 638
Problems 638
14 Air Traffic Management 642

Clyde A. Miller, John A. Scardina
14.1.1 Services Provided to Aircraft Operators 642
14.1.2 Government Responsibilities 643
14.2 Flight Rules and Airspace Organization 643
14.2.1 Visual and Instrument Flight Rules 643
14.2.2 Altimetry 644
14.2.3 Controlled Airspace 645
14.2.4 Uncontrolled Airspace 645
14.2.5 Special Use Airspace 646
14.3 Airways and Procedures 646
14.3.1 Victor Airways and Jet Routes 646
14.3.2 Random Routes 649
14.3.3 Separation Standards 649
14.3 .4 Terminal Instrument Procedures 65 I
14.3.5 Standard Instrument Departures and Arrivals 655
14.4 Phases of Flight 655
14.4.1 Pre-flight Planning 656
CONTENTS xv
14.4.2 Departure 657

14.4.3 En Route 658
14.4.4 Approach and Landing 659
14.4.5 Oceanic 660
14.5 Subsystems 661
14.5.1 Navigation 661
14.5.2 Radar Surveillance 664
14.5.3 Automatic Dependent Surveillance 667
14.5.4 Air-to-Ground Data Link Communications 669
14.5.5 Aviation Weather 672
14.5.6 Automation and Display Subsystem 673
14.5.7 Airborne ATM Subsystems 675
14.6 Facilities and Operations 677
14.6.1 National Traffic Management 677
14.6.2 En-route Facilities 677
14.6.3 Terminal Facilities 679
14.6.4 Airport Facilities 679
14.6.5 Flight Service Facilities 680
14.6.6 Oceanic Facilities 680
14.7 System Capacity 681
14.7.1 Reducing Peak Demand 681
14.7.2 Increasing System Capacity 682
14.8 Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems 684
Problems 689
15 Avionics Interfaces 691

Cary R. Spitzer

15.2 Data Buses 691
15.3 Crew Displays 694
15.4 Power 700
15.5 Maintenance 700
15.6 Physical Interface 701
Problems 704
References 705
Index 741
PREFACE
The purpose of this book is to present a unified treatment of the principles and
practices of modern navigation sensors and systems. This second edition is a
total rewrite of the first edition.
During the 28 years since the first edition was published, there have been
tremendous changes in the science and practice of navigation: the introduction
of navigation satellites that provide, for the first time in history, global, con-
tinuous precise navigation; an enormous increase in the speed and memory of
digital computers, accompanied by a sharp decrease in their size and cost; the
invention of clever algorithms, based primarily on Kalman filters, that mix the
outputs of several sensors to produce a best estimate of position, velocity and,
sometimes, of time; and the proliferation of avionics on aircraft, interconnected
by digital data buses, so that navigation is only one of several avionic subsys-
tems.
This book was written for the navigation system engineer, whether user or
designer, who is concerned with the practical application of newly developed
technology, and for the technical specialist who wishes to learn about adja-
cent specialties. It is an engineer-oriented text that will serve a wide spectrum
of readers, from the systems analyst who writes mathematical models to oper-
ations personnel who want to learn about the avionics equipment in their air-
craft. This book applies to civil and military aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned
aerial vehicles. It covers the speed range from hovering helicopters to hyper-
sonic transports. For all those vehicles, it discusses the state-of-the-art and the
development of new systems that are likely to be introduced in the future.
Each chapter first presents basic functions and fundamental principles. It then
discusses design characteristics, equipment configurations, sources of error, and
typical performance levels. It closes with a projection of future trends. Topics
such as comparative performance levels, weights, and costs of equipment are
covered wherever possible. Most chapters assume a knowledge of undergradu-
ate physics and mathematics; some assume a knowledge of electronic circuits.
References are collected at the end of the book, chapter by chapter, for the
interested reader to use as background reading and to pursue the subject in
more depth. The index is comprehensive enough to allow readers to find topics
outside their area of specialty. It includes a glossary of acronyms. Chapters 2
through 15 conclude with illustrative problems that clarify points in the text
and lead the reader into new areas. These problems will be useful to university
instructors who use the text as part of a course in avionics, guidance and control,
xvii
xviii PREFACE
or navigation. The chapters are extensively cross-referenced for the readers'

convenience; Section x.y.z. points to Chapter x, Section y.z.
Chapter 1 discusses the role of electronic navigation equipment in the mis-
sion of civil and military aircraft. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss navigation princi-
ples, the equations that are the basis of all navigation systems, the calculation
of navigation errors, and the mechanization of multisensor systems. Chapter 2
describes the principles of terrain-matching navigation systems. The first three
chapters serve as the core for the next nine, which deal with sensors.
Chapter 4 discusses radio propagation on the surface of the Earth and
the method of operation of traditional ground-based radio-navigation systems.
Chapter 5 treats the principles and characteristics of satellite-based radio-
navigation sytems, particularly GPS and GLONASS. Chapter 6 covers inte-
grated communication-navigation systems used on battlefields. Chapter 7 dis-
cusses inertial navigation systems that provide navigation and attitude infor-
mation on civil and military aircraft. Chapter 8 describes air-data sensors and
algorithms that compute airspeed, angles of attack and sideslip, and baromet-
ric altitude. Chapter 9 describes the attitude and heading sensors that continue
to be used for attitude-control and dead reckoning on all aircraft. Chapter I 0
covers Doppler-radar navigators, which dead-reckon aircraft and military heli-
copters. Chapter I 0 also describes radar altimeters that are used on civil aircraft
for landing and on military aircraft for terrain-following and terrain-matching.
Chapter I1 covers airborne mapping and multimode radars, terrain-avoidance
radars, and weather radars. Chapter I2 covers celestial navigation and high-
accuracy stellar-inertial systems.
The last three chapters cover the navigation environment. Chapter 13 dis-
cusses the mechanics of landing, electronic landing aids, and naval carrier-
landing systems. Chapter 14 (also chapter I) describes the worldwide air-traffic
management environment in which civil and military aircraft operate. Chapter
15 discusses the interfaces among the navigation devices, other avionic devices,
displays, and electric power.
Readers may wish to consult the first edition for information on systems
that are now obsolete. The first edition contained chapters on analog and digi-
tal computers and displays, which were unfamiliar to many avionics engineers
in the 1970s. It had a chapter on flight control, which is now a subject in its
own right that is of interest to navigation engineers because navigation-derived
steering commands are executed by the flight controls. The authors regret that,
this second edition could not include every subject related to aircraft navigation.
Cartography is discussed only as it relates to digital-map data bases and navi-
gation coordinates. Automatic flight control, aerodynamic stability and control,
weapon control, and localization of radar emitters are omitted.
The first edition was written by a small group of authors who spoke with a
single voice. Some of them have retired and some have died; many no longer
work in their former fields. We want to acknowledge those who could not par-
ticipate in the second edition: Richard Andeen, John Andresen, Paul Astholz,
Frank Brady, Sven Dodington, Dr. R. C. Duncan, Alton Moody, Glenn Quasius,
PREFACE xix
Seymour Schoen, T. J. Thomas, Carl Wiley and Willis Wing. The Acknowledg-
ments explain which first-edition material was re-used.
Due to increasing specialization, the second edition was written by a much
larger, more diverse team, whose members are the foremost current experts in
their fields. We wish to thank them for their generous contributions of time
in preparing drafts, editing, and re-editing in order to give you, the reader, a
coherent, unified book.
While the art and science of navigation is hundreds of years old, the last
50 years have produced exciting new sensors and systems that permit an accu-
racy and level of safety never before seen on moving vehicles. We hope that
this second edition presents the fundamentals and enough details to stimulate
innovation and the development of ever-improving systems of navigation.
MYRON KA YTON
Santa Monica, California
WALTER R. FRIED
Santa Ana, Calijbrnia
January 1997
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Dr. Kayton wishes to acknowledge Clarence Asche of Honeywell for photos of

inertial instruments, Anthony Bommarito of Wilcox for information about ILS
and MLS landing aids, Phil Bruner and Wayne Knitter of Litton Industries for
storage of magnetic models in guidance computers, Dennis Cooper, FAA rep-
resentative in Moscow, for information about Russian air traffic control. Walter
Fried for his contributions to Chapters 1, 2, and 9, Professors Frank von Graas
and Per Enge for information about GPS landing aids, Dr. James Huddle of Lit-
ton Guidance and Control for information about mechanization techniques, Dr.
David Y. Hsu of Litton Guidance and Control for using his software to calcu-
late CEPs, the International Civil Aviation Organization for information about
worldwide airspace regulations, Jeppesen-Sanderson for information about dig-
ital aeronautical maps, Dr. Robert Kelly, formerly of Bendix Communications
for the definition of airways based on required navigation performance, Bob
Knutson of Honeywell for information about air data, Dan Martinec of ARINC
for publications, Harold Moses of RTCA for specifications, Bill Murray and Erv
Ulbrich of McDonnell-Douglas for drawings, Norman Peddie and John Quinn
of USGS for information about magnetic models, Walter Schoppe for informa-
tion about naval communication links, and David Scull for various government
documents.
Dr. Kayton included Willis Wing as a co-author of Chapter 9 because so
much of his first edition material was reused, though Mr. Wing did not directly
participate in the second edition.
Mr. Walter Fried wishes to thank Gregory Soloway of GEC Marconi Elec-
tronic Systems Corporation for information on JTIDS terminals.
Dr. Edward Knobbe and Dr. Gerald Haas wish to acknowledge that most of
Sections 12.4.2 and 12.4.3, including Figure 12.7 and Tables 12.2 and 12.3,
were written by Glenn Quasius for the first edition.
Dr. Clyde Miller wishes to thank Gene Wong and J. C. Johns of the FAA and
Capt. Colin Miller of the U.S. Air Force for providing reference materials and
for reviewing various sections of Chapter 14. Chapter 14 does not necessarily
represent the official views of the U.S. government.
Dr. Jack Pearson wishes to acknowledge the use of some of Carl Wiley's
(deceased) material from the first edition.
Dr. Bahar Uttam wishes to acknowledge the use of Sven Dodington's Sec-
tions 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4 from the first edition.
Dr. A. J. Van Dierendonck wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Dr.
xxi
xxii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
R. Grover Brown on Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring, Ed Martin

on the GPS spacecraft, and Jack Klobuchar on ionospheric effects on satellite
navigation.
Mr. Doug Vickers wishes to thank Robert J. Bleeg of Boeing Commercial
Airplane Division and Steve Osder for reviewing the flight-control sections of
Chapter 13.
Dr. William Waters wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Robert Wig-
ginton of the U.S. Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Activity in Section
13.8.
Mr. Edgar Westbrook wishes to thank Mr. Wayne Altrichter of GEC-Marconi
Electronic Systems Corp. for his review of Section 6.2. He wishes to recognize
Mr. Robert C. Snodgrass of the MITRE Corporation (retired) for his many con-
tributions to the development of JT][DS RelNav.
The cover photograph is courtesy of Rockwell.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
THOMSON S. ABBOTT, JR. (Co-author, Chapter II), Hughes Aircraft Com-

pany, El Segundo, CA
DAVID H. AMOS (Co-author, Chapter 4), Senior Director, Systems Engineer-

ing, Synetics Corporation, Wakefield, MA
R. GROVER BROWN, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 3), Distinguished Professor

Emeritus, Iowa State University, Clear Lake, IA
HEINZ BUELL (Co-author, Chapter 10), Senior Member of Technical Staff,

GEC Marconi Electronic Systems Corporation, Wayne, NJ
JOSEPH M. COVINO (Co-author, Chapter 4), Senior Engineer, Synetics Cor-

poration, Wakefield, MA
WALTER R. FRIED, M.S. (Editor; lead author, Chapters 6 and 10), Consultant,
Hughes Aircraft Company, Santa Ana, CA
GERALD N. HAAS, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 12), Senior Research Engineer,

Northrop-Grumman Electronic Systems, Hawthorne, CA
JAMES R. HAGER (Co-author, Chapter 10), Honeywell Military Avionics,

Minneapolis, MN
JAMES R. HUDDLE, Ph.D. (Lead author, Chapter 3), Chief Scientist and Head
of Advanced System Engineering, Litton Guidance and Control Division,
Woodland Hills, CA
ROBERT H. JEFFERS, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 11), Senior Scientist, Hughes

Aircraft Company, El Segundo, CA
MYRON KAYTON, Ph.D., P.E. (Editor; author of Chapters 1, 2; co-author Chap-

ters 7 and 13; lead author, Chapter 9), Consulting Engineer, Kayton Engi-
neering Company, Santa Monica, CA
JAMES A. KIVETT (Co-author, Chapter 6), Hughes Aircraft Company, El

Segundo, CA
EDWARD J. KNOBBE, Ph.D. (Lead author, Chapter 12), Advanced Systems

Scientist (retired), Northrop-Grumman Electronic Systems, Hawthorne, CA
xxiii
xxiv LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
JOHN G. MARK, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 7), Chief Scientist, Litton Guid-
ance and Control Division, Woodland Hills, CA
RICHARD H. MCFARLAND, Ph.D., P.E. (Co-author, Chapter 13), Director,
Emeritus, Avionics Engineering Center. Ohio University, Athens, OH
CLYDE A. MILLER, Ph.D. (Lead author, Chapter 14), Program Director for
Research, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
PETER MORRIS (Co-author, Chapter 4 ), The Analytical Sciences Corporation,
Reading, MA
STEPHEN S. OSDER (Author, Chapter 8), Consultant, formerly McDonnell-
Douglas Fellow, Scottsdale, AZ
JACK 0. PEARSON, Ph.D. (Lead author, Chapter 11), Vice President, Radar
and Communication Systems, Hughes Aircraft Company, El Segundo, CA
JOHN A. SCARDINA, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 14), Team Leader for Air Traf-
fic Management, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
CARY R. SPITZER (Author, Chapter 15), President, AvioniCon, formerly,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Williamsburg, VA
DANIEL A. T AZARTES (Lead author, Chapter 7), Senior Member of Technical
Staff, Litton Guidance and Control Division, Woodland Hills, CA
BAHAR UTTAM, Ph.D. (Lead author, Chapter 4), President, Synetics Corpo-
ration, Wakefield, MA
A. J. VAN DIERENDONCK, Ph.D. (Author, Chapter 5), AJ Systems, Los Altos,
CA
D. B. VICKERS, M.S. (Lead author, Chapter 13), Technical Director, Avionics
Engineering Center. Ohio University, Athens, OH
WILLIAM M. WATERS, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 13), Senior Consultant,
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC
EDGAR A. WESTBROOK, (Co-author, Chapter 6), Technical Staff, retired, The
MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA
WILLIS G. WING, (Co-author, Chapter 9), Sperry Gyroscope Company,
retired, Glen Head, NY
1 Introduction
1.1 DEFINITIONS
Navigation is the determination of the position and velocity of a moving vehi-

cle. The three components of position and the three components of velocity
make up a six-component state vector that fully describes the translational
motion of the vehicle. Navigation data are usually sent to other on-board sub-
systems, for example, to the flight control, flight management, engine control,
communication control, crew displays, and (if military) weapon-control compu-
ters.
Navigation sensors may be located in the vehicle, in another vehicle, on
the ground, or in space. When the state vector is measured and calculated on
board, the process is called navigation. When it is calculated outside the vehicle,
the process is called surveillance or position location. Surveillance information
is employed to prevent collisions among aircraft. The humans and computers
that direct civil air traffic and most military traffic are located in Air Route
Traffic Control Centers on the ground, whereas some military controllers are
based in surveillance aircraft or aircraft carriers. Existing traffic control sys-
tems observe the position of aircraft using sensors outside the aircraft (e.g.,
surveillance radars) or reports of position from the aircraft itself. "Automatic
dependent surveillance" is a term for the reporting of position, measured by
sensors in an aircraft, to a traffic control center.
Traditionally, ship navigation included the art of pilotage: entering and leav-
ing port, making use of wind and tides, and knowing the coasts and sea condi-
tions. However, in modern usage, navigation is confined to the measurement of
the state vector. The handling of the vehicle is called guidance; more specifi-
cally, it is called conning for ships, flight control for aircraft, and attitude control
for spacecraft. This book is concerned only with the navigation of manned and
unmanned aircraft. The calculation of the navigation state vector requires the
definition of a navigation coordinate frame (as discussed in Chapter 2).
1.2 GUIDANCE VERSUS NAVIGATION
The term "guidance" has two meanings, both of which are different from "nav-
igation":
Avionics Navigation Systems. Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried 1

2 INTRODUCTION
1. Steering toward a destination of known position from the aircraft's present

position. The steering equations can be derived from a plane triangle for
nearby destinations or from a spherical triangle for distant destinations
(Chapter 2).
2. Steering toward a destination without explicitly measuring the state vec-
tor. A guided vehicle can home on radio, infrared, or visual emissions.
Guidance toward a moving target is usually of interest for military tactical
missiles in which a steering algorithm ensures impact within the maneu-
ver and fuel constraints of the interceptor. One of several related guid-
ance algorithms, collectively called proportionial navigation, processes
sensor data and steers the vehicle to impact. Guidance toward afixed tar-
get involves beam-riding, as :in the Instrument Landing System (Chapter
13).
1.3 CATEGORIES OF NAVIGATION
Navigation systems can be categorized as positioning or dead-reckoning. Posi-

tioning systems measure the state vector without regard to the path traveled by
the vehicle in the past. There are three kinds of positioning systems:
1. Radio systems (Chapters 4 to 6). They consist of a network of transmit-

ters (sometimes also receivers) on the ground, in satellites, or on other
vehicles. The airborne navigation set detects the transmissions and com-
putes its position relative to the known positions of the stations in the
navigation coordinate frame. The aircraft's velocity is measured from the
Doppler shift of the transmissions or from a sequence of position mea-
surements.
2. Celestial systems (Chapter 12). They compute position by measuring the
elevation and azimuth of celestial bodies relative to the navigation coor-
dinate frame at precisely known times. Celestial navigation is used in
special-purpose high-altitude aircraft in conjunction with an inertial nav-
igator. Manual celestial navigation was practiced at sea for millennia and
in aircraft from the 1930s to the 1960s.
3. Mapping navigation systems (Section 2.6). They observe images of the
ground, profiles of altitude, or other external features.
Dead-reckoning navigation systems derive their state vector from a contin-

uous series of measurements relative to an initial position. There are two kinds
of dead-reckoning measurements:
I. Aircraft heading and either speed or acceleration. For example, heading

can be measured with gyroscopes (Chapter 7) or magnetic compasses
(Chapter 9), while speed can be measured with air-data sensors (Chapter
THE VEHICLE 3
8) or Doppler radars (Chapter I 0). Vector acceleration is measured with

inertial sensors (Chapter 7).
2. Emissions from continuous-wave radio stations. They create ambiguous
"lanes" (Chapter 4) that must be counted to keep track of coarse position.
Their phase is measured for fine positioning. They must be reinitialized
after any gap in radio coverage.
Dead-reckoning systems must be re-initialized as errors accumulate and if

electric power is lost.
1.4 THE VEHICLE
1.4.1 Civil Aircraft

The civil aviation industry consists of air carriers and general aviatiOn. Air
carriers operate large aircraft used on trunk routes and small aircraft used in
commuter service. General aviation ranges from single-place crop dusters to
well-equipped four-engine corporate jets.
Most air carriers and general-aviation jet aircraft operate exclusively in
developed areas where ground-based radio aids are plentiful. Others operate
over oceans and undeveloped areas where, before the Global Positioning Sys-
tem (GPS, Chapter 5), navigation aids were nonexistent. Before the 1970s, such
aircraft had astrodomes through which a human navigator took celestial fixes
with a bubble-sextant (Chapter 12). From the 1970s to 2000, aircraft flying
over oceans and undeveloped areas used unaided inertial systems or Omega
(Chapter 4). By the year 2000, most of these aircraft will use GPS alone or in
combination with inertial systems (Chapter 7). Beginning in the mid-1980s, the
US-FAA allowed overwater flight with a single long-range navigation set and
a separate single long-range communication set.
Simple general-aviation aircraft (including helicopters) operate over short
routes, have two or fewer engines, and are flown by one or two pilots. They
are used for water drops on fires, search-and-rescue, ferrying crews to offshore
oil platforms, police patrols, interplant shuttles, crop dusting, and carrying logs
from forests, for example. Each usage has its own navigation requirements. The
simplest aircraft navigate visually or with Loran or GPS sets; the more complex
aircraft use the same navigation equipment as do air carriers. In 1996 civil
helicopters used VOR/DME (see Chapter 4) in developed areas. They landed
visually because their approach paths were too steep for the instrument landing
system (ILS, Chapter 13). Many will adopt GPS for instrument approaches.
Civil aircraft fly in a benign environment; the major electrical stresses on
avionic equipment are caused by lightning and electric-power transients; the
major mechanical stresses are caused by air turbulence, hard landings, and abu-
sive handling by maintenance technicians. Figure 1.1 shows the antenna farm
and avionics bays on an advanced transport that is outfitted for civil and mil-
""'
C- Band SATCOM
Figure 1.1 Avionics placement on multi-purpose transport (Courtesy of McDonnell Douglas,

modified by author).
THE VEHICLE 5
itary usage. The avionics bay is below the cockpit in the space between the
radome and nose wheel well (in many civil aircraft, the avionics bay is aft of
the nosewheel). Avionics and air-data sensors are located in the bay. Access is
beneath the aircraft.
Trans-Pacific hypersonic aircraft may be developed in the twenty-first cen-
tury that will navigate as does the Space Shuttle: inertial boost, GPS or celestial
midcourse, and GPS or other radio approach. They will compete with electronic
mail and teleconferences.
1.4.2 Military Aircraft

Fixed-wing military aircraft can be divided as follows:
1. Interceptors and combat air patrols. These small, high-climb-rate aircraft

protect the homeland, a naval fleet, or an invasion force by seeking and
destroying invading bombers, cruise missiles, and aircraft that carry con-
traband. Interceptors are vectored to their targets by ground-based, ship-
borne, or airborne command posts. Interceptors carry on-board air-to-air
radar (Chapter II) to close on their targets. They use inertial navigation
(Chapter 7) or Tacan (Chapter 4) to return to their bases. GPS may replace
Tacan for returning to fixed bases leaving Tacan for returning to aircraft
earners.
2. Close-air support. These medium-sized aircraft deliver weapons in sup-
port of land armies. They may attack troops, tanks, convoys, or command
centers. They have inertial navigators or GPS to locate the approximate
position of targets and have sensors (e.g., optics and moving-target-indi-
cating (MTI) radar) to locate the precise position of the targets. They
carry communication systems that keep them in contact with local troop
commanders and airborne command posts. These aircraft have relied on
inertial navigation and Tacan to return to their bases. Close-air support
aircraft carry inertial navigators as precise attitude references for optical
sensors and as velocity references for releasing weapons.
3. Interdiction. These medium-sized and large aircraft strike behind enemy
lines to attack strategic targets such as factories, power plants, and mil-
itary installations. Nuclear strategic bombers and fighter bombers are
included in this category. These aircraft carry the most precise naviga-
tion systems, based on inertial, GPS, and celestial sensors. They may
obtain en-route position fixes with optical or radar image comparators
or terrain matching (Section 2.6). Inertial navigators provide precise atti-
tude and velocity references for pointing terminal-area optic sensors and
for releasing weapons. Interdiction aircraft often have sensors that find
tanker aircraft and allow formation flight in instrument weather condi-
tions. Flying at treetop level to avoid enemy radars complicates the task
of navigation.
6 INTRODUCTION
4. Cargo carriers. These aircraft have the same navigation requirements as

do civil aircraft; in addition, they drop cargos by parachute and refuel
from tankers. Cargo drops require flight along a predetermined path and
release at predetermined positions. Cargo aircraft are also sometimes out-
fitted as refueling-tankers and mobile hospitals. Tankers are equipped
with radar beacons to aid in rendezvous. They may be asked to make
Category III landings at third-world airports.
5. Reconnaissance aircraft. These aircraft collect photographic and elec-
tronic-signals data. They navigate precisely in order to annotate the data
and fly close to hostile borders. They measure velocity precisely in order
to compensate cameras and synthetic-aperture radars for vehicle motion.
6. Helicopter and short-takeoff~and-landing (STOL) vehicles. Military heli-
copters often support troops, for example, to attack tanks, to suppress
artillery and small-arms fire, and to transport soldiers and casualties. They
search for and destroy submarines from their bases on large ships. They
measure position, so they can locate targets in the coordinate frames estab-
lished by command posts. Most of them navigate by visual pilotage. Some
Navy and Army helicopters dead-reckon with Doppler radar and compass
(Chapters 9 and I 0) using Tacan to return to their ships or land bases.
They measure velocity precisely, so they can hover, handover targets,
launch weapons, and transition from vertical to horizontal flight. Airspeed
is difficult to measure due to the downwash from the rotors. Doppler radar
can establish a coordinate frame fixed in the moving ocean surface that
is useful when working with submarine-detecting sonobuoys. Search-and-
rescue helicopters carry receivers that detect and direction-find emergency
locator transmitters [8]. Complex helicopter weapon-platforms carry iner-
tial navigators and optical imagers for locating targets and for landing.
7. Unmanned air vehicles (once called "remotely piloted vehicles"). They
range in size from model airplanes to ten thousand kilograms. They are
used as target drones, reconnaissance vehicles, and strategic bombers.
They attack high-risk targets (radiation-emitting antennas and artillery)
without endangering the lives of a crew. Some have elaborate inertial,
map-matching, and acoustic sensors; some carry Doppler radars. They
often navigate inertially until their on-board optical or infrared sensors
acquire the target, then guide themselves to impact with submeter accu-
racy.
Virtually every military aircraft carries an instrument-landing system (ILS)

receiver (Chapter 13). In the past, some relied on a "ground-controlled
approach" in which a human, watching a radar display on the ground or on
an aircraft carrier, radioed steering commands to the pilot. The special prob-
lems of landing on an aircraft carrier are discussed in Chapter 13. Military air-
craft often engage in high-speed, high-g, low-altitude maneuvers that challenge
the mechanical design of on-board avionics. Guns and rocket launchers impose
PHASES OF FLIGHT 7
shock and vibration loads. By the year 2000, most military aircraft will carry
GPS receivers.
1.5 PHASES OF FLIGHT
1.5.1 Takeoff
The takeoff phase begins upon taxiing onto the runway and ends when climb-
out is established on the projected runway centerline. The aircraft is guided
along the centerline by hand-flying or a coupled autopilot based on steering
signals (from an ILS localizer since 1945). Two important speed measurements
are made on the runway. The highest ground speed at which an aborted takeoff
is possible is precomputed and compared, during the takeoff run, to the actual
ground speed as displayed by the navigation system. The airspeed at which the
nose is lifted ("rotation") is precalculated and compared to the actual airspeed
as displayed by the air-data system. Barometric altitude rate or GPS-derived
altitude rate (inertially smoothed) is measured and monitored.
1.5.2 Terminal Area

The terminal phase consists of departure and approach subphases. Departure
begins when the aircraft maneuvers away from the projected runway centerline
and ends when it leaves the terminal-control area (by which time it is established
on an airway). Approach begins when the aircraft enters the terminal area (by
which time it has left the airway) and ends when it intercepts the landing aid at
an approach fix. In 1996, vertical navigation was based on barometric altitude,
and heading vectors were assigned by traffic controllers. Major airports have
standard approach and departure routes unique to each runway. In the United
States, the desired terminal-area navigation accuracy is 1.7 nmi, 2-sigma per
Advisory Circular 20-130. Further details are in Chapter 14.
1.5.3 En Route
The en-route phase leads from the origin to the destination and alternate des-
tinations (an alternate destination is required of civil aircraft operating under
instrument flight rules). From the 1930s to the 1990s, airways were defined
by navigation aids over land and by latitude-longitude fixes over water. The
width of airways and their lateral separation depended on the quality of the
defining navaids and the distance between them. The introduction of inertial
navigation systems and DME in the 1970s caused aviation authorities to cre-
ate "area-navigation" airways (RNAV) that do not always interconnect VOR
navaids [7: AC-90-45A] (see Section 2.7.4).
Beginning in the 1990s, GPS has allowed precise navigation anywhere, not
just on airways. Given the extensive use of on-board collision-avoidance equip-
8 INTRODUCTION
ment and the trend toward reducing government budgets, "free-flight" is being
introduced in controlled airspace. Each aircraft would agree on a route before
takeoff and then be free to change the route, after interaircraft communication
verified that the risk of collision is sufficiently low. En-route surveillance by
independent ground-based radars may disappear or be replaced by position fixes
and reports via com-nav satellites. Busy terminal areas and airport surfaces are
likely to remain under central, positive control.
In the United States in 1996, the en-route navigation error must be less
than 2.8 nmi over land and 12 nmi over oceans (2-sigma) [7: AC-20-130]. As
regional maps become available in digital form with aeronautical annotation
(e.g., minimum en-route altitude), aircraft in undeveloped areas will use GPS
for en-route navigation and nonprecision approaches.
1.5.4 Approach
The approach phase begins at acquisition of the landing aid and continues until
the airport is in sight or the aircraft is on the runway, depending on the capa-
bilities of the landing aid (Chapter 13 ).
During an approach, the decision height (DH) is the altitude above the run-
way at which the approach must be aborted if the runway is not in sight. The
better the landing aids, the lower the decision height. Decision heights are pub-
lished for each runway at each airport (Chapter 13). The decision height for a
Category III landing is I 00 ft or less. By law, an approach may not even be
attempted unless the horizontal visibility, measured by a runway visual range
(RVR) instrument, exceeds a threshold that ranges from zero (Category IIIC,
not approved anywhere in 1996) to 800 meters (Category I). A nonprecision
approach has electronic guidance only in the horizontal direction. An aircraft
executing a nonprecision approach must abort if the runway is not visible at
the minimum descent altitude, which is typically 700 ft above the runway.
In 1996, civil aircraft outside the ex-Soviet bloc used the Instrument Land-
ing System for low-ceiling, low-visibility approaches. A Microwave Landing
System had been approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization for
precision approaches and was being installed at major international airports,
especially in Europe. In the United States, Loran and GPS had been approved
for nonprecision approaches at many airports. (Landing aids are discussed in
Chapter 13.)
1.5.5 Landing
The landing phase begins at the decision height (when the runway is in sight)
and ends when the aircraft exits the runway. Navigation during flare and decrab
may be visual or the navigation set's electrical output may be coupled to an
autopilot. A radio altimeter measures the height of the main landing gear above
the runway for guiding the flare. The rollout is guided by the landing aid (e.g.,
the ILS localizer). Landing navigation is described in Chapter 13.
DESIGN TRADE-OFFS 9
1.5.6 Missed Approach

A missed approach is initiated at the pilot's option or at the traffic controller's
request, typically because of poor visibility, poor alignment with the runway,
equipment failure, or conflicting traffic. The flight path and altitude profile for
a missed approach are published on the approach plates. The missed approach
consists of a climb to a predetermined holding fix at which the aircraft awaits
further instructions. Terminal area navigation aids are used.
1.5.7 Surface
Aircraft movement from the runway to gates, hangars, or revetments is a major
limit on airport capacity in instrument meteorological conditions. Surface navi-
gation is visual on the part of the crew, whereas the ground controllers observe
aircraft visually or with a surface surveillance radar. No matter how good
the surface navigation, collision avoidance among aircraft and ground vehi-
cles requires central guidance, typically provided by a human controller with
computer assistance. Position reports (e.g., via GPS) from aircraft that are con-
cealed in radar shadows reduce the risk of collision and help keep unwanted
aircraft off active runways.
1.5.8 Weather
Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) are weather conditions in which
visibility is restricted, typically less than 3 miles as defined by law. Aircraft
operating in IMC are supposed to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR), defined
by law in each country (Chapters 13 and 14).
1.6 DESIGN TRADE-OFFS
The navigation-system designer conducts trade-offs for each aircraft and mis-
sion to determine which navigation systems to use. Trade-offs consider the fol-
lowing attributes:
1. Cost. Included are the construction and maintenance of transmitter sta-

tions and the purchase of on-board hardware and software. Users are
concerned only with the cost of on-board hardware and software. In the
past, governments have paid to operate radio-navigation transmitters. In
the future, combined com-nav aids may be operated privately and funded
by user charges.
2. Accuracy ofposition and velocity. This is specified in terms of the sta-
tistical distribution of errors as observed on a large number of flights [4].
The accuracy of military systems is often characterized by circular error
probable (CEP, in meters or nautical miles; Chapter 2). The maximum
10 INTRODUCTION
allowable CEP is frequently established by the kill radius of the weapons

that are released from the aircraft. For civil air carriers, the allowable
en-route navigation error is based on the calculated risk of collision. In
the 1990s, each subsystem was allocated a safety-related failure proba-
bility of 10- 9 per hour [4]. The accuracy of the navigation systems is
often defined as "twice the distance root mean square" (2drms), which
encompasses 95% to 98% of the errors (Section 2.8.1 ). The allowable
landing error depends on runway width, aircraft handling characteristics,
and flying weather.
3. Autonomy. This is the extent to which the vehicle determines its own
position and velocity without external aids. Autonomy is important to
certain military vehicles and to civil vehicles operating in areas of inad-
equate radio-navigation coverage. Autonomy can be subdivided into five
classes:
• Passive self-contained systems that neither receive nor transmit elec-
tromagnetic signals. They emit no radiation that would betray their
presence and require no external stations. Failures are detected and cor-
rected on board. They include dead-reckoning systems such as inertial
navigators.
• Active self-contained systems that radiate but do not receive externally
generated signals. Examples are radars and sonars. They do not depend
on the existence of navigation stations.
• Receivers of natural radiation. These systems measure naturally emit-
ted electromagnetic radiation. Examples are magnetic compasses,
star trackers, and passive map correlators. Some unmanned military
weapons guide themselves toward acoustic emissions. These systems
do not announce their presence by emitting, nor do they need naviga-
tion stations.
• Receivers of artificial radiation. These systems measure electromag-
netic radiation from navaids (Earth based or space based) but do not
themselves transmit. Examples are Loran, Omega, VOR (Chapter 4),
and GPS (Chapter 5). They require external cooperating stations but
do not betray their own presence.
• Active radio navaids that exchange signals with navigation stations.
These include DME, JTIDS, PLRS, and collision-avoidance systems
(Chapters 4, 6, and 14). The vehicle betrays its presence by emit-
ting and requires cooperative external stations. These are the least
autonomous of navigation systems.
4. Time delay in calculating position and velocity, caused by computa-
tional and sensor delays. Time delay (also called latency) can be caused
by computer-processing delays, scanning by a radar beam, or gaps in
satellite coverage, for example. Forty years ago, it took five minutes to
plot a fix manually on an on-board aeronautical chart. Today, navigation
EVOLUTION OF AIR NAVIGATION 11
calculations are completed in tens of milliseconds by a digital compu-

ter.
5. Geographic coverage. Terrestrial radio systems operating below ap-
proximately 100 KHz can be received beyond line of sight on Earth;
those operating above approximately 100 MHz are confined to line of
sight. Each satellite can cover millions of square miles of Earth, while
a constellation of satellites can cover the entire Earth.
6. Automation. The aircraft's crew receives a direct reading of position,
velocity, and equipment status, usually without human intervention, as
described in Section 1.9. In years past, navigation sets were operated by
skilled people, to the extent of manipulating wave forms on cathode-ray
tubes.
7. Availability. This is the fraction of time that the system is usable for
navigation. Downtime is caused by scheduled maintenance, by unsched-
uled outage (usually due to equipment failure), and by radio-propagation
problems that cause excessive errors.
8. System capacity. This is the number of aircraft that the system can
accommodate simultaneously. It applies to two-way ranging systems.
9. Ambiguity. This is the identification, by the navigation system, of two
or more possible positions of the aircraft, with no indication of which is
correct. Ambiguities are characteristic of ranging and hyperbolic systems
when too few stations are received.
10. Integrity. This is the ability of the system to provide timely warnings to
aircraft when its errors are excessive. For en-route navigation in 1996,
an alarm must be generated within 30 seconds of the time a computed
position exceeds its specified error. For a nonprecision landing aid, an
alarm must be generated within ten seconds. For a precision landing aid,
an alarm must be generated within two seconds. Integrity is an important
issue for GPS, especially when it is used as a landing aid in the differ-
ential mode (Chapters 5 and I 3). Any sensor that is the sole means of
navigation must have high integrity.
1.7 EVOLUTION OF AIR NAVIGATION
The earliest aircraft were navigated visually. Pilots had an anemometer for air-
speed, a barometer for altitude, and a magnetic compass for heading. Artificial
horizons and turn-and-bank indicators allowed pilots to hold attitude and head-
ing in clouds, hence motivating the installation of navigation aids. Lighted bea-
cons were installed across the United States in the 1920s to mark airmail routes.
Starting in I 929, four-course radio beacons were also added to the lighted air-
ways to guide aircraft. Four-course beacons were installed in France, South
America, and North Africa. In the 1930s, aircraft were equipped with medium-
frequency and high-frequency direction finders (MF/DF and HF jDF) that mea-
12 INTRODUCTION
sured the bearing of broadcast stations relative to the axis of the aircraft. A fix
was obtained by plotting the direction toward two or more stations. Beacons
near an airport allowed aircraft to fly a "nonprecision approach" to the runway
(Chapter 13). Vertical beacons at 75 MHz, called z-beacons or marker beacons,
were installed along the four-course airways and along approaches to runways
to give a positive indication of position (Chapters 13 and 14).
Air-traffic control was procedural, following the precedent of railroad
"block" clearances. Overland airways connected radio beacons; overwater air-
ways were defined on a map, hundreds of miles apart. The airways were divided
into longitudinal blocks of 20- to 30-minutes flying time. The air-traffic con-
troller relied on the pilots' report of position, allowed only one aircraft at a time
to enter a block, and kept the block free of other traffic until the pilot reported
leaving. The size of the block was commensurate with the uncertainties in nav-
igation at the time.
During World War II, meteorologists learned to route aircraft to take advan-
tage of the cyclonic winds that eire le around high- and low-pressure regions at
mid- and high-latitudes. Bellamy [ 12] states that the transatlantic flying time
was reduced an average of I Oo/c compared to a great-circle track, with occa-
sional savings exceeding 25%, by taking advantage of cyclonic tail winds.
These pressure-pattern routes were plotted graphically in the 1940s-1960s but
are now computed routinely in airline and military dispatch offices.
Crosswinds cause an aircraft to "drift" perpendicularly to its longitudinal
axis. From the 1930s to the 1960s, drift angle was measured in flight with a
downward-looking telescope that observed the direction of movement of the
ground, when it was visible. From the 1940s to the 1960s, drift was estimated
over oceans by observing trends in the difference, D, between the readings
of the radio altimeter and pressure altimeter. Bellamy showed that in cyclonic
winds, drift is proportional to the horizontal gradient of D [12]. The introduc-
tion of Doppler and inertial navigators in the 1960s and 1970s allowed drift
to be observed directly. The Doppler navigator measures the direction of the
ground-speed vector relative to the aircraft's centerline. The inertial navigator
subtracts in-flight-measured airspeed from the measured ground velocity to cal-
culate wind, hence lateral drift.
After World War II, VOR stations (Chapter 4) and Instrument Landing Sys-
tems (ILS, Chapter 13) were installed. VOR/DME and ILS have been the basis
of navigation in western countries ever since. During the 1960s, air-traffic con-
trollers came to rely on surveillance radar in densely populated airspace (Chap-
ter 14). The controller identified the aircraft on his screen, hence eliminating
the need for a position report from the crew. Radar surveillance of air traffic
is called "positive control," which, in 1996, existed in the United States, most
of Canada, western Europe, and Japan. In the late 1990s, the automatic report-
ing of on-board-derived position began to supplement (perhaps eventually to
replace) radar surveillance.
The former Soviet republics have ICAO navigation aids and ILS at about 50
international airports and on corridors connecting them to the borders. Over-
EVOLUTION OF AIR NAVIGATION 13
flying western aircraft navigate inertially and with Omega, GPS, and nondirec-
tional beacons. Since the late 1960s, domestic civil and military aircraft have
used an L-band range-angle system known by its Russian acronym, RSBN, and
not standardized by ICAO. It has 176 channels between 873 and 1000 MHz.
Domestic airports guide landing aircraft with ground-based precision approach
radar (PAR) using verbal commands to the crew. At international airports, PARs
monitor aircraft on ILS approaches. In the 1990s, the former Soviet republics
were purchasing western avionics equipment.
The People's Republic of China depended on imported Russian nondirec-
tional beacons and PARs until the late 1970s, when it began to install western
radars, ILS, VOR, and DME. In the 1990s, China installed VHF air-to-ground
radio relays throughout most of the nation [ 13]. In 1996, western air-traffic con-
trol and navigation equipment was being installed throughout Southeast Asia
and Indonesia.
Outside the developed world, major cities and some airways had
VOR/DME-based procedural traffic control, so aircraft filing flight plans could
be separated from each other by human controllers. Polar areas, the South
Atlantic Ocean, and much of the Pacific and Indian Oceans had no navaids and
no control whatsoever. Most of the rest of the world was divided into Flight
Information Regions that advised crews of weather conditions and the status of
airports and navigation aids but did not separate traffic. Position reports over
oceans and in remote areas are mostly by HF radio but, beginning in the 1990s,
were being made via satellite (e.g., North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans). In 1996,
a few airlines were transmitting GPS-inertial position over digital data links via
geostationary communication satellites over the Pacific Ocean, a system called
Automatic Dependent Surveillance, the first step in the Future Air Navigation
System (FANS, Chapter 14). Outside the United States and Canada, most air-
craft pay directly for traffic control services.
Until the 1970s, precise absolute time could not economically be measured
on a vehicle. Hence, radio navigation aids were built that measured the dif-
ference in time of arrival of radio signals from ground stations. The earliest
(hyperbolic Loran and Decca, some military systems) date from the 1940s. As
airborne clocks became more stable in the 1970s, "passive" or "one-way" rang-
ing systems could solve for position and the absolute clock offset by processing
precisely timed signals from several stations. Direct-ranging Loran and Omega
(as distinguished from hyperbolic Loran and Omega, all discussed in Chapter
4), GPS and GLONASS (Chapter 5), and JTIDS (Chapter 6) are examples of
such one-way ranging systems. As airborne clocks become more accurate in
the twenty-first century, absolute time of arrival will be directly measurable
and clock offsets will become negligible.
GPS and GLONASS are based on one-way passive range measurements
to several stations, most of which are spacecraft (Figure 1.2). A few stations
are ground-based pseudolites whose transmissions mimic those of spacecraft.
Chapter 5 describes the GPS and GLONASS systems. The receiver in the air-
plane computes position, velocity, the offset in the airborne clock, and, in some
14 INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.2 Global Positioning System Spacecraft, Block IIF (courtesy of Rockwell).
L-band antenna array, S-band control antenna, and solar array are v isible.
receivers, the ionospheric delay (Chapter 5). In 1996, the military modes of
GPS achieved 20-meter (2dnns) accuracy anywhere in the world , while the civil
mode could achieve 40-meter accuracy but was intentionally degraded to I00-
meters, a handicap to civil navigation that may be discontinued before the year
2000. The United States and Russia have announced that GPS and GLONASS
wi II be avai Iable worldwide , free of charge. for a least 15 years and there-
after with 6 years ' warning of the end of service. Nevertheless, worldwide civil
authorities are reluctant to rely on military -controlled navigation aids that might
be switched oil or degraded during hostilities. The advent of continuous GPS
allows the use of AHRS-quality inertialjattitude-ret'erence systems (Chapters
7 and 9) in all but the most demanding military applications. The undetected
loss of a navigation signal or the failure of a receiver could be catastrophic.
especially during a landing at low decision height.
A widespread method of improving GPS accuracy and monitoring the signals
is to install a ground station that receives GPS signals and transmits position
errors or ranging errors and satellite failure status on a radio link to nearby air-
craft. This diffi' rentiill CPS (DGPS) can achieve centimeter accuracy for fixed
observers and 1- to 5-meter accuracy on aircraft that can solve at tens of itera-
tions per second or whose velocity calculations are smoothed by an inertial nav-
igator. The United States was experimenting with a nationwide DGPS system
INTEGRATED AVIONICS 15
(Wide Area Augmentation System. WAAS: Chapter 5) that could eventually

replace the network of VORT ACs.
The GPS and GLONASS systems are expensive to operate, each costing nearly
a billion dollars per year for the replacement of satellites and the maintenance of
the ground-control and monitoring network. The cost of collecting user charges
(e.g .. by selling encryption keys or taxing receivers) would exceed the revenue
that could be extracted from navigation-only users. Hence, in the next genera-
tion. GPS transmitters will be installed on low-cost communication satellites as
a way to augment the GPS network or as a low-cost replacement for dedicated
GPS satellites. Governments would still maintain the control and monitoring sta-
tions that calculate the orbits and uplink data for rebroadcast. Taxpayer support is
more likely if GPS becomes widely used in automobiles.
If present trends continue toward fee for service, taxpayer-funded navigation
aids may cease to exist circa 2020. when commercial com-nav satellites will
have superimposed ranging codes on their communication signals. Communica-
tion and navigation would then be available on a per-call basis, forcing aircraft
again to rely on precise dead reckoning between intermittent fixes. probably
from self-contained panel-mounted micro-machined inertial instruments (Chap-
ters 7 and 9).
JTIDS and PLRS (Chapter 6) are military com-nav systems that constitute a
battlefield-sized network whose terminals are in command centers and vehicles.
PLRS terminals can be backpacked by soldiers.
Since airborne digital computers became available in the 1960s. algorithms
have been invented and perfected that combine the measurements of diverse
navigation sensors to create a "best estimate of position and velocity". They
are used in "hybrid'' navigation systems. From 1970 to the end of the century.
various forms of Kalman filters were favored for combining data from diverse
navigation sensors (Chapter 3).
1.8 INTEGRATED AVIONICS
1.8.1 All Aircraft

"Navigation"' is one of several electronic subsystems, collectively called avion-
ics. The other subsystems are as follows:
I. Communication. An airplane's communication system consists of an

intercom among the crew members and one or more external two-way
voice and data links.
2. Flight control. This consists of stability augmentation and autopilot. The
former points the airframe and controls its oscillations. while the latter
provides such functions as attitude-hold, heading-hold, and altitude-hold.
Flaps. slats, and spoilers are often controlled electronically in addition to
rudder. elevator, and ailerons.
16 INTRODUCTION
3. Engine control. This is the electronic control of engine thrust, often called
throttle management. Afterburner and thrust reversers may be controlled
manually, perhaps via a thrust-by-wire control system.
4. Flight management. This subsystem stores the coordinates of en-route
waypoints and calculates the steering signals to fly toward them. It cal-
culates climb and descent profiles that may be followed with or without
constraints on the time at which designated fixes and altitudes are crossed.
Crossing fixes at predetermined times and altitudes is sometimes called
four-dimensional navigation; it requires that the flight management sub-
system control engine thrust. In 1996 all flight management subsystems
stored waypoints in digital form. By the year 2000 many will store dig-
ital maps of the en-route airspace, standard approaches (called STARs in
the United States), standard departures (called S!Ds in the United States),
approach plates, and checkli~;ts (see Chapter 14 ).
5. Subsystem monitoring and control. Faults in all subsystems are displayed,
as are recommended actions to be taken. This subsystem includes wired
logic and software for the automatic reconfiguration of faults in time-criti-
cal subsystems (e.g., flight control, where a fault can destroy the aircraft
in less than three seconds). Quick-responses to safety-critical faults were
automated in flight-control systems by the 1980s. In the 1990s, the trend
was to automate the responses to slower-acting faults, thus reducing the
workload in one-pilot and two-pilot aircraft. The failure-monitoring sub-
system may include an on-board maintenance recorder, the radio trans-
mission of faults to reduce repair time, and an accident recorder whose
data survive a crash (required by law on many aircraft).
6. Collision avoidance. This subsystem predicts impending collisions with
other aircraft or the ground and recommends an avoidance maneuver
(Chapter 14 ).
7. Weather detection. This sub~.ystem observes weather ahead of the aircraft
so that the route of flight can be altered to avoid thunderstorms and areas
of high wind-shear. The sensors are usually radars (Chapter II) and lasers
(Chapter 8).
8. Emergency locator transmitter ( ELT). This subsystem is triggered auto-
matically on high-g impact or manually. In 1996, ELTs emit distinc-
tive tones on 121.5, 243, and 406 MHz [8]. These frequencies (and per-
haps soon 1.6 GHz) are monitored by search-and-rescue aircraft and by
SARSAT-COSPAS satellites.
1.8.2 Military Avionics

The avionics often cost 40% of the value of a military aircraft. In addition to the
navigation subsystem and the subsystems described in Section 1.8.1, military
avionics consist of
INTEGRATED AVIONICS 17
I. Radar, infrared, and other target sensors. These may have their own dis-
plays and controls or may share multipurpose devices.
2. Weapon management
• Fire control. Calculates lead angle for aiming guns and unguided rockets
at other aircraft and at ground targets.
• Stores management, that initializes and launches guided weapons: mis-
siles and bombs.
3. Electronic countermeasures. This subsystem detects, locates, and iden-
tifies enemy emitters of electromagnetic radiation. It may also generate
jamming signals. In 1996, electronic countermeasures were often so com-
plex that they were installed in an externally carried pod on specially
equipped aircraft.
4. Mission planning. Pre-flight mission planning is usually done at the air-
base by a computer that prepares coordinated flight plans for an entire
squadron. On-board software replans routes through enemy defenses
based on en-route observations. En-route replanning requires on-board
digital maps of the terrain and the real-time detection of enemy radars.
5. Formation flight. This subsystem maintains formation flight in instrument
meteorological conditions. It once consisted of beacons, transponders, and
communication links but is being replaced by relative GPS.
1.8.3 Architecture
Before the 1960s, electrical and electronic systems on aircraft consisted of inde-
pendent subsystems, each with its own sensors, analog computers, displays, and
controls. The appearance of airborne digital computers in the 1960s created the
first integrated avionic systems. The interconnectivity of airborne electronics is
called architecture. It involves six aspects:
l. Displays. They present information from the avionics to the pilots (Chap-
ters 9 and 15). The information consists of vertical and horizontal navi-
gation data, flight-control data (e.g., speed and angle of attack), and com-
munication data (radio frequencies). The displays show the status of all
subsystems including their faults. Displays consist of dedicated gauges,
dedicated glass displays, multipurpose glass displays, and the support-
ing symbol generators. In 1996, flat-panel vertical- and horizontal-situa-
tion displays were displacing cathode-ray tubes as "glass displays." Mul-
tipurpose displays of text and block diagrams are flat-panel matrices sur-
rounded by buttons whose labels change as the displays change. On-board
digital terrain data, used for mission planning, can be displayed on the
horizontal situation display or on a head-up display.
2. Controls. The means of inputting information from the pilots to the
avionics. The flight controls traditionally consist of rudder pedals and a
18 INTRODUCTION
control-column or stick. Fly-by-wire aircraft are increasingly using either

two-axis hand controllers and rudder pedals or (especially in manned
spacecraft) three-axis hand controllers. The subsystem controls consist of
panel-mounted buttons and ~;witches. Switches are also mounted on the
control column, stick, throttle, and hand-controllers; sometimes 5 buttons
per hand. The buttons on the periphery of multipurpose displays control
the subsystems.
3. Computation. The method of processing sensor data. Two extreme orga-
nizations of computation exist:
• Centralized. Data from all sensors are collected in a bank of central
computers in which software from several subsystems are intermingled.
The level of fault tolerance is that of the most critical subsystem, usu-
ally flight control. It has the simplest hardware and interconnections.
In 1996, central computers were redundant uniprocessors or multipro-
cessers.
• Decentralized. Each traditional subsystem retains its integrity. Hence,
navigation sensors feed a navigation computer, flight-control sensors
feed a flight-control computer that drives flight-control actuators, and
so on. This architecture requires complex interconnections but has the
advantages that fault-tolerance provisions can differ for each subsystem
according to the consequences of failure and that software is created
by experts in each subsystem, executes independently of other soft-
ware, and is easily modifted. When designed with suitable intercom-
puter channels and data-reasonability tests, decentralized systems have
more reliable software than do centralized systems.
Many avionic systems combine features of centralized and decentralized
architectures.
4. Data buses. Copper or fiber-optic paths among sensors, computers, actu-
ators, displays, and controls, as discussed in Chapter 15. Some data paths
are dedicated and some are multiplexed. Complex aircraft contain parallel
buses (one wire, pair of wires, or optical fiber per bit) and serial buses
(bits sent sequentially on one wire-pair or fiber). A large aircraft can have
a thousand pounds of signal. wiring.
5. Safety partitioning. Commercial fly-by-wire aircraft sometimes divide
the avionics into a highly redundant safety-critical flight-control system, a
dually redundant mission-critical flight-management system, and a nonre-
dundant maintenance system that collects and records data. Military air-
craft sometimes partition their avionics for reasons other than safety.
6. Environment. Avionic equipment are subject to aircraft-generated elec-
tric-power transients, whm.e effects are reduced by filtering and bat-
teries. Equipment are also subject to externally generated disturbances
from radio transmitters and lightning. The effects of external disturbances
(high-intensity radiated fields, HIRF) are reduced by shielding metal
HUMAN NAVIGATOR 19
wires and by using fiberoptic data buses. Aircraft constructed with a con-
tinuous metal skin have an added layer of Faraday shielding. Neverthe-
less, direct lightning strikes on antennas destroy input circuits and may
damage feed cables. A nearby strike may induce enough current to do the
same. Composite airframe structures can be transparent to radiation, thus
exposing the avionics and power systems to external fields.
7. Standards. The signals in space created by navaids are standardized by
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Montreal, a United
Nations agency [3]. These standards are written by committees that con-
sist of representatives of the member governments. Interfaces among
airborne subsystems, within the aircraft, are standardized by ARINC
(Aeronautical Radio, Inc.), Annapolis, Maryland, a nonprofit organiza-
tion owned by member airlines [1]. Other requirements are imposed
on airborne equipment by two nonprofit organizations supported by
member entities (mostly airframe and avionics manufacturers and gov-
ernment agencies). In the United States, RTCA, Inc. (Formerly Radio
Technical Commission for Aeronautics), Washington D.C., defines the
environmental specifications and test procedures for airborne hardware
and software, and writes performance specifications for airborne equip-
ment [5]. In Europe, EUROCAE (European Organisation for Civil Avi-
ation Equipment), Paris, produces specifications for airborne equipment,
some of which are in conjunction with RTCA [II]. Government agen-
cies in all major nations define rules governing the usage of naviga-
tion equipment in flight, weather minimums, traffic separation, ground
equipment required, pilot training requirements, and so on [6-1 0] (see
Chapters I 3, I 4). Some of these rules are standardized internationally
by ICAO. U.S. military organizations once issued their own standards for
airborne circuit boards but have accepted civil standards since the early
1990s.
1.9 HUMAN NAVIGATOR
Large aircraft often had (and a few still had in 1996) a third crew member, the
flight engineer, whose duties were to operate engines and aircraft subsystems
such as air conditioning and hydraulics. Aircraft operating over oceans once
carried a human navigator who used celestial fixes, whatever radio aids were
available, and dead reckoning to plot the aircraft's course on a paper chart (some
military aircraft still do). Those navigators were trained in celestial observato-
ries to recognize stars, take fixes, compute position, and plot the fixes.
The navigator's crew station disappeared in civil aircraft in the 1970s,
because inertial, Doppler, and radio equipment came into use that automati-
cally selected stations, calculated position, calculated waypoint steering, and
accommodated failures. Hence, instead of requiring a skilled navigator on each
20 INTRODUCTION
aircraft, a smaller number of even more skilled engineers were employed to

design the automated systems. Since the 1980s, the trend has been to automate
large aircraft so that subsystem management and navigation can be done by one
or two pilots. Displays and controls are discussed in Chapters 9 and I 5.
The key navigation skill in the twenty-first-century airplane is the operation
of flight-management, inertial, satellite-navigation, and VOR equipment, each
of which has different menus, inputting logic, and displays. The crew must
learn to operate them in all modes, respond to failures, and enter waypoints
for new routes manually. A new industry was created in the 1990s to pro-
duce computer-based trainers (called CBTs) that emulate subsystem software
and include replica control panels in order to allow crews to practice scenarios
without consuming expensive time on a full-mission simulator.
2 The Navigation Equations
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The navigation equations describe how the sensor outputs are processed in the
on-board computer in order to calculate the position, velocity, and attitude of the
aircraft. The navigation equations contain instructions and data and are part of
the airborne software that also includes moding, display drivers, failure detec-
tion, and an operating system, for example. The instructions and invariant data
are usually stored in a read-only memory (ROM) at the time of manufactur-
ing. Mission-dependent data (e.g., waypoints) are either loaded from a cock-
pit keyboard or from a cartridge, sometimes called a data-entry device, into
random-access memory (RAM). Waypoints are often precomputed in a ground-
based dispatch or mission-planning computer and transferred to the flight com-
puters.
Figure 2.1 is the block diagram of an aircraft navigation system. The system
utilizes three types of sensor information (as explained in Chapter 1):
1. Absolute position data from radio aids, radar checkpoints, and satellites
(based on range or differential range measurements).
2. Dead-reckoning data, obtained from inertial, Doppler, or air-data sen-
sors, as a means of extrapolating present position. A heading reference is
required in order to resolve the measured velocities into the computational
coordinates.
3. Line-of-sight directions to stars, which measure a combination of position
and attitude errors (as explained in Chapters I and 12).
The navigation computer combines the sensor information to obtain an esti-

mate of the aircraft's position, velocity, and attitude. The best estimate of posi-
tion is then combined with waypoint information to determine range and bear-
ing to the destination. Bearing angle is displayed and sent to the autopilot
as a steering command. Range to go is the basis of calculations, executed
in a navigation or flight-management computer, that predict time of arrival
at waypoints and that predict fuel consumption. Map displays, read from on-
board compact discs (CD-ROM, Section 2.9), are driven by calculated posi-
tion.
N
N
Heading
attitude
~--------------------------------------~
I
To cockpit displays
pointing sensors
'?-
I i I
I
I
Dead-
Inertial }
-.:::.. reckoning
----------· I
I
I
air data I
computations I
I
Doppler I
I
Position I Waypoints
I
velocity I
attitude · ·
Most
l
I
I
t ~ Time to go
Star line Celestial __... Position
probable Course
of sight
...::.
equations
position
-= computations ~ Range, bearing to displays, FMS
1---1
computations ~ Steering signals to autopilot
Position in ..., To map display
sensors ~
..:::.. To weapon computers
}
Radio (VOR, Velocity
Loran, Orne Positioning
Satellite (G
~~ computations J Pc
Radar data
Figure 2.1 Block diagram of an aircraft navigation system.

GEOMETRY OF THE EARTH 23
2.2 GEOMETRY OF THE EARTH
The Newtonian gravitational attraction of the Earth is represented by a gravi-

tational field G. Because of the rotation of the Earth, the apparent gravity field
g is the vector sum of the gravitational and centrifugal fields (Figure 2.2):
g= G- fix (fix R) (2.1)
where !1 is the inertial angular velocity of the Earth (15.04107 degjhr) and
R is the radius vector from the mass center of the Earth to a point where the
field is to be computed. The direction of g is the "plumb bob," or "astronomic"
vertical [ 10].
In cooling from a molten mass, the Earth has assumed a shape whose surface
is a gravity equipotential and is nearly perpendicular to g everywhere (i.e., no
horizontal stresses exist at the surface). For navigational purposes, the Earth's
surface can be represented by an ellipsoid of rotation around the Earth's spin
axis. The size and shape of the best-fitting ellipsoid are chosen to match the
sea-level equipotential surface. Mathematically, the center of the ellipsoid is
at the mass center of the Earth, and the ellipsoid is chosen so as to minimize
the mean-square deviation between the direction of gravity and the normal to
the ellipsoid, when integrated over the entire surface. National ellipsoids have
been chosen to represent the Earth in localized areas, but they are not always
good worldwide approximations. The centers of these national ellipsoids are
not exactly coincident and do not exactly coincide with the mass center of the
Earth [9]. In 1996, the World Geodetic System (WGS-84, [20]) was the best
approximation to the geoid, based on gravimetric and satellite observations.
Reference [20] contains transformation equations that convert between WGS-84
and various national ellipsoids. The differences are typically hundreds of feet,
though some isolated island grids are displaced as much as a mile from WGS-
84. The navigator does not ask that the Earth be mapped onto the optimum
ellipsoid. Any ellipsoid is satisfactory for worldwide navigation if all points on
Earth are mapped onto it.
The geometry of the ellipsoid is defined by a meridian section whose semi-
major axis is the equatorial radius a and whose semiminor axis is the polar
radius b, as shown in Figure 2.2. The eccentricity of the elliptic section is
defined as e= Va 2 - b 2 /a and the ellipticity, or flattening, asf =(a- b)/a.
The radius vector R makes an angle F c with the equatorial plane, where F c
is the geocentric latitude; R and F c are not directly measurable, but they are
sometimes used in mechanizing dead-reckoning equations.
The geodetic latitude F T of a point is the angle between the normal to the ref-
erence ellipsoid and the equatorial plane. Geodetic latitude is our usual under-
standing of map latitude. The term "geographic latitude" is sometimes used syn-
onymously with "geodetic" but should refer to geodetic latitude on a worldwide
ellipsoid.
The radii of curvature of the ellipsoid are of fundamental importance to dead-
~ Polar axis of Earth
and axis of ellipsoid
Surface of Earth
tA = astronomic latitude of P
tT = geodetic latitude of P
Nav.1on;ar. 4>c = geocentric latitude of P
=
PC= h height above
reference ellipsoid
OE ==a= semimajor axis
=
OD = b semiminor axis
Center of ellipsoid
and mass
center of Earth tc
0
Normal to reference ellipsoid
AvI
Figure 2.2 Meridian section of the Earth, showing the reference ellipsoid and gravity field.
GEOMETRY OF THE EARTH 25
reckoning navigation. The meridian radius of curvature, RM, is the radius of

the best-fitting circle to a meridian section of the ellipsoid:
RM = a(l - d-) "" a [ I + e

2 ( -3 sin 2 F T - I) ] (2.2)
(1 - e2 sin 2 F T )312 2
The prime radius of curvature, Rp, is the radius of the best-fitting circle to a
vertical east-west section of the ellipsoid:
Rp = a "" a [ I + -d- sm
. 2 F T] (2.3)
(l-e2sin 2 FT) 112 2
The Gaussian radius r~f curvature is the radius of the best-fitting sphere to the
ellipsoid at any point:
(2.4)
The radii of curvature are important, because they relate the horizontal com-
ponents of velocity to angular coordinates, such as latitude and longitude; for
example,
· Veast
lcos FT = - - - (2.5)
Rp +h
where h is the aircraft's altitude above the reference ellipsoid, measured along
the normal to the ellipsoid (nearly along the direction of gravity), and 1 is its
longitude, measured positively east.
For numerical work a= 6378.137 km = 3443.918 nmi,f = 1/298.2572, and
d- = f(2 -f) [18]. (One nautical mile = 1852 meters exactly, or 6076.11549
ft.) The angle between the gravity vector and the normal to the ellipsoid, the
deflection qf the vertical, is commonly less than 10 seconds of arc and is rarely
greater than 30 seconds of arc [18]. The magnitude of gravity at sea level is
g = 978.049( 1 + 0.00529 sin 2 F T) em/ sec 2 (2.6)
within 0.02 emf sec 2 . It decreases 10- 6 g for each 10-ft increase in altitude above
sea level [ 161.
26 THE NAVIGATION EQUATIONS
2.3 COORDINATE FRAMES
The position, velocity, and attitude of the aircraft must be expressed in a coordi-
nate frame. Paragraph l below describes the rectangular Earth-centered, Earth-
fixed (ECEF) coordinate frame, y; Paragraph 2 describes the Earth-centered
inertial (ECI) coordinate frame, Xi, which simplifies the computations for iner-
tial and stellar sensors. Other Earth-referenced orthogonal coordinates, called
Z;, can simplify navigation computations for some navaids and displays. Para-
graphs 3-5 describe coordinates commonly used in inertial navigation systems.
Paragraph 6 describes coordinates used in land navigators or in military air-
craft that support ground troops. Paragraphs 7-9 describe coordinates that were
important before powerful airborne digital computers existed.
l. Earth-centered, Earth-fixed (ECEF). The basic coordinate frame for nav-

igation near the Earth is ECEF, shown in Figure 2.3 as the y; rectangular
coordinates whose origin is at the mass center of the Earth, whose y 3 -
axis lies along the Earth's spin axis, whose y 1 axis lies in the Greenwich
meridian, and which rotates with the Earth [ l 0]. Satellite-based radio-nav-
igation systems often use these ECEF coordinates to calculate satellite and
aircraft positions.
2. Earth-centered inertial (ECI). ECI coordinates, x;, can have their origin at
the mass-center of any freely falling body (e.g., the Earth) and are nonro-
tating relative to the fixed stars. For centuries, astronomers have observed
Y3
North Pole
Geodetic wander-azimuth
coordinates
Figure 2.3 Na"Vigation coordinate frames.

COORDINATE FRAMES 27
the small relative motions of stars ("proper motion") and have defined
an "average" ECI reference frame [11]. To an accuracy of w-s degjhr,
an ECI frame can be chosen with its x 3 -axis along the mean polar axis
of the Earth and with its x 1- and x 2 -axes pointing to convenient stars (as
explained in Chapter 12). ECI coordinates have three navigational func-
tions. First, Newton's laws are valid in any ECI coordinate frame. Sec-
ond, the angular coordinates of stars are conventionally tabulated in ECI.
Third, they are used in mechanizing inertial navigators, Section 7.5.1.
3. Geodetic spherical coordinates. These are the spherical coordinates of
the normal to the reference ellipsoid (Figure 2.2). The symbol z 1 repre-
sents longitude 1; z2 is geodetic latitude F r, and z3 is altitude h above
the reference ellipsoid. Geodetic coordinates are used on maps and in the
mechanization of dead-reckoning and radio-navigation systems. Transfor-
mations from ECEF to geodetic spherical coordinates are given in [9] and
[23].
4. Geodetic wander azimuth. These coordinates are locally level to the ref-
erence ellipsoid. 23 is vertically up and z2 points at an angle, a, west of
true north (Figure 2.3). The wander-azimuth unit vectors, z 1 and z2, are
in the level plane but do not point east and north. Wander azimuth is the
most commonly used coordinate frame for worldwide inertial navigation
and is discussed below and in Section 7.5.1.
5. Direction cosines. The orientation of any z-coordinate frame (e.g., navi-
gation coordinates or body axes) can be described by its direction cosines
relative to ECEF y-axes. Any vector V can be resolved into either the y-
or z-coordinate frame. The y and z components of V are related by the
equation
(2.7)
where
C11 =-cos a sin 1- sin a sin F cos 1

C12 = cos a cos 1 - sin a sin F sin 1
C13 = cos F sin a
C21 = sin a sin 1 - sin F cos a cos 1
C22 = - sin a cos 1 - cos a sin F sin 1
C23 = cos F cos a
C31 = cos F cos 1
C32 = cos F sin 1
C33 =sin F (2.8)
The navigation computer calculates in terms of the Cu, which are usable
everywhere on Earth. The familiar geographic coordinates can be found

from the relations
sin F = C33,
or
Cos 2 F = c2! 3 + c223 = c231 + c232

C3o
tan l = C31
tan a = - -
c13 (2.9)
C23
wherever they converge. In polar regions, where a and l are not mean-
ingful, the navigation system operates correctly on the basis of the C;i.
Section 7.5.1 describes an inertial mechanization in direction cosines. If
the z-coordinate frame has a north-pointing axis, a = 0.
6. Map-grid coordinates. The navigation computer can calculate position in
map-grid coordinates such as Lambert conformal or transverse Mercator
xy-coordinates [13]. Grid coordinates are used in local areas (e.g., on mil-
itary battlefields or in cities) but are not convenient for long-range naviga-
tion. A particular grid, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), is widely
used by army vehicles of the western nations. The U.S. Military Grid
Reference System (MGRS) consists of UTM charts worldwide except,
in polar regions, polar stereographic charts [ 13]. The latter are projected
onto a plane tangent to the Earth at the pole, from a point at the opposite
pole.
7. Geocentric spherical coordinates. These are the spherical coordinates of
the radius vector R (Figure 2.2). The symbol z1 represents longitude
l; Z2 is geocentric latitude F c, and z3 is the radius. Geocentric coordi-
nates are sometimes mechanized in short-range dead-reckoning systems
using a spherical-Earth approximation. Initialization requires knowledge
of the direction toward the mass center of the Earth, a direction that is
not directly observable.
8. Transverse-pole spherical coordinates. These coordinates are analogous
to geocentric spherical coordinates except that their poles are deliberately
placed on the Earth's equator. The symbol z1 represents the transverse
longitude; Z2, the transverse latitude; and Z3, the radius. They permit non-
singular operation near the north or south poles, by placing the transverse
pole on the true equator. Transverse-polar coordinates involve only three
z; variables instead of nine direction cosines. However, they cannot be
used for precise navigation, since the transverse equator is elliptical, com-
DEAD-RECKONING COMPUTATIONS 29
plicating the precise definition of transverse latitude and longitude. They

are similar to but not identical to the stereographic coordinates often used
in polar regions. Transverse-pole coordinates were used in inertial and
Doppler navigation systems from 1955 to 1970 when primitive airborne
computers required simplified computations.
9. Tangent plane coordinates. These coordinates are always parallel to the
locally level axes at some destination point (Figure 2.3). They are locally
level only at that point and are useful for flight operations within a few
hundred miles of a single destination. Here z3 lies normal to the tangent
plane, and z2 lies parallel to the meridian through the origin. Section 7.5.1
describes the mechanization of an inertial navigator in tangent-plane coor-
dinates.
2.4 DEAD-RECKONING COMPUTATIONS
Dead reckoning (often called DR) is the technique of calculating position from
measurements of velocity. It is the means of navigation in the absence of posi-
tion fixes and consists in calculating the position (the Zi-coordinates) of a vehi-
cle by extrapolating (integrating) estimated or measured ground speed. Prior to
GPS, dead-reckoning computations were the heart of every automatic naviga-
tor. They gave continuous navigation information between discrete fixes. In its
simplest form, neglecting wind, dead reckoning can calculate the position of a
vehicle on the surface of a flat Earth from measurements of ground speed V R
and true heading wy:
Vnorth = vii cos Wy, y- Yo= ft

()
Vnorth dt
Veast = Vg sin Wy, X- Xo = ft

()
Veast dt (2.1 0)
where x- x 0 and y- y0 are the east and north distances traveled during the mea-
surement interval, respectively. Notice that a simple integration of unresolved
ground speed would give curvilinear distance traveled but would be of little
use for determining position.
Aircraft heading (best-available true heading) is measured using the quanti-
ties defined in Figure 2.4. With a magnetic compass, for example, the best avail-
able true heading is the algebraic sum of magnetic heading and east variation.
With a gimballed inertial system, the best available true heading is platform
heading (relative to the Zi computational coordinates) plus the wander angle
a (Section 7.5.2). When navigating manually in polar regions, dead-reckoned
velocity is resolved through best available grid heading.
True
north Grid
1' north Magnet1c
j1. north
(D1rection of 1
:2b~:~:r-t --- - ~~
1, Tr = true track
'Pr =true headmg
f \ ,J Gri?tion .,./
Vanation I j ~ J'b
~_j_/ ~ ~'I$'? V w = wind speed
I o~
I / Tr ~,-4i
I. . / j I
..:.~
Dntt
angle, o
True f -- i 7-Y':r \ Sideslip
angle,~
beanng, BT 1 1
1
True east
------ ---
( a)
V E = Earth speed
vg = ground speed = horizontal
(b) component of Vr;
YA =air-mass flight
path angle
YT = Earth-referenced
flight path angle
Figure 2.4 Geometry of dead reckoning.
In the presence of a crosswind the ground-speed vector does not lie along
the aircraft's center line but makes an angle with it (Figure 2.4). The true-o
track angle T 1 , the angle from true north to the ground-speed vector, is pre-
ferred for dead-reckoning calculations whe n it is available. The drift angle 0 can
be measured with a Doppler radar or a drift sight (a downward-pointing tele-
DEAD-RECKONING COMPUTATIONS 31
scope whose reticle can be rotated by the navigator to align with the moving
ground).
In a moving air mass
Vnorth = VTAS cos (8- ex) cos (lj;T + (3) + vwind-north

Veast = VTAS cos (8- ex) sin (1/;T + (3) + vwind-east (2.11)
where 8 is the pitch angle, VTAS is the true airspeed and (3 is the sideslip angle.
On a flat Earth, the north and east (or grid north and grid east) distances traveled
are found by integrating the two components of velocity with respect to time.
On a curved Earth, the position coordinates are not linear distances but angular
coordinates. Equations 2.5 show a method for transforming linear velocities
to angular coordinates. The accuracy of airspeed data is limited by errors in
predicted windspeed and by errors in measuring airspeed and drift angle.
The dead-reckoning computer can process Doppler velocity. If the Doppler
radar measures ground speed V., and drift angle o,
Vnorth = Vg cos (1/;T + o)
Veast = Vg sin (lj;T + o) (2.12)
Equivalently, the Doppler radar can measure the components of groundspeed

in body axes: v~ along-axis and v~ cross-axis (using the same symbols as in
Chapter 10), both of which can be resolved through the three attitude angles,
1/;T, pitch and roll. Antenna misalignment relative to the heading sensor can be
calibrated from a series of fixes, either in closed form or with a Kalman filter
(Chapter 3).
Equations 2.5 relate velocity to A and 'lr T on an ellipsoidal Earth. Similar
relations can be derived for the other coordinate frames discussed in Section 2.3.
The velocity with respect to Earth dRjdtly can be expressed in z; components
as follows:
dRI dRI z + (WyzXR)

dt (2.13)
dt v
For example, in a spherical coordinate frame whose z3 -axis lies along the posi-
tion vector R:
dRI =dR
- - R+(wyzXR)
A
dt y dt
where the first term is the rate of change of radius, along the radius vector,
and Wyz is the angular velocity of the Z;-coordinate frame relative to y;; R is
the unit vector in the direction of R. In direction-cosine mechanizations, the
C;J are related to the C;J by Equation 7.40, where w; - ll; of that equation is
identical to Wyz of this one.
2.5 POSITIONING
2.5.1 Radio Fixes

There are five basic airborne radio measurements:
I. Bearing. The angle of arriva:t, relative to the airframe, of a radio signal

from an external transmitter. Bearing is measured by the difference in
phase or time of arrival at multiple antennas on the airframe. At each bear-
ing, the distortion caused by the airframe may be calibrated as a function
of frequency. If necessary, calibration could also include roll and pitch.
2. Phase. The airborne receiver measures the phase difference between
continuous-wave signals emitted by two stations using a single airborne
antenna. This is the method of operation of VOR azimuth and hyperbolic
Omega (Chapter 4).
3. Time difference. The airborne receiver measures the difference in time of
arrival between pulses sent from two stations. A 10- 4 clock (one part in
I 04 ) is adequate to measure the short time interval if both pulses are sent
simultaneously. Because Loran pulses can be transmitted 0.1 sec apart,
a clock error less than 10- 6 is needed to measure the time difference.
In time-differencing and phase-measuring systems (hyperbolic Loran), at
least two pairs of stations are required to obtain a fix.
4. Two-way range. The airborne receiver measures the time delay between
the transmission of a pulse and its return from an external transponder
at a known location. Round-trip propagation times are typically less than
a millisecond, during which the clock must be stable. A 1% range error
requires a clock-stability of 0.3% (3 x 10- 3 ), which is two microseconds
at 100-km range. The calculation of range requires knowledge of the prop-
agation speed and transponder delay. DME is a two-way ranging system
(Section 4.4.6).
5. One-way range. The airborne receiver measures the time of arrival with
respect to its own clock. If the airborne clock were synchronized with the
transmitter's clock upon departure from the airfield and ran freely there-
after, a I% range error at a distance of I 00 km from a fixed station would
require a clock error of one microsecond, which is 5 x 10- 11 of a five-
hour mission. When 25,000-km distances to GPS satellites are to be mea-
sured with a one-meter error, a short-term clock stability of one part in 3
x I 0 8 would be needed to measure range and I o- 4 seconds absolute time
POSITIONING 33
error would be needed to calculate the satellite's position (GPS satellites

are moving at 3000 ft/sec relative to Earth). Together these would require
an error of one part in I 0 12 for a clock synchronized with the transmitters
at the start of a ten-hour mission and allowed to run freely thereafter. Only
an atomic clock had this accuracy in 1996. Therefore practical one-way
ranging systems use a technique called pseudoranging. The transmitters
contain atomic clocks with long-term stabilities of about 10- 13 , while the
airborne receiver's clocks have accuracies and stabilities of 10- 6 to 10- 9 .
The airborne computer solves for the aircraft's clock offset (and some-
times, drift rate) by making redundant range measurements. For exam-
ple, measuring four pseudoranges obtains three-dimensional position and
clock offset to a few nanoseconds using Equations 2.17 and 2.18. Pseu-
doranging is used in GPS and GLONASS (Chapter 5) and in one-way
ranging (direct ranging) of Loran and Omega (Chapter 4).
2.5.2 Line-of-Sight Distance Measurement

Figure 2.5 shows an aircraft near the surface of the Earth at R0 and a radio
station that may be near the surface or in space, at R,i· The slant range, IR,i-
R0 I, from the aircraft to the station could be measured by one-way or two-way
v
ranging. If is the unit local vertical vector at the aircraft, the elevation angle
of the line of sight to the radio station is
Y3
Radio station i
Surface of earth
Yl
Figure 2.5 Light-of-sight distance.
v · (R,.;- Ro)
sin E = -----,------,-- (2.14)
IR.,;- Rol
If n is the unit north-pointing horizontal vector at the aircraft, the azimuth angle
of the line of sight is
'' x (R,; - Ro) ,

sin Az = IR,;- Ro I cos E x n (2.15)
These vector equations can be resolved into any coordinate frame. For exam-
ple, in ECEF,
n= - xsin <Jl cos A - y sin <Jl sin A + zcos <Jl

v= xcos <Jl cos A + ycos <Jl sin A + zsin <Jl
R = x(Rm +h) cos <Jl cos A+ jl(Rm +h) cos <Jl sin A
(2.16)
In one-way ranging systems, where the clock offset and range are to be cal-
culated, the measured pseudorange vector from the ith station, R;m, is R 0 -
R,;, corrected for the unknown offset of the airborne clock and for propagation
delays in the atmosphere, expressed in distance units. The magnitude of the
pseudorange in any coordinate frame (e.g., ECEF) is
R;m = ryc(TOA)
Rim(k) = [(xk- x,.;) 2 + (yk- y,;) 2 + (Zk- z.,;) 2 ] 1/ 2 -ryctk (2.17)
where
is the measured pseudorange from the aircraft to the ith
station
Rim(k) is the calculated pseudorange in the kth iteration.
TOA; is the time of arrival of the signal from the ith station
relative to the expected time of arrival as measured by
the aircraft's clock
c is the speed of light in vacuum = 2.99792458x 108 m/sec
POSITIONING 35
YJ is the average index of refraction in the propagation

medium; partly space, partly atmosphere
xb Yb Zk is the unknown position of the aircraft (in the kth
computational iteration)
x,;, y,;, Zsi is the known position of the ith station
tk is the computed time offset of the aircraft's clock relative to
the station's clock in the kth iteration
The stations may be moving (e.g., satellites) or stationary (e.g., GPS pseudolites).
Four pseudorange measurements are needed to solve for the four unknowns in
Equations 2.17: aircraft position and clock offset. When more than four measure-
ments are made, the equations are overdetermined so that a solution requires a
model of the ranging errors, for example, using a Kalman filter (Chapter 3). The
airborne computer usually solves for its position by assuming a position and clock
offset, calculating the pseudoranges to four stations from Equation 2.17, compar-
ing to the measured pseudoranges (with respect to its own clock), and iterating
until the calculated and measured pseudoranges are close enough. The next iter-
ation is chosen as follows: In the kth iteration, the assumed position is xk Yk Zk
whose range to the ith station differs from the measured range R;m by LlXk =
R;m(k)- R,;. The components of LlXk in the navigation coordinates are LlXk, LlYb
and LlZk. The sensitivity of R;111 to position is
(2.18)
where dR;m/dX1 are the direction cosines between the line of sight to the ith
station and the jth coordinate axis and Llt k is the error in estimating clock offset.
If the assumed position and clock offset were correct, LlXk. LlYk, LlZk, and Lltk
would be zero and LlR;k would also be zero. But if the assumed position were
misestimated by LlXk, the error along the line of sight would be the dot product
of the unit vector along the line of sight with LlXk. Thus after computing Rimk
from Equation 2.17, the next iteration is Rim(k + l) = Rim(k)+LlXk. Iterations cease
when the difference between the calculated and measured pseudorange is within
the desired accuracy. A recursive filter allows a new calculation of position
and clock offset after each measurement (Chapters 3 and 5). In Equation 2.17,
Earth-based line-of-sight navaids use an average index of refraction YJ (Chapter
4), whereas satellite-based navaids, whose signals propagate mostly in vacuum,
assume that YJ = I and correct for the atmosphere with a model resident in the
receiver's software (Section 5.4).
2.5.3 Ground-Wave One-Way Ranging

Loran and Omega waves propagate along the curved surface of the Earth (as
explained in Chapter 4). With either sensor, an aircraft can measure the time
of arrival of the navigation signal from two or more stations and compute its
own position as follows:
• Assume an aircraft position.

• Calculate the exact distance and azimuth to each radio transmitter using
ellipsoidal Earth equations [ 18].
• Calculate the predicted propagation time and time of arrival allowing for
the conductivity of the intervening Earth's surface and the presence or
absence of the dark/light terminator between the aircraft and the station
(as described in Chapter 4).
• Measure the time of arrival using the aircraft's own clock, which is usually
not synchronized to the transmitter's clock.
• Calculate the difference between the measured and predicted times of
arrival to each station.
• The probable position is the assumed position, offset by the vector sum
of the time differences, each in the direction of its station, converted to
distance.
• Assume a new aircraft position and iterate until the residual is within the
allowed error.
Three or more stations are needed if the aircraft's clock is not synchronized
to the Loran or Omega transmitters. If a receiver incorporated a sufficiently sta-
ble clock, only two stations would be needed for a direct-ranging fix. Two-sta-
tion fixes with a synchronized clock or three-station fixes with an asynchronous
clock result in two position solutions, at the intersections of two circular, each
having a vortex at a transmitter. The correct position can be found by receiving
an additional station or from a priori knowledge.
2.5.4 Ground-Wave Time-Differencing

An aircraft can measure the difference in time of arrival of Loran or Omega
signals from two or more stations (Chapter 4). To measure the time-difference
within 0.1% requires a 0.03% accuracy clock, which is less expensive than
the 10- 11 clock required for unconrected one-way ranging or the 10- 6 to 10- 9
clock required for pseudoranging (Section 2.5.1). As in one-way ranging, the
iterative procedure is based on the precise calculation of propagation time from
the aircraft to each station on an ellipsoidal Earth:
• Assume an aircraft position.

• Calculate the exact range and azimuth from the assumed position to each
observed radio station using ellipsoidal Earth equations [ 18].
• Calculate the predicted propagation time allowing for the conductivity of
TERRAIN-MATCHING NAVIGATION 37
the intervening Earth's surface and the presence of the sunlight terminator
between the aircraft and the station.
• Subtract the times to two stations to calculate the predicted difference in
propagation time.
• Measure the difference in time of arrival of the signals from the two sta-
tions.
• Subtract the measured and predicted time differences to the two stations.
• Calculate the time-difference gradients from which is calculated the most
probable position of the aircraft after the measurements (see Section 2.5.2
of the First Edition of this book and Chapter 4 of this book).
• Iterate until the residual is smaller than the allowed error.
2.6 TERRAIN-MATCHING NAVIGATION
These navigation systems obtain occasional updates when the aircraft overflies
a patch of a few square miles, chosen for its unique profile [5]. A digital map
of altitude above sea level, h,, is stored for several parallel tracks; see Figure
2.6. For example, if 0.1-nmi accuracy is desired, h,(t) must be stored in 200-ft
squares sampled every 0.2 sec at 600 knots.
The aircraft measures the height of the terrain above sea level as the differ-
ence between barometric altitude (Chapter 8) and radar altitude (Chapter 10);
see Figure 2.7. Each pair of height measurements and the dead-reckoning posi-
tion are recorded and time-tagged.
After passing over the patch, the aircraft uses its measured velocity to calcu-
late the profile as a function of distance along track, hm(x), and calculates the
cross-correlation function between the measured and stored profiles:
Terrain Terrain profile

patch
Stored track + 1
-------~-
Nominal track - -~
------------~------~~~--
Stored track -1 ~
-- --
-------~- ~------~
Figure 2.6 Parallel tracks through terrain patch.

hradar
Sea level
Figure 2.7 Measurement of terrain altitude.
ilA
r:f>ms(7) =
f
0
hm(x)h,(x- 7) dx (2.19)
where the map patch has a length A. The integration is long enough (n > l) to
ensure that the patch is sampled, even with the expected along-track error. The
computer selects the track whose cross-correlation is largest as the most prob-
able track. The computer selects the x-shift of maximum correlation 7 as the
along-track correction to the dead-reckoned position. Heading drift is usually
so small that correlations are not required in azimuth. The algorithm accom-
modates offsets in barometric altitude caused by an unknown sea-level setting.
The width of the patch depends on the growth rate of azimuth errors in the
dead-reckoning system. Simpler algorithms have been used ("mean absolute
differences") and more complex Kalman filters have been used [5].
Terrain correlators are built under the names TERCOM, SITAN, and TER-
PROM. They are usually used on unmanned aircraft (cruise missiles) and can
achieve errors less than 100 ft [ 1, 8]. The feasibility of this navigation aid
depends on the existence of unique terrain patches along the flight path and
on the availability of digital maps of terrain heights above sea level. The U.S.
Defense Mapping Agency produces TERCOM maps for landfalls and mid-
course updates in three-arcsec grids.
2.7 COURSE COMPUTATION
2.7.1 Range and Bearing Calculation

The purpose of the course computation is to calculate range and bearing from
an aircraft to one or more desired waypoints, targets, airports, checkpoints, or
COURSE COMPUTATION 39
radio beacons. The computation begins with the best-estimate of the present
position of the aircraft and ends by delivering computed range and bearing to
other vehicle subsystems (Figure 2.1 ). Waypoints may be loaded before depar-
ture or inserted en route. The navigation computer, mission computer, or flight-
management computer performs the steering calculations.
Range and bearing to a destination can be calculated by using either the
spherical or the plane triangle of Figure 2.8. If flat-Earth approximations are
satisfactory, the xy coordinates of the aircraft are computed using the dead-
reckoning Equation 2.1 0; x 1 and y 1 of the targets are loaded from a cassette or
from a keyboard. Then, range D and bearing BT to the target, measured from
true north, are
1 X- Xt
BT =tan (2.20)
Y- Yt
The crew will want a display of relative bearing (BR = BT - 1/JT) or relative
track (TR = BT- T T). BT is the true bearing of the target. Relative bearing BR
is the horizontal angle from the longitudinal axis of the aircraft to the target,
and relative track T R is the horizontal angle from the ground track of the aircraft
to the target (Figure 2.4 ).
1
If .::1}.. and Llcll are less than radian, the plane triangle solution exceeds the
Ya
North pole
Waypoint
L = departure from airway

Y1 ll1 =range-to-go angle
0 2 = range-to-go along airway
D =distance-to-go= R01
Figure 2.8 Course-line calculations.
spherical triangle solution by a range !1D:
(2.21)
This error is 36 nmi at a range of D = 1000 nmi, an azimuth Br = 45 deg and

a latitude of cp = 45 deg. If this is not sufficiently accurate, a spherical-triangle
solution may be used:
D
cos ~ = sin cp sin cp 1 + cos cp cos cp 1 cos (/\ - 1\ 1)
Rc
(2.22)
Rc is the Gaussian radius of curvature, Equation 2.4. At long range, where the
absolute and percent errors are largest, they are usually least significant. Within
I 00 nmi of the aircraft, the Earth can be assumed flat within an error of 0.3
nm1.
Steering and range-bearing computations can be performed directly from the
Z; navigation coordinates or from the direction cosines Ci to prevent singular-
ities near the north and south poles.
Knowing the measured or computed ground speed, an aircraft can be steered
in such a manner that the ground speed vector-not the longitudinal axis of
the aircraft-tracks toward the de~:ired waypoint (relative track is the steering
command that is nulled). The difference between heading toward the target
and tracking toward the target is significant only for helicopters; the vehicle
eventually arrives there in either case, by slightly different paths.
Two general kinds of steering to a destination are commonly used: (I) steer-
ing directly from the present position to the destination and (2) steering along
a preplanned airway or route. The former results in area navigation (Section
2.7.4) using the shortest (though not necessarily the fastest) route to the des-
tination, whereas the latter is representative of flying along assigned airways
(Chapter 14). Either steering method may be solved by the plane-triangle or
spherical-triangle calculation.
The rhumb line is used by ships and simple aircraft. It is defined by flying
at a constant true heading to the local meridians. The resulting flight path is a
straight line on a Mercator chart. A1,rcraft sometimes divide a complex route into
rhumb-line segments so that each segment can be flown at constant heading.
More often, the continually changing heading toward the next waypoint is
recomputed and fed to the autopilot. Since the great circle maps into a near-
straight line on a Lambert conformal chart, the crew can monitor the flight
path by manual plotting, if desired. In the twenty-first century, electronic map
displays will show the moving aircraft on charts.
2.7.2 Direct Steering

The steering computer calculates the ground speed V1 along the direction to
the destination and V 2 normal to the line of sight to the destination. The com-
manded ~ank angle is made proportional to V 2 in order that the aircraft's head-
ing rate H be driven to zero when flying along the desired great circle. If Va
is airspeed, if= (g/Va) tan r:/> and the commanded bank angle is
(2.23)
K 2 provides some anticipation when approaching the correct direction of flight.

The commanded bank angle r:f>c is limited to a maximum value (e.g., 15 deg) in
order to avoid violent maneuvers when the aircraft's flight direction is greatly in
error.
Near the destination, the computation of lateral speed, V 2 , becomes sin-
gular, and the steering signal would fluctuate erratically. To prevent this, the
track angle or heading is frozen and held until the destination (computed from
range-to-go and ground speed) is passed. The range at which the steering must
be frozen is determined by simulation. This navigation method is sometimes
called proportional navigation, a term derived from missile-steering techniques
in which the heading rate of the vehicle is made proportional to the line-of-sight
rate to the target.
The normal to the great-circle plane connecting present position R 3 to the
destination R 2 is defined by the unit vector u:
(2.24)
(Figure 2.8). The lateral speed V 2 is the magnitude of the dot product of the air-
craft's velocity with this unit vector. The range to go from R 3 to R 2 is given by
Equation (2.20) or (2.22). Time to go is calculated from the proposed velocity
schedule.
The fastest route is neither the great circle nor the airway because of winds,
especially because of the stratospheric jet stream whose speed often exceeds I 00
knots. Thus where high-altitude aircraft are not confined to airways, they follow
preplanned "pressure-pattern" routes that take advantage of cyclonic tail winds.
2.7.3 Airway Steering

The steering algorithm calculates a great circle from the takeoff point (or from
a waypoint) to the destination (or to another waypoint). The aircraft is steered
along this great circle by calculating the lateral deviation L (Figure 2.8) from
the desired great circle and commanding a bank angle:
(2.25)
The integral-of-displacement term is added to give zero steady-state displace-

ment from the airway in the presence of a constant wind and is also used in
automatic landing systems (Chapter 13) in order to couple the autopilot to the
localizer beam of the instrument-landing system. The bank angle is limited, to
prevent excessive control commands when the aircraft is far off course. Near
the destination, the track, or heading, is frozen to prevent erratic steering.
As the aircraft passes each waypoint, a new waypoint is fetched, thus select-
ing a new desired track. The aircraft can then fly along a series of airways
connecting checkpoints or navigation stations.
The great-circle airway is defined by the waypoint vectors R 1 and Rz. The
angle to go to waypoint 2 is:
IR3 x Rzl
(2.26)
IR311Rzl
Range and time to go are calculared as in Section 2.7.2. The lateral-deviation

angle L/D is:
(2.27)
These computations can be performed directly in terms of the navigation coor-

dinates z;.
2.7.4 Area Navigation

Between 1950 and approximately 1980, aircraft in developed countries flew on
airways, guided by VOR bearing signals (Chapter 4). Position along the airway
could be determined at discrete intersections (~in Figure 2.9) using cross-bear-
ings to another VOR. In the 1970s DME, colocated with the VOR, allowed
aircraft to determine their position along the airways continuously. Thereafter,
regulating authorities allowed them to fly anywhere with proper clearances, a
technique called RNAV (random navigation) or area navigation. RNAV uses
combinations of VORs and DME~. to create artificial airways either by connect-
ing waypoints defined by latitude/longitude or by triangulation or trilateration
to VORTAC stations (as shown by the dotted lines to A 1 in Figure 2.9). The
on-board flight-management or navigation computer calculates the lateral dis-
placement L from the artificial airway and the distance D to the next waypoint
A 1 along the airway [24b,c], [25].
In Figure 2.9, p 1 and P3 are the measured distances to the DME stations at
~Pk = Position correction

for next iteration
p2
_... ---- --,
--- Pt
''
'' '
''
I
I ''
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
.'
L is lateral displacement from airway

D is distance to waypoint
Figure 2.9 Plan view of area-navigation fix.
VI and v3. The position PI is found from the triangle PI VI V3. The aircraft's
position must be known well enough to exclude the false solution at P 2 . An
artificial airway is defined by the points A 1 and A 2 • D and L are usually found
iterati vel y:
1. Assume P 1 based on prior navigation information.

2. Calculate the ranges p 1 and p 3 to the DMEs at V1 and V 3 using the range
equations of Section 2.5.2. A range-bearing solution relative to a single
VOR station calculates the aircraft's position, but not as accurately as a
range-range solution to two stations.
3. Correct the measured ranges for the altitudes of the aircraft and DME
station.
4. Subtract the measured and calculated ranges
!::J.p 1 = P 1(measured) - P 1(calculated)

I::J.p3 = P3(measured) - P3(calculated)
5. The next estimate of p 1 is along the vector I::J.pk in Figure 2.9, whose
components along p 1 and P3 are I::J.p 1 and I::J.p3.
6. Repeat step 2 and iterate until I::J.p; are acceptably small.
After determining the aircraft's position P 1 , the distance-to-go and lateral dis-
placement are calculated as in Section 2.7. Lis sent to the autopilot, as explained
in Section 2.7.3, and D is used to calculate time-to-go.
In the 1990s, civil aircraft were being allowed the freedom to leave RNAV
airways (Section 1.5.3) using GPS, inertial, Omega, and Loran navigation, none
of which constrain aircraft to airways.
2.8 NAVIGATION ERRORS
2.8.1 Test Data

Navigation errors establish the width of commercial airways, the spacing of
runways, and the risk of collision. Navigation errors determine the accuracy of
delivering weapons and pointing sensors.
All navigation systems show a statistical dispersion in their indication of
position and velocity. Test data can be taken on the navigation system as a whole
and on its constituent sensors. Tests are conducted quiescently in a laboratory,
in an artificial environment (e.g., rate table or thermal chamber), or in flight.
As accuracies improve, the statistical dispersions, once considered mere noise,
become important enough to predict (as discussed in Chapter 3).
The departure of a commercial aircraft from its desired flight path is some-
times divided into:
I. Navigation sensor errors

2. Computer errors
3. Data entry errors
4. Display error if the aircraft [s flown by a pilot
5. Flight technical error, which is the departure of the pilot-flown or
autopilot-flown aircraft from the computed path
Deterministic errors are added algebraically and statistical errors are root
sum squared. The total is sometimes called total system error.
The two- or three-dimensional vector position error r can be defined as indi-
cated minus actual position. A series of measurements taken on one navigation
system or on any sample of navigation systems will yield a series of position
measurements that are all different but that cluster around the actual position.
If the properties of the navigation systems do not change appreciably with age,
if the factory is neither improving nor degrading its quality control, and if all
systems are used under the same conditions, then the statistics of the series
of measurements taken on any one system are the same as those taken for a
sample ("ensemble") of systems. Mathematically it is said that the statistics are
ergodic and stationary.
If the position errors are plotted in two dimensions, as shown in Figure 2.1 0,
NAVIGATION ERRORS 45
Arbitrary y axis
Principal x axis
• •
Arbitrary x axis
•
Actual position _or
Figure 2.10 Two-dimensional navigation errors. In principal axes, the x andy statistics
are independent.
it will generally be found that the average position error r = Et:.r;/N) is not zero
(t:.ri are the individual position errors; N is the total number of measurements).
Two measures of performance are the mean error and the circular error probabil-
ity (CEP) (also known as the circular probable error, CPE). The CEP is usually
considered to be the radius of a circle, centered at the actual position (but more
properly centered at the mean position of a group of measurements) that encloses
50% of the measurements. The mean error and the CEP may be suitable as crude
acceptance tests or specifications, but they yield little engineering information.
More rigorously, the horizontal position error should be considered as a
bivariate (two-dimensional) distribution. The mean error r and the directions
of the principal axes x andy, for which errors in x and y are uncorrelated, must
be found. To find the principal axes, a convenient orthogonal coordinate system
(x',y') is established with its origin at r. Then the standard deviation (or rms)
a in each axis and the correlation coefficient p between axes are calculated:
L,(x;)2
N
L,(y;)2
N
~ ''
L...XiYi
p=-- (2.28)
Gx'G:/
From these quantities are determined a new set of coordinates, xy, which are
rotated () from x' y':
2ax'av'
tan 2() = 2
·
2
p (2.29)
ax'~ ay'
The origin of the new xy-coordinates coincides with the origin of x' y'. The com-
ponents of the position errors along x and y are uncorrelated and can be consid-
ered separately. In inertial systems, the principal axes are usually the instrument
axes. In Doppler systems, the principal axes are along the velocity vector and
normal to it or along the aircraft axis and normal to it if the antenna is body-
fixed (as was usually the case in 1996). In Loran systems, the principal axes
are found by diagonalizing the covariance matrix. The rms errors in the new
coordinates can be calculated anew or can be found from the errors in x'y' from
[7, p. 598].
The one-dimensional statistics along either of the principal axes will now be
discussed. First, the mean and standard deviation are found in each independent
axis. The errors along each axis are plotted separately as cumulative distribution
curves, which show the fraction of errors less than x versus x. This curve allows
all properties of the statistics to be determined. In many systems, experimental
cumulative distributions will fit a Gaussian curve.
If the one-dimensional errors are indeed Gaussian, their statistics have the
following properties:
Mean x
Standard deviation (rms) a
50% of the errors lie within x ± 0.675a (probable error)
68.3% of the errors lie within x±a
95.4% of the errors lie within x±2a
99.7% of the errors lie within x±3a
From these properties of the Gaussian distribution, it is easy to tell whether

an experimentally determined cumulative distribution curve is approximately
Gaussian. Reference [7] shows statistical tests for "normality" of experimental
data.
Returning to the two-dimensional case, the probability that a navigation error
falls within a rectangle 2m by 2n, centered at the mean and aligned with the prin-
cipal axes (x andy uncorrelated), is found by multiplying the tabulated error func-
tions form/ ax and nj a v computed independently. Tables for the probability inte-
gral ([14], p. 116) can be used instead for mj(ax..Ji) and n/(ayh). For exam-
ple, if ax = 0.4 nmi and a y = 1.0 nmi, the probability of falling inside a rectan-
gle 1.2 nmi (in x) by 2.4 nmi (in YLis the product of the probability integrals for
(0.6/0A..Ji) = I .06 and ( 1.2/ 1.0V2) = 0.85, which is 0.866 x 0.770 = 66%. Thus,
the I .2 by 2.4 nmi rectangle encloses 66% of the navigation errors.
NAVIGATION ERRORS 47
Navigation systems, civil and military, are often specified by the fraction of
navigation errors that fall within a circle of radius E p, centered on the mean.
Figure 2.11 shows this probability if ax and a y are Gaussian distributed and
uncorrelated. For example, if ax = 0.4 nmi and a y = 1.0 nmi, b = ax/ ay = 0.4.
If the radius of the circle is E p = 1.5 nmi, then a = E p /a y = 1.5, and from the
graph, P = 0.85. Thus, 85% of the errors fall within a circle of radius 1.5 nmi.
Weapons often inflict damage in a circular pattern. Hence, military tactical
navigation systems are sometimes specified by the CEP, the radius of the circle
that encompasses 50% of the navigation errors (which are inherently elliptically
distributed):
. av
CEP = 0.59(ax + ay) ± 3% 1f - · < ax < 3a y (2.30)
3
When ax= ay =a, the CEP = 1.18a.1 and, from Figure 2.11, 95% of the
navigation errors lie within a circle of radius 2.45a.
o..0.8
"'
"''2
'0
~0.7~--~--~~~~--~----4----4----~
0
Q)
u
~0.6~--~--~~~4----4----4----4----~
c:
.r.
·~ 0.5 1-----+-+->f----t+-1--4------t----+-----+----+-l
Ep
~
a=-
Uy
0
~ 04 f-----++--+-11----4-------'u. - - - x<Uy--H
b= u;
~03r--~~-+~----+------+----+-----+----+-l
..6
"'
..0
0
0: 0. 2 f--1--ft-J'f-----1-----+------1----+------t-----t-1
2 3
a
Figure 2.11 Probability of an error lying within a circle of radius tp. (ax and av are
the uncorrelated standard deviations in x andy.) From unpublished paper by Bacon and
Sondberg.
Navigation errors are frequently defined in terms of a circle of radius 2drms

where
(2.31)
If ax = a y = a, 2drms = 2ha = 2.83a which, from Figure 2.10, encompasses

98% of the errors. However, if a.,, -:/: ay, the 2drms circle can enclose as few
as 95% of the errors. Sometimes a 3drms error is specified that encompasses
99.99% of the errors; collecting enough relevant data to measure compliance
with 3drms is usually impossible.
In three dimensions, the usual measure of navigation performance is the
radius of a sphere, 2drmsj3D:
(2.32)
If ax = a, = az = a, the 2drmsj3D sphere has a radius 2v3"a = 3.46a and

encloses 99% of the Gaussian-distributed navigation errors. In other words, if
the single-axis standard deviation:; are one nautical mile, a sphere of 3.5-nmi
radius encloses 99% of the errors. Military systems sometimes define a sphere
whose radius is the spherical error probable (SEP) that encloses 50% of all
three-dimensional errors. If the three variances are equal, the radius of the SEP
sphere is l.54a.
Navigation test data are often not Gaussian distributed; they have large tails
(outliers or wild points). Measures based on mean square are greatly increased
by these outlying points. Hence, test specifications are often written in terms
of the "95% radius," the radius of a horizontal circle, centered on the desired
navigation fix, that encloses 95% of the test points. As noted earlier, if the data
were Gaussian, if the two axes had equal standard deviations and if the mean
were at the desired fix (no bias), then the circle radius 2.45a would enclose
95% of the test points.
2.8.2 Geometric Dilution of Precision

Geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) relates ranging errors (e.g., to a radio
beacon) to the dispersion in measured position. If three range measurements are
made in orthogonal directions, the standard deviations in the aircraft's position
error are the same as those of the three range sensors. However, if the range
measurements are nonorthogonal or there are more than three measurements,
the aircraft's position error can be slightly smaller or much larger than the error
in each range.
If the variances in ranging errors to each station are equal, a J?, and if the
DIGITAL CHARTS 49
uncorrelated variances of aircraft position are a.~, a~ and a; in locally level

coordinates, then, by definition, the position dilution of precision is
(PDOP) 2 = (2.33)
and the horizontal dilution of precision (HDOP) is
(HDOP) 2 = (2.34)
In pseudoranging systems, the GDOP is
(GDOP) 2 = (PDOP) 2 + (TDOP) 2
where TDOP is the time dilution of precision, the contribution of clock error
to the error in pseudorange. Equations for GDOP, PDOP, and HDOP, when the
standard deviations in range to each station are different, are provided in [ 12].
Dilution of precision plays an important role in radio-ranging computations,
especially for Loran (Chapter 4) and GPS (Chapter 5). Detailed GDOP equa-
tions for Loran are in Section 4.5.1, for Omega in Section 4.5.2, and for GPS
in Section 5.5.2. Receivers usually flag a PDOP or HDOP greater than approx-
imately 6 as an indication of poor geometry of the radio stations, hence a poor
fix.
2.9 DIGITAL CHARTS
Traditional aeronautical charts are printed on paper. They are of three kinds:
I. Visual charts. Showing terrain, airports, some navaids, restricted areas

2. En-route instrument charts. Showing airways, navigation aids, intersec-
tions, restricted areas, and legal boundaries of controlled airspace. Air-
ways are annotated to show altitude restrictions; high terrain is identi-
fied.
3. Approach plates, standard approaches (STARs), and standard departures
(S/Ds). Showing horizontal and vertical profiles of preselected paths to
and from the runway, beginning or ending at en-route fixes. High terrain
and man-made obstacles are indicated. Missed approaches to a holding
fix are described visually.
Military targeting charts show the expected location of defenses, the initial
approach fix, the direction of approach, a visual picture of the target in season
(e.g., snow covered) and the preplanned escape route.
Since World War II, experiments have been made with analog charts driven
by automatic navigation equipment. Paper charts were unrolled or scanned onto
CRTs, while an aircraft "bug" was driven by the navigation computations. The
systems were limited by cost, reliability, and the need for wide swaths of chart
to allow for diversion. Their use was confined to some helicopters and experi-
mental military aircraft.
In 1996, digital maps were well··established in surveying data bases, the cen-
sus, automotive navigation, and other specialized uses. Manufacturers of nav-
igation sets created their own data base of navaids and airports or purchased
one. Small digital data bases were included in the navaid's ROM whereas large
data bases, especially those that included terrain, were usually delivered to cus-
tomers on CD-ROM. National cartographic services in the developed world
were all converting from paper maps to digital data bases. The U.S. Defense
Mapping Agency (DMA) issued a standard for topographic maps on CD-ROM
[19], and several other nations' cartographic agencies were doing the same. The
U.S. Defense Mapping Agency produces separate data bases for terrain eleva-
tion and cultural features. They can be stored separately and superimposed on
an airborne display. A U.S. National Imagery Transmission Format was created
to send and store digital data. The GRASS language was widely used in the
United States to manipulate DMA data [6]. Private companies were produc-
ing remarkably diverse Geograph:tc Information System (GIS) data bases. In
1996, at least one company (Jeppesen) was producing digital approach plates
on CD-ROM (4]. RTCA published a guide to aeronautical data bases [24a] as
did ARINC [26a].
The technical challenges have been (I) to standardize the medium (e.g., CD-
ROM), (2) to standardize the format of data stored on the medium so that any
disc could be loaded onto any aircraft, just as any chart can be carried on any
aircraft, and (3) to develop on-board software that displays sections of the chart
across which the aircraft seems to move (moving map or moving bug, or both)
and orient the chart properly (north up or velocity vector up). As the aircraft
nears the edge of the chart, the software must move to a new section while
avoiding hysteresis when flying near the edge of a chart. The expectation is
that CD-ROM en-route and approach charts will be readily available to military
users before the year 2000.
Digital chart displays have provisions for weather or terrain overlays (from
airborne radar or from uplinked data), and provisions for traffic overlays (from
on-board TCAS, ground uplink on Mode-S, or position broadcasts from other
aircraft, Chapter 14). Civil airlines, driven by cost considerations, may gradually
abandon their practice of purchasing charts and distributing them to the crews
in hard copy. Instead, they may at first print charts on demand in the dispatch
room from a central data base and, later, distribute portable digital charts on
CD-ROM or via radio uplink to be loaded into the aircraft avionics when the
crew boards.
SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT 51
2.10 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
The sequence of activities in preparing the navigation software is as follows:
I. The vehicle requirements are decomposed into the navigation system

requirements. The navigation functions are allocated to hardware and soft-
ware, usually after trade-off studies.
2. A mathematical model of the vehicle and sensors is prepared. Sensors,
such as radars and inertial instruments, are simulated with respect to accu-
racy and reliability.
3. Engineering simulations are conducted on the accuracy model to deter-
mine the scaling, calculation speed, memory size, word length, and mini-
mum degree of complexity required to obtain acceptable accuracy. Refer-
ence trajectories are defined, that specify flight paths, speed profiles, and
attitude histories. Often man-in-the-loop simulations are required using
a cockpit mock-up to assess the crew's work load. Another simulation
determines the system's reliability and availability, given the known reli-
ability of the constituent sensors and computers.
4. The equations are coded for the flight computer. Prior to 1975, most nav-
igation software was coded in assembly language to increase the execu-
tion speed. Thereafter, higher-order languages such as Fortran, C, Pascal,
Jovial, and Ada have been used, though hardware drivers are often still
written in assembly language. Subroutines and functional modules come
from libraries of well-tested routines that are re-used. The modules are
individually tested; then the complete program is gradually compiled and
tested. The contents must be documented at each stage, a process called
configuration control.
5. The code is verified by an independent agent. Mission-critical code,
whose failure causes diversion of the aircraft, undergoes a simple ver-
ification, sometimes by engineers in the same company who did not
participate in the development or test of the code. However, if navi-
gation code is embedded with code that can cause loss of the aircraft
(safety-critical code), the code must be further verified, usually by an
independent organization using independently derived mathematical mod-
els of the aircraft and sensors. The high cost of independent verifi-
cation encourages architectures in which safety-critical code is segre-
gated. RTCA describes the certification of airborne software [24d] as does
ARINC [26b].
6. The code is loaded into ROM chips (often into ultraviolet-erasable
EPROMs or into electrically-erasable programmable ROMs called EE-
PROMs or flash ROMs) that are installed in the computer by the manufac-
turer. EEPROM and flash-ROM code can be field-altered using test con-
nectors. Sometimes, when navigation is not embedded into safety-critical
software, the code is delivered to the airbase on tape or CD-ROM and
loaded into the flight computer via the on-board data bus. Revisions of
flight software may be issued from time to time.
7. A copy of the flight software is usually delivered to a training facility,
where it is used to check out crews in a ground simulator. The simulator
may be a part-task computer-based trainer (CBT); a terminal that emu-
lates the navigation keyboards, on-board computer, and displays; or it may
be a high-fidelity emulation of the cockpit and avionics. A high-fidelity
simulator may incorporate a flight computer that contains the navigation
software or may rely on a scientific computer, programmed to emulate the
flight computer. In a CBT, sensor inputs are simulated; in a high-fidelity
simulator, they may come from real or simulated hardware. Simulator
training is cheaper and often more effective than flight training.
8. The final task in the preparation of the navigation software is the evalua-
tion of its performance during flight versus the specification. This is done
by the aircraft manufacturer or operator.
2.11 FUTURE TRENDS
The increasing capability of airborne digital computers will permit more com-
plex algorithms to be solved. Companies that specialize in aircraft navigation
will continue to build libraries of proprietary algorithms that they incorporate
into their products. Crew interfaces will become more graphical to reduce work-
load and reduce errors in loading data. Direct loads from the ground via Mode-S
links and other data links (some via satellite) will be commonplace.
By the year 2000, on-board CD-ROM readers will display charts and flight-
manual data on military aircraft. The civil aviation industry may prefer to print
up-to-date paper charts for each flight in the dispatch rooms, downloaded from
a central data base, as an alternative to procuring and distributing them.
The software verification costs assigned to each aircraft will be substan-
tial, because they are amortized over a few hundred units, even with standard
libraries of routines.
PROBLEMS
2.1. The direction cosine matrix [C] transforms the Earth-centered inertial
coordinates y; into the locally-level navigation coordinates Zj· Let a = 0
when the aircraft is on the equator, and let the initial matrix be
[C] = [ ~ 0
0 !l
Let a= A..
PROBLEMS 53
(a) If the aircraft flies 90° due east, show the direction cosine matrix.
0I 00 0I]
Ans.
[0 I 0
(b) If the aircraft flies 90° due north from its original position, show the
direction cosine matrix.
Ans:
(c) If the aircraft flies 30° due east on the equator at 600 knots from its
original position, what are the C;i and the C;/ Use Equation 7.40.
Ans:
. 5
[C)=-- --J3
I -J3
I
--f3]1 hr
-]
57.3 [ I _-J3 O
2.2. An aircraft flies 3 hrs east then 2 hrs north at 300 knots at an altitude of
3 nmi, starting at 40° north latitude.
(a) Find its position using the flat-Earth dead-reckoning equations.
Ans. x = 900 nmi, y = 600 nmi.
(b) Find the final latitude-longitude using spherical-Earth equations with
the Gaussian radius of curvature.
Ans. <P = 49.98°, .1A = 19.54°.
(c) Find the final latitude-longitude using the ellipsoidal-Earth equations,
(2.5).
Ans. <P = 49.99°, .11-. = 19.50°.
(d) Find the distance from the start to the destination of case a using the
flat-Earth range equation, 2.20.
Ans. 1081.7 nmi.
(e) Find the distance to the destination of case b using the spherical-Earth
approximation with the Gaussian radius of curvature.
Ans. 1022.7 nmi.
(f) Find the distance to the destination of case b using the flat-Earth equa-
tions plus the correction of Equation 2.21.
Ans. 1027.0 nmi.
2.3. A GPS satellite is at the ECEF coordinates:
x= 14367.71 nmi, y=O, z=O
The observer is at latitude 45', longitude 45°, 30,000-ft altitude. Calculate

the distance from the aircraft to the satellite and the elevation of the line
of sight. Use the WGS dimensions on page 25.
Ans. R = 12,986.56 nmi, 8 = 43.5 deg.
2.4. Derive Equation 2.21. Hint: solve the spherical triangle for the cosine of
the range angle and express the coordinates of the waypoint as the present
position plus a small increment. Expand the sines to third order and the
cosines to second order.
2.5. Verify the calculations on page 46 for the probability of falling inside a
rectangle of edge 1.2 nmi (x = 0.6 nmi) by 2.4 nmi (y = 1.2 nmi). Let ax
= 0.4 nmi and a y = 2.4 nmi.
3 Multisensor Navigation
Systems
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Multisensor navigation is the process of estimating the navigation variables of

position, velocity, and attitude from a sequence of measurements from more
than one navigation sensor. There are essentially two broad categories for sen-
sors used in avionics suites for navigation and related functions: dead-reckoning
sensors and positioning sensors. The processing equations for these are given
in Chapter 2.
Dead-reckoning sensors provide a measure of acceleration or velocity with
respect to an Earth-referenced coordinate system, consequently requiring inte-
gration with respect to time to provide vehicle position with respect to the Earth.
Examples of these types of sensors are inertial systems (Chapter 7), Doppler
radars (Chapter I 0), and air-data sensors (Chapter 8). The latter two require an
attitude and heading reference (AHRS) or an inertial system (INS) to provide
the required angular orientation with respect to the Earth.
Positioning sensors provide a position measurement that can be related to
Earth-referenced coordinates. Examples of these sensors are radio systems such
as the terrestrial-based Loran and the satellite-based Global Positioning System
(GPS) (Chapters 4 and 5) which provide the position of the antenna in geodetic
coordinates. A star-tracker can also be used for fixing position when its orien-
tation with respect to the Earth is determinable through some means such as an
AHRS or INS.
This chapter describes filtering algorithms whereby measurements from com-
binations of these sensors can be employed to satisfy the functional output vari-
able requirements of an avionics suite. In general, avionics system users require
a variety of information on the state of the air vehicle depending on the com-
plexity of the application-aerospace plane to auto-gyro-and accordingly will
include a variety of complementary sensors in their equipment suite. The infor-
mation desired can include the following:
• Position and velocity in geodetic coordinates-east, north, and up which

allow determination of ground speed and track angle.
• Orientation with respect to the Earth-pitch, roll, and yaw or heading
angles.
56 MULTISENSOR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
• Linear and angular acceleration and rate in body coordinates for vehicle
control purposes.
• Vehicle state relative to the air mass including orientation-angle of attack,
sideslip, and airspeed, again for vehicle control purposes.
The discussion of navigation sensors in other chapters explains their capa-

bilities and error characteristics. Clearly, the entire list of state variables for
the vehicle cannot be provided by any one sensor at normally desired levels of
accuracy and dependability. The deficiencies that exist in the individual sensors
employed in a multisensor avionics suite include at least one of the following
characteristics:
• Increase in error of the navigation variables as a function of time or

distance traveled. This is a characteristic of all dead-reckoning sensors
that eventually accumulate unbounded errors. Examples are inertial and
Doppler radar navigation systems.
• High noise level or low bandwidth in any derivative variable. This is a
characteristic of radio sensors that require differentiation with respect to
time of the basic measured variable to obtain rate or acceleration. For
example, with Loran, position must be differentiated to obtain velocity.
For Doppler radar, differentiation of speed can yield acceleration, once
the result is transformed to an Earth-referenced coordinate system using
attitude from an AHRS or inertial system.
• Reliance on sensors requiring off-board components to accomplish the
required functions. This includes radio sensors using terrestrial or satellite-
based assets whose access can be denied, due to intentional (jamming) or
nonintentional interference (transmission blockage or interfering transmis-
sions) of the propagated signal from the off-board assets, or failure of the
transmitters due to other causes.
To overcome individual sensor deficiencies, system designers have sought com-

binations of avionic sensors. These multisensor systems are designed to provide
reliable, dynamically accurate measurements of the air vehicle's state for all
specification-required flight conditions.
The most typical solution has been to use an inertial system in conjunction
with an appropriate set of complementary sensors that arrest the random, time-
increasing error in velocity, position, and orientation resulting from integra-
tion of the fundamental high-bandwidth inertial measurements of acceleration
(force corrected for the a priori known effect of gravity) from the accelerometers
and angular change from the gyroscopes. The following paragraphs discuss the
attributes of integrating various sensors with an inertial system to obtain high-
accuracy, high-bandwidth measurements of the dynamic state of the air vehicle.
Other multisensor configurations are discussed in Section 3.8.
INERTIAL SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS 57
3.2 INERTIAL SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS
Two fundamental error sources affect the error behavior of an inertial system.
These are the errors in the measurements of force made by the accelerometers
and the errors in the measurement of angular change in orientation with respect
to inertial space made by the gyroscopes. The basic mechanization of an iner-
tial system, which is described in detail in Chapter 7, is depicted schematically
in Figure 3.1. In this figure it is seen that the force measurements made by the
accelerometers are first transformed to a selected navigation coordinate frame
that is typically the local geodetic coordinates of east, north, and local verti-
cal. These measurements are then compensated for the force of gravity with
a mathematical model, such that vehicle acceleration with respect to inertial
space is obtained. The resulting variable, after correction for Coriolis accelera-
tion, is then integrated once into velocity and a second time into position change
with respect to the Earth. Additionally, the gyroscopic measurements of angular
change with respect to inertial space are modified using the system computed
velocity and the Earth's rotation rate vector to reflect the rotation of the local
vertical due to earth rotation and the vehicle change in position as it travels over
the surface of the Earth. In this manner the orientation of the accelerometer
axes relative to the Earth at the present position of the vehicle is continuously
computed. The result is that there are three sources of change in orientation
error of the accelerometers with respect to an Earth-fixed reference coordinate
frame: (I) integrated gyro drift rate; (2) integrated error in system computed
velocity which results from error in the measurement of acceleration-due to
accelerometer measurement errors, imperfect knowledge of the local force of
gravity and the current error in the know ledge of orientation of the accelerome-
ter sensing axes which causes a misresolution of any accelerometer force mea-
surement including that of the gravity vector; and (3) error in the orientation
of the navigation coordinate axes which changes as they rotate with respect to
inertial space.
The result of this interaction of error effects is that the error characteristic of
an inertial system for the computation of velocity, position, and instrument axes
orientation is described by the sinusoidal Schuler oscillation that has a period of
approximately 84.4 minutes. Due to this oscillatory characteristic, the position
error response to a step of constant accelerometer measurement error is not a
quadratic in time but a bounded Schuler oscillation as shown in Figure 3.2.
Note that the error in position and the "tilt," which is the error in orientation of
the accelerometer sensing axes with respect to the local level plane, are equal
for any acceleration measurement error.
The velocity error response to a step of constant gyro drift rate error, as
shown in Figure 3.3, is a bounded Schuler oscillation that has a constant error
dictated by the magnitude of the gyro drift rate. The error in position is also
characterized by a Schuler oscillation but diverges in time in proportion to the
integrated velocity error. The tilt due to the gyro drift rate is a bounded Schuler
oscillation with zero mean. This occurs because any tilt results in a counter-
U1
00 CORIOLIS ACCELERATION
COMPUTATION
ACCELEROMETER ~-----------,
FORCE TRANSFORMATION
I
(}
v
I
MEASUREMENTS TO NAVIGATION 1 (}
- '- COORDINATE R
FRAME I •-
MATHEMATICAL
MODEL FOR
MATHEMATICAL
MODEL FOR
I
EARTH'S EARTH'S
GRAVITY VECTOR ROTATION VECTOR
GYRO
MEASUREMENTS
R- LOCAL RADIUS OF EARTH'S CURVATURE

V - SYSTEM COMPUTED VELOCITY
8 - SYSTEM COMPUTED ANGULAR RATE OF CHANGE OF POSITION (8) OVER THE EARTH'S SURFACE
Q - SYSTEM COMPUTED EARTH RATE VECTOR
;:;- - SYSTEM COMPUTED ACCELEROMETER SENSING AXES ORIENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE
NAVIGATION COORDINATE SYSTEM
Figure 3.1 Schematic block diagram on an inertial system mechanization.
,--
-------
------
----
0 ----------------~
G~"";1"~~~''""' 0
R ....,. •
'""•
I
I
I
I
I jf I
l
I "·' > I
I
I Velocity
I
I Error
" I
I ov I
R. I f-......1'-------. </> Platform
Tilt
tiA
Acceleration M
Measurement Error Gyro Drift
Rate
I 00 Position
Error
Velocity Error Position Error or Tilt

2 l
.13 fps per 5 micro-g 's

1.5
t: j t----+-'----~
0.5
~j 0 f------lr-----r------1
V - Step of Acceleration
Measurement Error
1
-0.5 0.5
-1~--~----~~~~--~
0 2 4 8 2 4 6 8
6
§.] §.-~
Ul Figure 3.2 Inertial system error response to a step of acceleration measurement error.
\C
Constant acceleration measurement error induces a zero-mean Schuler oscillation in velocity
error and an identical nonzero mean oscillation in tilt and position error.
""
0 r-----------------Dg ----------------,
I
I
I
I
I g Gravity Magnitude I
I R Radius of Curvature of Earth I
I w, ~ jf, (}Schuler Frequency )I
I Velocity 1
I I I I E~or I * ~ I I ! o¢Pl~~~rm
M
Acceleration
Measurement Error
I <ld
Gyro Drift
Rate
I
b - Step of Gyro Drift Rate
I
I I • o8 Position
Error
Tilt Velocity Error Position Error

0 0
8 arc-seconds
per .01 degrees per hour
[£:]
[R b~''t \ /
t/>(1) = sin (w)) ~
t~3 °
5113feet per
E;j :: .01 degrees per hour
-1-: .... ~
1 ~
-0.5 / ..~ -6
oO(I) = [£:]
@ 84.4 minutes
.~
[sio (w,l) - (w))]
-1 0 2 4 6 8 2
' 4 6 8 -8
0 2 4 6 8
~··~ ~··~ ~.]

Figure 3.3 Inertial system error response to a step of gyro drift rate bias. Constant gyro drift
rate induces a zero-mean Schuler oscillation in tilt, a nonzero mean oscillation in velocity
error and a divergent ramp oscillation in position error.
AN INTEGRATED STELLAR-INERTIAL SYSTEM 61
vailing accelerometer measurement error, whose result is to produce a constant

velocity error component that cancels any constant gyro drift rate at the tilt rate
node.
This discussion of deterministic error responses pertains to constant error
sources and initial conditions. As is well-known, the response of any oscillator
to random white noise or correlated noise inputs is divergent at some fractional
power of increasing time. Consequently the error response in inertial system
position, velocity, and orientation due to a noise input is divergent with time.
The discussion of inertial system error characteristics presented here is quite
simplified in that effects due to error in the system computed Earth rate vector
and error in the system computation of Coriolis acceleration lead to additional
24 hour and Foucault error oscillation characteristics as described by the error
equations in Chapter 7.
Clearly inertial systems tend to "drift off" in terms of the accuracy in the
system computed navigation variables of position, velocity, and orientation over
an extended time of operation. Consequently other sensors are used with inertial
systems to arrest this divergent error behavior for those applications that require
upper bounds on system error with time. It is the usual case that an inertial
system remains as the core element of an integrated aircraft navigation system
because it offers the unique properties of being self-contained on the vehicle
and stealthy in that it produces no emissions, cannot be jammed, or deceived
because it has no reliance on signals generated by external sources; the inertial
system is normally required to provide a continuous high-bandwidth reference
coordinate system relative to the Earth whose use is required by other avionics
sensors.
3.3 AN INTEGRATED STELLAR-INERTIAL SYSTEM
A star-tracker (Chapter 12) serves as a useful adjunct to an inertial system in

that it provides the capability of calibrating the inertial system gyroscopes that
are the primary source of divergence in the accuracy of a free-inertial navigation
system. The star-tracker is used in a natural way with an inertial system in that
the inertial system provides the reference coordinate system with respect to
which the measurements of star position can be referred.
A star-tracker and inertial system work in combination as depicted schemati-
cally in Figure 3.4. Figure 3.4 shows the three basic sources of error in employ-
ing a star-tracker in combination with an inertial system all of which result in
a pointing error to a selected star:
1. Orientation error of the inertial system ¢, relative to the reference ellip-

soid that results in a commensurate error in pointing to the star even if
there exists no error in inertial system computed position. This situation
is indicated at the true position in Figure 3.4.
COMPUTED DIRECTION TO
STAR FROM UNTILTED TRUE DIRECTION TO STAR (AT oo)
PLATFORM AT ERRONEOUS
POSITION -------------
POINTING DIRECTION TO
STAR AT TRUE POSITION
FROM TILTED PLATFORM
/ TILTED PLATFORM (BY-<)>)

.....-:¥-«~-h ~ AT TRUE POSITION
RESULTS IN A POINTING
8
----1---"~f----t-----_:: ERROR TO THE STAR OF <j>
UNTILTED " "

PLATFORM TRUE POSITION
8
=
IF 08, THEN NO ERROR IN 1jJ IS
OBSERVED, ALTHOUGH THERE EXISTS
• ERROR IN COMPUTED BOTH ORIENTATION ERROR <j>, AND
POSITION OF 68 ONLY POSITION ERROR 08
n
(NO TIL RESULTS IN
A POINTING ERROR
TO STAR 0Fc56
Figure 3.4 Angular position and orientation errors observed with a star-tracker with
inertial stabilization. A stellar sensor observes the error 1/;, the difference between the
position error (M) and the orientation error (1>) of the inertial system.
2. Error in system computed angular position on the surface of the Earth (j().
This causes an error in pointing to the star even if the reference coordinate
frame provided by the inertial system is perfectly aligned with respect to
the Earth or inertial space at its actual position. This situation is indicated
at the computed position in Figure 3.4.
3. Error in system time that results in an orientation error of an Earth-refer-
enced frame with respect to the stellar background due to Earth rotation.
This error is usually minimal and is not considered further here.
An interesting fact related to the stellar-inertial system combination is that an

error in orientation and system-computed position can result so that the resulting
pointing error to the star 1/; is zero:
The implications of this situation is obtained by referring to the error block dia-
gram of Figure 3.5 where the error 1/; is shown. Since with an inertial system
any error in the accelerometer measurement results in an equal error in both
position (j() and orientation ¢, then for such an error source 1/; will be zero and
will not be detected with a star observation. On the other hand, a constant gyro
drift rate produces an oscillatory diverging error in the angular position (j() and
a bounded oscillatory error in orientation ¢, so the resulting error 1/; is a ramp
AN INTEGRATED STELLAR-INERTIAL SYSTEM 63
• LEVEL AXIS SCHULER ERROR LOOP
r--------1 -g
GYRO DRIFT RATE
t---+--rp TILT
ACCELERATION
MEASUREMENT ERROR
ljJ IS THE ERROR OBSERVABLE WITH A STAR TRACKER
1j1 = [<j>--b9] = f bd dt
Figure 3.5 Illustration of the 1/.; vector observed with a star-tracker. An inertially sta-
bilized stellar sensor is used to measure the effects of gyro drift rate but cannot observe
the effect of acceleration measurement errors.
proportional to the gyro drift rate. Since this diverging error is detectable with
the inertially stabilized star-tracker, then clearly the error in position can be
corrected or "reset" when a star shot is taken.
Most stellar-inertial systems have been mechanized with inertial systems
using stabilized gimbal control loops (as described in Chapter 7). This mech-
anization permits a telescope and inertial instrument assembly to be manufac-
tured that has only two low-bandwidth pointing loops that maintain the tele-
scope line of sight to the star being observed, usually for the elevation and
bearing angles to the selected star. High-bandwidth pitch, roll, and heading sta-
bilization control loops employing gyro measurements of small angular dis-
turbances isolate the inertial instruments and tracker assembly from vehicle
angular motion. When such a gimballed mechanization is employed, the sys-
tem gyros are rotated slowly with respect to inertial space to maintain a desired
orientation of the instrument assembly with respect to the Earth, usually that
of the local-level mechanization. Because the gyro sensing axes change slowly
with respect to inertial space, the detected components of the 1/; vector, which
is the integral of gyro drifts projected onto inertially fixed axes, can be used to
calibrate the gyros. This is possible because the detected components of the 1/;
vector can be correlated with specific gyro-sensing axes.
Since the component of the 1/; error vector along the line of sight to an indi-
vidual star cannot be observed, two star shots are generally required to com-
pletely correct the system. Ideally these lines of sight are orthogonal to enhance
observability. It is possible to obtain a complete calibration of the system gyro
drift rate vector, when the following two conditions occur:
1. Two star shots are taken closely together in time.

2. The gyro sensing axes have not changed orientation with respect to iner-
tial space by a great amount since the last point in time when a pair of
stars was observed.
With the advent of inertial instruments suitable for mechanizing strapdown

systems (discussed in Chapter 7) mechanizations of star-trackers with high-
bandwidth stabilization control loops for maintaining the star line of sight axis
have been considered. The dynamics relating inertial system gyro drift rate
equivalent errors to the observable 1/; vector error in this case clearly becomes
highly complex and disallows effective calibration using conventional ad hoc
fixed gain methods of the early 1960s. Fortunately the discovery of Kalman
filtering theory, as elaborated later in this chapter, provides at least a theoreti-
cal approach to this problem, wherein the correlation of observed errors to the
producing causes of these errors is computed in real time to provide a basis
for correction of error sources regardless of the complexity of the time-variant
error dynamics.
In summary, the addition of a star-tracker to an inertial system is synergistic
from the point of view that the inertial system provides the stabilized reference
coordinate system required by the star-tracker and the star-tracker can be used
to "reset" the inertial system error growth and correct the gyro drift rates that
are the principal source of position error divergence in the inertial system. On
the other hand, the star-tracker does not correct for sources of error in the deter-
mination of vehicle acceleration which include the accelerometer measurement
errors and any lack of knowledge about the local gravity vector deftection. 1
Consequently, other navigation sensors are usually considered to correct for
these effects. A stellar inertial system retains all the positive attributes of the
inertial system-self-contained, stealthy, and virtually impossible to deceive.
The use of the tracker can only be denied by adverse weather conditions.
3.4 INTEGRATED DOPPLER-INERTIAL SYSTEMS
In the early days of inertial and stellar-inertial system development, one

approach to decreasing the effect of divergent navigation error was the uti-
lization of a speed sensor such as a Doppler radar (Chapter I 0 describes the
theory and performance of Doppler radars). A Doppler radar, similar to a stellar-
tracker, has a natural use with an inertial system in that it requires the refer-
ence coordinate system (attitude and heading) provided by the inertial system
to refer its speed measurements to Earth-fixed coordinates to achieve the nav-
igation function.
An understanding of the value in using a Doppler radar in conjunction with
1
As a rule of thumb, the uncompensated effect of the deflection of the vertical results in an inertial
system position error divergence of about 0.1 nmi in one hour, thereafter being in proportion to
the square root of time.
INTEGRATED DOPPLER-INERTIAL SYSTEMS 65
an inertial system is obtained by referring to the schematic error block diagram

of Figure 3.6. For simplicity in this figure the error in the Doppler radar veloc-
ity measurement is assumed to be only a constant bias, oVR· The observation
(o V R- oV) in Figure 3.6 is obtained from the difference between the reference
Doppler radar velocity measurement and the inertial system computed veloc-
ity. This first requires the transformation from the Doppler radar-sensing axes
to the Earth-referenced navigation coordinates using the inertial system deter-
mined orientation. Thus, both the zero and nonzero mean Schuler oscillations
(Figure 3.6), due to, respectively, a step of acceleration measurement error and
gyro drift rate bias, are observable by using the reference Doppler radar mea-
surement. However, the bias in the inertial system velocity is not fully deter-
minable, since the Doppler radar also has a bias error and only the sum of these
two biases is observable.
Since the Schuler error oscillations due to inertial system error sources are
observable with the Doppler radar measurement, it is possible to "damp" these
Schuler error effects by feeding back the observed difference. This was done in
the early days by adding a fixed feedback damping gain KD back to the inertial
velocity integrator as shown in Figure 3.7. Additionally, a fixed feed forward
gain KF was employed in more sophisticated mechanizations to provide two
control parameters (damping factor and natural frequency) for this second-order
mechanization.
For the older configurations of Doppler radars in which the Doppler antenna
was physically stabilized using the gyro measurements, variants of the conven-
tional mechanization described above were possible. For example, if the gyro
drift rate biases significantly exceeded the Doppler radar measurement error
on an equivalent basis, then a feed forward integrator could be added to com-
pensate for the inertial system gyro drift rate error. An error in this type of
compensation would of course be caused by any nonzero Doppler radar bias.
More sophisticated mechanizations for error removal are possible. For exam-
ple, if the coordinate frame of the Doppler sensing axes rotates with respect
to the inertial system sensing axes and the Doppler measurement error rotates
accordingly, then a basis for observation and calibration of these error sources
exists, as the sums of errors described above change value as a function the
angle of rotation. The calibration of errors that become observable as a func-
tion of measured changes in orientation is obtained with ease through the use
of Kalman filtering techniques, which capitalize on the computed real-time cor-
relation of the modeled system error sources to the errors observed when com-
mensurate variables from different navigation sensors are compared.
One caveat to the properties of Doppler inertial systems that is important
is that changes in orientation and acceleration of the vehicle do not make the
errors in the inertial system orientation directly observable. Changes in the error
in both the inertial system velocity and transformed Doppler measurements due
to tilt and azimuth misalignment always cancel. This is because both systems
use the inertial orientation as the reference and are hence unobservable in the
direct comparison of velocity measurements. Tilt can be damped out indirectly,
~
~
GYRO DRIFT RATE

VELOCITY ERROR b STEP
v-.-j I I 1\v I <j> TILT
ACCELERATION
ljJ
BIAS STEP
0V R e-----+j
OBSERVATION I POSITION ERROR

09
ACCELERATION STEP, V • GYRO DRIFT STEP, b
1.3 FPS PER 20 ·10-6 g

[ Js]
1
-- · OV(t) = [R · b][cos(w 5t)-1]
0 V I '• I A ., (wst} I ()V(t) = [Js] sin (wst)
I
-1 I ' I
~ 2.02 FPS PER 0.01o/HR

-2
[R · b]
Figure 3.6 Integration of a reference speed sensor with an inertial system. A reference speed
sensor is used to observe the Schuler oscillations induced by acceleration measurement error
and gyro drift rate and the velocity bias error induced by constant gyro drift rate.
AN AIRSPEED-DAMPED INERTIAL SYSTEM 67
tlA f--.._-¢ Tilt

Acceleration
Measurement Speed Sensor
Error Measurement
Error
f----4---.... lJO
tlVR
Position Error
Figure 3.7 Block diagram of a fixed-gain (KD, Kp) speed sensor damped-inertial sys-
tem mechanization.
since it induces a longer-term observable Schuler oscillation. Inertial azimuth

misalignment can also be corrected indirectly by the normal gyrocompassing
process (as described in Chapter 7) through the Schuler oscillation it induces.
In that a Doppler radar measures the Doppler shift of a radiated signal with
respect to the scattering surface, it has error characteristics to be considered in
the system design. In overwater operation, the Doppler measurement is affected
by major water currents as well as by the behavior of the surface due to wind.
Variation in sea and terrain surface roughness also causes measurement error
variation due to variation in scattering of the signal. These effects are discussed
in detail in Chapter 10.1.4.
In summary, the addition of a speed sensor to an inertial system provides the
capability to remove the Schuler oscillations in the errors in the inertial sys-
tem computed position and velocity. Furthermore the orientation errors in tilt
and azimuth can be removed in much the same manner as in normal ground
alignment (as discussed in Chapter 7). Finally, a Doppler-inertial system is
self-contained but not completely stealthy in that it radiates a signal to obtain
the Doppler measurement. However, for all practical purposes, the Doppler
radar cannot be deceived or jammed, since narrow beams at steep angles are
employed.
3.5 AN AIRSPEED-DAMPED INERTIAL SYSTEM
Another way to obtain some decrease in the divergent navigation errors of an

inertial system is to employ the outputs of the air-data system on the aircraft.
Typically, what this sensor provides is the speed of the aircraft with respect
to the air mass along with the angle of attack and sideslip angle of the vehi-
cle (as discussed in Chapter 8). Consequently using the orientation information
from the inertial system, the velocity of the aircraft with respect to the air mass
can be expressed in the Earth-referenced navigation coordinate system and be

compared with the inertial system computed components of velocity. The major
error source in this comparison is the uncertainty in knowledge of the wind
(air mass motion relative to the Earth) which is generally quite large. Several
knots of error in the wind components along the east and north navigation axes
will make it practically impossible to do calibration of the inertial system gyro
drift rates. As a rule of thumb, I foot per second (fps) of reference velocity
error is equivalent to 0.01 deg/hr of gyro drift rate, which is typical of a navi-
gation grade inertial navigation system. Consequently reference velocity mea-
surements accurate to the order of I fps are required to obtain useful gyro cal-
ibration of such inertial systems.
When a navigation grade inertial system and an air data sensor are inte-
grated, the inertial system can be used to calibrate (measure) the relative wind
to the order of the gyro drift rate. The calibrated vehicle speed measurement can
then be used to reduce the Schuler error oscillations in the velocity components
computed by the inertial system.
Since an airspeed sensor is available on any aircraft, it is worth consider-
ing combining its measurements with an inertial system to obtain the synergy
described above. However, the parameters for a fixed gain mechanization or
the measurement noise parameters for a Kalman filter mechanization need to
be selected judiciously to reflect short-term error fluctuations in the airspeed
data.
3.6 AN INTEGRATED STELLAR-INERTIAL-DOPPLER SYSTEM
When a Doppler radar (or air data sensor) is combined with a stellar-inertial
system, significant benefits are obtained. Stellar measurements are used to cali-
brate the inertial system gyro drift rates, thereby reducing any mean error in the
inertial system computed velocity components. Consequently, when the stellar-
inertial system velocity components are compared with commensurate velocity
components from a reference velocity sensor, the mean errors in the reference
velocity sensor components can be calibrated. Effects of the errors in the mea-
surement of acceleration (accelerometer measurement error and uncertainty in
the gravity vector) can now be more effectively removed using the calibrated
reference velocity sensor. Recall that the errors induced by an error in the vehi-
cle acceleration measurement cause divergent velocity, position and orientation
errors in a stellar-inertial system, not observable with the star tracker.
The most attractive attribute of a stellar-inertial system when combined with
a reference velocity sensor is that the resulting errors in all the navigation vari-
ables are bounded. The residual error levels in these variables are of course a
function of the accuracy of the individual sensors employed. Accuracies on the
order of a hundred feet in position, a fraction of a foot per second in velocity
and subarcsecond in orientation are achievable with such a system. An added
attraction of such a system is that it is fully autonomous.
NONINERTIAL GPS MULTISENSOR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS 69
3.7 POSITION UPDATE OF AN INERTIAL SYSTEM
The simplest method of correcting the error drift in position computed by an

inertial system is to reset the position to the coordinates of a point observable by
the pilot on the surface of the Earth over which the aircraft can fly. Automatic
sources of more frequent position measurement include Loran and Omega with
their Earth-fixed radio transmitter stations and the Global Positioning System
(GPS) using radio transmitters on the satellites.
Due to the time-variant error dynamics associated with an inertial system,
principally due to acceleration effects, it has been cumbersome to design fixed
gain mechanizations to feed back the observed position differences between the
inertial system computation and the reference position measurements to cor-
rect inertial system computed velocity and orientation and the sources of these
enors (gyro drift rate and acceleration measurement error). Fortunately, with the
development of a method of recursive filtering theory by R. E. Kalman in 1960
[I] and sufficiently powerful digital computers to effect its mechanization, this
problem has become mute. With Kalman filtering theory, the weighting gains
between the observed position error and the other system errors are based on
error correlation information computed in real time, in what is called the error
covariance matrix. Correction of system errors through the use of such gains
obtains the theoretically optimal utilization of the measurements for minimiza-
tion of errors. (See Section 3.10 for Kalman filter basics.)
The most important integrated inertial and positioning measurement system
in use in 1996 is that which combines GPS with an inertial sensor (Section
3.13). Not only does GPS provide position along with time but also velocity
in geodetic coordinates. Mechanizations based on Kalman filtering theory are
invariably employed to effect a synergistic combination of GPS and the inertial
system (as discussed in Sections 3.13.3 and 3.13.4). An inertial system periodi-
cally corrected with external position measurements will have bounded errors
in all the navigation variables of position, velocity, and orientation. Such a sys-
tem is obviously not autonomous and is subject to intentional and unintentional
denial, which is unattractive in military applications.
3.8 NONINERTIAL GPS MULTISENSOR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
Although most integrated navigation systems are inertially based, there are
exceptions. In particular, GPS receiver module cards have been developed that
can be embedded in the chassis of other sensors such as a Doppler radar [ 12] or
Loran [ll, 14, 15]. In the case of Loran, the integration was motivated by the
fact that the GPS satellites may not be sufficient in number at all times to pro-
vide positioning data with guaranteed integrity worldwide. A further attraction
of Loran is that it does not suffer from the line-of-sight limitation of GPS. It
employs a low-frequency signal that propagates along the surface of the Earth
(the ground wave), and it is time-synchronized using atomic clock controlled
transmitters. In the case of Doppler radar, the motivation for GPS integration is
to significantly reduce the effect of Doppler associated error sources on navi-
gation performance. These include speed measurement errors over water, scale
factor error and bias, and the errors in a low-accuracy inertial attitude and head-
ing reference system (AHRS). Of course, the Doppler-AHRS system provides
the ability to dead-reckon position during GPS outages.
3.9 FILTERING OF MEASUREMENTS
3.9.1 Simple Sensor, Stationary Vehicle

The single example of measurement filtering is the case where a position sensor
provides a sequence of measurements
(3.1)
where
Xa is the actual position of the stationary vehicle
Ed; is a deterministic error in the ith measurement
~; is a random error in the ith measurement
The deterministic error can be caused, for example, by a known sensitivity to

temperature and determined a priori by calibration over the temperature range
of operation. The random error is usually due to unknown causes or causes not
worth the trouble to investigate. The mean value of the random error ~ is zero;
otherwise, it would be compensated. For ease of analysis, we assume that these
random errors have a fixed standard deviation a~ over time and are independent
from one measurement to the next. The error in each position measurement x;
is seen to be the random error
(3.2)
The best estimate of position in this case is the average of the measurements
(3.3)
where the standard deviation of the error in the estimated position
(3.4)
is the standard deviation of the random error a~ divided by the square root of
FILTERING OF MEASUREMENTS 71
the number of measurements
(3.5)
Hence the sequence of measurements can be processed to obtain an ever-

improving estimate of the vehicle's position. To avoid storing all past mea-
surements, the Nth estimate can be written in the recursive form
(3.6)
where only the (N - I )th estimate and the Nth measurement are required.
3.9.2 Multiple Sensors, Stationary Vehicle

A more complex algorithm is employed if the position of a stationary vehicle is
measured using sequences from multiple position sensors. In this case, assume
that the optimal estimate from the Kth sensor using N measurements is denoted
XNK and the standard deviation of its zero mean error is a 0xNK' For the case of
two position sensors, the optimal minimum error estimate of position of the
vehicle after the Nth measurement from each of the two independent sensors
lS
(3.7)
where the weighting factors are
(3.8)
The minimum error in this least squares estimate is the weighted sum of the
independent errors ox In and 8x2N:
(3.9)
72 MULTlSENSOR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
which has variance
(3.10)
Alternately, this relation can be written
(3 .11)
where it is evident that the variance of the error in the combined estimate oxN
is less than the errors obtained from either of the two independent position
sensors.
3.9.3 Multiple Sensors, Moving Vehicle

The least-squares technique described above can also be applied to obtain an
instantaneous estimate of position from independent sensors for a moving vehi-
cle. In this case, simply assume that the position measurement of the first sensor
at the Nth instant of time is XJN and that of the second sensor is x2N. Equa-
tion 3.7 is then the formula for a minimal error estimate of position using both
sensors.
Unfortunately, this approach is far from optimum. It does not take advantage
of the capability of calibrating the errors of one sensor using measurements from
another sensor. For example, in the discussion of stellar-inertial and Doppler-
inertial navigation systems, the calibration in real time of gyro and Doppler bias
errors was shown to be possible. Improved accuracy is obtained in the sensor
outputs when such calibration can take place, which means that the errors ox 1N
ox
and 2N in the estimates are smaller than they are in Equation 3.9 above.
Until the early 1960s ad hoc mechanizations were employed to combine the
measurements from independent navigation sensors to obtain an improved over-
all solution. The development of Kalman filtering theory [1] provided a rigor-
ous approach to obtrain truly optimal estimates for systems whose errors are
described by linear time variant differential equations. Since the late 1960s,
most integrated navigation system mechanizations have been mechanized based
on this fundamentally superior method.
3.10 KALMAN FILTER BASICS
The Kalman filter requires that all error states are modelable as zero mean noise
processes with known variances, power spectral densities, and time correlation
parameters. Thus, the various error quantities to be estimated and the associ-
KALMAN FILTER BASICS 73
ated measurement noises are all random processes whose correlation structure is
assumed to be known. The Kalman filter then obtains estimates of the states of
these stochastic processes, which are described by a linear or linearized mathe-
matical model. It accomplishes this goal by capitalizing on the known correla-
tion structure of the various processes involved and the measurements of linear
combinations of the error states. To do this, both the error propagation in time
and the measurement processes are expressed in vector form. This provides
a convenient way with linear matrix algebra to keep track of relatively com-
plex relationships among all the quantities of interest. This is one of the main
features that distinguishes a Kalman filter from most digital signal processing
applications. The navigation system integration problem is multiple-input and
multiple-output in nature, and matrix algebra is essential in keeping track of
the relationships among the variables.
In the multisensor navigation system application, the behavior of the sen-
sor error states are described by linear differential or equivalent finite dif-
ference equations. Comparison of measurements between navigation sensors
are described by linear combinations of these error states. The filter accom-
plishes the task of error state estimation by a more complex recursive procedure,
rather than forming a simple weighted sum of the individual measurements as
described above.
Under the assumption of Gaussian noise distributions, the Kalman filter min-
imizes the mean square error in its estimates of the modeled state variables
[5]. The Gaussian assumption is usually a reasonable assumption in navigation
applications because the noise effects that arise in the measurements are often
due to a summation of many smaller random contributions. Thus, by the cen-
tral limit theorem of statistics, there is then a tendency toward the Gaussian
distribution regardless of the distribution of the individual contributions. Many
multisensor navigation systems have successfully implemented Kalman filters
while implicitly making this assumption.
3.10.1 The Process and Measurement Models

In Kalman filtering, the equations describing the process to be estimated and the
measurement relationships must first be formulated. This is sometimes referred
to as the modeling part of the problem. These equations will now be described.
The first assumption is that the time propagation of the state vector to be
estimated can be described by the linear finite difference equation
(3.12)
where
xk is the n x I process state vector at time tb being errors in position,
velocity, and attitude and sensor errors
~k is the n x I process white noise vector

r:f>k is the n X n state vector transition matrix from time instant k
to time instant k + 1
The process noise vector ~k is assumed to be a white noise vector sequence

with known covariance matrix Qk:
(3 .13)
where E is expectation operator, ~;k is a column vector, and ~k is a row vector.

The comparison of commensurate measurements from the navigation sensors
must satisfy the following linear relationship:
(3 .14)
where
Zk is the m x 1 vector measurement at time tk
Ilk is am X 1 measurement white noise vector at time tk
Hk is the m X n matrix giving the ideal relationship between Zk and xk
when no noise is present
The measurement noise covariance matrix Rk is assumed to be known:
(3.15)
Note that there are now four known matrices that describe the process and mea-
surement models: ¢b Qb Hb and Rk. Thus, the design of a Kalman filter
requires considerable a priori knowledge about the dynamics and statistics of
the various processes to be modeled. The state transition matrix r:f>k describes
how the state vector Xk would propagate from one step to the next in the absence
of a driving function. The Qk parameter tells us something about the noise in
the Xk process. If the elements of ~b are large, this means that a large amount of
randomness is inserted into the process with each step. The Hk matrix describes
the linear relationship between sensor measurements Zk and the error states to
be estimated xk. Note that relatively complicated relationships can be accom-
modated as long as they are known and linear. Finally, Rk describes the mean-
square measurement noise errors. Generally, large values in the Rk matrices
means poor measurements. Note that all four of the key matrices are permitted
to vary with time (i.e., with the index k).
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of applying Kalman filtering in multi-
sensor navigation applications is that of establishing the mathematical equations
that describe the physical situation at hand and casting the equations in the form
dictated by Equations 3.12 and 3 . 14. Fortunately, this can be done with a rea-
KALMAN FILTER BASICS 75
sonable degree of accuracy in a wide variety of integrated navigation system

applications. However, one should always remember that the Kalman filter in
its basic form is a model-dependent filter and not adaptive. This means that, if
the model does not fit the physical situation under consideration, the filter may
yield poor results.
3.1 0.2 The Error Covariance Matrix

The error covariance matrix defines the probable error .X, in the filter estimate .X,
of the (error) state vector x. These elements vary with time. The error covariance
matrix must be computed in real time as part of the calculation of the optimum
gain to be applied to measurements to update the estimates of the error state
vector. Formally, the error covariance matrix is defined as
(3.16)
The diagonal elements of the error covariance matrix are the variances of the
error in the filter estimate of the navigation system error state vector. The off-
diagonal elements of the P matrix are co variances between different error states
in the vector, and they contain important information as to the degree of corre-
lation of one error state with another. The use of such correlation information
in the gain computation is what distinguishes the Kalman filter from simpler
mechanizations. In Kalman filtering, a measurement is used not only to update
estimates of navigation error variables directly involved in the observation (e.g.,
position) but also to update estimates of error variables not directly involved
(velocity, sensor errors, etc.).
3.10.3 The Recursive Filter

The derivation of the Kalman recursive filter equations can be found in ref-
erences [5, 6, 7]. A schematic of equation flow is summarized in Figure 3.8.
In words, the steps are as follows, beginning with the first measurement zo at
x
k == 0. Note that an initial estimate 0 and its associated error covariance matrix
P 0 must be assumed to start the procedure.
I. Compute the Kalman gain Ko.

x
2. Update the a priori estimate 0 to obtain the a posteriori estimate io. This
step assimilates the measurement z0 .
3. Update the a priori error covariance matrix P 0, and obtain the error
covariance matrix associated with the updated estimate io, Po.
4. Project both i 0 and Po ahead to the next step where a measurement is avail-
able. The resulting i! and Pi are the a priori state estimate and its error
covariance matrix at k = I just prior to assimilating the measurement Zt·
Steps 1 through 4 are then repeated for k = I, 2, and so on.

-..l
0'1
Initialize Filter with the
a priori Estimate &
Corresponding Error
Covariance Matrix
Compute the Kalman Gain: _1

Input Measurement
Kk = Pi Hk T( Hk Pi. Hk T+ Rk ) 1-- - Sequence
r--e Z(), z1, ... zk
Propagate the Update the

Estimate & the Error Estimate with the
Covariance Matrix: Measurement zk:
Xk+! = <t>kik ik ~ ik. + Kk (zk-Hkik.)
p- = <l>k pk ~ + Qk
k+l
I • •
L-+ x0, x 1, ••• xk
Compute the Error Covariance Output Sequence

Matrix for the Updated Estimate of Estimates
w Form for the Optimal Gain :
Pk = [1-Kk Hk ]Pk
w General Form for an Arbitrary
Gain
T
Pk = [1-Kk Hk] Pk- [ 1-Kk Hk] + Kk Rk K~

Figure 3.8 Schematic flow diagram of the discrete Kalman filter mechanization equations.
OPEN-LOOP KALMAN FILTER MECHANIZATION 77
It can be seen that programming the Kalman filter equations is straightfor-

ward; it only requires a few lines of code in matrix form. Once the initial con-
ditions and the four key matrices are defined, the resulting gain sequence is
determined; that is, the sequence of gains that determine how the past mea-
surements are weighted does not depend on the measurement sequences but
rather only on the assumed model parameters and the initial error covariance
matrix. The gain matrix computation at each step depends on the error covari-
ance matrix, so the error covariance matrix must be propagated in the recursive
process as a necessary adjunct for the gain matrix calculation. The error covari-
ance matrix is useful in real time because it provides an assessment of the qual-
ity of the total navigation solution. It is of interest in off-line analysis because
it can reflect the mean-square estimation error if the error model on which the
Kalman filter is based is accurate. In this case, it is useful for performance
analysis.
3.11 OPEN-LOOP KALMAN FILTER MECHANIZATION
The most common application of Kalman filtering in a suite of avionics nav-

igation equipment is that of integrating the navigation data from an inertial
navigation system (INS) with the navigation data from other sensors. Figure
3.9 shows a block diagram of one method for performing such an integration.
The configuration shown is called the open-loop configuration [2] because the
corrections to all the navigation sensors are made to the outputs and not fed
back to internally correct these sensors. By this mechanization, the INS is used
to provide the navigation variables for use in the Kalman filter transition and
observation matrix equations. The filter acts on the observable deviations of the
corrected inertial system outputs from the corrected aiding sensor measurements
to effect system corrections. The aiding sensors are depicted schematically in
one block in Figure 3.9.
This system integration scheme has been used successfully in a wide vari-
ety of applications since the mid 1960s l3, 4]. There are a number of good
reasons for selecting a method that employs the corrected inertial navigation
variables as the basis for the filter equations and the navigation system outputs.
First of all, the method allows utilizaiton of measurements from a wide variety
of aiding sensors. This is important, because the combination of aiding sensors
may vary during a mission and these sensors typically provide measurements
only at discrete points in time. Another reason for this integration method has
to do with the restrictions placed on the Kalman filter model. Recall that the
process dynamics and measurement relationship must both be linear. In gen-
eral, the whole value state variables (total position, velocity, etc.) do not satisfy
this requirement. The range measurement from electronic distance measuring
equipment is proportional to the square root of the sum of the squares of carte-
sian components, which is not a linear relationship. Therefore the problem is to
derive a linear representation of the situation to obtain correct application of the
Uncorrected
Inertial Position,
Velocity &
Platform Orientation
Corrected Inertial System Outputs
Inertial
Navigation
System
Knertial System
.Error Estimate Prediction of
Propagation Aiding Sensor
[ Measurements
Kalman
Filter Observable
[ Design Measurement
Error
Uncorrected
Aiding Sensor
Q iding Sensor
·ror Estimate
l'ropagation
Corrected Aiding
Sensor
Aiding Sensors Measurements Measurements
such as GPS,
Doppler or Loran
Figure 3.9 Open-loop Kalman filter architecture.
Kalman filter theory. The details as to exactly how this linearization is gener-
ally done are given in references [2, 6]. The basic idea is to choose a reference
trajectory in state space that is close to the true trajectory and then write equa-
tions for the perturbation variables that represent the difference between the true
and reference trajectory for use in the filter equations. The equations in terms
of the perturbation variables are linear when higher-order terms are neglected.
In the block diagram of Figure 3.9, the INS-corrected output is used for the
reference trajectory as a matter of convenience, since it provides all the basic
navigation quantities of vehicle position, velocity, acceleration, and orientation
in a continuous manner. None of the other navigation sensors, when consid-
ered individually, provide the same complement of information in a continuous
manner. Thus, the INS is the logical choice for the reference, even though its
accuracy may be less than some of the other sensors at discrete instants in times
when their measurements are available.
The final reason for choosing the INS-based integration methodology has
to do with maintaining high dynamic response in the position, velocity, and
attitude state variables available from the inertial system without filtering. The
usual price associated with filtering is time delay or sluggish response. This
CLOSED-LOOP KALMAN FILTER MECHANIZATION 79
lag is undesirable in most real-time navigation applications because the nav-

igation system should follow the dynamics of the aircraft faithfully regard-
less of the rapidity of the change. The mechanization block diagram shown
in Figure 3.9 accomplishes this and at the same time provides filtering of the
measurement noise. At first glance, this may seem to be a contradiction, but
note that the corrections produced by the filter are based only on the errors in
the inertial system outputs and the aiding sensors. This approach is sometimes
called distortionless~filtering or dynamically exact system integration. With this
approach, the total dynamical quantities of interest (i.e., position, velocity, and
orientation) do not need to be modeled as random processes, and the filter mech-
anization equations can be based on a linear model in terms of the navigation
variable errors.
The implementation in Figure 3.9 is an example of the so-called extended
Kalman .filter, wherein the best estimates of the state vector are used as reference
values for linearization at each filter step, rather than the true values of the
trajectory which are unknown. Note that the block diagram shown in Figure
3.9 is conceptual and not literal. It is tacitly assumed that the appropriate INS
outputs are converted to the aiding source frame of reference before performing
the differencing operation shown. Commensurate sensor measurements must be
compared in the same reference frame.
The Kalman filter might reside within the INS computer in some applica-
tions where a tightly integrated mechanization is desired. In other cases, the
Kalman filter could reside within the computer associated with an aiding sen-
sor, or it might reside in a separate mission computer. After all, the filter is just
a digital computer program that accepts certain inputs to yield another set of
outputs. In some system integration applications it is not possible to perform
the filtering operation in a single centralized filter as shown. Equipment con-
straints may dictate that the outputs of filters in individual sensors be merged
in a subsequent filter. This leads to a cascading of filters that is a theoretically
more complicated situation discussed further in Section 3.15. The cascading of
Kalman filters generally leads to some degree of suboptimality. However, sys-
tem engineers sometimes have to live with this situation because of the given
equipment configuration.
The estimated inertial and aiding sensor errors could be fed back to inter-
nally correct the INS and the aiding sensors as opposed to just correcting their
respective outputs. This leads to the closed-loop Kalman filter mechanization
which is discussed in Section 3.12.
3.12 CLOSED-LOOP KALMAN FILTER MECHANIZATION
In the mechanization of the last section, the INS is not corrected internally
throughout the time span of the mission. Clearly, if the internally computed
inertial system navigation variables diverge too far from their true values, the
linearization assumption becomes suspect, and the associated modeling inaccu-
racy can lead to difficulties. In the early days of Kalman filtering, system engi-
neers discovered that such divergence could be avoided by feeding the filter
error estimates back to correct internally the inertial system at each time point
where an aiding sensor measurement was available. This will then reduce the
difference between the corrected real-time computed navigation variables and
the true values, provided that the Kalman filter is producing good error esti-
mates. When the filter error estimates are fed back in this manner, the mecha-
nization is called the closed-loop Kalman filter mechanization [2]. This method
has been used extensively and successfully in a variety of actual navigation
applications. It is especially important to use the closed-loop Kalman mecha-
nization in applications where the mission length is relatively long and the error
model on which the filter equations are based are a simplification of the actual
linear error model of the system. Such simplifications are made to reduce the
computational burden on the real-time computer.
Figure 3.10 illustrates schematically the mechanization of the integrated INS
system for the closed-loop mechanization. This diagram and that of Figure 3.9
are both conceptual in that the INS correction that takes place is usually just a
matter of correcting certain numerical values in the inertial system computer. If
the error modeling assumptions are valid, the performance of the open-loop and
closed-loop Kalman filter mechanizations become essentially equivalent. Both
mechanizations of the Kalman filter have been used extensively, so the deci-
sion as to which should be used wi II depend on the particular situation at hand.
The closed-loop mechanization is generally used except when it is desirable to
preserve the pure INS output undisturbed by internal corrections. In this case,
-..
Inertial Corrected Inertial System Outputs
Navigation
System
T
I nertial
system
j~
,, Prediction of
Aiding Sensor
Measurements
Cor rections
l-
Kalman
Filter
--
Aiding Design
Se nsor
Cor rections , 1 Observable
Measurement j~
Error
Aiding
Sensors
Carrected Aiding Sensor Measurements
-....
Figure 3.10 Closed-loop Kalman filter architecture.
GPS-INS MECHANIZATION 81
the open-loop mechanization is employed or a separate inertial navigation solu-

tion mechanized in addition to the closed-loop corrected solution. When the
filter is operating closed-loop, the inertial computer maintains the optimal esti-
mates of the navigation variables in terms of the corrected position, velocity, and
so on, rather than in terms of the uncorrected navigation variables from which
the estimates of their errors are subtracted. The closed-loop configuration is
more robust in that it is less sensitive to parameter variations or error-modeling
simplifications.
3.13 GPS-INS MECHANIZATION
One of the most important multisensor navigation systems is that which inte-
grates an inertial navigation system (INS) with a Global Positioning System
(GPS) receiver. GPS (Section 5.5) is a very accurate, worldwide satellite nav-
igation system using ranging that will be operating into the twenty-first cen-
tury. The GPS-INS integration is nearly always done using a Kalman filter. A
simplified Kalman filter error model for accomplishing such an integration is
presented in Section 13.3.
3.13.1 Linearizing a Nonlinear Range Measurement

Recall that, to apply Kalman filter theory, the observation that is processed by
the filter to obtain error estimate updates must have a linear relationship to the
system error state vector that is being estimated. A range measurement does not
satisfy this criterion. This is illustrated in Figure 3.11 a with a simple two-di-
mensional sketch where a range measurement from the vehicle to a ground sta-
tion is made using distance measuring equipment (DME). Slant range is approx-
imated as being equal to horizontal range in this example. The aircraft is at (x,
y), and the DME station is at a known location (x 1 , y 1). A perfect range mea-
y y
DMEStation
(Xt.Yt)
p/
0
Aircraft Z
(x,y)
X
0
/~_:
(x, y)•-LSX-1 Ay
(x,* y*)
(a) True Geometry (b) Geometry with Small

Perturbations about (x,y)
Figure 3.11 Geometry for linearized range measurement error.
82 MULTISENSOR NAVIGATION s:YSTEMS
surement p would then be related to the unknown x and y coordinates through

the equation
(3.17)
Clearly, p is a nonlinear function of x andy, which are to be estimated, and it

violates the basic assumptions of the linear Kalman filter model.
Suppose that the aircraft knows its approximate position, denoted as (x*, y*),
which might come from an INS. Then for a small perturbation of these values
by (Llx, Lly) from the true aircraft position (x, y), the perturbation in the range
lS
Llp = p * - p = Llx cos (8) + Lly sin (8) (3.18)
From Figure 3.11 b, p is the measured range within some measurement error
and p * is the predicted range based on the aircraft's assumed reference position
which is slightly incorrect. Note that there is a linear relationship between Llp
and the perturbations Llx and Lly. Thus, using Llp as the observation (difference
of the commensurate measurements of range from the DME and estimated range
from the INS) processed by the Kalman filter and choosing the incremental
quantities Llx and Lly as error state variables rather than the total position states
x andy, the required linear measurement relationship for Kalman filter theory
is satisfied.
Referring again to Figures 3.9 and 3.1 0, when the corrected INS position
computation is used to estimate the range to the DME station, the differencing
operation produces Llp using the corrected range measurement from the aid-
ing sensor with the addition of some measurement noise. This example accom-
plishes exactly what small-perturbation theory says is necessary to linearize the
measurement process. Note the coefficients of Llx and Lly are just the direction
cosines between the line of sight t:o the DME station and the respective x- and
y-axis. The GPS measurement situation is similar in this regard and the direc-
tion cosines also appear in the modeling details discussed below.
3.13.2 GPS Clock Error Mod£:1

A GPS receiver obtains a measure of the difference between the time of a satel-
lite transmission to the time of its receipt at the receiver. The time-difference
is interpreted in terms of distance via a presumed value for speed of light with
various corrections for propagation through the Earth's atmosphere. The local
clock in the GPS receiver is usually a crystal clock whose stability is much
poorer than the atomic clocks in the satellies. Thus, the drift of the local clock
relative to GPS time maintained by the satellite clocks must be modeled in the
Kalman filter. The time offset between GPS time and the local receiver clock
ub White Noise
Clock o,;n - ! Clock Bias
Ud ··--.t·lr--J----,1
White Noise ...__ ___,
d •6\-·--~·1 J
L------'
b
•
Figure 3.12 GPS clock error model.
is called clock bias. This bias in seconds can be scaled by the speed of light
to obtain a range bias in meters. Similarly, the rate of change of clock bias is
usually given in meters per second.
It is difficult to model crystal clock errors with a first-order state model; see
reference [8] or Chapter I 0 of reference [6]. The 2 state model shown in Figure
3.12 used in most Kalman filter implementations in GPS receivers allows for
the estimation of both clock bias and drift. Numerical values for the spectral
densities of the white noise forcing functions ud and ub depend on the quality
of the crystal clock. The references show how to convert from the usual clock
specifications to the Kalman filter parameters. This 2-state model is embedded
in the larger ll-state error model for the whole GPS/INS system. (For additional
discussion of clock characteristics, see Section 5.3.2.)
3.13.3 11-State GPS-INS Linear Error Model

The !!-state model presented here is a minimal error model of a generic GPS
receiver integrated with any INS whose accelerometer force measurements are
resolved into a local-level coordinate frame. The error equations presented are
referred to this coordinate system. The !!-state model accounts only for plat-
form misalignment (or equivalently the error in the knowledge of the orienta-
tion of the inertial instrument cluster), velocity and position errors, and GPS
receiver clock error. It does not allow for instrument bias errors for either the
accelerometers or gyros. The instrument errors are grossly simplified and are
modeled only as white noise forcing functions that drive the INS error dynam-
ics. This simple model was employed in many systems in the 1990s. There
are always two parts to any Kalman filter model: the process model and the
measurement model.
The error state variables in the random process model are the INS errors
plus those errors in the reference source that have nontrivial time-correlation
structure and need to be estimated. The block diagrams in Figures 3.13, 3.14,
and 3.15 show how small errors propagate along each of the three navigation
coordinate axes of the INS. The INS coordinate frame is local level and can be
viewed as the x-axis pointing east, y north, and z up. The continuous differential
equations for the INS errors may be obtained directly from the block diagrams.
These equations are as follows:
00
""'"
Aximuth
Gyro White
Noise
Ez
Gyro White Noise

Acceleration
White Noise
bAx • .,(
f
l.'J Tilt
-!- ;_____; Veloclt~ Error ~·. ~-
-~----- I I·
az +g --
ay,z are the Vehicle Accelerations Along the y and z Axes
Wx is the Platform Angular Rate About the x Axis
R is the Radius of the Earth
g is the Intensity of the Gravity Vector

Figure 3.13 Block diagram of a simplified inertial system x-axis error model for the !!-state
GPS-INS Kalman filter.
Gyro White
Azimuth
Misalignment ....---------+~ Position Error
Noise G>z
Gyro White Noise

Acceleration
White Noise
bAye .. r I e e G>x Tilt
Ay
Velocity Error
ax,z are the Vehicle Accelerations Along the x and z Axes
Wy is the Platform Angular Rate About the y Axis

Figure 3.14 Block diagram of a simplified inertial system y-axis error model for the 11-statc
GPS-INS Kalman filter.
oe
Ul
ACCELERATION
WHITE NOISE
bAz t--+--•Az
Vertical Position
Error
Vertical Velocity
Error

Figure 3.15 Block diagram of a simplified inertial system z-axis error model for the
!!-state GPS-INS Kalman filter.
For east channel errors,
(3.19)
For north channel errors,
~Y = DAy+ (A 7 +g) · rf>x- Ax · rf>z
¢x = - ( ~-) ~Y- Wy · rf>z +Ex (3.20)
For vertical channel errors,
A ••
'-lZ = o''A ,- + ( -2g ) A~ (3.21)
R '-1.(
For platform azimuth misalignment,
rf>x = Ez (3.22)
GPS-lNS MECHANIZATION 87
The accelerometer measurement errors oA,, oAy, and oA, and the gyro drift
rates Ex, E_p and Ez are mutually independent white noise processes with known
spectral densities. Finally, the differential equations for the clock errors are from
the block diagram of Figure 3.12.
For GPS clock errors,
b = d + U!J
d= u" (3.23)
where uh and Ud are independent white noise processes.

The next step in the process modeling is to rewrite Equations 3.19 through
3.23 in state-space form. The 11-state variables are defined as follows:
x 1 is the east position error (meters)-.::lx

x 2 is the east velocity error (meters/sec )-.::l.X
x 3 is the platform tilt about y-axis (rad)~y
x 4 is the north position error (meters)-.::ly

x 5 is the north velocity error (meters/sec )-.::ly
x 6 is the platform tilt about x-axis (rad)~x
x 7 is the vertical position error (meters)-.::lz
x 8 is the vertical velocity error (meters/sec )-.::lz
x 9 is the platform azimuth error (rad)~2
x 10 is the user clock error in units of range (meters)-b

x 11 is the user clock drift in units of range rate (meters/sec )-d
Once the state variables are defined, it is a routine matter to put the differential
equations into state-space form:
x = Fx + t (3.24)
where F is the system state vector dynamics matrix describing the dynamic
coupling between the (error) states. In expanded form Equation 3.24 is
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 -(g + Az) 0 0 0 0 0 Ay 0 0
X] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wx 0 0 X!
R
X2 X2
X3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X3
X4 0 0 0 0 0 (g + Az) 0 0 -Ax 0 0 X4
xs xs
I
X6 0 0 0 0 --- 0 0 0 -Wy 0 0 X6
X7 R X7
Xg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Xg
Xg Xg
XJO
XJj
0 0 0 0 0 0 2( !) 0 0 0 0 XJ()
Xjj
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
F
0
oAx
Ey
0
oAy
+ Ex (3.25)
0
OAz
Ez
Uh
UJ
The final step in determining the process model is to specify the ¢k and Qk
matrices. lf the update interval /11 is relatively small. ¢k can be approximated
with just the first two terms of the Taylor series expansion of eFt:.r:
¢'k c= I+ F!:lt (3.26)
This approximation must be used with care. For example, if the aircraft expe-
riences high dynamics, then !:lt will have to be quite small or else additional
terms must be included [6].
Computation of the Qk matrix in a high-dimensional system is usually an
onerous task, especially if there is nontrivial coupling among the various state
variables as in this example. However, once the F matrix, the spectral densities
of the forcing functions, and the Llt propagation interval are specified, then Qk
is numerical computable [6, 7 J.
Four pseudorange measurements (one per satellite) are sufficient for a stand-
alone GPS solution. Each pseudorange measurement is of the general form
Total measured pseudorange = True range + Range bias
+White measurement noise
To use pseudorange in the Kalman filter mechanization, it must be linearized.

The observation processed by the Kalman filter is the difference between the
receiver-measured pseudorange and the estimated pseudorange based on the
corrected INS computed position and a corrected GPS receiver clock time. Only
the incremental perturbations in the INS and clock estimate errors then appear
on the right side of the measurement equation along with a white measure-
ment noise. Direction cosines will appear as coefficients of the INS position
errors, just as in the previous DME example. Clock bias enters as an additive
term in units of range. There will be a linearized pseudorange measurement
for each satellite, so the final form of the measurement model for the Kalman
filter is
z = Actual receiver measurement

-Predicted measurement based on corrected INS position and
corrected receiver time
The resulting H matrix and observation z are
z = Hx + v (3.27)
X4
0 0 0 0 0 0
n
hi7
{i]
hi4
[ h, xs
h2I 0 0 h24 0 0 h27 0 0
z= 0 0 0 0 0 0
X6
h3I h34 h37
X7
h4I 0 0 h44 0 0 h47 0 0
Xg
H X9
xw
XII
(3.28)
where the hiJ are the respective direction cosines between lines of sight to the
various satellites and the navigation coordinate axes. The R matrix reflects the
additive white measurement noise components in which in this model would
be a 4 x 4 matrix:
(3.29)
R would usually be specified as diagonal with all terms along the diagonal being
equal. The numerical values of the terms are chosen to match the expected
variances of the white pseudorange measurement errors. As a practical matter,
these terms are usually specified to be larger than the expected error variances
to compensate for the inaccuracy in modeling the measurement errors as white
noise. The GPS measurement frequency (usually about I Hz) is very high rel-
ative to the characteristic Schuler time constant of the inertial system errors,
so implementing an R matrix with large values does not significantly degrade
performance due to the filtering provided by the INS.
3.13.4 Elaboration of the 11-State GPS-INS Error Model

The only way to improve the performance of the 11-state model is to add more
error states. This increases the dimensionality of the error state vector and asso-
ciated matrices, which in turn increases the computational burden on the system
computer. Better performance is possible, but a specific application trade-off
needs to be made to decide whether the added complexity will be of sufficient
benefit. Additional error states might be those discussed below:
Inertial Error States The inertial system error states that are generally the
next in importance are the "biases" associated with the accelerometers and
gyros. These are the random forcing functions that are calibrated at the start of a
mission but then slowly wander away from their initial values during the course
of the flight. It is especially important to keep calibrating these forcing func-
tions continuously if it is anticipated that the INS might have to dead-reckon in
the free-inertial mode for a significant time period without GPS measurements.
If the biases are estimated in flight, the system errors grow more slowly during
the free inertial period. Usually a Jirst-order Markov or a random-walk process
is used to represent an inertial instrument error source, so only one error state is
added to the model for each source. Such an elaboration of the inertial system
error model would add an additional three error states for three gyro drift rate
errors and an additional three error states for three accelerometer measurement
errors.
The primary trend is to employ low-cost, low-to-medium performance iner-
tial components to bridge the periods of GPS outage in a cost-effective manner.
These instruments will likely employ micro-machined silicon technology for
the accelerometers and fiber optics for the gyros. In 1996 these technologies
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 91
did not yet obtain the high-accuracy performance levels of the more expen-
sive technologies used in the past. These instruments require more elaborate
error modeling, including such additional states as scale factor error, mutual
mechanical misalignments of instrument sensing axes, and bias changes as a
function of measured environmental variations to obtain good calibration.
In addition to the instrument error states discussed above, the effects of
unknown variations in the gravity vector should be considered as error states in
some Kalman filter designs that include an inertial system. This consideration is
important because the gravity disturbance vector introduces errors in the force
measurements made by the accelerometers that can significantly affect some
applications.
GPS Error States Besides the receiver clock error model, filter designers have
also been concerned with the error in the pseudorange measurement and the
error in the Doppler or integrated Doppler (delta-range) measurement to each
satellite due to residual satellite clock and orbit errors and transmission path
effects. Inclusion of an error state for each of these measurements can obtain a
calibration of the measurement under certain conditions. For example, precise
knowledge of the vehicle location and velocity at the measurement time can
provide such a condition. Further, measurements from satellites currently being
tracked can be used to calibrate the measurements from a new satellite when
an initial track is established.
Other refinements of the basic !!-state filter are also possible. Refinements
in the error dyanmics of the model itself may be required in some applications.
The example used a north-oriented coordinate frame, but a different frame can
be used (e.g., the azimuth-wander frame discussed in Chapter 7). The !!-state
model includes all the basic quantities that need to be estimated since the filter
estimates position, velocity, instrument or platform coordinate frame orienta-
tion, and GPS receiver clock errors. All of these quantities are observable in
the !!-state filter once measurements to four or more satellites have been made
available. The observability implies that the usual problems of platform level-
ing, gyrocompassing, and damping the Schuler oscillation are all taken care of
automatically by the Kalman filter without any special ad hoc procedures. In
the past, the principal constraint on the elaboration of the error model has been
limited computer resources. However, in the 1990s, Kalman filter designs based
on models with several tens of error states were being implemented.
3.14 PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
In practice, the implementation and validation of a Kalman filter design needs

to address a number of topics:
• Measurement synchronization
• Measurement editing
• Tuning parameter adjustment
• Filter equation implementation
Measurements must be synchronized between an aiding sensor such as the GPS

receiver and the INS. Any difference in the time between when the GPS mea-
surement is made and when the inertial system estimate of that measurement
is valid can introduce significant errors in the observable difference processed
by the Kalman filter.
Measurement editing, sometimes called reasonability testing, is implemented
in most systems to avoid spurious errors in the observable difference being inad-
vertently processed by the Kalman filter and consequently contaminating system
performance. Typically, the observable difference is compared with some mul-
tiple of its standard deviation as computed from the error covariance matrix
propagated in the real-time Kalman filter solution. Excessively large observ-
able differences are discarded. Measurements are usually processed one at a
time in any practical system rather than, for example, simultaneously processing
the four GPS pseudorange measurements as defined above. With this "scalar"
versus "vector" approach, Kalman corrections are made sequentially until all
available satellite measurements are processed.
In the validation of any filter design, the testing with the actual hardware
results in an adjustment of tuning parameters to refine performance. Such a
process is necessary to compensate for the numerous error effects that are not
accounted for in the filter design even when very elaborate simulation programs
are employed in the design task. The parameters that are adjusted in the filter
"tuning" to accommodate these en·ors are usually the magnitudes of the distur-
bance process noise power spectral densities (Q matrix) and the random obser-
vation error variances (R matrix).
Since the Kalman filter is a recursive algorithm performed on a digital com-
puter, truncation or round-off error can lead to numerical difficulties as the num-
ber of iterations becomes large. Fortunately such problems can be nearly always
avoided if proper safeguards are taken. The Kalman filter has a degree of natural
stability if the system is completely observable and there is nonzero process noise
driving each of the state variables at each recursive step. If a steady-state solution
for the error covariance matrix exists, then this matrix will tend to converge to
steady state after a small perturbation provided that the matrix positive definite.
Some techniques that have been found useful in preventing numerical prob-
lems are the following:
I. Use of high-precision arithmetic. The advance in real-time digital com-

puter chips (to 32 and 64 bi1: arithmetic) facilitates this technique.
2. Symmetrize the Pk and Pic matrices at each step of the recursive process.
Symmetry is automatically obtained if only the upper trianglar portion of
the error covariance matrix is employed in the implementation.
FEDERATED SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE 93
3. Avoid undriven state variables in the process model (random constants).

This is the equivalent of ensuring that Qk is positive definite, and it
ensures that Y; will be positive definite, even if some of the measure-
ments at the prior step are treated as perfect.
4. If the measurement data are sparse, propagate Pk through smaller time
steps. Also be sure that the model parameters accurately represent the true
dynamics of the processes being modeled. Otherwise, incorrect cross-cor-
relations can be introduced in the propagation step, and they can adversely
affect the gain computation.
5. At measurement time points, use the following general quadratic from
[2] which is correct for an arbitrary gain matrix K to update the error
covariance matrix when a measurement is processed:
(3.30)
This form preserves the positive definiteness of the error covariance

matrix, whereas the theoretical form:
(3.31)
only guarantees this condition when the gain is optimal. Note that even
though the equation implemented in the computer is for the optimal gain
(3.32)
the numerical result may not realize the optimal gain.
In the past when digital computers of limited precision were available, an

alternative form of the Kalman filter known as U-D factorization [6, 7, 10],
a square-root formulation, was sometimes employed. The filter recursive equa-
tions are more difficult to program in U-D form than in the normal form shown
in Figure 3.8. The U-D formulation has better numerical behavior than the usual
equations, since the dynamic range for the equivalent error covariance infor-
mation is reduced by a factor of two. As high-precision processor chips have
become available, this technique has diminished in importance.
3.15 FEDERATED SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
The architecture of avionics systems first started as decentralized, with each

sensor having its own analog computer. Since the first digital computers in the
1960s were so expensive, centralized systems became universal. The develop-

ment of less expensive microprocessors led back to decentralized ("federated")
digital systems in the 1980s. In the 1990s, trends toward both centralized and
federated systems has been noticeable.
The federated system architecture that results in a cascaded Kalman filter
situation is shown in Figure 3.16. Federated system architectures have occurred
because, in the past, individual "black boxes" have been procured from different
specialized suppliers, each of whom has tended to implement a self-contained
function. Specialists in each technology develop their own software. However,
the system engineer is then faced with the task of integrating the outputs of these
individual sensor subsystems into a master Kalman filter. Unfortunately, there is
no simple optimal methodology for dealing with this problem. For an optimum
solution, the system designer must process the raw measurements provided by
each of the sensor subsystems and implement a single "centralized" Kalman
filter as opposed to the "decentralized" filter approach illustrated in Figure 3.16.
Another difficulty in the decentralized filter problem is the significant time
correlation structure of the estimation errors in the outputs of the sensor fil-
ters. One of the assumptions of the basic Kalman filter theory is that the mea-
surement error sequence contains some component of random error from one
measurement to the next. Two remedies to obtain this condition exist:
I. If the output data rate of a subsystem is relatively high, it can often be

sampled at much lower rate for the measurement that is input to the master
filter. There may be some lo~;s of information in doing this, but often this
is not severe. For example, suppose that one of the sensor subsystems
provides data at 50 Hz and that the correlation time of the estimation error
is about I sec. If the sampling rate of the master filter were reduced to 1
Hz, the measurement errors would be reasonably decorrelated, satisfying
the theoretical requirement.
2. The filter parameters in the subsystem filter can be readjusted so that the
output estimation errors are nearly white. This means that this filter will
be operating suboptimally but optimization can be obtained by the master
filter. The usual way of decorrelating the output errors of a Kalman filter
is to make the Qk matrix diagonal values artificially large and/or make
those in Rk small. This gives the filter a short memory and results in light
filtering of the measurement stream, which presumably contains uncorre-
lated errors. This method is often a viable option, because a change in
parameter values is usually a minor software change.
With the advent of more centralized computer management of all sensors

in future avionics system architectures with the utilization of high-speed data
buses, cascaded Kalman filters should fall into disuse. The synergistic utilization
of all sensor measurements should be realized more easily, including not only
the optimal Kalman filtering of all sensor measurements but also the cross-use
Sensor 1 ..
~
Kalman Filter (1)
\ Raw Sensor
Measure nent Inputs
•
•
........
......
"Master''
Kalman Filter
Estimates of Vehicle
• ~
Position, Velocity &
I
Orientation
SensorN ~ Kalman Filter (N)
L--..-----
Figure 3.16 Block diagram of a federated system architecture resulting in a "cascading" of

Kalman filters.
""
VI
of sensor measurements between sensors for dynamic compensation. Further

reinforcing this trend is the fact that the software of centralized systems was
once recompiled and revalidated with any design change. In the 1990s, open
software operating systems have permitted changes to one subsystem's software
without affecting that of any other, greatly simplifying the design change and
validation problem.
3.16 FUTURE TRENDS
The future will see significant activity focused on integration of the naviga-
tion sensors with other avionics sensors on the aircraft. In military systems, the
information collected by many sensors is being fused into a central data base to
ensure their optimal use. Civil aircraft systems are likely to see a slower pace
of multisensor integration, largely because of the procurement practices of the
airlines. They purchase equipment from different suppliers based on compet-
itive prices and a desire to interchange "black boxes." Furthermore, reliabil-
ity and safety considerations may lead to a preference for functinoal redun-
dancy and a partially federated approach. In 1995, the civil aviation industry
began to investigate centrally fused data in a program called Integrated Modu-
lar Avionics (IMA), which is somewhat equivalent to the functional integration
and resource-sharing programs represented by the military ICNIA and ICNIS
programs. These efforts are likely to continue and accelerate in the twenty-first
century.
High-powered, low-cost digital processors will facilitate large-scale integra-
tion and enable redundant sensors w achieve a high level of fault tolerance. The
self-contained black-box subsystems that drove the federated avionics systems
architecture in the past will eventually disappear as the more information-rich
centralized system architecture evolves. Significant savings should be realized
in cost, size, weight, and power. The one major disadvantage of the federated
system is that the central-computer software engineers must be expert in each
sensor. Libraries of standard sensor modules may appear near the turn of the
twenty-first century.
Because of its significant cost/performance benefits, the combination of a
low-cost, low-to-moderate performance inertial measurement unit and a GPS
receiver will be a widely used multisensor system for many types of air vehicles
for years to come.
PROBLEMS
3.1. Refer to the simplified inertial system error model shown in Figure 3.14,
and make the following assumptions:
PROBLEMS 97
Ex = .0 I o /hr constant drift rate

oAv = 25 p.,g's constant accelerometer bias
Ax,z = 0 no acceleration
wy = 0 cos is the north component of Earth rate,
where the latitude = 45"
Compute the steady state values of (east) tilt ¢x and azimuth misalign-
ment ¢, that will result from observing (north) velocity error Ll.v during
the process of initial alignment of the inertial system
Hint: Also see Chapter 7. Ans.: ¢, = 200 arcsec ¢x = 5 an·sec
3.2. Assume an inertial system has been initially aligned as in Problem 2.1
(equilibrium conditions obtained), with a variance in (east) tilt of [5
arcsecf and a variance in azimuth misalignment of [200 arc-sec] 2 , and,
additionally, there exists an independent error in (north) position, with a
variance of [500 feet] 2 . What are the variances in tilt, azimuth misalign-
ment, and position error when a star tracker is integrated with the inertial
system and a star is observed directly overhead (along the local vertical),
if the tracker measurement error is zero and processed by a Kalman filter?
Ans.:a;, = [3.5 arc sec ]2 , ai,
= [353 .ft] 2 and a;,
= [200 arcsecf
What are these variances if a star is observed on the horizon along the
local north line?
Ans.: a;, = [5 arcsec] 2 , ai, = [500 .ftf and a;, = 0
3.3. Consider an inertial system initially aligned as in Problem 3.1 but inte-
grated with a reference speed sensor (e.g., a Doppler radar), where the
vehicle accelerates in the eastward direction at Ax = I 0 fps 2 for I 0 sec-
onds to a velocity of Vx = I 00 fps. What are the steady-state values of the
tilt and azimuth misalignment variances if Doppler speed measurements
with no error are processed by a Kalman filter?
Ans.: a;, = [5 arcsec] 2 and a;, = [200 arcsecf
What are the steady-state values of tilt and azimuth misalignment variances
if y (north) position change measurements (e.g., as obtained from a GPS
receiver) with no error are processed by Kalman filter?
Ans.: a;, = [5 arcsecf and a~, = 0
3.4. For an integrated reference speed sensor and inertial system, where the
speed sensor has a constant bias error with variance of II fpsf and the
inertial system has a constant gyro drift rate with variance of [0.0 I o /hr] 2 ,
compute the steady-state variance of the system velocity error, a~v·
Hint: Refer to Fip,ure 3.6. Ans.: azv = [.707 fpsf
What is the steady-state variance of this velocity error if, in addition, a
constant step change of acceleration measurement error with variance of

[25 ~g] 2 is introduced?
Ans.: a~v = [.707 fps] 2
3.5. Suppose you wanted to measure the deflection of the vertical (unknown
deviation of the gravity vector from the local normal to the ellipsoid of rev-
olution, which approximates the gravitational potential field of the earth)
at a fixed point on the earth's surface for which the position is exactly
known. Which two navigation sensors discussed in this chapter are nec-
essary to perform this task, and what would the sources of residual error
be in the measurements?
Ans.: A stationary inertial system (after an initial alignment using
observations of velocity error) establishes the direction of the local
gravity vector with an error primarily due to the accelerometer mea-
surement error. A star tracker provides a measurement of the total
tilt of the inertial system due to both the accelerometer measurement
error and the deflection of the vertical. Error in this determination
of tilt is due to the error in the tracker measurement of star position
if the position on the surface of the Earth is exactly known.
If you wanted to measure the total deflection of the vertical in an airborne
vehicle moving over the surface of the Earth, which of the navigation sen-
sors discussed in this chapter would be employed?
Ans.: As the vehicle moves over the surface of the earth, error in the
navigated position of a stellar-inertial system will increase, degrad-
ing the ability of the system to determine deflection of the vertical as
achieved above for the stationary system. Consequently, the addition
of a navigation sensor that provides highly accurate positions, such
as obtained with a GPS receiver, is necessary.
4 Terrestrial Radio-Navigation
Systems
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses the basic principles of terrestrial radio navigation sys-
tems, the radio propagation and noise characteristics and the major system per-
formance parameters. The systems described in detail include all the impor-
tant point source systems, such as direction finders, VOR, DME, and Tacan;
and the hyperbolic systems, such as Loran-C, Decca, and Omega. All of these
systems have been used worldwide and have provided accurate and reliable
positioning and navigation in one or two dimensions for many years. In 1996
hundreds of thousands of civil and military aircraft throughout the world were
equipped with these systems, and many of these will be used for years to come.
Satellite radio nevigation systems (e.g., GPS) are discussed in Chapter 5 and
military integrated radio communication-navigation systems are described in
Chapter 6.
4.2 GENERAL PRINCIPLES
4.2.1 Radio Transmission and Reception

Figure 4.1 shows an elementary radio system. If a wire (antenna) is placed in
space and excited with an alternating current of such frequency as to make the
length of the wire equal to half a wavelength, almost all the applied ac power
that is not dissipated in the wire will be radiated into space. A similar wire,
some distance away and parallel to the first wire, will intercept some of the
radiated power, and an appropriate detector connected to this receiving wire can
indicate the magnitude, frequency, phase or time of arrival of the transmitted
energy. This is the basis of all radio-navigation systems. Half-wavelength wires
are called resonant dipole antennas.
To communicate from the transmitter to the receiver, it is necessary to mod-
ulate the alternating current in some manner. Early systems merely turned the
alternating current on and off in accordance with the Morse code. Numerous
other modulation systems have since come into use; the most important distinc-

100 TERRESTRIAL RAD!O-NAVICAT!ON SYSTEMS
Display or
Modulator Transmiuer - R=iver - Processor - Data Bus
Interface
Figure 4.1 Elementary radio-navigation system.
tion, from a navigation standpoint. is whether the alternating current is left on

all the time (continuous wave) or whether it is turned off most of the time and
transmitted only as pulses. Within these broad categories there are many varia-
tions. For instance, the continuous wave signal may be modulated in amplitude,
frequency, or phase; pulses may be modulated in amplitude, time, or arranged
into various codes.
Early radio experiments were hampered by the difficulty of generating suf-
ficiently high frequencies or building sufficiently large antennas to secure effi-
cient transmission. They were also hampered by the low sensitivity of available
detectors. However, the invention and development of the vacuum tube and
solid state devices, including transistors, varactors, and many others, greatly
extended the frequency spectrum that could be used, with the result that prac-
tical radio systems use frequencies from I 0 kHz (30,000-meter wavelength) up
to I 00 GHz (3-mm wavelength), and progress is constantly being made toward
the use of still higher frequencies.
By general agreement, radio frequencies have long been categorized as fol-
lows [36]:
Abbreviation
Name Frequency Wavelength
Very low frequency VLF 3 to 30kHz 100 to 10 km
Low frequency LF 30 to 300kHz 10 to I km
Medium frequency MF 300 to 3000 kHz I km to 100m
High frequency HF 3 to 30 MHz 100 to 10m
Very high frequency VHF 30 to 300 MHz 10 to I em
Ultrahigh frequency UHF 300 to 3000 MHz I m to IO em
Superhigh frequency SHF 3 to 30 GHz IO to 1 em
Extremely high
frequency EHF 30 to 300 GHz 10 to I mm
At the higher frequencies, the following letter designations for certain fre-
quency bands have been widely accepted, although they do not have official
status (they are frequently related to standard wave-guide sizes) [35]:
GENERAL PRINCIPLES 101
Letter Frequency Letter Frequency

Designation Range Designation Range
L 0.39 to 1.55 GHz xh 6.25 to 6.90 GHz

Ls 0.90 to 0.95 GHz K! 10.90 to 36.00 GHz
s 1.55 to 5.20 GHz Ku 15.35 to 17.25 GHz
c 3.90 to 6.20 GHz Ka 33.00 to 36.00 GHz
X 5.20 to 10.90 GHz Q 36.00 to 46.00 GHz
1Includes K e band, which is centered at 13.3 GHz.
With progress constantly being made at still higher frequencies, other sys-
tems of nomenclature will be required. However, radio navigation, as defined in
this chapter, is confined primarily to the bands lying between VLF and UHF,
where the above nomenclature is likely to remain in use. Regardless of fre-
quency, the following general rules apply in free space:
I. The propagation speed of radio waves in a vacuum is the speed of light:

299,792.5 ± 0.3 kmjsec (usually taken as 300,000 kmjsec for all but the
most precise measurements).
2. The received energy is a function of the area of the receiving antenna.
If transmission is omnidirectional, the received energy is proportional to
the area of the receiving antenna divided by the area of a sphere of radius
equal to the distance from the transmitter:
Received power Receiver antenna area

( 4.1)
Transmitted power Area of a sphere(= 4?rR 2 )
where R is the range between antennas in the same units as those for the
antenna area.
3. Multiple antennas may be used at both ends of the path to increase the
effective antenna area. Such increases in area produce an increase in
directivity or gain and result in more of the transmitted power reach-
ing the receiver. The gain G of an antenna (in the direction of maxi-
mum response) is equal to its directivity D times its efficiency. The maxi-
mum effective aperture or effective area of an antenna is equal to D'A/47r.
It is defined as the ratio of the power in the terminating impedance to
the power density of the incident wave, when the antenna is oriented
for maximum response and under conditions of maximum power trans-
fer [ 19j. It is also defined as the physical area times the antenna aper-
ture efficiency (or absorption ratio) [19, 36]. The directivity or gain of
an antenna is usually expressed as a ratio with respect to either a hypo-
thetical isotropic radiator or a half-wave dipole. A dipole has an effective
area of about 0.13 times the square of the wavelength [36]. A transmitter
102 TERRESTRIAL RADIO-NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
of power P and antenna gain G has an effective radiated power (ERP) of

PC along its axis of maximum gain.
For practical purposes, Equation 4.1 can be rewritten [ 19]
Received power ArAt

(4.2)
Transmitted power R 2 A2
is the effective area of receiving antenna

is the effective area of transmitting antenna
is the range between antennas
is the wavelength (the speed of light/frequency)
Thus, for fixed effective antenna areas, the power transferred from trans-
mitter to receiver increases as the square of the frequency. However, this
is accompanied by a corresponding increase in directivity. Such direc-
tivity is of no concern in fixed point-to-point service and is of advan-
tage in reducing external noise pickup. In many moving-platform appli-
cations, such as aircraft, a high level of directivity is a distinct disad-
vantage. However, when the use of tuned dipole antennas is assumed,
the power transferred decreases as the square of the frequency. This is
seen from Equation 4.1 where the receiver antenna area for a dipole, (i.e.,
0.13 A2 ) is substituted in the numerator.
4. The minimum power that a receiver can detect is referred to as its sensitivity.
Where unlimited amplification is possible, sensitivity is limited by the noise
existing at the input of the receiver. Such noise is of two main types:
a. External. Due to other unwanted transmitters, electrical-machinery
interference, atmospheric noise, cosmic noise, and the like.
b. Internal. Depending on the state of the art and approaching, as a lower
limit, the thermal noise across the input impedance of the receiver,
which is given by
(4.3)
where
NP is the noise power (in watts)
k is the Boltzmann's constant (1.38 X w- 23 JoulesjKelvin)
T is the temperature (in Kelvin)
A.f is the bandwidth (in Hertz)
The factor by which a receiver fails to reach this theoretical internal-noise

limit is often expressed as a ratio, in decibels, and is known as the noise
figure (NF) of the receiver [37]:
No
NF= - - - - (4.4)
kTob.fGa
where No is the noise power out of a practical receiver and N 1 is the noise
power out of an ideal receiver at standard temperature T 0 , of available
gain Ga, and of bandwidth D.f.
5. The minimum bandwidth occupied by the system is proportional to the
information rate. For most navigational purposes, the necessary informa-
tion rate is quite low. For instance, to navigate in a given direction to an
accuracy of 500 ft with an aircraft that cannot change its position more
than 500 ft in that direction in any one second, new information is needed
only once per second. However, most practical systems have employed
many times this minimum bandwidth. The reasons include (a) the need for
other services, such as communications on the same channel, (b) the use
of pulse techniques to aid in resolving multiple targets and to reduce the
effects of multipath transmission, and (c) the use of spectrum-spreading
techniques to improve signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), accuracy of range mea-
surements, reduction of effects due to interference of site errors. (Spread-
ing the spectrum beyond that needed by the information rate itself has the
same effect as increasing the power, provided that optimum techniques
are used at each end of the link [2, 27].)
In summary, to assess the free-space range of a radio system, It 1s neces-

sary to have at least the following facts: transmitter power and antenna gain,
receiver antenna gain and noise figure, the effective bandwidth of the system,
and the effect on system performance of external or internal noise. Combin-
ing the fundamental relations in Equations 4.1 to 4.4, results in the following
generalized link budget expression for the required radio transmitter power of
a radio system as a function of key system parameters [35]:
where
PT is the transmitter power
PN is the noise power in receiver
(SjN)REQ is the required signal-to-noise ratio in receiver
NF is the receiver noise figure
FN is the noise improvement factor due to modulation method and
bandwidth spreading (e.g., frequency modulation)
is the transmitter antenna gain
GR is the receiver antenna gain

Lp is the propagation path attenuation loss
It is assumed that the polarization of the transmitting and receiving antennas

are the same.
The radiation pattern from half-wave wires is a maximum along their per-
pendicular bisectors and a minimum along the axis of the wire, the equisignal
pattern thus forming a "doughnut." (An isotropic radiator converts the volume
of this doughnut into a ball, with uniform radiation in all directions. Such a radi-
ator would have to be a point source and is theoretically impossible at coherent
frequencies. However, in illumination engineering and in optics, from which
radio theory borrows, such point sources are assumed to exist.)
At the lower frequencies, along the surface of the Earth, vertical polariza-
tion is universally used (the wires being vertical) with minimum signal being
radiated into the ground. At frequencies where the antenna can conveniently
be placed half a wavelength or more above the Earth (generally in the high-
frequency band and above), either vertical or horizontal polarization is used,
depending on other factors.
4.2.2 Propagation and Noise Characteristics

In free space, all radio waves, regardless of frequency, are propagated in straight
lines at the speed of light. Along the surface of the earth, however, two other
methods of propagation are of importance: Up to about 3 MHz, an appreciable
amount of energy follows the curvature of the Earth, called the ground wave.
Up to about 30 MHz, appreciable energy is reflected from the ionosphere; this
is called the sky wave. The sky wave makes some types of long-range com-
munication feasible, but it is of less value to navigation systems because its
transmission path is unpredictable. At frequencies where the ground wave is
useful, such ionospheric reflection actually detracts from the value of the sys-
tem and requires special treatmem.
Ground Waves Groundwaves are familiar as those normally received when

listening to a standard AM broadcast transmitter during daylight hours. Daytime
range is better at the low-frequency end of the band (550 kHz) than at the
high end of the band ( 1650 kHz). Nighttime coverage is greater over the whole
band, but depends on the sky-wave transmission. Ground-wave propagation is
the primary propagation mode used in a number of modern radio navigation
systems (e.g., Loran-C; Section 4.5.1).
Propagation of ground waves is dependent on several additional factors.
First, ground-wave propagation i> dependent on the conductivity and dielec-
tric constant of the Earth in such a complex manner as to make the received
power more nearly a function of the inverse fourth power of the distance, rather
TABLE 4.1 Typical ground-wave attenuation values (dB)

Over Landb Over Seawater"
Frequency (kHz) 100 s. mi 1000 s. mi 100 s. mi 1000 s. mi
10 37 63 37 62
100 58 99 57 92
500 87 195 71 125
1000 110 245 79 145
2000 132 86 165
"Lossless isotropic antennas 30 ft above the surface. vertical polarization.

"Pastoral land: (J = 0.005 mho/m. E ~ 15.
cseawater: (J = 5 mhm/m. E = l:IO.
Source: Reference [35].
than the inverse square, as would occur in free space. In addition, further losses,
increasing with frequency, are encountered. Table 4.1 gives some typical exam-
ples. At low frequencies, ranges up to 5000 miles or more are obtainable, if suf-
ficient power can be generated to overcome atmospheric noise, path attenuation
and to compensate for low antenna efficiencies [42].
Second, at low frequencies, it is physically difficult to construct a vertical
transmitting antenna large enough to be half a wavelength (or its electrical
equivalent, i.e., a quarter-wave antenna above a perfectly conducting plane).
Therefore, the antenna is generally much shorter than the ideal and is res-
onated to the operating frequency by external series inductance of the lowest
possible losses. The result, despite the best engineering practice, is the radiation
of considerably less power over a very narrow bandwidth than that generated
by the transmitter. Nevertheless, ground-wave service is sufficiently attractive
for many applications so that low efficiencies are tolerated in some lower-fre-
quency applications.
Third, in most parts of the world and at most times of the year, atmospheric
noise at low frequencies is so much greater than receiver noise that additional
transmitter power must be used. This noise is generated mostly by lightning
flashes. As shown in Table 4.2, at the latitude of the United States, atmospheric
TABLE 4.2 Nighttime atmospheric noise in the United

States: 10 kHz bandwidth
Frequency (kHz) Noise (p., V/m)
10 2000
100 250
1000 20
10,000 0.8
100,000 Below receiver noise
noise power at the input to a receiver is typically a million times greater at

10 kHz than at 10 MHz (where it approximates typical receiver noise). At
the equator, atmospheric noise power is from I 0 to 25 times greater than at
U.S. latitudes, whereas at the poles it is about I 00 times less. The additional
transmitter power required to overcome atmospheric noise levels produces one
redeeming effect: Since a larger receiving-antenna area picks up more atmo-
spheric noise along with more signal, no benefit is derived by making antennas
larger than necessary. In fact, to nominally balance the effects of internal and
external noises on the overall received signal, the typical antenna requires an
effective area of less than one square meter.
Fourth, a characteristic of ground waves is that their propagation velocity
is not entirely constant. While the variation is quite small (in percent), it is
sufficient to limit the ability to obtain fixes at extreme ranges as good as the
instrumentation might otherwise permit [17].
Last, despite all the handicaps listed, ground waves at low frequencies offer
the only long-range radio communication means to vehicles that are not depen-
dent on the ionosphere or airborne or satellite-borne relay stations. For this
reason, there is a worldwide demand for frequencies in the VLF and LF bands.
The optimum frequencies cover only approximately I 00 kHz and are limited
at the low end by antenna efficiency and by atmospheric noise and at the high
end by poor propagation characteristics. Because of the long-range coverage,
almost every single station or system in the world requires a unique frequency.
In addition to the handicaps already listed, systems at these frequencies are
dependent on national policies of frequency assignment.
Sky Waves In a region lying between 50 and 500 km above the Earth's sur-
face, radiation from the sun produces a set of ionized layers called the iono-
sphere [38, 42]. The location and density of these layers depends on the time of
day and, to a lesser extent, the season and the !!-year sunspot cycle. The iono-
sphere acts as a refractive medium; when the refractive index is high enough
in relation to the frequency of a radio wave, it bends the radio wave and will,
under favorable conditions, return the wave back to Earth.
Figure 4.2 shows a simplified picture of the geometry involved. At A, the
radio wave strikes the refractive layer at too steep an angle and, although it is
bent, is not sufficiently affected to return to Earth; it continues out into space
(unless it encounters a more heavily ionized layer further out). At B, the radio
wave strikes the refractive layer a1: a more oblique angle, is bent sufficiently to
travel somewhat parallel to Earth, and is finally bent sufficiently to return to
Earth. At C, the wave arrives at the refractive layer with glancing incidence and
immediately returns to Earth. At D, the refractive index is too low in relation
to frequency to seriously deflect the radio wave, which then travels on out to
space; generally, this happens at frequencies above 30 MHz.
From this geometry it is evident that return to Earth occurs only at some
minimum distance for a given frequency and degree of ionization. This is called
the maximum usable frequency for that distance. Signals at higher frequencies,
·: :...
·.·.·.' :: . ... ... .
. . . . .. .
. . .' .
: ·.·.· .·
Figure 4.2 Effects of ionosphere on radio waves.
if returned at all, will be returned only at greater distances. This critical distance
is known as skip distance; inside it there is no return to Earth at the particular
operating frequency. If more than one ionizing layer are present, there may be
various skip distances for the same frequency.
At those frequencies and distances where ionospheric reflection occurs, the
attenuation of the radio signal is only that due to the spreading out of the power
over the surface of the Earth and is, consequently, proportional to distance.
Conversely, as indicated in the previous paragraphs, ground-wave attenuation
is very much greater, except at the lowest frequencies. At frequencies of around
I MHz, the signal level produced at the receiver by the two types of transmis-
sions is likely to look like that shown in Figure 4.3.
As the frequency increases, the ground-wave curve will move to the left and
the sky-wave curve to the right, leaving a gap (due to skip distance) where nei-
ther wave produces a usable received signal. In the region where the ground
wave and sky wave are about equal, severe fading will occur due to the ran-
domly varying phase of the sky-wave signal with respect to the ground-wave
signal. Even when sky-wave signal strength is adequate, serious distortion of
its modulation may occur due to the different paths simultaneously traveled by
the signal between transmitter and receiver. These are called multipath effects.
The differential time delay between these paths may reach several milliseconds,
thus preventing faithful reproduction of modulation frequencies above a few
hundred Hertz.
Therefore, sky-wave transmission is quite variable, and its efficacy is highly
dependent on the distance to the receiver, the frequency used, and the time of
day. For these reasons, the general practice in the 3- to 30-MHz communica-
tion band has been to use receivers and transmitters that would readily tune
over the whole band and to change frequencies from hour to hour, depending
on the distances required and on the condition of the ionosphere. Much work
"'c::
Oil
v;
-o
"'
>
iii
u
"'
a::
D1stance from transmitter
Figure 4.3 Ground-wave and sky-wave attenuation of radio signals.
has gone into the creation of charts predicting maximum usable frequencies and
skip distances [42]. More recent developments include propagation-frequency
evaluators that quickly evaluate (by frequency-scanning techniques) the best
path to be used for communication between two points at a given time. By
use of such techniques, ionospheric reflection has been a major long-distance
communication aid. Until the advent of wideband submarine cables and com-
munication satellites, these frequencies were the mainstay of the transoceanic
telephone and radio networks. The highly variable characteristics of the iono-
sphere, which cause different frequencies to travel by different paths, led to the
development of many ingenious sreerable antenna systems for this service. The
use of ionospheric reflection for navigation systems has been confined almost
exclusively to ground-based direction finders.
Conversely, sky-wave transmission is considered a handicap, rather than an
aid, to those navigation systems that depend on groundwaves. In such systems,
the almost direct, reasonably predictable ground wave is contaminated by sky-
wave energy that has arrived by a devious path. The mixture of the two often
produces serious errors not only in distance but also in bearing measurements,
since the effective reflecting point is not necessarily on the vertical plane join-
ing the transmitting and receiving stations. Methods for reducing such sky-wave
contamination include (I) the use of tall antenna structures for improved ver-
tical directivity resulting in transmission fields being concentrated along the
ground and less toward the sky, and (2) the use of only the leading edge of
pulse transmission, since this edge arrives sooner by ground wave then by sky
wave and is, therefore, uncontaminated (this usually requires greater bandwidth
than that required by the information rate).
Line-of-Sight Waves Above approximately 30 MHz, propagation follows the

free-space laws listed in Section 4.2, modified by the reflecting effects of vari-
ous objects on Earth. In general, the transmission path is predictable, and the
wavelengths are so short as to readily permit almost any desired antenna struc-
ture; engineering for a given performance is consequently relatively straight-
forward. Some anomalous sky-wave effects occasionally occur up to 100 MHz,
TABLE 4.3 Attenuation (loss) versus frequency due to fog

Visible Distance
Loss (dB/m) 100ft 200ft 500ft 1000 ft

10-3 20
10-4 7 12 20
10-5 4 7 12
to- 6 3
Note: Table entries are frequency in GHz.
but from approximately 100 MHz to 3 GHz, the transmission path is highly pre-
dictable and is unaffected by time of day, season, precipitation, or atmospher-
ics. Above 3 GHz, absorption and scattering by precipitation and by the atmo-
sphere begin to be noticed, and they become limiting factors above I 0 GHz.
Furthermore, above that frequency, atmospheric absorption does not increase in
a smooth manner but rather is characterized by narrow peak-absorption bands
and by narrow "windows" of relatively reduced absorption. Tables 4.3 and
4.4 [ 14] show attenuation effects due to fog and rain (in addition to free-
space loss).
Because of absorption above I 0 GHz, transmission at such frequencies is
severely limited within the Earth's atmosphere. High-flying aircraft and space
vehicles of course are under no such restrictions.
In designing antenna systems for line-of-sight frequencies, it often happens
that due to the relatively short wavelengths, the antenna is spaced away from a
reflecting object such as the ground by a critical number of wavelengths, which
has a marked effect on the overall antenna pattern. For instance, at 1 GHz, the
wavelength is about I ft. If this practice were used at 1 GHz, a quarter-wave
structure might be built with its base on the ground. Since even nearby blades
of grass would seriously mar its performance (not to mention persons and vehi-
cles moving about nearby), this would obviously be impractical. Instead, such
an antenna would likely be mounted on a pole, say, 10 ft high, so as to clear the
TABLE 4.4 Attenuation (loss) versus frequency due to rain

Heavy Moderate Light Drizzle
Loss (dB/m) (16 mm/hr) (4 mmjhr) (1 mm/hr) (0.25 mm/hr)
10 3 15 37 100
10 4 7 12 20 43
10-5 3 6 9 20
10 6 3 4 8
10-7 4
Note: Table entries arc frequency in GHL.

Figure 4.4 Vertical reflection paths.
immediately surrounding structures. A reflection phenomenon, lacking at lower

frequencies, would now be encountered, as shown in Figure 4.4.
A receiver, at a point in space, now receives a direct ray from the trans-
mitter and a reflected ray from the ground. Because of the short wavelength,
the path difference is sufficient to cause addition or cancellation (for perfect
ground reflection) as the receiver moves up and down in elevation. The result-
ing vertical pattern (assuming perfect ground reflection and with an exagger-
ated scale for clarity) is shown in Figure 4.5. Deep nulls, of virtually zero signal
strength, are produced at those vertical angles at which the direct wave path and
the reflected wave path differ by exactly an odd multiple of half-wavelengths.
Maxima of signal strength occur where the two path lengths produce in-phase
signals. The number of nulls per vertical degree of elevation increases with the
height of the antenna and with frequency.
Such deep nulls, of course, occur only if the ground is smooth and perfectly
reflecting. However, even when this is not the case, the null structure can pro-
duce serious loss of signal. A number of corrective steps can be used to reduce
vertical nulls:
I. Raising the antenna high enough above the ground, m relation to fre-
Figure 4.5 Vertical lobbing.

SYSTEM DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS Ill
quency, to make the null structure so fine that the slightest irregularities
in the reflecting surface will break up the null pattern. At heights of I 00
wavelengths or more, the problem can usually be ignored.
2. Placing a horizontal counterpoise immediately below the antenna so as
to make its effective height quite small. The counterpoise shortens the
path of the reflected ray, thereby raising the angle at which cancellation
occurs. To be effective, such a counterpoise must be many wavelengths
in diameter.
3. Using high vertical antenna directivity (either by antenna arrays or by
parabolic reflectors) and then pointing the resulting narrow antenna beam
slightly above the horizon. The uptilt reduces the energy striking the
ground and, therefore, reduces the reflected wave.
4. Making the null on one frequency occur at the same time that a maximum
is occurring on another by using frequency diversity or wide-spectrum
modulation which allows several frequencies to be used simultaneously
[I].
5. Introducing vertical diversity up to an appreciable vertical angle via two
antenna systems, one at half the height of the other with the null of one
corresponding to the maximum of the other. However, the frequencies fed
to these two antenna systems cannot be coherent; otherwise a new null
pattern will appear at angles where the signals are otherwise equal. This
method is, in general, limited to receiving systems where two separate
receivers can be used.
6. Attempting other forms of diversity that make use of two or more paths
simultaneously. The term "diversity" in radio propagation refers to this
use of paths with different frequencies, polarizations, and so on in order
to make reflections occur at different points on each path.
Line-of-sight systems on Earth are, of course, subject to the limitations of

the horizon. The maximum range that can be obtained is illustrated in Figure
4.6. Beyond the line of sight, signal strength at these frequencies drops off
almost as suddently as does visible light when passing from day to night. Very
large powers and antenna gains are, therefore, needed to produce significant
performance beyond the line of sight, and such systems have not been found
to be of much value in aircraft communications and navigation systems.
4.3 SYSTEM DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
4.3.1 Radio-Navigation System Types

From the beginning use of radio, the known (nearly constant) speed of radio-
wave propagation, coupled with an accurate measurement of time, has lead to
the use of radio for the measurement of distance. Furthermore, with a mea-
R in nautical miles
h in feet
Figure 4.6 Line-of-sight range.
surement of differential distance of two receiving antennas from one transmitter,

the direction of the transmitter can be determined. In some systems, the mea-
surement of time (and hence distance) and the angular measurement of direction
are combined to determine user position, as discussed later in this section.
In Figure 4.7, two receivers (A and B) are arranged on a known baseline,
which is assumed to be short with respect to the distance to the transmitter,
so that the transmission paths to the two receivers can be considered parallel.
A right triangle ABC may then be constructed and 8 readily calculated if r is
known. The value of r is found by comparing the outputs of the two receivers,
noting the time delay between the arrival of identical parts of the signal, and
dividing this time delay by the known speed of propagation. Such an arrange-
ment is commonly called a direction-finder and is a widely used radio-navi-
gation aid at all frequencies. (In many practical systems, the baseline AB is
physically rotated until the delay is zero; the direction of arrival is then on the
perpendicular bisector of AB.)
Some of the more common position determination methods are shown in
Figure 4.8. With knowledge of distance (rho) or direction (theta) to a ground
station, lines of position (LOPs) may be plotted on a map. The LOP of constant
direction is a radial from the station; the LOP of constant distance is a circle
centered on the station. The intersection of two LOPs provides a fix. It will be
seen that the greatest geometrical accuracy occurs when LOPs cross at right
angles.
r =distance due to known

delay between arrival
iliA and B
+------
Direction of arrival
of signal
+------
Known base line
Receiver B
------
------
Figure 4.7 Direction-finder principle.
SYSTEM DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 113
"'N
I
I
(a) (b)
(c)
BD- AD= k on any one line
Three pairs of stations provide a fix
(d)
Figure 4.8 Common geometric position fixing schemes: (a) Rho-theta (p-{}); (b) theta-
theta({}-{}); (c) rho-rho (p-p); (d) hyperbolic.
Rho-theta systems provide a unique fix from a single station, and the LOPs
always cross at right angles. Theta-theta systems provide a unique fix from
two stations. The geometric accuracy is highest when the lines cross at right
angles and is poor on a line connecting the stations. Rho-rho systems provide
an ambiguous fix from two stations and a unique fix from three stations. Geo-
metric accuracy is greatest within the triangle formed by the three stations and
gradually decreases as the vehicle moves outside and away from the triangle.
The hyperbolic system uses LOPs that each define a constant difference in
distance to two stations. Such systems operate under conditions where the deter-
mination of absolute distance to the station is impractical. Three pairs of stations
are needed for a unique fix; however, for many practical applications, two pairs
suffice. Geometric accuracy is very much a function of the relative station loca-
tions. Poor geometry leads to a property frequently called geometric dilution of
precision (GDOP).
Another method, called pseudoranging, has been developed and is used in
certain modern radio navigation systems, such as GPS (Chapter 5) and one
mode of JTIDS-RelNav (Chapter 6). In this method the user receiver and the
reference station(s) are assumed not to be synchronized in time. By measur-
ing several (in general, at least four) such pseudoranges (versus true ranges
when time synchronization does exist), the user's three-dimensional position
and its time offset (from the transmitter or system time) can be determined
(Section 2.5). Three such pseudoranges are sufficient to determine the user's
two-dimensional position (provided that the user's altitude is known). Finally,
the term direct ranging (rho-rho and rho-rho-rho) has been applied to a hyper-
bolic system used in a true ranging mode by achieving some form of time syn-
chronization (see Sections 4.5.1 and 4.5.2).
The measurement of distance and direction by radio gives accurate results
only if the radio path between the points being measured is direct and the propa-
gation speed is known. In practice, the path between a transmitter and a receiver
on the Earth's surface may be quite devious and may, in fact, be a combination
of many paths. The problems of reducing such multipath transmissions and of
recognizing the direct path are major reasons for the multiplicity of radio nav-
igation systems that have been proposed or are in use.
4.3.2 System Performance Parameters

The utility of a radio-navigation system to a user is reflected by at least the fol-
lowing factors: accuracy, coverage, availability, integrity, ambiguity, and capac-
ity [48]. These factors may be summarized as follows:
1. Accuracy. The accuracy of a radio-navigation system is a statistical mea-

sure of performance and is typically given as a root-mean-square (rms)
measurement of its position error over some time interval. Many rms
errors are expressed in two dimensions; however, some systems (e.g.,
GPS) can provide three-dimensional rms errors. System accuracy mea-
sures are defined in Chapter 2. The major factors affecting radio-naviga-
tion system accuracy are m: follows:
• Absolute error. The absoilute or predictable error is the error in deter-
mining position relative to an Earth-referenced coordinate system. The
Earth frame [5] is one such coordinate system that has its origin at the
Earth's center of mass and its axes fixed in the Earth.
• Repeatable errors. Repeatability reflects the accuracy with which a user
can return to a position whose coordinates have been measured at a
previous time with the same radio-navigation system.
• Relative errors. This is the user's error with respect to a known point or
to another user of the same radio-navigation system at the same time.
The latter may also be expressed as a function of the distance between
the two users.
• Differential errors. These are the residual errors that remain after a user
has applied the corrections broadcast by a differential reference station
SYSTEM DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 115
located in the general vicinity whose position is precisely known, and

the position calculated is compared using normal system signals with
its known position. Depending on the distance between the user and
the reference station, common errors, such as errors due to propagation
effects, are eliminated or greatly reduced, resulting in a differential error
that is much smaller than the absolute error. (Differential operation is
widely used in such radio navigation systems as Loran-C, Omega and
GPS.)
• Propagation effects. Radio-navigation system accuracy is affected by
the transmission of the radio signal through the atmosphere. Error
sources include reflection and refraction from the ionosphere and tro-
posphere, variations in the conductivity of the Earth, anisotropic sig-
nal propagation, and the like. Also, the transmitter to receiver signal
can simultaneously follow more than one path giving rise to multipath
effects.
• Instrumentation errors. Instrumentation errors are the errors introduced
by the radio and display equipment. These may include errors due to
receiver noise, time-of-arrival (TOA) measurement circuits or angular
measurement circuits, readout tolerance, and display resolution.
• Geometry effects. Geometry effects are typically expressed by a quan-
tity called the geometric dilution ofprecision (GDOP). GDOP maps the
basic (range or angle) measurements into position error and depends
solely on the user-to-system geometry (see also Chapters 5 and 6, and
Sections 4.5.1 and 4.5.2).
2. Coverage. The coverage area served by a radio navigation system is
defined in terms of the specified performance of the system. In general,
the coverage limit is defined by a requirement that a navigation receiver
be able to acquire the radio navigation signal as well as use it and that the
navigation solution meets a specific accuracy at a specified signal-to-noise
ratio (S/N) value.
3. Availability. Radio-navigation system availability is the probability that
the system is available for navigation by a user. In the United States,
navigation system availabilities below 99.7% will not meet the require-
ments of the Federal Radio Navigation Plan [48] for safety of navigation
purposes.
4. Integrity. Integrity in a radio-navigation system is the ability of the system
to provide the user with warnings when it should not be used for naviga-
tion. For example, VOR and Tacan perform integrity monitoring using an
independent receiver. When an out-of-tolerance condition is detected by
the integrity monitors, the VOR and Tacan receivers remove their signal
from use within ten seconds of this detection. Systems like GPS use of a
variety of integrity monitoring methods (see Chapter 5).
5. Ambiguity. System ambiguity exists when the radio-navigation system
identifies two or more possible positions of the vehicle, with the same
set of measurements, with no indication of which is the most nearly cor-
rect position. (This is not a problem with Loran-C, since the ambiguous
fix is a great distance from the desired fix. Ambiguous lines of position
(LOP) occur in the Omega system, since there is no means to identify
particular points of contact phase (lanes) that recur throughout the cover-
age area. Because of this ambiguity, Omega receivers must be initialized
to a known position, and the lanes counted as they are crossed . )
6. Capacity. Capacity is the number of users that the radio-navigation system
can accommodate simultaneously. For example, there is no restriction on
the number of receivers that may use Loran-C, Omega, or a VOR station
simultaneously; on the other hand, DME and Tacan are currently limited
to about II 0 users for traffic handling.
Therefore, in considering overall accuracy, most systems must be compared

on the probability of a certain accuracy being obtained under specified con-
ditions of use. In the final analy~is, such a probability must be a mixture of
many probabilities, including the probability that the user will read the instru-
ment correctly (typically called flight technical error) and the probability that
the entire radio equipment is functioning properly. In this latter connection the
fail-safe concept is generally strived for, on the theory that no information is
preferable to false information. Alrernatively, redundancy may be implemented,
with the outputs of several system~• compared and the most likely selected either
by human or automatic means.
4.4 POINT SOURCE SYSTEMS [5, 15, 16, 17]
4.4.1 Direction-Finding
Direction-finding represents the earliest use of radio for navigational purposes;
it continues to perform a useful function, particularly in those parts of the world
that have not yet adopted the more specialized navigation aids. Its chief attrac-
tion lies in the fact that, with the proper receiving equipment, the direction
of a transmitter can be found. Such transmitters do not necessarily have to be
specially designed for direction-finding; they can be broadcast stations, com-
munication stations, navigation stations, or any other kind of radiating system.
The chief drawback of direction-finding is that quite elaborate receiving
equipment must be used if the best accuracy is to be obtained. Most aircraft
are unable to accommodate such equipment. Direction-finders for aircraft nav-
igation may, therefore, be grouped into two broad classes:
I. Ground-based direction~finders. These take bearings on airborne trans-

mitters and then advise the aircraft of its bearing from the ground sta-
tion. Such stations can afford the necessary complex equipment, but the
POINT SOURCE SYSTEMS 117
operation is cumbersome and time-consuming, and requires an airborne

transmitter and communication link.
2. Airborne direction-finders and homing adapters. These take bearings on
ground transmitters. These direction-finders typically can afford only the
simplest of systems and must, therefore, tolerate large errors. However,
even the largest bearing errors will not prevent an aircraft from homing
in on the source of that bearing, though not necessarily by the most direct
route. Direction-finding therefore continues to be used as a backup aid to
more accurate systems.
With simple antenna systems, reliable directional information can be

obtained only from ground waves or from line-of-sight waves. In the low-
and medium-frequency bands, ground waves are useful to hundreds of miles;
however, they are subject to sky-wave contamination (especially at night) at
much shorter distances. This night effect is now recognized by users of low-
and medium-frequency direction-finders. Reliance is placed on the readings
only when the direction-finder is close enough to the station to be within good
ground-wave coverage (typically 200 mi at 200 kHz and 50 mi at 1600 kHz).
During thunderstorms, these distances are further reduced.
The state-of-the-art has progressed through the following stages:
1. Fixed loop. Intended for flying radial courses to and from the ground
station by orienting the aircraft for minimum signal
2. Rotatable loop. Hand-operated systems that were abandoned because of
the work load they imposed on the pilot
3. Rotating loop. Driven by a motor and forming part of a servo system
that automatically rotates the loop until a null is found and then stops,
sometimes referred to as a radio compass. Early loops were about nine
inches in diameter and were housed in teardrop-shaped plastic enclosures
about one foot away from the aircraft skin.
4. Fixed, crossed loops, with a motor-driven goniometer. Forming part of a
servo system that automatically displays bearing in the cockpit. The prime
advantage of this system over those using the physically rotating loop is
that all moving parts (except the indicator) are in the radio-receiver box.
Antenna projection from the aircraft with such a system in as low as one
inch, with horizontal dimensions of about one foot. Typical airline-type
equipment weigh less than 20 lb.
Loop Antenna Direction-Finder Principles. This type of receiver is no longer

in production, but its basic principles still apply to the current generation of
equipment. The basic principle of direction finding is the measurement of dif-
ferential distance to a transmitter from two or more known points. To reduce
instrument errors, it is desirable to use common circuitry at both of the measur-
c/
Direction of
transmitter
~~~--~
Figure 4.9 Direction-finding loop.
ing points. Furthermore, for opera1ional convenience, it is desirable to have the

two points close together. The loop antenna fulfills both of these requirements
admirably.
The loop antenna in Figure 4.9 i:> a rectangular loop of wire whose inductance
is resonated by a variable capacitor to the frequency to be received. The signal
is assumed to be vertically polarized, and, consequently, it induces voltage in
the arms AB and CD of the loop. If the loop were constructed accurately, these
currents would be equal in amplitude and phase when the plane of the loop is
exactly 90° to the direction of arrival of the signal. This is referred to as the
null position of the loop (zero loop current). Physically rotating the loop to the
null position indicates the direction to the transmitting station (i.e., the station
is 90' from the plane of the loop).
If the correct amplitudes and phases are maintained, the horizontal antenna
pattern is a figure of eight as shown in Figure 4.10 by circles A and B. This
pattern has two null positions 180° apart. This ambiguity will cause the antenna
system to give the same indication whether it is pointing toward a station or
Combined
Pattern of
/ .. ------ ......... ,/patterns
omnidirectional
antenna alone \
\
\
I
Plane I
of loop :n
I
I
I
I
Pattern of /
I
------ _,..,"
loop alone
Figure 4.10 Loop and sense antenna patterns: A = left-hand loop pattern; B = right-
hand loop pattern, 180° out of phase with A; C = omnidirectional pattern, 180° out of
phase with A; D = C + B - A.
away from it. A sense antenna can be added when the signal ambiguity must
be resolved. The sense antenna adds an additional 90° phase shift. As the loop
changes direction, its phase will vary with respect to the constant sense antenna
voltage resulting in the cardioid pattern shown in Figure 4.1 0. The combined
pattern has only one null position. Since the omnidirectional antenna, and its
phase and amplitude relation to the loop, are less precisely definable than the
loop itself, it is customary to use the loop alone for precise directional measure-
ment. The sense of the bearing can then be determined by coupling the vertical
or sense antenna to the loop and rotating the loop 90° in a specified direction,
noting whether the signal increases or decreases as the loop antenna is rotated.
Goniometer Direction-Finder Principles It is not strictly necessary to rotate

the loop mechanically in order to find the null. Instead, two fixed loops may
be placed at right angles to each other and their electrical outputs combined in
a goniometer. The goniometer has two sets of fixed windings at right angles
to each other, each set connected to one loop. In the magnetic field of these
windings is a rotor, with a winding connected to the receiver. The goniometer, in
effect, translates the received radio field at the loops into a miniature magnetic
field in which the rotor can operate. The nonrotating antenna can be attached
to the skin of the aircraft, thereby reducing drag and increasing reliability. The
accuracy of these systems is of the order of 2", exclusive of errors induced
by aircraft structure. These errors are of considerable magnitude, except in the
fore-and-aft directions, where aircraft symmetry helps to minimize them. Some
of these errors can be calibrated out for a given airframe, but this calibration is
correct only for one frequency and/or condition of pitch and roll. As a result,
low- and medium-frequency airborne direction-finders that use ground waves
cannot produce reliable results better than ±5°. Sky-wave contamination can
raise this figure to 30° or more.
Airborne VHF /UHF Direction-Finder Systems Civil-aviation communica-

tion over land is conducted chiefly in the 118- to 156-MHz band, whereas the
military use the 225- to 400-MHz band. Since virtually every aircraft carries a
receiver for one or the other of these bands, a direction-finding "attachment"
for these frequencies could be of interest to many aircraft operators. Consider-
able work was done during World War II in both of these bands, much of it
involving variations on the Adcock principle. However, it was apparent that,
in order to avoid prohibitively high site errors, the antennas would have to be
of large aperture and project into the slipstream, thus generating drag. All that
survives from these efforts is some VHF equipment used by the Coast Guard
for air-sea rescue on the 121.5 MHz distress frequency and a military direction-
finding attachment in the 225- to 400-MHz communication band on the distress
frequency of 343 MHz. This equipment is of two possible types, depending on
whether it is designed strictly for homing or for both homing and direction-
finding. Equipment designed only for homing may use a fixed-antenna sys-
tem that generates two sequentially switched cardioid patterns whose equisig-
nal crossover direction is found by turning the aircraft toward the transmitting
station. Equipment designed for both direction finding and homing uses a rotat-
ing antenna that generates a similar pair of cardioid patterns, whose equisignal
crossover direction is found. Accuracy is about sc along the axis of the aircraft
but reaches 30° broadside. The direction-finding attachment is carried by many
U.S. military aircraft and is useful for air-to-air direction finding and homing
during rendezvous and refueling. It is also of value in locating downed flyers
who carry small UHF rescue beacons.
4.4.2 Nondirectional Beacons

The universal use of low- and medium-frequency airborne direction-finders in
commercial aircraft has prompted the installation of special transmitters whose
sole function is to act as omnidirectional transmitters for such direction-find-
ers. Aircraft use radio beacons to aid in finding the initial approach point of
an instrument landing system as well as for nonprecision approaches at low-
traffic airports without convenient nonprecision or precision approach systems
(Chapter 13). Operating in the 200- to 1600-kHz bands, they have output power
ranging from as low as 20 watts up to several kilowatts. Modern designs are
I 00% solid state.
Nondirectional beacons are connected to a single vertical antenna and pro-
duce a vertical pattern, as shown in Figure 4.11. In addition to the directional
information given to direction-finders some distance away, such beacons have
another useful property; namely, there is a sharp reduction in signal strength
as the aircraft flies directly over the beacon, thereby providing a specifically
defined fix. The accuracy of the fix produced by this "cone of silence" is
somewhat dependent on the airborne antenna. It is improved if the airborne-
antenna pattern contains a null in the downward direction and is degraded if
the airborne-antenna null is off to the side.
Generally, purity of signal is obtained only from ground waves uncontam-
inated by sky waves; even in the absence of skywaves, considerable trouble
has been experienced with the ground wave in terrain of nonuniform character,
particularly near mountains. These two drawbacks (night effect and mountain
effect) limit the usefulness of nondirectional beacons. They have retained their
Cone of silence
I
I I
I I
wgggyc~,--
Figure 4.11 Nondirectional beacon, vertical pattern.
popularity because (l) they are inexpensive, (2) they are omnidirectional, and
(3) they place responsibility for accuracy entirely on the airborne receiver.
Nondirectional beacons are probably the least expensive way by which a
government can claim that it has equipped its airways with "radio aids to nav-
igation." In 1996, many thousands were in service around the world, and the
United States maintains approximately 177,000 nondirectional beacons for civil
aviation use. This number is expected to increase by about 7000 a year for the
next ten years [48].
4.4.3 Marker Beacons

Aside from the null measured by flying directly over the station, all the facilities
so far described provide only directional information to the aircraft. To provide
better fixes along the airways, so-called marker beacons were developed. These
marker beacons all operate at 75 MHz and radiate a narrow pattern upward from
the ground, with little horizontal strength, so that interference between marker
beacons is negligible. Each beacon generates a fan-shaped pattern, the axis of
the fan being at right angles to the airway, as shown in Figure 4.12. The antenna
pattern can be generated by an array of the type shown in Figure 4.13.
Four horizontal half-wave radiators are arranged in line with the airway and
are fed so that their radio-frequency currents are all in phase. At right angles to
their own axis, they generate a narrow vertical beam. A wire-mesh counterpoise
below this array reinforces the upward beam. By placing the counterpoise a few
feet above ground, the effects of vegetation and snow are reduced.
The transmitter is crystal-controlled and delivers up to 100 w. It is tone mod-
ulated, with its identity in Morse code indicated by gaps in the tone. The air-
borne equipment is a crystal-controlled superheterodyne receiver, with its out-
put supplying the cockpit audio system and an indicator lamp. Automatic gain
control is required to prevent saturation when the aircraft is passing directly
over the marker station at low altitude. Some receivers also provide a high-low
switch to increase the receiver sensitivity at higher altitudes [6].
The airborne antenna comprises a quarter-wave element on the bottom of
the airplane, parallel to the axis of flight and as far aft as possible. Its own
pattern consequently has directivity downward, increasing the directivity of the
fan marker when crossing it. On high-speed aircraft, the antenna is foreshort
Airway To four-course
-----------~range, VOR,
or ILS
Fan-marker pattern,
viewed from above
Figure 4.12 Fan-marker pattern.
Antenna patterns
Along Across
airway airway
Direction
of airway
Figure 4.13 Fan-marker antenna.
cned by capacitive loading, recessed into the aircraft, and covered by a dielec-
tric sheet. Streamlined antenna packages are 3 ~ by 6 in. weighing 18 oz. The
marker beacons are gradually being phased out as an en-route aid in view of the
implementation of area-coverage systems, such as VOR/DME RNAV, Loran-C,
and GPS. However, along instrument landing approaches, the 75 MHz marker
remains a standard piece of equipment (Chapter 13).
4.4.4 VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR)

Since the VHF band was being adopted for voice communication, it was only
natural to consider the combination of communication and navigation within
one band. Some early schemes involved VHF two- and four-course ranges.
However, by 1946, the VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) had become the
U.S. standard and was later was adopted by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) as an international standard.
The VOR [5, 17] operates in the 108- to 1 I 8-MHz band, with channels
spaced 100 kHz apart. As soon as present low-selectivity airborne receivers
(mostly used by small aircraft) can be served by better channel arrangement,
the number of available channels will be doubled by spacing them 50 kHz apart.
The principle of operation is simple and straightforward. The ground station
radiates a cardioid pattern that rotates at 30 rps, generating a 30-Hz sine wave
at the airborne receiver. The ground station also radiates an omnidirectional
signal, which is frequency modulated with a fixed 30-Hz reference tone. The
phase difference between the two 30-Hz tones varies directly with the bearing of
the aircraft. Since there is no sky-wave contamination at very high frequencies
and no interference from stations beyond the horizon, performance is relatively
consistent and is limited by only two major factors: (1) propagation effects,
including vertical pattern effects, and site and terrain errors, and (2) instrument
errors in reading 30-Hz phase differences in the airborne equipment.
Transmitter Characteristics VOR adopted horizontal polarization, even

though aircraft VHF communication uses vertical polarization. Each radiator
in the ground station transmitter is an Alford loop. The Alford loop generates a
horizontally polarized signal having the same field pattern as a vertical dipole
[2] and is shown in Figure 4.14.
Four radiators are arranged in a square, whose plane is horizontal. Each radi-
ator is less than a quarter-wave long and is end loaded with capacity so as to
place the maximum current at the center of the radiators. At any one instant,
the currents in all the radiators are equal and alternately move clockwise and
counterclockwise. The result is a doughnut-shaped field pattern, with zero radi-
ation in the upward and downward directions, exactly like a vertical dipole (but
horizontally polarized). Four such loops generate a rotating figure eight.
The omnidirectional signal comprises a continuous wave that can be voice
modulated and carries Morse-code identity keying a 1020-Hz tone. Present at
all times is another tone of 9960 Hz, which is sinusoidally varied (± 480 Hz)
at a rate of 30 Hz. This is the bearing reference frequency. A simplified block
diagram is shown in Figure 4.15.
The transmitter is crystal-controlled, with a power output of 200 w. It is
amplitude modulated to a depth of 30% by the output of a mechanically driven
tone wheel, which has 332 teeth and is driven by an 1800-rpm motor. The
teeth are slightly staggered so as to impart a cyclical variation from 9480 to
10,440 Hz with the rotation of the motor. On the same shaft is a capacitive
goniometer, fed by the same transmitter via a modulation eliminator that strips
off the amplitude modulation by means of diodes. About one-quarter of the
applied power appears at the output of the modulation eliminator.
The goniometer feeds the unmodulated transmitter power first to the
Antenna patterns
Feed point
8 " '" '
View from above
Figure 4.14
m
Alford loop.
Vort'"'
Four Alford loops

NW SE NE sw
0 00 0
Bndge Bridge
Continuous wave,
modulated by tone
wheel, voice, 1020 Hz
Identity tone
9960Hz
FM ±480Hz
at 30 Hz Modulation
eliminator
Tone wheel
Continuous wave
Figure 4.15 VOR block diagram.
northwest-southeast pair of Alford loops and then, 90" later, to the northeast-
southwest pair of Alford loops. When combined with the modulated energy
applied simultaneously to all loops, this variation generates a rotating cardioid.
Each pair of loops is fed via a balanced bridge network. Each bridge has three
arms that are each abou( one-quarter wavelength long, the fourth arm being half
a wavelength longer. Energy fed into one corner of the bridge does not appear at
the diagonally opposite corner. The bridge, therefore, allows the mixing of two
signals and application of the result of two loads without the loads affecting
each other and without the signal sources affecting each other. The phasing
between tone wheel and goniometer and the physical placement of the Alford
loops are such that the two 30-Hz signals are exactly in phase when viewed
from magnetic north.
This seemingly elaborate arrangement serves two main purposes:
1. The division of power between the antennas is a function of passive ele-

ments only. The power of the transmitter can go up or down without
affecting bearing information.
2. The two 30-Hz signals are rigidly locked together by being derived from
a common rotating shaft. Motor-speed variation can alter their frequency
slightly, but their phase relationship will not change.
The four Alford loops are arranged in a tight square and then placed half
a wavelength above a metal-mesh counterpoise about 39 ft in diameter. This
counterpoise also acts as the roof of the transmitter house. The loops are pro-
tected from the weather by a plastic randome, often hemispherical in shape. If
a Tacan antenna is collocated with the VOR, the randome is conical in shape,
somewhat resembling an Indian tepee.
Receiver Characteristics The airborne equipment comprises a horizontally

polarized receiving antenna and a receiver. This receiver detects the 30-Hz
amplitude modulation produced by the rotating pattern and compares it with the
30-Hz frequency-modulated reference. The basic receiver functions are shown
in Figure 4.16.
At the output of the receiver is an amplitude-modulation detector. Its out-
put comprises (I) a 30-Hz tone produced by the rotating cardioid, (2) voice
modulation (if used at the transmitter), (3) a morse-code-modulated I 020-Hz
identity tone, and (4) a 9960-Hz tone, frequency modulated (±480 Hz) by the
30-Hz reference tone. The voice frequencies and the identity tone are fed to the
aircraft's audio-distribution system. The 30-Hz information is filtered to remove
the other components and fed to the phase-comparison circuitry. The 9960-Hz
information is filtered out, limited (to remove the 30-Hz amplitude modulation),
and then applied to a frequency-modulation detector whose output is the 30-Hz
Audio output
Receiver
108-118 MHz
Bearing
Figure 4.16 VOR receiver.

reference frequency. After filtering, this is compared with the variable phase.
Several grades of receivers are currently in use.
The airline type of equipment uses a remotely tuned crystal-controlled super-
heterodyne receiver and has at leasr two types of display. One display compares
one 30-Hz sine wave with the other 30-Hz sine waves, the two signals being
brought into phase by a motor-driven phase shifter forming part of a servo loop.
The shaft position of this motor, therefore, displays bearing directly and may
be remoted by selsyns to other parts of the aircraft and to auto-pilots. Another
display shows (on a vertical left-right needle) the phase difference between
one 30-Hz signal and a manually phase-shifted 30-Hz signal representing the
desired bearing. The sensitivity of the vertical needle is usually arranged for
a full-scale deflection of ±I oc around the manually selected bearing and thus
shows angular deviation from the desired track.
The simplest types of receivers use manual tuning and only the left-right
type of display around a manually selected bearing. Both types of receivers are
commonly arranged to also receive the 108- to 112-MHz instrument-landing-
system localizer signals. Typical receivers weigh 20 lb for the airline type and
5 lb for the simplest type, exclusive of antenna. Over 200,000 airborne sets
have been installed, about half of them for light aircraft.
It was previously mentioned that one of the problems of the VOR is the
difficulty of accurately measuring phase shifts at 30Hz. Much circuit refinement
has taken place for the better grades of receiver. This includes, for instance,
the use of identical circuits for both 30-Hz signal paths wherever possible so
that temperature effects will be common to both. The result is that instrument
accuracy of better than 1o is achieved in airline-type equipment.
4.4.5 Doppler VOR

Doppler VOR [3) applies the principles of wide antenna aperture to the reduc-
tion of site error. The solution used in the United States by the Federal Avia-
tion Agency involves a 44-ft diameter circle of 52 Alford loops, together with
a single Alford loop in the center. In the Doppler VOR, the role of the cen-
tral radiator and the role of the array are reversed; however, the phase relations
remain the same, allowing a standmrd airborne receiver to operate without any
modification. A simplified descriptton is given below.
The central Alford loop radiates an omnidirectional continuous wave that
is amplitude modulated at 30 Hz by any conventional means; this forms the
reference phase. The circle of 52 Alford loops is fed by a capacitive commutator
so as to simulate the rotation of a single antenna at a radius of 22 ft. Rotation
is at 30 rps, and a carrier frequency 9960 Hz higher than that in the central
antenna is fed to the commutator. This 9960-Hz higher frequency is frequency
modulated by the simulated rotation of the antenna, increasing in frequency as
the antenna appears to move toward the receiver and decreasing in frequency
as it recedes from the receiver. With a 44-ft diameter and a rotation speed of
30 rps, the peripheral speed is on the order of 1400 meters per second, or about
480 wavelengths per second at VOR radio frequencies. The 9960-Hz frequency
difference is consequently varied by ±480 Hz at a 30-Hz rate, with a phase
dependent on the bearing of the receiver.
In the receiver, the output of the amplitude-modulation detector contains all
the signals present with the conventional VOR. Phase comparison between the
two 30-Hz sine waves is performed as before, the only difference being that the
30-Hz amplitude-modulated signal is the reference and the 30-Hz frequency-
modulated signal is the variable. Since the instrumentation is concerned only
with the difference between the two, normal operation results with a standard
VOR receiver.
However, since the aperture of the ground antenna is approximately five
wavelengths, as compared with less than half a wavelength with the four Alford
loops in a standard VOR ground station, a tenfold reduction in site error is the-
oretically possible. Actual measurements at formerly "impossible" sites verify
this. At a good site, maximum deviations measured during a 20-mi orbital flight
were reduced from 2.8° with a standard VOR to 0.4° with a Doppler VOR [3].
Residual errors can probably be reduced to 0.1 o.
The importance of the Doppler VOR lies in the improvement it provides
without any change being made to the airborne equipment. Every airborne set
can benefit from it.
4.4.6 Distance-Measuring Equipment (DME)

DME is an internationally standardized pulse-ranging system for aircraft, oper-
ating in the 960- to 1215-MHz band. When the ground station is collocated
with a VOR station, the resulting combination forms the standard ICAO rho-
theta short-range navigation system [21 ]. In the United States in 1996, there are
over 4600 sets in use by scheduled airlines and about 90,000 sets by general
aviation.
The operation of DME can be described by means of Figure 4.17 where the
aircraft interrogator transmits pulses on one of 126 frequencies, spaced 1 MHz
apart, in the 1025- to 1150-MHz band. The pulses are in pairs, 12 JJ.Sec apart,
each pulse lasting 3.5 JJ.Sec, with the pulse-pair-repetition rate ranging between
5 pulse-pairs per sec up to a maximum of 150 pulse-pairs per sec. The peak
pulse power is on the order of 50 w to 2 kw. Paired pulses are used in order
to reduce interference from other pulse systems.
The ground beacon (or transponder) receives these pulses and, after a
50-JJ.sec fixed delay, retransmits them back to the aircraft on a frequency 63
MHz below or above the airborne transmitting frequency. The peak power of
this beacon is in the range of 1 to 20 kw. The airborne interrogator automati-
cally compares the elapsed time between transmission and reception, subtracts
out the fixed 50-JJ.sec delay, and displays the result on a meter calibrated in nau-
tical miles, each nautical mile representing about 12 JJ.Sec of elapsed round-trip
time.
Each beacon is designed to handle at least 50 aircraft simultaneously, with
Distance
reading
Airborne
interrogator
Aircraft skin
Ground
transponder
or beacon
Figure 4.17 DME operation.
100 being a more typical number. The pulse-repetition rate of the interrogators
is deliberately made somewhat unstable, and the interrogator is designed to
recognize only those replies whose pulse-repetition rate and phase are exactly
the same as its own.
In any line-of-sight geographical area, there is the possibility of providing
136 beacons, each handling I 00 or more aircraft. Since each beacon's duty cycle
is only 2% under these conditions., room exists to expand the system to handle
heavier traffic. Modern techniques permit the airborne interrogation rate to be
decreased substantially.
Receiver Characteristics Since the airborne receiver always operates 63

MHz away from its own transmitter frequency, a common crystal-controlled
local-oscillator chain may be used for the local oscillator during reception
and for transmission, provided that the receiver intermediate frequency is 63
MHz. A typical block diagram if: shown in Figure 4.18. A photograph of a
DME interrogator/receiver for commercial aviation applications is depicted in
Figure 4.19.
Frequency generation commences with a crystal oscillator at about 45 MHz.
This may be a single oscillator with 126 crystals or a mixture of two oscillators,
one with 13 and the other with 10 crystals. This frequency is multiplied by 24
and furnishes about one milliwatt of energy to the receiver mixer crystal. It is
also amplified in a chain of triodes that are pulsed during transmission to a level
of SO watts in the simplest equipment (intended for 100-mi range) or to one
To and from
antenna
Beacon
identrty
code
Tacan
bearmg
01stance
drsplay
Figure 4.18 Airborne DME l"unctional block diagram.
kilowatt in airline equipment (intenJcd for 300-mi range). A common antenna

is used for transmission and reception ; mixer-crystal overload is prevented by
the preselector, which is tuned 63 MHz away from the transmitte r.
Amplification occurs in a 63-MHz inte rmediate-frequency amplilier with
automatic gain control. The reply is then compared with the transmitted signal
in the ranging circuit. This ranging circuit also sees all other pulses transmitted
from the ground beacon (about 3000 pps), and it therefore must perform at least
two major functions: (I) Recognize its own replies and reject all others (this is
called scorching) and (2) convert these into a meaningful display (this is called
!rocking).
Figure 4.19 Typical airborne DME int errogator/rece ive r.
I
2400 1-1sec --------~

I
I
Receiver
1--:r~
noise
I I
150 .;ec~~~
~ t'"'-less than beacon recovery time
I I
I I
~.,...,...~~~~.,..,__,..
~:
Own Own~:
interrogations (5) replies ( 4) 1
Figure 4.20 Received DME pulses.
Many different forms of circuit have been devised for these functions. They
all depend on the sequence of wave forms shown in Figure 4.20. This figure
shows five consecutive snapshots of an imaginary oscilloscope whose sweep is
started by the airborne interrogation from a single aircraft and whose deflection
circuit is connected to the output of the receiver in that aircraft.
In this instance, if one assumes a maximum desired range of 200 nm, the
sweep is 2400 p.sec long. Since the ground beacon is transmitting an average of
3000 pulse-pairs per sec, each sweep will display, on the average, about seven
pulses. These will be quite randomly spaced, except those generated in response
to our own interrogation. At an interrogation rate of 30 per sec, even the fastest
aircraft does not move by as much as a pulse width from one interrogation to
the next. The desired replies therefore occupy an almost fixed position on the
oscilloscope display, whereas those intended for other aircraft move in a random
manner. The dotted line shows the fixed (or slowly changing) position of the
desired reply. On scan 3, the desired reply is missing; this is because the beacon
has just replied to another aircraft and has not yet "recovered." Recovery time is
typically on the order of I 00 p.sec. Desired replies may also be missing because
of other random effects. However, all airborne DME ranging circuits are based
on the principle that, within a given time slot, many more desired replies will
be received than undesired replies.
The basic objective of all DME ranging circuits is to locate the time slot
in which the desired replies are actually occurring. This is the search process,
and it is usually conducted at the highest permissible pulse-repetition rate ( 150
pulse-pairs per second) in order to save time, which, depending on the tech-
nique, may vary from I to 20 sec. Once this time slot has been found, the track
mode commences and can be conducted at a much lower pulse-repetition rate,
usually between 5 and 25 pulse-pairs per second.
Search is typically performed as follows: A gate is generated I 0 p.sec wide,
at the transmitter-interrogation rate. This gate is slowly moved outward, from

a 0- to 300-mi delay with respect to the transmitted pulse. This gate strobes
the received pulses; only when there is coincidence between the gate and a
received pulse is the received pulse passed to an integrating circuit. During the
search period, the interrogation rate is held at 150 pulse-pairs per sec. The gate
is therefore opened !50 times per sec, for 10 1-1-sec at a time, a total of 3000
1-1-secjsec, or 1/333 of the total time. If the beacon is trasmitting 3000 random
pps, 9 random pps pass through the gate, on the average. However, if the gate
is moved at about 10 mi per sec, almost 30 desired pulses will pass through the
gate per second when the gate delay corresponds to the round-trip delay time.
This ratio of 9 to 30 allows ample margin to switch the operation automatically
from search to track.
In this example, a gate movement of 10 mi per sec would mean that 30 sec
would be needed to search over the 3600 1-1-sec period corresponding to 300 mi.
Other circuits have been built in which gate movement is very fast until a pulse
is received; with such circuits, 300 mi may be searched in less than a second.
In the track mode, the same 20-1-1-sec gate follows the desired reply, con-
trolled by the integrator. If the reply falls in the early part of the gate, the gate
advances; if it falls in the late part of the gate, the gate is delayed. Since the
possible change in aircraft position is quite small from one pulse to the next,
the interrogation rate can be safely reduced during track. Typically, this is about
25 pps; however, with newer equipment, rates as low as 2 pps have been used,
even at tracking rates of 3000 knots. The gate is usually arranged to have some
memory so that it does not immediately go into search upon loss of signal. For
I 0 sec or so, it is arranged to say at its last position (called static memory)
or to move at its last rate (called velocity memory). The position of the gate
is determined in the simplest equipment by an analog voltage that operates a
voltmeter, calibrated in miles. Such equipment has accuracies of about 3% of
full scale and often uses two ranges, such as 0 to 20 and 0 to 100 mi. In more
elaborate equipment, the position of the gate is a function of an analog shift
rotation involving fine and coarse time delays; these have accuracies of 0.1 mi,
independent of distance. Still other equipment uses digital counting techniques,
with accuracies of 0.01 mi. In the latter equipment, overall accuracy is limited
by system accuracy, which includes stability of beacon delay, accuracy of pulse
rise times, and so on.
In 1996 typical high-performance airborne equipment had a weight of less
than 13 lb. All circuits were solid state, and used digital microprocessors with
the exception of the pulsed transmitter-amplifier chain. Airborne antennas are
typically quarter-wave stubs (about 3 in. long) projecting from the bottom of
the aircraft. Vertical polarization is used.
Transmitter Characteristics Whereas the airborne equipment must operate on

126 channels, the ground beacon usually stays on one channel for long peri-
ods of time. The beacon consequently may, for a given state of the art, use a
more sensitive receiver and a more powerful transmitter. One typical set pro-
vides 3-kw peak output, together with an antenna gain of 9 dB. Otherwise, the
ground circuits follow the same principles as the airborne ones, with a 63-MHz
intermediate-frequency receiver amplifier being used. The number of aircraft
that a beacon can handle is usually based on the assumption that 95% of the
aircraft will be in the track mode at not over 25 interrogations per sec; 5% are
in the search mode, at not over !50 interrogations per sec. For I 00 aircraft, this
means about 3000 pulse-pairs per sec.
The duty cycle of the ground transmitter is therefore much greater than that
of the airborne equipment, and the average power consumption is also greater.
Most beacons are operated on the constant-duty-cycle principle, whereby
receiver gain is increased until 3000 pps appear at the output of the receiver. In
the absence of interrogation, these pulses will all be due to receiver noise; with
interrogation from less than I 00 aircraft, they are a mixture of noise and inter-
rogations; with interrogation from more than I 00 aircraft, they are the inter-
rogations from the 100 nearest aircraft. After the 3000-pulse limit is passed,
the gain is automatically reduced. This constant-duty cycle has the following
advantages:
I. The beacon is automatically maintained in its most sensitive condition.

2. The transmitter duty cycle i.s maintained within safe limits.
3. The airborne automatic gain control circuit always has a constant number
of pulses to work on, thereby simplifying its design.
4. In case of interrogation by too many aircraft, the nearest aircraft are the
last to be deprived of service.
For the simplest, most reliable circuitry, the beacon is arranged not to
receive while transmitting (self-oscillation could otherwise result); furthermore,
to reduce interrogation by multiputh echoes of strong interrogation pulses, it is
desirable to reduce receiver gain for a short while after each genuine interroga-
tion. Some interrogations are consequently lost; the amount of this countdown
is typically on the order of 20%. Thus, an airborne equipment interrogating at
25 pps receives only 20 replies. Airborne tracking circuits are, however,
designed to operate at this reduced rate.
The delay between transmission and reception is nominally 50 fJ.Sec. For
greatest accuracy, this must be maintained constant; considerable circuit refine-
ment is used to retain this value, independent of interrogation strength and envi-
ronmental effects. Typical en-route-type beacons exhibit a total variation for
±0.5 fJ.Sec, corresponding to a distance error of ±0.04 mi [30]. Beacons asso-
ciated with instrument-landing systems may be designed to be more accurate,
due to the smaller spread of interrogation-signal levels. The ICAO requires an
overall system accuracy of 0.5 mi or 3%, whichever is greater.
Under the control of an external keyer, usually common to the associated
VOR, the beacon transmits an identify signal. Typically, this occurs for about
3 sec every 37 sec. During this time the random pulses are replaced by regu-
larly spaced pulses at 1350 pulse-pairs per sec. These activate a 1350-Hz tuned
circuit in the aircraft and are keyed with a three-letter Morse code, ~ sec per
dot and ~ sec per dash. During this time, the airborne ranging circuit is in the
memory condition.
Since the DME system, unlike the VOR system, is not a passive system, it
has an inherent capacity limitation. The value generally quoted is 110 aircraft
per beacon.
4.4.7 Tactical Air Navigation (Tacan)

Tacan [7] is a military omnibearing and distance measurement system using
the same pulses and frequencies for the distance measurement function as the
standard DME system. A Tacan beacon comprises a constant-duty-cycle DME
beacon and antenna, to which the following additions are made:
I. A parasitic element rotating around the antenna at 900 rpm, generating

an amplitude-modulated pattern at 15 Hz, with phase proportional to the
bearing of the receiver.
2. Nine other parasitic elements, also rotating at 900 rpm, generating a mul-
tilobe pattern at 135 Hz, to improve the bearing accuracy.
3. Reference pulses at 15 and 135 Hz to which the above variable phases
are compared in the aircraft, to establish its bearing.
The Tacan airborne equipment comprises a DME interrogator to which

Tacan bearing circuits have been added. All Tacan beacons provide full ser-
vice to all DME interrogators, and all DME beacons provide distance readings
to all airborne Tacan sets. The principal advantages of Tacan over VOR/DME
are the following:
I. Because of its higher frequency (960 to 1215 MHz versus 108 to 118
MHz), the Tacan beacon antenna can be smaller, it is therefore more suit-
able for shipboard and mobile use.
2. The multilobe principle, to enhance bearing accuracy, is built into all
equipment, ground based and airborne.
3. Both distance and bearing are obtained via the same radio-frequency
channel, providing certain equipment economies.
The system is in general use by the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and by NATO
military forces. In 1996, over 800 facilities were maintained for the U.S. DoD
with a DoD user population of 13,000 [48].
Transmitter Characteristics A diagram of the Tacan ground beacon is given

in Figure 4.21. The antenna comprises a central radiator, broadbanded to cover
Plastic cylinders
rotating at 15 rps ~----- ------ Central radiator, stationary
~- One parasitic element, rotating
--........JIUL--~
A
Nine parasitic elements, rotating
Speed
control
1350-Hz identity tone

and speed control
Receiver
Figure 4.21 Tacan ground beacon.
the 960- to 1215-MHz range. Equipment has been built with from 1 to 11 ver-
tical elements, depending on the kind of site for which the set is intended.
All transmission and reception is by this central radiator. At a radius of about
3 in. and usually mounted on a plastic cylinder is the 15-Hz parasitic rotat-
ing element. At a radius of about 18 in. is another plastic cylinder on which
are mounted nine parasitic elements, 40° apart. These superimpose a 135-Hz
amplitude modulation on the tram:mitted signal. Depth of modulation is about
20% for each of these signals. On the same shaft that rotates the parasitic ele-
ments are three reference-pulse disks. These generate I, 9, and 90 low-level
pulses per revolution, respectively, by varying the magnetic inductance of a
solenoid. These pulses are fed down to the transponder. The motor that rotates
this whole assembly is usually of ac type, its speed controlled to better than
1% by a servo system in which the reference-pulse frequency is compared to
a frequency standard, such as a tuning fork.
When installed aboard a ship, the Tacan antenna is stabilized in two planes.
In the horizontal plane, compensation is provided to ensure that the reference
pulses do not shift with the heading of the ship but remain oriented to north.
In the vertical plane, compensation is provided for the roll of the ship. (Early
systems also provided for pitch compensation, but this was subsequently found
to be unnecessary.)
The transponder is a constant-duty-cycle DME beacon to which the bearing-
reference pulses have been added. Once per revolution, coincident with the
maximum of the antenna pattern pointing east, a so-called north reference pulse
L Auxiliary reference bursts

f+----- North reference bursts - - - - i > i
~------ h
sec-----~
Spaces between reference bursts filled with

2700 random DME replies per second
Figure 4.22 Transmitted Tacan signal.
code is emitted. This comprises 24 pulses, the spacing between pulses being
alternately 12 and 18 p.sec. When these pulses are decoded in the airborne
equipment, they become 12 pulses. spaced 30 p.sec apart. This pulse train is
initiated by the one-per-revolution reference from the antenna.
Eight times per revolution, the 135Hz reference pulse group is emitted. (The
ninth group coincides with the north pulse and is intentionally omitted.) This
comprises 12 pulses spaced 12 p.sec apart. The circuitry of the transponder is
arranged in such a way that the reference pulse groups take priority over the
normal constant-duty-cycle pulses. The overall transmitted pulse envelope is
shown in Figure 4.22.
The 1350-Hz identity tone. transmitted every 30 sec, is derived from the 90
pulses-per-revolution disk on the antenna shaft. thus producing phase coherence
between identity and reference pulses and allowing each to be received without
interference from the other. The identity code comprises 1350 groups per sec,
each composed of four pulses spaced 12. 100. and 12 p.sec, respectively. The
reason for the I 00 p.sec spacing between the 12 p.sec pairs is that this combi-
nation produces the least bearing error during identity transmissions. reducing
the necessity for bearing memory circuits in the airborne equipment.
The DME interrogations are amplitude modulated by the rotating antenna.
reducing the effective sensitivity of the Tacan beacon about 3 dB below that of
an ordinary DME beacon. Although the use of a separate, nonmodulated receiv-
ing antenna would avoid this loss. such an arrangement has not been found
necessary in actual practice.
Airborne Receiver Characteristics The airborne receiver comprises a DME

interrogator to which the Tacan bearing circuitry has been added. The DME
interrogator must have an effective automatic gain control, so as to preserve
the amplitude modulation of the pulses over the required range of expected
signal strengths. This is usually taken to vary from minimum usable signal up
to about I mw of signal at the receiving antenna.
Figure 4.23 is a generic block diagram of the airborne Tacan bearing circuit.
Following decoding, the amplitude-modulated signal is filtered into two sine
waves, one at 15 and one at 135 Hz. The "north" pulse activates a 33.3 kHz
ringing circuit, whereas the 135 Hz reference pulse group activates an 83.3
kHz ringing circuit. These reference pulses are continually compared with the
two sine waves and actuate two motor-driven servo systems, geared together
9: I. Whenever the 135-Hz signal is present and the 15-Hz signal is within
±20" of its correct position, the 135-Hz signal controls the servo. In effect, the
bearing accuracy is determined by the nine-lobe antenna pattern of the ground
beacon, with the one-lobe pattern used to resolve ambiguity, which otherwise
would occur every 40". As with DME, both static and velocity memories have
been applied to airborne bearing circuits to carry them through short-term signal
dropouts. Solid-state airborne equipment typically weights 20 lb and occupies
about 1ft3 . Modern receivers incorporate digital implementations of some of
the receiver functions depicted in Figure 4.23.
System Considerations Tacan was the first operational rho-theta system to

exploit the multilobe bearing principle. At "perfect" sites, bearing errors mea-
sured under carefully controlled conditions were on the order of ±0.1 o for 77%
of the readings and ±0.2° for 93% of readings. Compared with previous sys-
tems, these results were sensational and led many users to plan applications for
which the system was not designed. The chief misconception concerning the
performance of Tacan stemmed from the basic fact that the nine-lobe system
gives an improvement only if the one-lobe system is functioning properly. Since
the airborne equipment is controlled most of the time by the nine-lobe system,
there was little opportunity to evaluate the performance of the one-lobe system
by itself.
The one-lobe system suffers from many of the siting problems common to
other point-source bearing measuring systems. Chief among these are the effects
of reflecting objects near the transmitting antenna. This problem is greatly
increased if the antenna is mounted relatively close to the ground and has lit-
tle or no vertical directivity. The resulting strong vertical lobe-and-null struc-
ture may then create the condition where the aircraft is in the direction of a
null, whereas an unwanted reflection is in the direction of a lobe. High vertical
directivity, with uptilt, has been the most effective means to reduce this prob-
lem. Being a pulse system, Tacan is somewhat less susceptible to site errors
than continuous-wave systems, since reflections from objects farther away than
the pulse duration (about 1 mile) are of much less importance. The U.S. 1994
Federal Radio Navigation Plan [48] cites the signal-in-space Tacan 2a (95%
probability) azimuth accuracy to be ±I% (±63 m at 3.75 km) and the distance
accuracy to be 185 m (±0.1 nmi). The capacity for distance measurement is
110 aircraft, and it is unlimited for azimuth measurement.
I
Auxiliary
.---"' burst
decoder
Motor : iff
i
135-Hz Phase
filter shifter f-- Comparator f---
L________ _ _
From DME
nterrogator
Peak
rider
~ I
9: 1 .gear
y
I
Servoamplifier
I
15-Hz Phase I
f-.-- Comparator 1--- I
filter shifter I
f-----'
0
I
Bearing
display
North
L-..;.. burst
decoder
l
-
VJ
-...!
Figure 4.23 Airborne Tacan bearing circuit.
4.4.8 VORTAC
Since Tacan beacons can be more readily installed on ships and at tactical sites
than VOR beacons, large numbers of military aircraft are equipped with Tacan.
To save these aircraft the cost of carrying additional equipment for navigating
the ICAO VOR/DME airways, several countries, including the United States,
use the VORT AC system. In this system each VOR station, instead of being
collocated with a DME, is collocated with a Tacan beacon (which also provides
DME service) to provide rho-theta navigation to both civil and military aircraft.
Civil aircraft read distance from the Tacan beacon and bearing from the VOR
beacon. Military aircraft read both distance and bearing from the Tacan beacon.
Thus each type of aircraft fits into the same air-traffic management system,
regardless of which type of airborne equipment it carries. In 1996, it is estimated
that there are more than 200,000 users in the United States alone.
At the ground station, the VOR central antenna is housed in a plastic cone
that supports the Tacan antenna. Leads to the Tacan antenna pass through the
middle of the VOR antenna, along its line of minimum radiation, and do not dis-
turb the VOR pattern. In the case of Doppler VOR (Section 4.4.5), the antennas
are arranged in a circle outside the cone.
4.5 HYPERBOLIC SYSTEMS
Hyperbolic navigation systems are so designated because of the hyperbolic lines

of position (LOP) that they produce rather than the circles and radial lines asso-
ciated with the systems that measure distance and bearing (see Figure 4.8d)
[4]. The Loran-C, Omega, Decca, and Chayka systems are described in this
section. They differ in that Loran-C and Chayka measure the time-difference
between the signal from two or more transmitting stations, while Omega and
Decca measure the phase-differences between the signals transmitted from pairs
of stations.
4.5.1 Loran
Loran (long-range navigation) is a hyperbolic radio-navigation system that has
evolved over a period of years, beginning just before the outbreak of World
War II in Europe. The Loran-C ~·ystem [8, 11, 44] has benefited greatly from
analysis of the shortcomings of previous systems, It uses ground waves at low
frequencies, thereby securing an operating range of over I 000 mi, independent
of line of sight. Second, it uses pulse techniques to avoid sky-wave contami-
nation. Third, being a hyperbolic system, it is not subject to the site errors of
point-source systems. Fourth, it uses a form of cycle (phase) measurement to
improve precision. It inherently provides a fine-coarse readout of low inherent
ambiguity. All modern Loran systems are of the Loran-C variety. (Loran-A and
Loran-D configurations no longer exist.)
HYPERBOLIC SYSTEMS 139
Loran-C users fall into the two general categories: navigation users and pre-
cise time and time interval (PTTI) users. By far the larger population of direct
users is in the navigation category. An even larger group of indirect users ben-
efits from a PTTI application of Loran-C, in which digital switching, signaling,
and timing of the nation's telephone system is accomplished using Loran-C.
Every telephone subscriber in the United States is an indirect beneficiary of the
Loran-C system.
Principles and System Configuration Loran-C is a low-frequency radio-nav-

igation aid operating in the radio spectrum of 90 to II 0 kHz. It consists of
transmitting stations in groups forming chains. At least three transmitter sta-
tions make up a chain. One station is designated as master, while others are
called secondaries. The chain coverage area is determined by the transmitted
power from each station, the geometry of the stations, including the distance
between them and their orientation. Within the coverage area, propagation of
the Loran-C signal is affected by physical conditions of the Earth's surface
and atmosphere, which must be considered when using the system. Natural
and man-made noise is added to the signal and must be taken into account.
Receivers determine the applied coverage area by their signal-processing tech-
niques and can derive position, velocity, and time information from the time
difference (TD) between the time qf arrival (TOA) of a radio wave from a sec-
ondary minus the TOA of a radio wave from the master station. Methods of
application provide for conversion of basic signal time of arrival to geographic
coordinates, bearing and distance, along track distance and cross-track error,
velocity, and time and frequency reference.
Each of the stations in all Loran-C chains transmit pulses that have standard
characteristics. The pulse consists of a l 00-kHz carrier that rapidly increases in
amplitude is a carefully controlled manner and then decays at a specified rate
forming an envelope of the signal. Each station in a chain repetitively transmits
a series of closely spaced pulses called a pulse group at the group repetition
interval (GRI) of the chain. The GRI uniquely identifies the chain. When the
chain is synchronized to universal time (UT) the master station also sets the time
reference for the chain. Other stations of the chain are secondaries and transmit
in turn after the master. Each secondary pulse transmission is delayed in time so
that nowhere in the coverage area will signals from one station overlap another.
The number of pulses in a group, pulse spacing in a group, carrier phase
code of each pulse, time of transmission, the time between repetition of pulse
groups from a station, and the delay of secondary station pulse groups with
respect to the master signals constitute the signal format. Each station in a chain
is assigned a signal format based on its function.
The signal format is modified by blinking certain pulses to notify the user of
faulty signal transmission. The signal format is also modified to accommodate
a single transmitter station in two chains. This is accomplished by permitting
transmission for one of the chains to take precedence over the other when the
signal format calls for simultaneous transmission in both chains. This function
is called blanking.
Wave Form and Signals in Space Each station transmits signals that have
standard pulse leading-edge characteristics. Each pulse consists of a 100-kHz
carrier that rapidly increases in amplitude in a prescribed manner and then
decays at a rate that depends upon the particular transmitter and transmitting
antenna characteristics. The leading edge of the standard Loran-e pulse antenna
current wave form, against which the actual antenna current wave form is com-
pared, is defined as i(t):
-2(t-T)}
i(t) = A(t-T) 2 exp { sin (0.27rt+¢) for T < t < 65+7, (4.6)
65
where
i(t) = 0 for t < T,
and A is a normalization constant related to the magnitude of the peak antenna

current in amperes, tis time in f.J.Sec, Tis the envelope-to-cycle difference (EeD)
in f.J.Sec, ¢is the phase code parameter (in radians) which is 0 for positive phase
code and 7r for negative phase code. EeD is the displacement between the start
of the Loran-e pulse envelope and the third zero crossing of the Loran-e car-
rier (phase). EeD arises because the phase velocity and the group velocity of
the signal differ. As the signal propagates over seawater, the EeD decreases
because the phase velocity exceeds the group velocity.
The pulse trailing edge is defined as that portion of the Loran-e pulse fol-
lowing the peak of the pulse or 65 f.J.Sec after the pulse is initiated. The pulse
trailing edge is controlled in order to maintain spectrum requirements. At differ-
ent transmitting sites, or with different transmitting equipment, the pulse trailing
edge may differ significantly in appearance and characteristics. Regardless of
these differences, for each pulse the antenna current i(t) will be less than or
equal to 1.4 mamps or 16 mamps depending on transmitter type.
To prevent contamination of the rising edge of a Loran-e pulse by the tail
of the previous pulse, ideally, the amplitude of the tail should be well attenu-
ated before the next pulse starts. Because of the sky-wave effects, a Loran-e
pulse should be attenuated as fast as possible after attaining its peak amplitude.
Unfortunately, a serious constraint in the form of the frequency spectrum bound
must be considered. A compromi:;e between these two requirements lead to a
pulse length of 500 f.J.Sec. By requiring the amplitude of the pulse at 500 f.J.Sec to
be O.OOIA (-60 dB) where A is the peak amplitude of the pulse, the spectrum
specification can be met and the pulse tailjsky-wave contamination problem
can, in most cases, be avoided.
Figure 4.24 shows a Loran-e pulse [44]. Zero crossing stability is important
Sampling point
50% amplitude
j,,. .
30 ~o~sec
Figure 4.24 Single Loran-e pulse.
because it affects the system phase accuracy. The standard sampling point for
a Loran-e receiver is the positive going zero crossing of the phase decoded
pulse on its third cycle (approximately 30 f.J-Sec) after the arrival of the ground
wave. This tracking is accomplished by a phase locked loop. In addition, it
affects the apparent signal-to-noise ratio as seen by the receiver and, therefore,
the available receiver accuracy at a given averaging time. Amplitude stability
is important, because it affects the EeD of a transmitted Loran-e pulse and
thereby affects the ability of a receiver to lock-on and track the correct cycle.
Propagation Effects The low-frequency propagation of 100kHz is influenced

by the properties of the Earth's surface as well as the ionosphere. Because of the
ionospheric changes, the portion of the propagated wave that is reflected from
the ionosphere (sky wave) is not very stable. To make the received 100 kHz
signal more stable and reliable within a given coverage area, the Loran-e radio
navigation system is designed as a pulse system, which enables it to separate
the ground wave from the sky wave. The ground wave consists of a space wave
and a surface wave. The space wave is made up of the direct wave (a signal
traveling between the transmitter and the receiver via the direct path) and the
ground-reflected wave (a signal that arrives at the receiver after being reflected
from the surface of the Earth). The space wave also includes the diffracted
waves around the Earth and the refracted waves in the upper atmosphere. The
surface wave is guided along the surface of the Earth, which absorbs energy
from the wave causing its attenuation. When both antennas (transmitter and
receiver) are located very near the surface of the Earth, the direct and ground
reflected terms in the space wave cancel each other, and the transmission of
Loran-e signal takes place entirely by means of surface wave (assuming that
no sky wave exists). Figure 4.25 shows ground-wave and sky-wave modes of
propagation [34].
Propagation-induced errors arise from variations in the ground-wave signal
propagation velocity, which are caused by the Earth's ground conductivity along
the signal path and to a lesser extent by atmospheric effects. These propagation
anomaly errors represent a major contributor to the total Loran-e error budget.
Ionosphere
Groundwave
Transmitter~~ - Ground
/
/
A /, Signal Propagation Mechanisms
Space Wave
Tran:~~ ____________ p~e~t _____ - - - - ~ ;.e Rece1ver

', ____ ____ ~ :\:J
-/
Surface Wave
:~,----- ----;~~-
/
,.,,....,.
---- ................
........
........
', /
/
,.,."'
/ .........
...__ ........
'' ___. ___. ___. (Ground) Reflected Wave
Earth
Figure 4.25 Ground-wave and sky-wave modes of propagation.
Over the chain coverage area, the propagation anomalies exhibit both spatial
and temporal variations.
The temporal variations fall into two primary categories: diurnal and sea-
sonal. The diurnal variations are short-term propagation effects caused primar-
ily by local weather changes and day /night transitions along the signal path.
Variations in the refractive index of the atmosphere versus height from the
ground (vertical lapse rate) contribute to the short-term propagation errors. The
diurnal time-difference (TD) variations tend to be relatively small, on the order
of tens of nanoseconds.
The larger category of temporal variations are the seasonal effects, which
are most pronounced over land paths. These long-term errors tend to be peri-
odic with an annual cycle and can result in peak-to-peak TO excursions of up

to several hundred nanoseconds. The seasonal variations are caused primarily
by changes in ground conductivity and vertical lapse rate between winter and
summer conditions.
The other major category of propagation anomaly is the spatial variation. The
spatial portion of the Loran-e propagation error is caused by fixed topographical
and surface conductivity properties along the signal path. The most uniform
propagation occurs over all seawater paths. Using the known, constant speed of
Loran-e signals over seawater, the predicted Loran-e signal phase variation can
be computed as a function of path length, commonly called the secondary phase
factor (SF). Signals over land travel more slowly, by an amount that varies with
the conductivity and terrain irregularity. Differences in conductivity vary from
0.5 x 10- 3 mhos/ meter for snow covered mountains to 5.0 mhos/ meter for
seawater. The additional phase error effect due to the land mass is commonly
referred to as the additional secondary phase factor (ASF). As in the case of
the temporal errors, the ASF errors tend to have long correlation distances, on
the order of 90 to 100 nm.
The previously discussed characteristics of signal phase were related to
ground-ground-type measurements. If the receiver is raised to any altitude, as
in the airborne application, then the altitude effect must be considered. Theo-
retical predictions yield altitude, conductivity, and distance from transmitter as
the important parameters. Also, beyond a distance of 250 mi from the trans-
mitter, the correction is essentially constant. In this case, if one is operating
at this distance or greater from two transmitters and trying to form hyperbolic
LOPs, then the altitude effect on both paths will cancel. If one of the ranges is
much shorter than the other, errors of a few tenths of a microsecond can easily
result if this height gain function is not considered. A variety of formulations
for predicted Loran time difference as a function of propagation effects have
been used in receivers. Examples of these are given in Chapter 2, Section 2.5.2
of the first edition.
Absolute Accuracy Performance Within a published coverage area, Loran-e

will provide the user who employs an adequate receiver with predictable accu-
racy of 0.25 nm 2drms or better. The repeatable and relative accuracy of Loran-
e is usually between 18 and 90 meters. The total accuracy is dependent upon
the geometric dilution ofprecision (GDOP) factor at the user's location within
the coverage area.
GDOP is a dimensionless factor that expresses the sensitivity of position fix
accuracy to errors in TO measurement. As GDOP increases in a given area, the
impact of atmospheric noise, interference, and propagation vagaries inherently
increases. GDOP is a function of the gradient of each LOP and the angle at
which LOPs cross. Lines of constant GDOP are lines on which fix accuracy is
expected to be equal.
For a triad, GDOP is defined as
GDOP= 1 f_l_ + 1 + 2rcos(¢ 1 +¢2) (4 .7 )

sin Cct>1 + ¢2) V;;,
2¢
1
2
sin ¢ 2 sin cP1 sin cP2
where cP; is the half-angle subtended by station i and r is the correlation coeffi-
cient between two LOPs, which i~: taken to be 0.5. Note that ¢ 1 +ct>2 is equal to
the crossing angle of the LOPs (8). The relationship between 2drms and GDOP
IS
2drms = 2a-.-
Ko { ~--
1
+ + -- 2rcos 8
--- (4.8)
sm e sin 2 cP! sin 2 ¢2 sin cP! sin ¢2
where a is the timing error and K 0 is the constant 500 ft/ f.J-Sec.
Availability Although individual Loran-e transmitting equipment is very reli-

able, redundant equipment is used to reduce system downtime. Loran-e trans-
mitting station signal availability is therefore greater than 99.9%.
Reliability Reliability is a measure applied to system equipment such as

receivers, timers, and transmitters. The weakest link in Loran-e system reliabil-
ity is the highest-stressed component, the ground transmitter. Redundant equip-
ment at tube-type transmitting stations, and a "graceful degradation" capability
at solid-state transmitter stations, keep the system in an almost fail-safe mode.
The only significant failures in service have occurred when transmitting anten-
nas have collapsed or a severe lightning strike has completely destroyed the
output modules in a solid-state transmitter.
Repeatability The Loran-e system repeatability is excellent in terms of days

to weeks or longer. This means that, once the location of a reference point or
waypoint is known in the Loran-C frame of reference (grid), a navigator can
return to that point with very high accuracy. The frame of reference can be
either in Loran-e TDs or latitude/longitude coordinates. Repeatability is a par-
ticular strength of the Loran-e system for the majority of uses. Repeatability
declines as the period of time between measurement of the reference point loca-
tion and return to that point increases, due to seasonal effects on Loran-e signal
propagation. If a plot of time difference or Loran-e latitude/longitude is made
for a fixed user location over a period of several years, a definite periodicity
in the data is clearly seen. The data have a sinusoidal pattern in a period of
one year and are generally repeatable year to year. Figure 4.26 is an example
of the seasonal variation in TD data and clearly shows why repeatability of
the Loran-e system is good over the days-to-weeks time period but is poorer
over a period of months, reaching its worst over the winter-to-summer time
interval. Over one-year intervals or over the spring-to-fall interval, repeatabil-
500r-------------------------------------------------------~
400
300
u 200
5l0 100
c:: 0
~
~-100
~ -200
-300
-400
-500 0 100 150 200 250 300 350
50
Day
Figure 4.26 Seasonal variation of repeatable accuracy.
ity is very good. The 1994 Federal Radio Navigation Plan [48] cites a Loran-C
repeatability error range at 60-300 ft 2drms.
Integrity Loran-C stations are constantly monitored to detect signal abnor-

malities that would render the system unusable for navigation purposes. The
secondary stations blink to notify the user that a master-secondary pair is unus-
able. Blink is a repetitive on-off pattern (approximately 0.25 sec on, 3.75 sec
off) of the first two pulses of the secondary signaL which indicates that the
baseline is unusable for one of the following reasons:
• TD out of tolerance
• ECD out of tolerance
• Improper phase code or GRI
• Master or secondary station output power or master station off-air
When a secondary station is blinking it continues to transmit its normal eight

pulses at the normal GRI. However. it is only during a 0.25-sec period that all
eight pulses are present. During the next 3.75 sec only the last six pulses of
the eight pulses are present, the first two having been turned off. The on-off
cycle is repeated until normal operations are resumed. This blink period should
be sufficient to permit automatic blink detection circuits in receivers to activate
and warn users that the baseline is unusable. In 1996. the USCG and the FAA
are pursuing an "aviation blink.'' based on factors consistent with aviation use.
Direct Ranging There are some Loran-C users who do not employ Loran-C in
the hyperbolic mode but rather in the direct range rho-rho-rho mode or the rho-
rho mode. The rho-rho-rho process involves a minimum of three transmitters
and use of an iterative computation to obtain a fix. Direct range rho-rho mode
requires two stations as a minimum, a highly stable user frequency standard,

and precise knowledge of the time of transmission of the signal. A direct range
from each station is developed, and the intersection of these circles produces a
fix (actually two possible fixes that must be resolved by either a third range or
prior knowledge of assumed position). Direct ranging can be used in situations
where the user is within reception range of individual stations but beyond the
hyperbolic coverage area. In 1996, the high cost of the stable frequency standard
limited the use of this mode.
Differential Loran-C In using differential Loran-e, a reference station is

established, and a nominal set of TDs are determined. Thereafter, the reference
station broadcasts the offset of the measured TDs from the established nominal
values. The user's equipment incorporates the differential values to produce a
highly stable and long-term high-precision position accuracy in the vicinity of
the reference station. These corrections are generally valid for the "correlation
distance" of approximately 100 nmi from the reference station. Real-time cor-
rections to remove both seasonal and diurnal errors can be broadcast. For most
users, correction of the seasonal variation alone would be sufficient. Diurnal
variations tend to be small enough so that, within areas of good GDOP, suf-
ficient accuracy is obtained to meet most requirements. Studies have shown
that publishing the previous day"s correction to the baseline TDs is entirely
satisfactory. This approach reduces the electronic equipment requirements and
complexity for both the user and the provider of the service and is a process
that may fit within the envelope of aviation flight planning.
Grid Calibration Techniques A variety of theoretical methods can be used

to calibrate the spatial propagation variations over the Loran-e coverage area.
One such technique, known as Millington's method [34], breaks the signal path
between the transmitter and receiver into finite segments of different conduc-
tivity levels, based on conductivity maps. The incremental phase delay is then
computed as a function of range and conductivity for each path segment in
both the forward and backward propagation directions, summed, and averaged
to provide an estimate of the ASF.
While purely theoretical models of ASF calibration can substantially improve
the overall accuracy of the Loran-C solution, combining theoretical models with
empirical data can improve accuracy further. This semiempirical grid calibra-
tion approach has been used successfully to calibrate coefficients of a Loran-e
signal propagation error model using surveyed data points of empirically mea-
sured TD errors. Because of the long correlation distances of the spatial prop-
agation errors, only a few widely separated survey data points are sufficient to
provide a reasonably good grid calibration using this semiempirical modeling
approach.
Modern Loran-e receivers often include some type of grid calibration algo-
rithm or table lookup process to correct for estimated ASF errors. Such cali-
bration can substantially minimize the effects of spatial propagation anomalies

on accuracy.
Transmitter Characteristics The Loran-e transmitting system has evolved

over the years from the original tube-type transmitter, some of which are still
operating, to higher-powered tube transmitters and eventually to solid-state
transmitters. Highly precise cesium frequency standards are employed at each
transmitting station to time the transmitted signals.
The modern solid-state transmitters are described in this section. Each trans-
mitter station is physically divided into two groups of units to provide system
redundancy. At the appropriate interfaces switching units are provided between
them. In Figure 4.27 a simplified block diagram depicts one set of the redundant
equipment.
The timer provides all timing signals to the transmitter, including 5-MHz
clock signals. Dual redundant pulse amplitude and timing controllers (PATeO)
accept timing signals from the timer and derive from this all the signals needed
by the transmitter. Signals generated by the PATeO include start triggers, charg-
ing triggers, digital amplitude reference signals, amplitude compensation sig-
nals, and megatron reference trigger. Each PATeO contains an EeD module
to make small changes in the amplitude of each pulse group and allow fine
adjustment to be made to the pulse shape. The transmitter power level is also
monitored in the PATeO to identify problems with the half-cycle generators
(HeG).
The HeGs are the basic building blocks of the solid-state transmitter. Each
HeG contributes a portion of the power contained in the Loran-e pulse. Thirty-
two HeGs comprise the standard set. The basic set can be expanded in mul-
tiples of eight HeGs, with associated ancillary equipment, to transmitting sta-
tions of 40, 48, 56, and 64 HeGs. The power output by the transmitting sta-
tion depends on the HeG configuration and the type of transmitting antenna
used. When used with standard transmitting antennas of 625 to 1000 ft, power
outputs can range between 400 kw and 1000 kw for the 32 through 64 HeG
configurations.
Each HeG takes the PATeO signal and generates a 5 J1Sec pulse in the
megatron of 4000 amps peak that is shaped like a half-cycle of a I 00-kHz
sine function. These pulses are sent to the coupling and output networks during
each Loran-e pulse. The coupling network unit is a passive pulse shaping net-
work that contains coupling capacitors, coupling inductors, and tailbiter mod-
ules. The coupling network receives four S-11sec pulses and transforms them
into the required Loran-e pulse with a peak at 65 11sec. After the peak of the
pulse, the tailbiter module controls the shape of the pulse so that it exponen-
tially decays to zero. The output network presents the correct impedance to the
coupling network for the transmitting antenna and provides isolation between
the coupling network and the antenna ground system.
The transmitter operational control (TOPeO) and display units perform sev-
eral primary functions. They permit selection between redundant PATeOs, cou-
......
~
oc
Antenna
Switch
To
Antenna
Network
,.....,...._
Figure 4.27 Loran-C transmitter block diagram.

piing networks, and output networks. The TOPeO and display units contain
built-in monitoring and fault detection circuitry, and if a fault is detected the
TOPeO automatically switches coupling and output networks. The TOPeO and
display units serve as centralized alarm panels and status displays for the trans-
mitting station.
Receiver Characteristics In the past, navigation users employed receivers that

read out Loran-e TD coordinates, but by the 1970s Loran-e receiver designers
had automated much of this process to the extent of selecting the best triads,
ensuring correct signal lock-on and computing a latitude and longitude from the
time-differences. Many receivers contain correction tables in memory to make
the navigation solution as accurate as possible with relation to the geodetic grid.
By 1996, computational and processor power had resulted in user equipment
with the capability to store multiple waypoints and indicate data to the user that
include course and distance to go to the waypoint, and course and speed made
good. Very few users operate in a time-difference output environment today.
An airborne Loran-e receiver block diagram is shown in Figure 4.28; a pho-
tograph of a Loran-e receiver for commercial aviation applications is depicted
in Figure 4.29.
Loran-e receivers are commonly referenced by the rate (number of chains
tracked), the source of the time reference, number of stations tracked, and
the measurement type. For example, a single-rate, master-referenced, two-pair,
time-difference receiver tracks a single chain selected by the user; time ini-
tialization is obtained from the master station; and two stations are tracked
to obtain a TD measurement. Dual-rated receivers track two chains to pro-
duce a single position solution, while cross-chain receivers use stations from
two chains to define LOPs. In 1996, master-independent cross-chain receivers,
which use a priori information to define LOPs between secondary stations in
different chains, were being investigated.
All Loran-e receivers used for navigation enter four functional states: ini-
tialization, acquisition, pulse group time reference (PGTR) identification, and
tracking. Initialization is the process of providing to the set all the a priori
knowledge of the signals to be tracked and adjusting the set to minimize the
effects of interference. Initialization may include GRI selection, estimates of
secondary time difference, adjustment of interference filters, setting of clipping
levels, and the determination to search for the strongest path.
Acquisition is the process of searching for and locating the signals identified
during initialization. Generally, a receiver will locate the signals from each sta-
tion in time slots, called intervals, that repeat at the GRI. The search mechaniza-
tion is dependent on the extent of automation (manual or automatic search) and
displays built into the set. There are two general forms of manual search: pulse
alignment and phase code. Automatic search invariably operates on the phase
code of the signals and cross-correlates an approximation of the known signals
with the received signals. Generally, automatic search will operate at lower S/N
ratios than manual search and can be designed to search faster, using multipoint
.....
Ul
c
y_
RF
Front End
RF
Limiter
-- ir
I I Envelope II Limiter 1...
I
r
I
Sum J:
I I____.._
I r --Delay I,
Data
Latch
.
Data
• .
Microprocessor
Controller
I ,.. ..,I Input/Output
~
Latch
+ I Timing And
Strobe ,..
I --~
Figure 4.28 Airborne Loran receiver biock diagram.

Figure 4.29 Airborne Loran receiver.
search for master and limited range search for secondaries. When the correla-
tion reaches a certain threshold, after ensuring no false locks have occurred on
secondary signals, acquisition is complete.
PGTR identification is the process of ensuring that the receiver is operating
on the ground wave of the signals. Ensuring operation of the ground wave,
sometimes called guard sampling or ground-wave location, operates on the
principle that the ground-wave signal from a station always arrives at a receiver
before the sky wave because of the longer sky-wave path. It is necessary to find
the ground wave because its timing, and hence its position-locating qualities, is
stable, while the sky wave is not. Typically, the acquisition process locates the
sky wave because of its much larger amplitude. Ground-wave location proceeds
by using signal detection algorithms at the signal 30 to 60 f-1-Sec ahead of the
receiver's reference time. If signals are found, the receiver timing is advanced
and the process repeated. This continues until no signals are found at two or
more successive locations. Often, multiple independent tests are made after no
signal is detected to account for the possibility of the ground-wave and sky-
wave signals summing out of phase and creating a null that might otherwise be
presumed to be the start of the ground wave.
Tracking is the process of maintaining a constant timing relationship between
the receiver's time reference and the PGTR for each signal being tracked. In an
automatic tracking receiver, circuits within the equipment automatically adjust
the time reference and update the display to provide continuous readings. These
receivers also provide alarms or warnings advising the operator of undesirable
signal conditions or transmitter blinking.
Loran-e signal reception can be impaired by interference from other signals
broadcast on slightly different frequencies (generally low-frequency commu-
nications). To avoid the degradation in S/N associated with these interfering
sources, Loran-e sets are equipped with notch filters that can be used to atten-
uate the interfering signal. Some receivers are equipped with preset notch filters,
others with adjustable notch filters, and yet others that automatically search for
interfering signals near the Loran-e band and dynamically notch out any inter-
ference.
TABLE 4.5 Existing continental U.S. Loran-C

chains (excluding Aslaka)
GRI
Chain Name sec)
( !J.
Canadian east coast (5930) 59,300

North-east United States (9960) 99,600
South-east United States (7980) 79,800
U.S. west coast (9940) 99,400
Canadian west coast (5990) 59,900
Great Lakes (8970) 89,700
North central United States (8920) 89,200
South central United States (961 0) 96.100
Global Coverage Loran-C was used worldwide in 1996; it covered maritime

Canada, the North Atlantic, Norwegian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, the Bay of Bis-
cay, an area of Russia, China, and India, South Korea and the Sea of Japan, the
Northwest Pacific, the Gulf of Alaska, and the entire continental United States.
New system developments are underway or in the planning stages for north-
west Europe, Argentina, Brazil, and inland Canada. A Loran-C chain consists
of a master station and a number of secondaries, usually no more than four.
Each chain is uniquely identified by its GRI, which represents the number of
microseconds between subsequem transmissions of the master station signal.
Table 4.5 lists the Continental U.S. chains and their GRls.
Charts are published by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration (NOAA) that depict the geographic coverage area served by the Loran-
e system. These depicted coverage contours define the geographic limits at
which a receiver with a 20-kHz bandwidth will acquire and track a master
and two secondary stations, each providing a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) bet-
ter than -10 dB and a fix accuracy of better than 0.25 nm 2drms (95% of the
time).
The difference between acquisition of the signal by the receiver and track-
ing of the signal is important. Since a receiver should always be able to track
a signal it has previously acquired (under the same S/N environment) and also
to continue to track a signal at a much lower S/N than that which it experi-
enced when it acquired the signal. acquisition is the more difficult process for
the receiver and is the limiting factor in receiver performance. Coverage area
must therefore be defined in terms of acquisition, since that process defines
the operational limits at which a navigation solution can be initiated. S/N is
the major factor in determining a receiver's ability to acquire the signal. This
factor is the ratio of the field strength of the Loran-C signal, attenuated over
the propagation path from transmitter to user, to the field strength of noise in
the receiver's bandwidth at the user location. Noise in this context is generally
assumed to be atmospheric noise.
Figure 4.30 Hyperbolic lines of constant TD for a typical master-secondary pair.
Chain Geometry Figure 4.30 shows schematically a set of hyperbolic LOPs

for a typical master-secondary Loran-C transmitter pair. Each hyperbolic line
contains all points having the same time difference between arrival of signals
from the master and secondary. Along the baseline itself, the distance between
lines of equal TO is smallest, and increases to each side of the baseline. The
term applied to this parameter is gradient, and has units of feet per microsec-
ond. The gradient is at a minimum along the baseline and deteriorates as the
user moves away from it. Since the LOPs are much closer together along the
baseline than they are at large distances away from it, a 100 ns standard devia-
tion of the TO estimate represents much less error in position near the baseline
than in the extremities of the coverage area. Refer to Figure 4.31 which shows
two secondaries and a common master, along with hyperbolic LOPs for each
master-secondary pair. If the location of each LOP is assumed to be normally
distributed with a standard deviation of 100 ns, then a minimum area will be
covered at the intersection of two LOPs when they cross at right angles. This
area (area of fix uncertainty) will increase as the crossing angle decreases (see
Figure 4.32 and 4.33). The combined effect of crossing angle and gradient is
called GOOP. (See previous discussion of GOOP expression.)
Simple analysis reveals that along baseline extensions, a singularity exists.
The measured TO does not change (being equal to the time from master to
secondary), and hence no solution can be found.
The U.S. Coast Guard publishes predictions of the Loran-C ground-wave cov-
erage and geometric fix accuracy limits. These coverage diagrams describe the
area over which the signal-to-noise ratio of the master and two secondary stations
is -I 0 dB or better for a nominal expected atmospheric noise level in that geo-
graphic region, and the position accuracy is 0.25 nm 2drms (95% of the time).
Figure 4.31 Hyperbolic lines of constant TD for a typical triad.
M-X
AREA OF FIX
UNCERTAINTY
M-Y
Figure 4.32 90° crossing angle.

HYPERBOLIC SYSTEMS ISS
M-Y
Area of Fix
Uncertainty
Figure 4.33 Shallow crossing angle.
4.5.2 Omega
Principles and System Configuration In 1996, the Omega VLF radio-naviga-
tion system comprised eight transmitting stations located throughout the world.
At each station, continuous-wave (CW) signals are transmitted on four com-
mon frequencies and one station-unique frequency. The signal frequencies are
time-shared among the stations so that a given frequency is transmitted by only
one station at any given time.
To support medium accuracy navigation, the signal transmissions from all
stations are phase-synchronized to about l p,sec. For purposes of time transfer
and to facilitate the systemwide synchronization procedure, the signal timing is
maintained to within an accuracy of about 0.5 p,sec with respect to coordinated
universal time (UTC).
Omega signals are subionospheric; that is, they are propagated between the
Earth's surface and the D-region of the ionosphere. Because VLF signal attenu-
ation is low, the signals are propagated to great ranges, typically 5000 to 15,000
nmi. Signals with amplitudes as low as l 0 p, V/meter can often be detected and
used for navigation. Of primary interest to navigation users is the signal phase
which provides a measure of transmitter-receiver distance. The fractional part
of a cycle (or lane, which is the equivalent distance measure) is generally the
156 TERRESTRIAL RADIO- NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
only measurable component of· the signal phase. thus leading to lane ambiguity.
However, the lane ambiguity problem is reduced through the use of multipl e
frequencies and is resolved for navigation through a process of continuous lane
count.
When used as a stand-alone system for navigation, an Omega receiver pro-
vides an accuracy of 2 to 4 nmi 95 % of the time 143, 48J. In the differential
mode of operation, where a receiver utilizes Omega signal phase corrections
transmilled from a nearby monitor station, a position accuracy of about 500
meters can the attained. Because Omega is a continuous VLF phase-measur-
ing system, it has been appropriately integrated with noncontinuous , high-accu-
racy sensors. The resulting system has an accuracy that is comparable to the
high-accuracy navigation aid and degrades relatively slowly in time when the
high-accuracy aid is unavailable. As commonly used in overocean civil air-
line configurations, an Omega receiver is combined with an inertial navigation
system, so that the Omega system error effectively "bounds'' the error of the
inertial system.
The signals from the eight Omega transmitting stations shown in Figure 4.34
provide continuous signal coverage over most of the globe. The suite of elec-
tronics equipment (mainly signal generation, control , and amplification units) is
virtually the same for all stations in the system , but the station antennas differ
substantially. Because they radiate long-wavelength VLF signals. the antennas
are the largest physical structures at the stations. Three types of antennas are
employed in the Omega system: (I) grounded tower, (2) insulated tower, and
(3) valley-span. Each has an associated signal monitoring facility about 20 to
50 km from the effective phase center of the antenna. These unmanned facilities
perform several functions, including monitoring the performance of the asso-
II
;
i
, :1'' ··.- , __;
·; ',·
' tJ']~pan
i,Hawaii
•
i .• .... .
Liberia i
.
·.:11 /]' ~
i ; • La Reunion 1·
Australia
() ·~· ;:_,:
' '
{!Argentina
L __ _ __ _ ___;;____;_, ____ __ __ _ _
Figure 4.34 Omega station conliguralion.

ciated station, providing data necessary to phase-synchronize the stations, and

detecting solar-terrestrial events that cause anomalous shifts of the propagated
signal phase.
The Omega signal transmission format is illustrated in Figure 4.35. Across
each of the eight rows in the figure is a I O-see sample of the signal frequencies
transmitted by a particular station. Important features of this time/frequency
multiplex format include these four:
I. Four common transmitted signal frequencies: I 0.2, II t, 13.6, and 11.05

kHz.
Segments
Station
Norway A
ubena B
Hawaii c
Nonh Dakota D
La Reun1on E
Argentina
Australia G
Japan H
Signal Frequency in kHz
Figure 4.35 Omega system signal transmission format.

2. One unique signal frequency transmitted by each station.

3. A separation interval of 0.2 sec between each of the eight transmissions.
4. Variable-length transmission periods.
The fourth feature makes it possible to synchronize an Omega receiver to the

signal format with no additional external information. For example, if a user
determines that a I 0.2-kHz transmission segment (repeated every 10 sec) is 1.2
sec in duration, then according to Figure 4.35, the transmitting station could
be either station D (North Dakota) or station G (Australia). However, a mea-
surement of the duration of the succeeding transmission segment at a frequency
of 13.6 kHz would discriminate between station D (1.1 sec) and station G
(1.0 sec).
Navigational use of Omega is based almost entirely on measurement of the
signal phase transmitted from one or more stations. This is because the total
signal phase is closely related to the distance from a transmitting station with
known coordinates. The total phase, or cumulative phase, developed by a signal
between a station and a receiver is composed of a whole number of cycles and
a fraction of a cycle. In virtually all cases, the whole number component of
the cumulative phase is not measurable. Since only the fractional part of the
phase is measured, an ambiguity (termed lane ambiguity) exists with regard to
the whole-cycle count. In terms of distance-unit quantities, the equivalent of
the phase cycle is the signal wavelength. If a marker is made at the station and
at each wavelength on the station-receiver path, the intervals between markers
serve to define lanes, which are one wavelength in width and over which the
phase varies from 0 to 271' rad.
The existence of lane ambiguity is not generally a problem for a user if
Omega is used in a navigation mode from a known initial position. Succes-
sive positions are computed from corresponding incremental phase change mea-
surements. Also, the presence of multiple signals reduces the chances of incor-
rect lane identification (or count). However, if lane count is temporarily lost
(e.g., because of a receiver outage or propagation anomaly), the Omega for-
mat is designed to help resolve the ambiguity by using difference frequency
techniques.
To determine a receiver's position based on the measurements of phase
from the multiple station signals/frequencies, two basic methods are employed:
hyperbolic and direct ranging. Hyperbolic methods use phase difference as the
unit of measurement, while ranging techniques utilize phase measurements.
Since about 1980, the ranging method has been employed almost exclusively
in airborne receivers, while the hyperbolic method is reserved for specialized
applications, such as submarine navigation.
Wave Form and Signal in Space The principles of Omega navigation usage
depend almost entirely on the assumed relationship between the signal phase
received from a transmitting station and the station-receiver distance.

Ideally, changes in Omega signal phase, as measured on a moving platform,
bear a fixed linear relationship to corresponding changes in the position of
the platform over the surface of the Earth. With this idealization, navigation
and positioning become relatively simple procedures requiring only the sta-
tion locations as external knowledge, in addition to measured quantities
(internal to the receiver) such as the signal frequency and phase. However,
since Omega signals propagate to very long ranges, they are substantially influ-
enced by electromagnetic and geophysical variations in the Earth and iono-
sphere. These effects on the signal phase lead to a marked departure from a
linear dependence on distance, thus complicating direct use of the signals for
navigation.
Several methods have been developed for eliminating or reducing the com-
plex signal propagation effects on navigation and positioning. One method is
simply to subtract the signal phases at two of the frequencies (e.g., 10.2 and 13.6
kHz) transmitted from the same station. To eliminate propagation effects, this
procedure (which is similar to the method for resolving ambiguities) relies on
the assumption that propagation effects at the two frequencies are completely
correlated. In reality, the propagation effects at the two frequencies are only
partially correlated, so the complexity of the resulting signal is lessened but
not eliminated. A related, but improved method is to take an appropriate lin-
ear combination of the signal phases at the two frequencies that minimize the
variation over 24 hours (diurnal variation). This technique, known as compos-
ite Omega [29], reduces the diurnal variation but does little to reduce the wide
variation in phase behavior exhibited by paths of equal length over substantially
different electromagnetic/geophysical environments. By far the most common
method in use is the application of propagation corrections (PPCs) to the mea-
sured signal phase. In contrast to PPCs (which are predicted variations from the
nominal phase based on semiempirical models of geophysical effects and the
"normal" ionosphere), real-time corrections are provided by differential Omega
systems in local operating areas.
Omega PPCs are those predicted phase values that, when applied to the
received Omega signal phase measurements, provide an idealized phase func-
tion (at spatially distinct points) which depends linearly on distance. Thus, for
a receiver on a moving vehicle, two successive phase measurements are pro-
portional to the distance traveled: !J..¢ = k!J..r, where !J..¢ is the phase difference
corrected by the PPC and !J..r is the corresponding distance difference. The pro-
portionality constant k is called the wave number. The reduction of the phase
measurement to a linear function of distance can be traced back to when naviga-
tional charts were used for manual plotting of Omega lines of position (LOPs).
It is much easier to plot these LOPs if the phase (difference) is linearly related
to the distance (difference) from the transmitting station(s). The particular wave
number used to construct the charts is known as the "nominal" wave number,
which is simply the ratio of the cumulative "idealized" phase developed by a
signal to the distance over which the signal is propagated.
In free space, the wave number is given by 1 k 0 =f/c, wheref is the fre-
quency of the signal and c is the speed of light. The nominal wave number is
given by knom = 0.9974ko, which is chosen as an intermediate value between
observed night and day wave numbers on seawater paths. The exact value of
the nominal wave number is not critical; it is only important that the value be
near the average over all time and space conditions.
The Omega PPC may be thought of as the variation of the "true" Omega
signal phase (¢) from the nominal phase (¢nom):
PPC =¢nom-¢ (4.9)
where r:f>nom = knomr, and where r is the distance between a transmitter and a
receiver over the surface of the Earth. The assumption of a fixed wave number
that relates nominal phase and distance over the surface of the Earth is the basis
for the so-called nominal model of Omega signal phase/distance relationships.
The calculation of the PPC is based on a semiempirical model of phase vari-
ation as a function of the electromagnetic characteristics of a signal path from
transmitter to receiver [22-23, 24-25].
Thus, by Equation (4.9), the PPC and the nominal model together determine
the predicted phase for a given station, signal frequency, position, and time.
In this relation the nominal phase is the "dominant" term in the sense that it
accounts for approximately 99% of the cumulative phase from the signal source,
that is, the distance between the transmitting station and the receiver in units
of wavelength. Measured in cycles of nominal signal wavelength (somewhat
larger than a free-space wavelength) at I 0.2 kHz, the nominal phase is 100 to
500 for typical paths, whereas the PPC is usually between -3.00 and +3.00
cycles, with a resolution of 0.01 cycle (a unit referred to as a centicycle). The
predicted phase has a typical diurnal variation of 0.5 to 2 cycles, amounting to
about 0.2 to 2% of the nominal phase.
Figure 4.36 shows a typical diurnal observed phase profile (measured with
respect to a precise time or frequency standard) in which the path illumina-
tion conditions, nominal phase, and two sample PPC values are identified. The
figure illustrates the higher (retarded) phase during path night and the lower
(advanced) phase in path day, with a total diurnal shift of about 0.65 cycle.
Since the phase is a function of effective ionospheric height which varies with
the relative sun angle (solar zenith angle), the observed phase exhibits a "bowl-
shaped" profile during the clay with less variation at night. The phase profile
changes from day to night behavior during path transition when the sunset ter-
minator cuts the path. The figure illustrates the time-independence of the nom-
inal phase and the consequent time-dependence of the PPC values.
Propagation Effects In the wave-guide model of VLF wave propagation [40],

the region in which the Omega signals are confined is known as the Earth-
1An alternative definition of the free-space wave number used in many texts is ko = 27r.f /c.
120
100 Observed Phase
iii'
Ill
u>- eo
~
Nominal Phase
'EIll 60
.!:!..
Ill
en 40
~
.c:
~
20
Transition -+--- Night ---+-- Transition _...,.,___ _ Day ---~
0
0 02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
UT
Figure 4.36 Typical diurnal phase behavior.
ionosphere (EI) wave guide. Propagation of Omega signals is mostly confined

in the EI wave guide for three principal reasons:
I. The lower boundary (the Earth"s surface) has a relatively high conduc-
tivity (greater than 10- 3 mhojm over most areas of the Earth). so waves
do not readily penetrate the surface.
2. The Earth's atmosphere (at altitudes between 0 and 70 km) has an
extremely low concentration of charged particles and thus acts as a vac-
uum to VLF waves.
3. The D and E regions of the ionosphere (70 to II 0 km) have low average
conductivity (about I o-s mhojm) but have a steep conductivity gradient
between 70 and I 00 km which serves to reflect VLF waves.
The above conditions also lead to low attenuation of the propagated signal; for
example, over a range of about 1000 km the signal amplitude is reduced (on
average) by a factor of two.
Factors effecting Omega signal propagation include the action of the Earth's
magnetic field, the structure of the ionosphere, solar control and the effects of
the !!-year sunspot cycle, and the presence of two or more propagation modes.
The Earth's magnetic field introduces an anisotropy into the behavior of
VLF waves interacting with the ionosphere. That is to say, signal propagation
depends upon the direction of propagation. This anisotropy is strongest on paths
perpendicular to the geomagnetic field (east-west paths). The presence of two
or more signal propagation modes with comparable amplitude will cause the
phase to become a strongly oscillatory function of distance, thus rendering the
signals unusable for navigation/positioning.
The ionosphere is quite sensitive to the net incident solar illumination. Dur-
ing the day, solar photoionization maintains a small, but stable ionized compo-
nent which is not present in nighttime regions. Solar control of the ionosphere
introduces a strong diurnal dependence on Omega signal propagation.
Position Determination and Accuracy Two methods of successive position

determination are currently used in Omega receivers: hyperbolic and direct
ranging. In the hyperbolic mode of position determination, the difference in
the phase of signals received from two distinct transmitting stations is mea-
sured. In this mode navigation equipment is assumed to know the identity of
the hyperbolic lane in which it is located, either from initialization at a known
starting point or from the results of continuous navigation. Since phase dif-
ference is equivalent to distance difference, the phase-difference measurement
locates the receiver on a hyperbolic curve within the known lane (see Figure
4.37).
A hyperbolic lane has a width that is one-half the signal wavelength on
the baseline between the two stations located at the foci of the hyperbolas.
This can be seen by first noting that a lane is defined as those locations for
which the phase-difference measurement (¢A- ¢B) with respect to two stations
(A and B) varies between 0 and I cycle. Let the distance corresponding to this
phase-difference change be !:J.r, and assume that the wave number k is constant.
Without loss of generality, it can be assumed that the initial phase difference
<PAB for P 1 = <PAs for P2

Baseline
Station A Station B
Each curve is parameterized

by a unique phase difference
between signals from stations
Contstant Phase
A and B (.PAs)
Difference
Figure 4.37 Hyperbolic geometry for phase-difference measurements.

(before moving distance Llr) is zero. However, after moving distance Llr toward
the station B along the baseline, the Jane phase difference is given by
Lane phase difference= I (cycle)

= (¢A + kL1r)- (¢s- kM)
= ¢A - ¢B + 2kLlr
= 2kL1r (4.10)
Since the wave number is given by k = ljf.., where f.. is the signal wave-
length, it follows from the above that Llr = l/(2k) = f../2. At points away from
the baseline, the Jane width increases with the diverging hyperbolic curves as
f../(2 sin (1/; As/2)), where 1/; AB is the angle subtended by the two stations at the
receiver location.
A hyperbolic Jane is actually the family of all hyperbolic curves with phase
differences between 0 and I cycle that lie within the Jane boundaries. A hyper-
bolic curve normally has two branches, corresponding to the positive and nega-
tive values of the range difference. In the case of Omega, the sign of the phase
difference is known from measurement, which limits the receiver location to
a single branch. In the vicinity of the receiver (near the baseline), the hyper-
bolic curve resembles a planar hyperbola with foci located at the two associated
transmitting stations. On scales of 1 to I 0 nmi, these hyperbolic curves are well-
approximated by straight lines. At points well away from the baseline. however,
the spherical shape of the Earth causes the hyperbolic curve to close on itself in
a quasi-elliptical shape, with one of the stations at one focus and the antipode
of the other station at the other focus.
If the appropriate Jane is shown for a second pair of stations (which may
include a station common to the first pair), then a phase-difference measurement
with respect to these two stations establishes a second hyperbolic curve, whose
intersection with the first curve determines the receiver position (see Figure
4.38). It is possible that these two curves could intersect in two locations, but the
correct intersection is easily resolved for one or more of the following reasons:
I. One of the two intersections is usually relatively far from the known
approximate location of the receiver.
2. An independent third pair of stations (if available) provides another hyper-
bolic curve that passes near one of the two intersections.
3. A moving receiver shows successive fixes consistent with vehicle speed
for one of the intersections and inconsistent for the other.
In cases where more than two independent hyperbolic curves are available
(i.e., more than four usable Omega station signals are accessible), the multiple
curves do not, in general, intersect at a single point due to the effects of noise
Station
''' Station
A ', B
---$------------
Baseline
------~---
''
'
Figure 4.38 Hyperbolic fixing for three stations.
and station signal-dependent prediction errors. In these cases, a least-squares

technique is often used to obtain a good estimate of the true position.
Direct ranging techniques for Omega position determination are divided into
two principal types; rho-rho and rho-rho-rho. These types are differentiated
because of the different receiver equipment required for each. In the ranging
mode, individual phase measurements on each station signal are made so that
the lane width is a full signal wavelength at all locations.
Rho-Rho Method The rho-rho technique requires only two range measure-
ments for a fix. As in the hyperbolic case, it is assumed that the correct lane is
initially known and successive measurements are processed over small enough
distance/time intervals so that lane changes are readily tracked. To obtain an
accurate estimate of the distance traveled based on successive phase measure-
ments, the processor must have access to a frequency /time reference (clock)
of sufficient stability so that the reference is effectively synchronized to the
Omega station during the period between precision updates.
The change in station-receiver distance, obtained from two successive phase
measurements of the station signal, places the receiver's new position on a cir-
cular curve (centered on the station location) within the appropriate lane. Since
the receiver's previous position is assumed known, some points on the new
circle are more likely candidates than others for the new position, based on
platform velocity and maneuvering limits. However, the new position is accu-
rately determined only when a distance change to a second station is obtained
from successive phase measurements. In this case, a second circle is established
that intersects the first at the new receiver location. Although two intersections
are possible, the correct intersection can be resolved using methods listed above
for the hyperbolic case. This method corresponds to a system of two equations
and two unknowns. In cases in which more than two usable station signals are
available, a least-squares technique can be used to resolve the multiple inter-
sections that arise as a result of measurement noise or phase prediction error.
Rho-Rho-Rho Method The rho-rho-rho type of ranging is similar in princi-

ple to the rho-rho method except that it requires less precision in the onboard
clock, essentially permitting oscillator (clock) self-calibration. In particular, the
method assumes that the clock has a fixed frequency offset from its "correct"
value during the period between precision updates. A fixed offset in frequency
implies that the phase reference supplied by the clock drifts linearly in time
away from the correct phase reference with a slope /::,.¢/ /::,.t proportional to the
frequency offset. The unknown slope of this clock drift introduces a third vari-
able into the problem of determining the two components (e.g., north and east)
of the incremental position change. For this reason, three phase change mea-
surements (corresponding to three independent equations) are required during
successive updates. Though nearly as accurate as rho-rho ranging, rho-rho-rho
has the disadvantage that usable signals from three stations are required, instead
of two. When more than three usable station signals are available, the redundant
information is best handled by a using a least-squares method.
Position Accuracy Total Omega position error can be traced to a variety of

sources, including station synchronization offset, receiver processing (e.g., lane
slipjjump), operator mistakes (e.g., initializing with coordinate insertion error),
and temporal anomalies (e.g., a polar cap disturbance (PCD)). The predominant
error source, however, is the PPC.
The PPCs are obtained from a semiempirical model of Omega signal phase
behavior which is calibrated largely from phase measurements at globally dis-
tributed fixed Omega monitor sites. Analysis of these measurements reveals
important features of Omega phase behavior as well as provide insights into
Omega PPC error. A basic property indicated by these measurements is that,
at a fixed site, Omega phase (and phase error) generally varies more over 24
consecutive hours (see Figure 4.36) than over a year at a fixed hour. Because
the observed phase measurements show little systematic change over a month
at a fixed hour, the average observed phase over 15 to 30 consecutive days is
a robust aggregate measure of the phase for a given hour and specific month.
The predicted phase (obtained from the PPCs) over the same time period is
nearly constant but often differs significantly from the average observed phase.
This difference is referred to as the PPC bias error which varies in magnitude
from 0 to 30 centicycles (cecs). Also occurring in this 15-30 day period at a
fixed hour are random (nonsysternatic) day-to-day variations in the observed
phase on the order of I to 5 cec;. Since these random variations (which are
due to ionospheric fluctuations) are not reflected in the PPCs, they make up the
random component of PPC error.
When converting phase measurements to position, the bias and random com-
ponents of phase error produce corresponding bias and random components
of position error. The transformation of the phase error components to posi-
tion error components depends upon the individual phase errors of all signals
received and the geometrical configuration of the receiver and stations corre-
sponding to the received signals. If the magnitude of the random phase errors
is assumed to be the same for all ~ ignals received and the bias error is assumed
to be zero, then the radial position error standard deviation (a r) can be obtained
by multiplying the phase error standard deviation (aq,) by a scalar factor known
as the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP). For a least-squares method of
position determination, used when multiple redundant signals are present, the
following form 2 of GDOP [24, App. B] is obtained:
1
GDOP=
2
q I 'I 1/2
L ~~ 2
sin (((3;- (3i )/2)
q-2 q-1 q
L L L sin 2
(((3k- ~~j )/2) sin 2 (((3;- (3k)j2) sin 2 (((3j- (3;)/2)
i= I j=i+ I k=j+ I
(4.11)
where q is the number of usable signals received and (3; is the bearing to the
ith station (corresponding to the ith usable signal). The GDOP becomes very
large whenever at least q - I stations have bearings which are nearly equal.
Another property of the GDOP is that the GDOP for q station signals is never
greater than the GDOP for any subset (> 3 stations) of q. This means that for
least-squares position processing, the use of additional (usable) signals does not
degrade, and typically improves, the resulting position accuracy.
For moving vehicles performing navigation, the bias error is effectively
removed at initialization, leaving only phase error due to noise (typically less
than 1 cec ). However, the paths from the station to the receiver eventually
change (both in space and time) enough so as to become decorrelated with
the original configuration of station signal paths to the receiver and the initial
2 GDOP = a,j('Acr&) where 'A= signal wavelength.

correction no longer applies. From this decorrelation time until the next preci-
sion update, the Omega receiver is subject to PPC bias and random errors and
the effect of GDOP. Omega-only accuracies have been reported for aircraft of
2.7 to 3.3 nmi 95% of the time l32, 33].
Differential Omega Like the differential techniques associated with many

other radio-navigation systems, differential Omega systems provide a way of
enhancing the position accuracy in a local region through the transmission of
local corrections. The corrections are obtained from a central monitoring facility
that compares observed signal phase readings from each of the Omega stations
with the "correct" phase (using a nominal model) based on the location of the
monitor and the signal frequency. The accuracy of the correction depends on the
spatial correlation of the Omega signal phase between the position of the mon-
itor and the user's position. Within a radius of about 50 km from the monitor,
the correlation peak is within about 1 cec (for typical time constant receivers);
for greater distances, the degree of correlation gradually degrades.
Operational differential Omega systems in place in 1993 were tailored pri-
marily to marine users, although a number of experimental differential systems
for aircraft have been tested. The correction information for marine use is nor-
mally broadcast to all users in the local area (having a typical radius of 200
to 500 nm) using a 20-Hz modulation of LF beacon signals with frequencies
between 285 and 415 kHz. Measured position errors vary from 0.3 nm (I 00 nm
from the monitor station) to about I nm (500 nm from the monitor station) 95%
of the time [261. As of 1996, 30 differential Omega systems were in operation
throughout the world, including the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa, the
Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean, Eastern Canada, India, and Indonesia [6].
OmegajVLF Operation The most common external radio navigation source

integrated with Omega in aircraft receiver systems arise from the network of
VLF communication stations. Unlike the Omega stations, the VLF communica-
tion stations are not synchronized, so only phase changes from each station can
be processed in a navigation mode. This means that VLF signal processing is
used to supplement Omega navigation rather than act as a substitute. Moreover,
these communication signals are broadcast for national/international security
purposes, so stations can switch frequency, change modulation, or temporarily
cease operation with no advance warning. Thus, although VLF signals serve a
very useful supplementary function in many airborne modern Omega receivers,
they do not play a primary navigational role, because the VLF communication
signals are not intended for navigation.
One important feature of Omega/VLF receivers is the difference in the algo-
rithms for processing of Omega and VLF signals. Some of these distinctions
arise from inherent differences in the two transmitting systems. For example,
since the stations in the VLF network are not synchronized (although the car-
rier signals are synthesized from precise standards), no receiver acquisition of
a time-frequency pattern is required as for Omega signals. This also means
that signal phase from different stations cannot be compared (in an absolute
sense) to determine position. Because the received VLF signal is generally sta-
ble in time, VLF navigation requires an initial calibration to permit subsequent
phase tracking of the signals from selected VLF stations. Accurate phase track-
ing requires an on-board precise frequency standard or a correction based on
an estimate of the frequency /time offset of the receiver's internal clock. This
estimate is usually obtained from Omega signal processing in the rho-rho-rho
mode.
In addition to internal differences in signal processing, signals from the two
systems are processed differently regarding external information. For example,
all known OmegajVLF receivers use externally supplied PPCs to correct the
measured Omega phase prior to navigation use, whereas few, if any, currently
operational receivers correct VLF signal phase measurements. This means that,
for most receivers, the received VLF signal phase is not accurately related to
distance over the Earth's surface, a problem that is not necessarily amelio-
rated by redundant measurements. External deselection data regarding modal
and long-path signals are available for Omega but not for VLF. Failure to de-
select VLF modal signals is potentially a more serious problem for navigation
than the lack of VLF PPCs, since modal phase excursions can be large and
sudden, often resulting in cycle slips or advances.
As a result of the signal-processing differences, due to the internal and exter-
nal information bases, receiver-processing algorithms treat Omega and VLF sig-
nals differently. Once acquired and initialized, Omega signal-processing alone is
robust and will fail only under unusual circumstances (e.g., cycle shifts or fewer
than three signals above the minimum SjN). VLF signal-processing schemes
generally rely on the presence of Omega signals and other aids in the receiver's
navigation filter. In most receivers VLF signals are closely monitored with
frequent cross-consistency checks. Normally, OmegajVLF receivers are pro-
grammed to exclude initialization with VLF signals alone, since this repre-
sents a "degraded" mode. Current FAA certification procedures require than an
OmegajVLF receiver system operate satisfactorily with Omega signals alone.
Transmitting Station Characteristics The transmitting equipment at each sta-

tion is generally described as belonging to one of three functional groups, or
subsystems:
1. Timing and control subsystem

2. Transmitter subsystem
3. Antenna-tuning subsystem
The principal functions of the timing and control subsystem are signal gener-
ation and phase control. The signal source is a precision cesium beam frequency
standard of 9.193 GHz with a stability of 5 parts in 10 12 . Three cesium stan-
dards are used for frequency drift comparison and control, and are maintained
as reserves in the event of failure of the on-line standard. Phase control is main-
tained by comparing the RF signal phase to the phase of the antenna current
reference signal fed back from the antenna tuning subsystem. The signal phase
is advanced or retarded to insure that its phasing at the antenna coincides with
the appropriate UTC epoch.
The transmitter subsystem consists of those devices that amplify the signal
generated in the timing and control subsystem. The RF signal from the timing
and control subsystem is first raised to a level of 160-V RMS by the input
amplifier. The driver amplifier further raises the signal level to a nominal 520-
v RMS and the final amplification is performed by the power amplifier that
boosts the signal voltage and current to a peak power of 150 kw. Following
this final amplification stage, the signal is fed to the antenna tuning subsystem.
The antenna-tuning subsystem is designed to tune the antenna at the RF sig-
nal frequency by impedance matching the antenna to the input circuit. This
ensures the maximum effective radiated power at the antenna for a given input
signal power. Based on the long keying pulses from the timing and control
subsystem and the current samples received from the current transformer, the
antenna-tuning control first implements fine inductive tuning through the var-
iometers. The antenna-tuning control signal activates a mechanical drive that
moves the variometer coil to the appropriate position for matching impedance.
The long keying pulses activate antenna relays that connect the appropriate var-
iometer into the main antenna circuit. The RF signal is then transferred to the
"helix," a large helical coil that acts as a coarse tuning device for the antenna.
The helix is equipped with separate taps for each signal frequency transmitted.
Finally, the RF signal is conducted to the antenna structure itself from which the
signal is radiated. The structural feature which principally differentiates Omega
stations is the antenna structure. Two basic designs are utilized: tower and val-
ley span. The tower antennas are further classified as either the grounded or
insulated type.
Receiver Characteristics Narrow-band Omega signals and noise from all

sources (including harmonic interference) are received at the £-field (probe) or
H-field (loop) antenna having a bandwidth of about 4kHz. The electromagnetic
energy is passed to the detector stage of the Omega receiver for conditioning.
Filtering is performed at the front end of the detector, reducing the bandwidth
to about 100 Hz. The signal is also amplitude limited at this stage to prevent
swamping from large impulsive noise spikes. In successive stages of the detec-
tion process, the signal is either processed at its original frequency (tuned RF)
or mixed with a reference signal to produce a lower-frequency signal (hetero-
dyning). In either case, the signal is compared with a reference signal having
sufficient stability over one or more I O-see Omega format periods.
In most modern Omega receivers, the signal is acquired and tracked by
means of digital techniques. With these techniques, phase is usually measured
as the interval between a reference clock pulse and the next zero crossing of
the input signal in units of clock cycles. 3 A digital phase tracking technique
used in many Omega receivers is the phase lock loop in which the reference
phase is shifted by an amount that depends on the previous phase measure-
ment and the time-averaged phase computed at the previous measurement time.
The time-averaging refers to a moving average that differs from the average at
the previous loop cycle by a weighted value of the previous measurement. A
second-order phase lock loop is designed to track the time rate of change of
phase in a manner similar to that of the first-order loop.
Like most signal-tracking circuitry. the basic function of the phase lock loop
is to reduce the effective bandwidth (inversely proportional to the effective time
constant) so as to best reproduce the desired signal. For aircraft receivers. time
constants typically range from I 00 to 200 sec. Shorter time constants do not
provide sufficient averaging or noise rejection. and longer time constants may
exceed the time required for aircraft maneuvers. such as sharp turns. Since the
duty cycle for each of the common frequency Omega signals is I 0%. the e,ffec-
tive phase measurement time comtant is I 0 to 20 sec. Using standard assump-
tions [24]. these time constants correspond to noise equivalent bandwidths of
0.025 to 0.013 Hz. When compared to the input bandwidth of I 00 Hz. these
narrow output bandwidths correspond to gains of better than 35 dB. Thus. sig-
nals with SjN as low as -20 to -30 dB in the 100Hz receiver input bandwidth
can be effectively utilized in aircraft Omega receivers.
After the signal phase measurements are made. PPCs are computed using an
appropriate modeljalgorithm and added to the measured phase to produce an
"idealized" phase value that can be readily used in the subsequent positioning
calculations. Although the PPCs require receiver position as an input. the PPCs
are not sensitive to precise position since they vary less than 0.05 cycle over
ranges of 50 to I 00 km. Thus, the PPCs can be accurately computed from only
approximate knowledge of position.
Before determining position, the (idealized) signal phases are usually
weighted based on the expected relative accuracy of the phase measurement.
This accuracy is most commonly determined by the estimated SjN. which. for
phase lock loop receivers. is clo~:e!y related to the rms loop error. If the esti-
mated Sj N is below a preset threshold. such as -30 dB in a I 00-Hz bandwidth.
the signal phase is usually excluded (given zero weight) in the position solu-
tion. In addition to these weighting and exclusion procedures based on internally
derived SjN data. the signal phases are edited by invoking external information
concerning the signals. External information usually refers to signal deselection
data that are generally extracted from known coverage information. including
modal "maps'' and data on the occurrence of long-path signals. The resulting
signals that arc not deselected or excluded are further screened for acceptable
geometry. In some receiver mechanizations. all common frequency signals from
a station must be acceptable to be used in the position fix; in others. only a sin-
0The reference clock/oscillator commonly has a frequency of I to 5 MHz but may be converted
to a lower frequency.
gle acceptable signal frequency from a station is necessary for inclusion in the
fix algorithm. Position change estimates are then formed from the weighted
and edited Omega signal phase data at the common Omega signal frequencies.
The estimates are computed by means of a least-squares or Kalman estimation
technique (see Chapter 3). The Omega-based calculation of position change
is frequently combined with the aircraft-supplied true airspeed and heading or
inertial system information to furnish the best position estimate.
An airborne Omega receiver block diagram is shown in Figure 4.39; a pho-
tograph of an Omega/VLF receiver for commercial aviation applications is
depicted in Figure 4.40.
4.5.3 Decca
Hyperbolic systems other than Loran and Omega exist and are used for nav-
igation. One such example is the Decca system [31] developed by the British
and used extensively during the later stages of World War II. In 1996, its major
area of implementation is in northwestern Europe where it is primarily used by
shipping companies.
Decca is based on the measurement of differential arrival times (at the vehic-
ular receiver) of transmissions from two or more synchronized stations (typi-
cally 70 mi apart). As an illustration. consider two stations (A and B) I 0 mi apart
and each radiating synchronized radio-frequency carriers of I 00 kHz. Assume
that there is some way by which each station can be identified. The wavelength
at this frequency is 3000 meters, or about 2 mi. On a line between the stations.
the movement of a vehicle D one mile toward one station and one mile away
from the other station will cause the vehicle to traverse one cycle of differen-
tial radio-frequency phase. There wilL therefore, be I 0 places along the line AB
where the signals from the two stations will be in phase. As the vehicle moves
laterally away from this line, isophase LOPs can be formed (each line being a
hyperbola) with the stations as foci and BD- AD as a constant for each LOP.
Site error virtually vanishes in such a system. and the accuracy depends
entirely on the constancy of propagation between the stations and the vehicle.
In an effort to avoid line-of-sight limitations, Decca uses a low frequency (70
to 130 kHz), which is subject to sky-wave contamination. and uses continuous
waves. which preclude the separation of ground waves from sky waves. Thus,
despite the low frequency (whose ground-wave range is on the order of I000
mi), practical Decca coverage is limited to areas where sky-wave strength does
not exceed about 50% of ground-wave strength. This is typically 200 mi.
A typical Decca chain consists of a master station and three slave stations.
A typical station has a 2-kw crystal-controlled transmitter feeding a 300-ft
antenna. The slave stations are referred to by the color of the phase meter asso-
ciated with each at the receiver. Each station transmits a stable continuous wave
frequency that bears a fixed relationship to the frequencies of the other three
stations. Phase comparison therefore produces a family of hyperbolic LOPs of
.......
-...l
N
Atmosphenc
Noise
• I r j -r- local NOISe
Internal Noise
(POSitiOn. limel
CDU
Signal Form Instruments
Cond1t10n1ng Phase
POSitiOn Autopilot
(Ga1n L1m1ting, Track
Loop Estimate
Filtenng) Miss1on Com-
SwitChing
puter
Reference
Phase
L_____ w~~~-~-----J
Editing/ 1 I
I Aiding (Heading, TAS) I

Figure 4.39 Airborne Omega receiver block diagram.
Figure 4.40 Typical airborne Omega/ YLF receiver.
constant phase. The spaces between these lines are called lanes. The intersect ion
of two LOPs provide a position fix.
4.5.4 Chayka
ehayka (meaning "sea gull") is a pulse-phase radio-navigation system similar
to the Loran-e system. It is used in Russia and surrounding territories and seas.
By using ground waves at low frequencies, the operating range is over 1000 mi;
by using pulse techniques, sky-wave contamination can be avoided. The system
is designed to provide both a means of determining an accurate use r positi on
and a source of hig h-accuracy time sig nals. The system can support a n unlim-
ited number of users since the computations are pe rformed at the user receiver
and position determination is possible at any time of day or year, regardl ess of
meteorological conditions.
Principles and System Configuration e hayka is analogous to the Loran-e

system employed in the United States and other parts of the world (see Section
4.5. 1). e hayka is a low-freque ncy pulse-phase radio-navigatio n system with
a pulse-modulated frequency of I00 kHz. Contrary to the m ulti ple chains of
Loran-C. the C hayka system consists of only two " networks" of stations. each
with a master and fo ur slave statio ns. Receivers measure the time differe nce
between the arrivals of a given wave form from the master and a ny parti c ular
s lave station. This time-differe nce informa ti o n can then be converted into posi-
tion. veloci ty. and time and freq ue ncy refe rence information. Additio nal pro-
cessing can produce bearing, distance, and a long-track and cross-track errors.
Each of the stations in the Chayka networks transmit pulses with standard
characteristics. The pulse consists of a I 00-kHz carrier wave that increases from
zero to a maximum and then decays at a specific rate to form the envelope of
the signal. All slave stations transmit signals in packets of eight pulses; the
masters emit a ninth pulse for identification. The interval between pulse onsets
is 1.0 ± 0.05 J-tSec. In addition, in order to provide the possibility for automatic
detection and identification of signals and to reduce the influence of multiply
reflected signals, the signals are phase-coded with the slaves all having the same
phase (i.e., oo or 180°) and the master phase differing by exactly 180°.
The repetition periods of the radio signals are selected based on a trade-off:
maximizing the average power of the signals at the receivers while preventing
any signal overlap within the network operating region. Since all slave stations
transmit signals with identical phase codes, each slave station transmits with
its own specific code delay relative to the master signal. The magnitude of the
code delays are selected such that the order of reception of slave station signals
is identical everywhere within the network operating region.
Wave Form and Signals in Space Each station transmits signals with stan-
dard pulse modulation charactcris1:ics. Each pulse consists of a 100-kHz carrier
wave modulated by an envelope that depends on the specific transmitting sta-
tion equipment. Two types of radio transmitter (RT) stations are currently in
use: those with vacuum tubes and those using impact excitation of the linear
output circuit. The envelope of the vacuum tube RTs can be approximated by
U(t) = Um [ _t_ e( I - (tit,")l] 2 (4.12)

tm
where U 111 is the pulse amplitude and t 111 is the time interval from the onset to
the peak of the pulse.
The envelope of the impact excitation RTs can be approximated by
, . [ sin {3t o:r] '"

U(t) = Umax --(3- e (4.13)
where m = I or 2 for two or three coupled circuits, respectively, including the

circuit of the transmitting antenna, and a and (3 are approximation parameters
chosen to provide a given steepness of growth and speed of attenuation of the
radio wave envelope. Existing impact excitation RTs use linear circuits consist-
ing of three coupled circuits (i.e., m = 2).
Coverage In 1996 the Chayka system consisted of only two networks, Euro-
pean and Eastern. Coverage from the European network is centered near
Moscow and includes most of the area between 5c and 50' East longitude and
FUTURE TRENDS 175
40° and 65° North latitude (e.g .. Eastern Europe. western portion of the former
Soviet Union. the Black Sea, and part of the Caspian Sea). Coverage from the
Eastern network includes most of the area between 135° and 160° East lon-
gitude, and 35° and 65° North latitude (e.g .. eastern shoreline of the former
USSR. portions of Japan. and the surrounding areas of the Pacific Ocean).
4.6 FUTURE TRENDS
Terrestrial radio-navigation systems will continue to play a major role for air-
craft navigation throughout the world for many years. Since the U.S. satellite-
based GPS had achieved full operational capability (FOC) in 1995. followed
in 1996 by the Russian GLONASS. there had been expectations that these
satellite systems would quickly replace the terrestrial systems such as VOR,
VOR/DME. Loran, and Omega. However, this was not the case and is not
likely to occur in the near future. The reasons for this include (I) the widespread
implementation of equipment by aircraft owners and the cost of replacement by
satellite receivers. (2) the lack of available air-traffic management operational
procedures compatible with satellite-based systems. (3) the absence of full sole-
means navigation system status of GPS. and (4) the fact that issues involving
system accuracy, integrity. availability. and continuity of service of the satel-
lite systems had not been fully resolved (Chapters 5. 13, and 14 ). Therefore.
the terrestrial radio-navigation systems will continue to be used for many years
on a global basis. In the more distant future, some of these systems will be
decommissioned when their utility will have been fully replaced by that of the
satellite systems.
By 1993, the U.S. Coast Guard had implemented full coverage of the conti-
nental United States by Loran-C chains and the FAA had authorized Loran-C
for supplemental navigation for en-route and nonprecision approaches. At least
ten U.S. airports had received approval for Loran-C approaches. As a result.
there was extensive use of airborne Loran-C receivers on U.S. General Aviation
aircraft and that usage is likely to continue for some time until GPS receivers
are widely implemented on General Aviation aircraft.
Since 1990. a number of major studies have been conducted and published
that show the advantages and discuss techniques of combining data from Loran
and GPS for aircraft navigation [45. 46, 47]. Among the major advantages are
the mitigation of the effects of GPS coverage outages caused by satellite shut-
downs or poor geometry and. conversely. that of Loran coverage outages due to
ground station shutdowns. high atmospheric noise levels. or precipitation static.
In addition Loran data could provide on-board fault detection and isolation of
GPS satellites, in connection with GPS Receiver Autonomous Integrity Mon-
itoring (RAIM. Section 5.7.2). The combining of GPS and Loran data (e.g.,
with a Kalman filter) can be at the pseudorange level and mutual time synchro-
nization can also be included [46]. Therefore. research and development on the
integration of Loran and GPS is likely to continue in the future.
In 1995, a considerable number of countries had indicated that they would

continue or increase use of Loran-C. These included countries in Northern
Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East, including Russia, France, Saudi
Arabia, the People's Republic of China, and India. Also, Russia promoted the
use of their Chayka and their VLF Radio-Navigation System (called Alpha) for
civil use.
Cooperative efforts between the United States and Russia resulted in imple-
menting a Loran-C/Chayka chain w provide aviation and marine coverage over
the five-hundred-mile coverage gap that existed in the North Pacific, between
the North Pacific Loran chain and the Northwest Pacific and Eastern Russian
chains [41 ]. These cooperative efforts are likely to continue in the future.
Several options were being com;idered to integrate the Russian Alpha and the
Omega system [28], and this effort may also continue for some time. However,
direct participation by the United States in Omega may terminate in the not too
distant future, possibly as early as September 1997.
PROBLEMS
4.1. A I 000-MHz DME transponder on the ground is triggered by a signal

10 dB above its receiver-noise level. The receiver-noise figure is 10 dB.
What transmitter power is needed on an aircraft to produce triggering from
a distance of I 00 nm? Assume simple dipoles at each end of the link, no
transmission-line losses, a transponder-receiver bandwidth of I MHz, and
a temperature of 293c Kelvin.
Ans.: 8 w.
4.2. What is the principal advantage of an omnidirectional range on the ground
versus a direction-finder in an aircraft?
4.3. What are some techniques used to reduce site errors in directional-antenna
systems?
4.4. What magnetic variation must be used to plot the true course of a VOR
radial?
(a) Variation at the aircraft location
(b) Variation shown on the chart for the VOR station location
(c) Variation used to calibrate the VOR station by maintenance personnel.
Ans.: c.
4.5. How does magnetic variation affect the accuracy of a Loran-C position?
Ans.: It has no effect.
4.6. What variation should be used to plot an initial course from an aircraft's
Loran-C position to an airport 200 mi away.
Ans.: The magnetic variation shown on the chart for the aircraft's position.
PROBLEMS 177
4.7. What are the factors that impact the accuracy of a Loran-e fix?
Ans.: Signal-to-noise ratio at the receiver, crossing angle of the
Loran-C lines qf position, calibration r~f the Loran-C time difference
to latitude/longitude coordinate converter.
4.8. What are the two categories of Loran-e system accuracy? What do they
mean?
Ans.: Repeatable accuracy to which one can return to a point vis-
ited before; absolute or predictable accuracy of the fix against some
external reference grid such as latitude and longitude.
4.9. Suppose that an Omega receiver processes four I 0.2 kHz signals from
stations with geographic bearing angles (at the receiver) of 31 o, 121 o, 211 c,
and 30 I o using a least-squares algorithm to estimate position change.
(a) What is the GDOP?
Ans.: 3/2Vl.
(b) If the signal phase error associated with each of the four stations is
4 cecs, what is the corresponding position error in kilometers.
Ans.: a,.= 1.25 Km.
(c) If one of the station signals becomes unusable (e.g., due to modal inter-
ference as the path becomes dark), by what factor is the position accu-
racy degraded?
Ans.: a,. becomes larger by a factor of 4/3.
5 Satellite Radio Navigation
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Since the 1960s, the use of satellites was established as an important means of
navigation on Earth. The earliest :;ystems were designed primarily for position
updates of ships, but were also found useful for the navigation of land vehicles.
Beginning in the early 1970s, satellite-navigation systems for aircraft (as well
as other platforms) were under intense development. Those efforts benefited
from the techniques used and the experience gained with the earlier systems.
In the 1980s, systems suitable for aircraft became mature and by 1996 their use
for aircraft navigation was increasing at a widespread and rapid pace.
The satellite-navigation systems described in this chapter are comprised of a
system of satellites that transmit radio signals. Appropriately equipped aircraft
receiving these transmitted signals can derive their three-dimensional position
and velocity and time. Two systems are described in detail, namely the U.S.
Department of Defense's NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) and the
Russian Federation's Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS).
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and RTCA, Inc. have
defined a more global system that includes these two systems, geostationary
overlay satellites, along with any future satellite navigation systems, in what
has been named the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) [1, 2]. A third
major system, the United States Navy's Transit System, also called the Navy
Navigation Satellite System (NNSS), is a low-altitude Doppler satellite radio
navigation system. In Russia, a similar system was developed, called Tsikada.
Since GPS was fully operational, after 32 years the U.S. Navy ceased operations
of Transit on December 31, 1996 [ 124]. It will not be discussed here further.
(Design details are given in references [3] and [4].)
The systems described in this chapter provide users with a passive means
of navigation; that is, there is no requirement for their equipment to transmit,
only to receive. Both GPS and GLONASS are ranging systems. They provide
both range and range rate (or change in range) measurements. Once initialized,
they provide an instantaneous and continuous navigation solution in a dynamic
environment. Details of these solutions are described later in this chapter.
The advantage of satellite navigation systems is that they provide an accurate
all-weather worldwide navigation capability. The major disadvantages are that
they can be vulnerable to intentional or unintentional interference and tempo-
rary unavailability due to signal masking or lack of visibility coverage. In some
178 Avionics Navigation Systems. Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried

INT'ROD UCT ION 179
critical applications, external augmentation is required. Various means of aug-

mentation arc also described later in this chapter.
5.1.1 System Configuration

The overall system configuration for these two systems are in common. They
all consist of three system segments- a space segment. a control segment. and
a user segment (Figure 5.1 ). The space segment is cumprised or the satellite
constellation made up of multiple satellites. The satellites provide the basic
navi gation frame or reference and transmit the radio signals from which the
user can collect measurem ents required for his navigation solution. Knowledge
of the satellites ' position and tim e history (eph emeris and tim e ) is also required
for the user's solutions. The satellites also transmit that information via data
modulation or the signals .
The control seg ment consists of three major elements:
I. Monitor stations that track the satellites' transmitted signals and collect
measurements similar to those that the users collect for their na vigation.
2. A master control station that uses these measurements to determine and
predict the satellites' ephemeris and time history and subsequently to
upload parameters that the satellites modulate on the transmitted signals.
---- ~ ---------7 --------------------- ' • of
'I
/I
~rc-7.~/
,- - )f 1 .,.r WF~:~{:~:'"~: ,,;'r?~:,~:, '~:tLCo
~lj\;,{\ GROUND
1j! 1 ~ , , ANTENNA
L' ' ~~ USER SEGMENT
MASTER CONTROL
STATION 1-4-___J
CONTROL
SEGMENT
Figure 5.1 Satellite radio-navigation system configuration.

180 SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATION
3. Ground antennas that perform the upload and general control of the satel-
lites.
A secondary, but very important, purpose of these elements is to monitor the

satellites' health and to control their operation. These elements are connected
via appropriate communication links, which themselves may be via communi-
cation satellites. Normally, orbit injection of the satellites is controlled via an
independent system.
The user segment is comprised of the receiving equipment and processors
that perform the navigation solution. These equipments come in a variety of
forms and functions, depending upon the navigation application. Details of the
user equipment appear later in this chapter.
5.2 THE BASICS OF SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATION
The concept of satellite radio navigation is illustrated in Figure 5.2. Although

types of user equipment may differ, they all solve a basic set of equations for
their solutions, using the ranging and/or range rate (or change in range) mea-
surements as inputs to a least-squares, a sequential least-squares, or a Kalman
Z. SATELUTE2
X
Figure 5.2 Ranging s;atellite radio-navigation solution.
THE BASICS OF SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATION 181
filter algorithm. The measurements are not range and range rate (or change
in range), but quantities described as pseudorange and pseudorange rate (or
change in pseudorange). This is because they consist of errors, dominated by
timing errors, that are part of the solution. For example, if only ranging type
measurements are made, the actual measurement is of the form
(5.1)
where PR 1 is the measured pseudorange from satellite i, R; is the geometric

range to that satellite, llt, 1 is the clock error in satellite i, lltu is the user's
clock error, c is the speed of light and EPR, is the sum of various correctable
or uncorrectable measurement errors. These errors andjor corrections are com-
prised of atmospheric delays, the Earth's rotation correction, and multi path and
receiver noise. These errors will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter.
Equations for pseudorange rate or change in pseudorange are based on Equation
5.1 by differentiating or differencing.
Neglecting for the moment the clock and other measurement errors, the range
to satellite i is given as
(5.2)
where X, 1, Y,;, and Z,; are the Earth-centered, Earth-fixed (ECEF) position com-
ponents of the satellite at the time of transmission and Xu. Yu. and Zu are the
ECEF user position components at that time. For the three satellites in Fig-
ure 5.2, Equation 5.2 represents the equations for spheres whose centers are
located at the satellites. The user position is the reasonable intersection of the
three spheres. (There is another solution, but not near the Earth.)
5.2.1 Ranging Equations

Equation 5.2 is obviously nonlinear. The standard solution is a linearization of
that equation, resulting in
oR;= R,m- R,
(5.3)
where oR; is ~he range measurement residual, R;111 is the range measurement
to satellite i, R; is the estimated range to satellite i, lx;, I yi. and I zi are the
components (directional cosines) of the estimated line-of-site (LOS) unit vector
1; between the user and satellite i and oX11 , oY,, and oZ11 are the components of
the vectm;.oX11 of differences between the position solution Xu and the estimated
position X 11 • This vector represents an offset from the intersection of the three
spheres. Figure 5.3 illustrates this linearization in two dimensions, where the
inner circles represent the measured ranges and the outer circles represent the
"computed" ranges based on the estimated position. The shaded areas represent
the range measurement residuals.
Solving three equations representing range measurement residuals from three
satellites give a solution for the position correction vector, provided that the
geometry is sufficient (i.e., the solution exists). If the differences are large, as in
the exaggerated example of Figure 5.3, so that they exceed the range of the lin-
earization, an iterative solution is generally required. This can be accomplished
by using either the same set of measurements or subsequent measurements,
Figure 5.3 Navigation solution linearization.

THE BASICS OF SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATION 183
where the user position in the computation of new LOS vectors is propagated
from the previous solution.
5.2.2 Range-Rate (Change-in-Range) Equations

In a ranging system, the Doppler (range-rate) measurement can be used as a
measure of user velocity. The range-rate measurements can be derived from
Equation 5.1 in three ways: by differentiating Equation 5.2 and linearizing,
or by differentiating or differencing Equation 5.3. Differentiating Equation 5.2
yields
(5.4)
where
V; =[X; Y; Z;f is the known satellite i velocity vector
Vu =[Xu Yu Zuf is the unknown user velocity vector
X;= [X; Y; Z;f is the known satellite i position vector
Xu= [Xu Yu Zu]T is the unknown user's position vector
Note that Equation 5.4 is also nonlinear because the LOS vector is also a func-
tion of the user's unknown position. However, linearizing about an estimate of
position and velocity yields
oR;= l; · oVu (5.5)
where oVu is the perturbation of user velocity.

Differentiating Equation 5.3 yields
_:__
oR; = l; · oXu +I; · oXu

"'l; · oVu (5.6)
The second term of the equation can be neglect~d under normal circumstances
because the rate of change of the LOS vector I; is small, which is due to the
large distance to the satellite.
In some precision landing applications, the measurements may be Doppler
count measurements. Then, change in range can be computed by differencing
Equation 5.3 over a time interval [tj _ 1, tj ], resulting in the equation for a change
in range as
/::,. bRij = bRij - bR;,j _ I = l;,j · bXuj - l;,j- I · bXu,j _ I (5 .7)
where the subscript j indicates measurements taken at time ti. Note that over
short time intervals, this change in range measurement can be used to estimate
range rate by dividing by ti - fj _ I.
5.2.3 Clock Errors

Equations 5.2 through 5.6 are based on the assumption that epoch times in the
satellites and the user equipment are known. The epoch times in the satellites
are generally known to the users to the required accuracy, because the control
segment determines their offsets in time and frequency. These values are sub-
sequently loaded into the satellites and broadcast to the users as part of the
modulated data stream. The user's time error, however, is usually not known to
the accuracy required for a good navigation solution. Thus, if it is included in
Equations 5.2 through 5.6, the term -eMu is added to Equations 5.2 and 5.3,
and the term
/::,.fu
-c(/::,.tuj - /::,.tu,J- I) = -c - - (tj - tj _ I) (5.8)
fo
is added to Equation 5.7, where /::,.fu!fo is the fractional frequency offset of

the user equipment oscillator with respect to system time. In the case of the
pseudorange rate measurements of Equations 5.5 and 5.6, the added term due
to clock drift is simply Equation 5.8 divided by the short time interval tj- ti _ I,
resulting in a solution for the oscillator fractional frequency offset.
The result of these time and frequency errors is that one more linearly inde-
pendent measurement is required for a solution for the one more unknown. The
effect of not doing this is that the spheres of Figure 5.2 or circles of Figure 5.3
no longer intersect at the user, unless the clock error correction is made. A
fourth satellite (or fourth set of measurements) provides the ability to make
this correction.
5.3 ORBITAL MECHANICS AND CLOCK CHARACTERISTICS
5.3.1 Orbital Mechanics

All of the equations in Section 5.2 have the satellite's pos1t10n and velocity
in ECEF coordinates as variables, either directly or as part of the LOS vec-
tor. The linear independence of the equations, which dictate the observability
of the navigation solution, is a function of the relative position of the satellites
in orbit. Thus, the placement of these orbits in a constellation and the evaluation
ORBITAL M EC H AN ICS AND CLOCK CHA RACTER ISTICS 185
of the satellites' positions and velocities is of primary importance, and orbit

mechanics is fundam ental to the navi gation problem.
Orbital Elements The orbit of an Earth satellite is nominally a plane (Figure

5.4) IS 1. The satellite moves in a nearly elliptical orbit in the plane. with per-
turbations , in inertial space (Figure 5.5). In the satellite systems desc ribed in
this chapter. the orbits are nominall y circul ar. which is simply a special case of
an elliptical orbit. Howe ve r, to maintain the accuracy of th e description of the
orbits. they must be represented as elliptical orbits.
The line of nodes in Fi gure 5.4 is the intersection of the orbit plane with
the Earth's equatorial plane. The ascending nod e is th e point where th e satel-
lite crosses the equatorial plane from the so utherly latitude to north erly. The
inclination of the orbit is the angle betwee n the orbital plane and the Earth 's
eq uatorial plane.
Six independent constants are needed to spec ify the nominal orbit. These can
be the three components of position and velocity at any instant of tim e, as used
in th e equations of Section 5.2. or the classical orbital elements . The advantage
of the latter is that they represent th e total orbit, rather than one point in the
orbit. from which the position and ve locity at any time can be derived. Three
of these orbital eleme nt s are th e orientation fHlrulll eters shown in Figures 5.4
and 5.5 :
z1
/Earth 's polar axis
'
v
Satellite
x3
i inclination
y
uinol'.
'Jerna\ eC\_ __
X~ ~--- / Yj
n ~~- -------------~
'..Ascending node Equatorial plane
X/
Figure 5.4 T he orhital plan e.
APO~EEI
~
·--~~~~----~--~
LINE OF ABSIDES
ASCENDING
NODE
LINE OF NODES
Figure 5.5 The elliptical orbit.
I. Geocentric longitude of the ascending line of nodes, n (Figure 5.4). This

is the angle in the equatorial plane from some arbitrary reference to the
ascending line of nodes. The reference X 1 is conventionally taken as the
direction of the vernal equinox, but, in practice, it is completely arbitrary
as long as it is appropriately defined for the application. (See Equation
5.17 below.)
2. Inclination of the orbital plane with the equatorial plane, i (Figure 5.4).
3. The argument of perigee w, which is the angle between the direction of

the ascending node and the direction of perigee measured in the plane of
the orbit (Figure 5.5). The axis of the ellipse connecting the apogee and
perigee is called the line of apsides.
Two of the remammg orbital elements are the dimensional parameters;

namely the semimajor axis of the ellipse, a (Figure 5.5), and the eccentricity
of the orbit, e, where
ORBITAL MECHANICS AND CLOCK CHARACTERISTICS 187
where b is the semiminor axis. Note that for a circular orbit, where the two
axis are equal, the eccentricity is zero. The sixth orbital element is the time
of perigee passage, tp, measured with respect to some arbitrary time scale. tp
establishes the phase of the satellite along the geometric path defined by the
other elements.
Useful Orbital Parameters and Equations The six orbital elements describe
the path of the satellite in its unperturbed orbit. To perform a navigation solu-
tion, however, it is usually better to describe the satellite's position and velocity
in ECEF coordinates. The relationship between the six coordinates and satellite
position is as follows [6]:
The mean motion is the average angular rate of the satellite radius vector r.
It is defined as
(5.1 0)
in radians per second, where 11 = 3.98605 x 10 14 meters 3 jsec2 is the WGS 84

value of the Earth's universal gravitational parameter [7, 8]. The period of the
orbit is then
(5.11)
in seconds. The mean motion is used to compute the mean anomaly
M = n(t- tp) (5.12)
in radians, which is the basis for the solution of Kepler's equation [6]. Kepler's
equation defines the relationship for the eccentric anomaly, where
E- esin E = M (5.13)
in radians. This relationship is illustrated in Figure 5.5, where E is the angle

between a line from the center of the ellipse to a point projected from the posi-
tion of the satellite to a circumscribing circle perpendicular to the major axis
and the line of absides. The eccentric anomaly can be used to compute the
instantaneous radius of the orbit from the center of the Earth as
a(l - e 2 )
r =a( I- ecos E ) = - - - - (5.14)
1 + e cos v
where v is the true anomaly in radians. Note from Figure 5.5 that to compute
the cartesian components of the satellite's position (Xp, Yp) in the orbit plane,
the cosine and sine of the true anomaly is required. They can be computed as
~sinE
sin v =' (5.15)
I - e cos E
cos E- e
cos v = (5.16)
I - ecos E
This position in the orbit plane can then be transformed into ECEF coordinates
by performing a Euler transformation through the orientation parameters w, i,
and 0, in that order. Note, however, that 0 is not constant because the Earth
is rotating. It varies from some predefined epoch value 0 0 (right ascension) at
some time to as
(5.17)
in radians, where ~h is the earth's rotational rate, which has a WGS 84 value
of7.2921151467 x 10- 5 radjsec [7, 8].
The Perturbed Orbit If the Earth were a spherically symmetrical body in

empty space, the parameters described above would stay fixed. However, other
forces, called perturbations, cause the orbital plane to rotate and oscillate and
the satellite's path to vary from its elliptical path. These forces include (I)
spherically asymmetrical components of the Earth's gravitational field, (2) luni-
solar perturbations, (3) air drag, and (4) magnetic and static-electric forces.
Other perturbations are due to the variations in the Earth's rotation rate and
polar wander. Such perturbations do not affect the orbit in inertial space but
rather the orientation parameters as they relate to ECEF coordinates.
The effects of these forces vary, depending upon the altitude of the orbit. For
example, higher orbits are less affected by the Earth's gravitational field vari-
ations and air drag than the lower orbits are, but are more affected by forces
such as lunar and solar gravity and solar radiation pressure. In any case, since
the reference coordinate system is ECEF, the Earth's gravitational field varia-
tions are the most significant, of which the second zonal harmonic is by far the
most dominant. If a truly inertial coordinate system were used, the solar gravity
would be the dominant perturbation force. The gravity potential of the Earth
developed in zonal harmonics is given by [9]
UV, A,¢) = ~ [I + t, ( A: )" ~ (C,,, cos rnA + S,, ,, sin mA)P,,, (sin ¢) l
(5.18)
where
AE is the WGS-84 semimajor axis of the Earth's ellipsoid =
6378.137km [9]
n,m are degree and order
¢,"A are geocentric latitude and longitude
Pn.mCsin ¢) are Legendre polynomials
Cn,m,Sn,m are geopotential coefficients
Neglecting the effects of longitude (m = 0), which are relatively small compared
to the effects of latitude, the gravity potential due to the second zonal harmonic
is [6]
U2(r,¢)= J-tAioC2 ·
o ( -3s i n
2 I)
¢-- (5.19)
1 r 2 2
where the WGS-84 value for C 2 o is -1.08263 x 10- 2 [9].

The radial and meridional gravity force of the second zonal harmonic are
then
3 A 2 C2
Jl E 'O (3 COS 2¢- 1) (5.20)
4r 4
3A~C2.osin 2¢
(5.21)
2r4
Note that the radial force has two components-a constant that adds to the
nominal gravitational force and one that oscillates as function of the satellite's
latitude ¢, where
¢= sin- 1[sin(v +w)sin i] (5.22)
based on the argument of latitude, the argument of perigee, and the inclination
angle of the satellites orbit. Note that the period of the oscillating force is one-
half the orbit's period. The force in the direction of latitude also oscillates with
latitude.
These oscillating perturbations are important for defining parametes to rep-

resent the satellites' orbits for the users.
5.3.2 Clock Characteristics

As indicated in Section 5.2, the candidate measurements used in the naviga-
tion solution include terms representing the satellite and user clock time offsets
and/or clock drift. Thus, the characteristics of these clocks are important as they
are a potential navigation error source in two ways. First of all, the navigation
message from a satellite includes parameters describing the satellite's clock off-
set and drift, which are predicted by the control segment. Any instability in the
satellite's clock causes this prediction to be in error, thus resulting in range and
range rate errors that degrade the user's navigation solution. Second, the user's
own clock may drift between, or during, navigation solution updates, which
also results in a solution degradation. This degradation is due to an estimation
of a "moving target," preventing averaging of the clock solution.
Clock errors are characterized in terms of a time offset, a frequency off-
set, aging (frequency drift), and measures of clock instability. Time offset, fre-
quency offset, and sometimes frequency drift are part of the solution, whether
it be the control segment's solution and prediction of the satellite clocks or the
user's solution for his own time and frequency offset. Clock instability, on the
other hand, hampers the capability to perform these functions. The most com-
mon measure of clock instability is in the form of the square root of an Allan
variance [10], which is defined as
(5.23)
where
¢(tk + 7)- ¢(tk)

Yk = (5.24)
27r/o7
is the fractional frequency offset averaged over 7 seconds after the systematic
frequency offset and frequency drift have been removed. i:J.¢(tk) is the change
in clock phase, measured in radians over 7 seconds as illustrated in Figure 5.6.
f 0 is the nominal frequency of the oscillator in Hertz and M is the number of
samples used in the computation.
A typical square root of Allan variance for a good quality crystal oscillator is
shown in Figure 5.7. Three typical stability characteristics are shown, depend-
ing upon averaging time: white frequency noise, flicker frequency noise, and
random walk frequency noise. They are defined using the coefficients hex of
Cl)
zc:(
c
~
-
':&:
w
Cl)
c:(
:I:
0..
'<- 't-->K- 't ->I
TIME t- SECONDS
Figure 5.6 Measuring clock stability.
FUCKERFREQUENCYNO~E
j2tn2 h_ 1
1o-12-t----.,...------r------y-----.------,.--------.-
o.o1 0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0 1000.0 10000.0
AVERAGING TIME 't ·SECONDS
Figure 5.7 Typical square root of Allan variance.

a single-sided spectral density of fractional frequency fluctuations of the form

[ 1 I]
. h f 2 h h_J h_2
S, (j ) = 2. + 1f + ho + f +f 2
(5.25)
The first two terms define high-frequency phase noise, which can affect signal
tracking, but they are not considered stability terms. The square root of the
Allan variance is a measure of frequency stability. An estimate of clock phase
(or time) stability, in seconds, can be obtained by multiplying the ordinate axis
of Figure 5.7 times the abscissa. However, a more accurate representation in
terms of the coefficients hex is given as a function of time since last measured
or estimated as [12]
(5.26)
which can be used to determine the ability to predict time.
5.4 ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON SATELLITE SIGNALS
A major source of errors in satellite navigation signal measurements (compo-

nents of the EPR; of Equation 5.1) is due to signal refraction through the atmo-
sphere, which includes the ionosphere and the troposphere. In the ionosphere,
the larger one of these two sources of error, the signal interacts with free elec-
trons and ions, causing an increase in its phase velocity with a corresponding
decrease in its group velocity. The troposphere causes the propagation velocity
of the signal to be slowed, compressing the signal wavelength. In this section,
the effects of these phenomena on measurement accuracy and quality will be
examined.
5.4.1 Ionospheric Refraction

The ionosphere is a shell of electrons and electrically charged atoms and
molecules that surrounds the Earth, stretching from a height of about 50 km to
more than 1000 km [I 3]. It owes its existence primarily to ultraviolet radiation
from the sun. The photons making up the radiation possess a certain amount
of energy. When the photons impinge on the atoms and molecules in the upper
atmosphere, the photons' energy breaks some of the bonds that hold electrons
to their parent atoms. The result is a large number of free, negatively charged,
electrons and positively charged atoms and molecules called ions.
The free electrons in the ionosphere affect the propagation of radio waves.
ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON SATELLITE SIGNALS 193
At frequencies below about 30 MHz the ionosphere acts almost like a mirror,
bending the path traveled by a radio wave back toward the Earth, thereby allow-
ing long-distance communication. At higher frequencies, such as those used in
satellite radio navigation, radio waves pass through the ionosphere. They are,
nevertheless, affected by it.
The Refractive Index and Phase and Group Velocity The velocity of prop-
agation of a radio wave at some point in the ionosphere is determined by the
density of electrons there. The velocity of a carrier, the pure sinusoidal radio
wave conveying the signal, is actually increased by the presence of the elec-
trons. The greater the density of electrons, the greater the velocity. The net
effect on a radio wave is obtained by integrating the electron density along the
whole path that the signal travels from the satellite to a receiver. The result is
that a particular phase of the carrier arrives at the receiver earlier than it would
have had the signal traveled in complete vacuum. The early arrival is termed a
phase advance.
The increased phase velocity of propagation is related to what is called the
refractive index n by the expression [ 14 J
(5.27)
where c is the velocity of light. The refractive index is given as [5]
(5.28)
where the critical frequency fn or plasma frequency, below which complete

reflection occurs, is, in Hertz [ 14],
(5.29)
where Ne is the electron density in electrons per cubic meter, e is the electron
charge, m is the mass of an electron, Eo is the permittivity in free space, andf is
the signal's carrier frequency. Note that the higher this carrier frequency is, the
closer n is to I, and thus the less the ionosphere affects signal propagation. Note
also that the higher the electron density is, the higher the plasma frequency is,
and thus the more the ionosphere affects signal propagation.
On the other hand, the signal that is modulating the carrier (e.g., pseudo-
random noise codes and navigation data) is delayed by the ionosphere. Since
the composite signal can be thought of as being formed by the superposition
of a large group of pure sinusoids of slightly different frequencies, the delay of

the modulation is called the group delay. The magnitude of this group delay is
identical to the phase advance. The group refractive index is given as [ 14]
d I
ng= -(nw)=- (5.30)
dw n
Thus, the relationship of the phase velocity and group velocity (the rate of
energy propagation) satisfies that for a signal passed through a wave guide,
which is
(5.31)
Electron Density and Total Electron Content The electron density is quan-
tified by counting the number of electrons in a vertical column with a cross
section of one square meter [13]. This number is called the total electron con-
tent (TEC). The TEC is a function of the amount of incident solar radiation.
On the night side of the Earth, the free electrons have a tendency to recombine
with the ions, thereby reducing the TEC. As a consequence, the TEC above a
particular spot on the Earth has a strong diurnal variation.
Changes in TEC can also occur on much shorter time scales. One of the phe-
nomena responsible for such changes is the traveling ionospheric disturbance
(TID). TIDs, which have characteristic periods on the order of I 0 minues, are
manifestations of waves in the upper atmosphere believed to be caused in part
by severe weather fronts and volcanic eruptions. There are also seasonal varia-
tions in TEC and variations that follow the sun's 27-day rotational period and
the roughly 11-year cycle of solar activity.
Dual Frequency Corrections All these changes in TEC make it difficult to

consistently predict the phase advance and group delay accurately using mod-
els. Thus, all of the satellites of the satellite radio navigation systems described
herein transmit signals at two frequencies, allowing some users to measure and
correct for these quantities. Note that the refraction index defined in Equation
5.28 is a function of the inverse of the carrier frequency. A Taylor series expan-
sion of that equation yields
n"" I_ JZ, + f~."" I_ 40.5Ne + 1640.25N~ (5.32)

2f 2 4! 4 f 2 f 4
If the carrier frequency is chosen to be high enough so that the fourth-order term
is negligible, then the deviation of n from a free space value of one is inversely
proportional to f 2 . Thus, by making measurements on two widely spaced fre-
quencies and combining them. the electron density Ne can be determined, and
ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON SATELLITE SIGNALS 195
almost all of the ionospheric effect can be removed. This is true whether the
measurements are pseudorange, Doppler, or integrated Doppler measurements,
since they all have an error component that is a function of the refraction
index. However, the correction is applied with a different sign, depending upon
whether the measurement is obtained from the carrier or the modulated signal.
Applications of ionospheric corrections using models or dual frequency mea-
surements are peculiar to satellite radio navigation system, and thus will be
described later in this chapter.
Ionospheric Scintillation Effects Irregularities in the Earth's ionosphere can

produce both diffraction and refraction effects causing short-term signal fad-
ing that can severely stress the tracking capabilities of a satellite-navigation
receiver fl3l. The fading can be so severe that the signal level will drop com-
pletely below the receiver's lock threshold. The geographic regions where scin-
tillation effects normally occur are in the equatorial region (±30c either side of
the geomagnetic equator) and the polar regions. Scintillation is the strongest in
the equatorial regions. Strong fading can also be accompanied by rapid carrier
phase changes. Fortunately, strong scintillation effects are rare or localized at
certain times of the night, and usually only during periods of high solar activity.
Also, by design, a satellite navigation receiver can be made to track through the
severe fading, although the collection of navigation data can be disrupted with
parity errors. Fortunately these data are periodically repeated, so the disruption
is only temporary.
5.4.2 Tropospheric Refraction

Refractivity Unlike the refractivity of the ionosphere, the refractivity N of
the troposphere is not a function of carrier frequency. At a given altitude it is
commonly determined from the following equation [14, 15J:
N = I 0\n - I) = --:r-
77.6 (
.P + -4810e)
T- (5.33)
where Pis total pressure in millibars, Tis absolute temperature inK, and e is
partial pressure of water vapor in millibars, where one definition of e is given
as [ 15]
e = 6.1 RH J07.4475Tc;(2l47+Tc) (5.34)

100
where RH is relative humidity in % and Tc is temperature in "C. The first

term in Equation 5.33, which does not depend on relative humidity, is called
the dr.v term, while the second is called the wet term. Equation 5.33 provides
the refractivity at any altitude given the variables measured at that altitude.
Different scientists have modeled refractivity as a function of altitude h but

have done so differently on the dry and wet terms, yielding the relationship
77.6 373256e
N(h) = ------:;- P.fd(h) + T2 .fw(h) (5.35)
Propagation Delay Through the Troposphere The propagation times for

waves traveling through the troposphere between a satellite and the user are
longer than that for free space for two reasons [ 14]:
I. The path does not follow a straight line. The consequence of this is small
and can be neglected except for very small elevation angles.
2. The wave velocity is slightly lower than it is in a vacuum, producing an
apparent increase in the length of the path given as
11L =c JR (n - I) ds (5.36)
()
where s is the curved abscissa on the path and R is the distance to the
satellite, which can be treated as infinite.
Since the real path does not deviate much from a straight line for all but very
small elevation angles, Equation 5.36 can be made a function of elevation angle
and integrated with respect to altitude. The result is a correction model for
ranging measurements.
In general, the dry and wet terms need to be integrated separately because
they include different functions of altitude and elevation angle. This is the case
when actual surface measurements are used and the ultimate accuracy is desired,
such as in the control segment of the radio-navigation system. However, in the
case of avionics applications, those measurements are not generally available,
and a standard day is used to define the correction model. Then, commensurate
with the accuracy of that standard day, Equation 5.36 becomes
11L = f= (n - I) dh (5.37)
ho sin ¢o
where ho is the altitude of the user and ¢o is the elevation angle of the signal
path to the satellite. An approximation of 11L can be obtained by assuming the
atmosphere is exponential. That is, let
n- I = (no- I )e-hh (5.38)

NAVSTAR GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM 197
so that
n0 - I
i1L = e~bho (5.39)
b sin ¢o
For a typical standard day model, n0 is 1.00032 and b is 0.000145 meters~ I,

resulting in a zenith delay equivalent to 2.208 meters at sea level. At 5° eleva-
tion angle, the equivalent delay becomes 25.33 meters.
5.5 NAVSTAR GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
The NAVST AR Global Positioning System (GPS) was conceived as a U.S.

Department of Defense (DoD) multi-service program in 1973, bearing some
resemblance to and consisting of the best elements of two predecessor develop-
ment programs: the U.S. Navy's TIMATION program and the U.S. Air Force's
Program 621B [16, 121 (Chapter 1)]. The success of Transit had stimulated both
of these programs. The Air Force, as the executive service, manages the overall
program at the GPS Joint Program Office (JPO) located at the Space Division
Headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. The other U.S. military services, as well as
representatives from the Defense Mapping Agency, Department of Transporta-
tion, NATO, and Australia maintain active participation at the JPO. The result
of this development program is an all-weather global radio-navigation system.
GPS is a passive, survivable, continuous, space-based system that provides any
suitably equipped user with highly accurate three-dimensional position, veloc-
ity, and time information anywhere on or near the Earth.
5.5.1 Principles of GPS and System Operation

GPS is basically a ranging system, although precise Doppler measurements
are also available. To provide accurate ranging measurements, which are
time-of-arrival measurements, very accurate timing is required in the satel-
lites. Thus, the GPS satellites contain redundant atomic frequency standards
[ 17]. Second, to provide continuous three-dimensional navigation solutions to
dynamic users, a sufficient number of satellites are required to provide geo-
metrically spaced simultaneous measurements. Third, to provide those geomet-
rically spaced simultaneous measurements on a worldwide continuous basis,
relatively high-altitude satellite orbits are required. These three capabilities are
all related, since they all are necessary to provide the high-dynamic user navi-
gation capability in three dimensions.
General System Characteristics The GPS satellites are in approximately 12-

hour orbits (11 hours, 57 minutes, and 57.27 seconds) at an altitude of approxi-
mately II ,000 nmi. The total number of satellites in the constellation has changed
over the years, the number being tied to budget constraints. The intent, how-
ever, is to provide coverage at all locations on the Earth as nearly to 100% of
the time as possible. Each satellite transmits signals at two frequencies at L-Band
[ 1575.42 (L I) and 1227.6 (L2) MHz] to permit ionospheric refraction corrections
by properly equipped users [ 18]. These signals are modulated with synchronized,
satellite-unique, pseudorandom noise (PRN) codes that provide the instantaneous
ranging capability. Those codes are modulated with satellite position, clock, and
other information, in order to provide the user with that information. Details on
the constellation and signal structure appear in later sections of this chapter.
All equations of Section 5.2 apply to the GPS navigation solution in
that all three measurement capabilities-ranging, Doppler, and integrated
Doppler-exist, and, in general, the solution for the user's clock and clock drift
are required. It is not uncommon for a specific user equipment to use at least
two of the three measurement capabilities to simultaneously solve for position,
velocity, clock offset, and clock drift, in some cases using all satellites in view
[19, 20]. That number can be as high as 12.
System Accuracy GPS provides two positioning services, the Precise Posi-
tioning Service (PPS) and the Standard Positioning Service (SPS) [21 ]. The PPS
can be denied to unauthorized users, but the SPS is available free of change to
any user worldwide. Users that are crypto capable are authorized to use crypto
keys to always have access to the PPS. These users are normally military users,
including NATO and other friendly countries. These keys allow the authorized
user to acquire and track the encrypted precise (P) code on both frequencies
and to correct for intentional degradation of the signal.
Encryption of the precise code provides GPS with an anti-spoofing (A-S)
capability. A-S is not meant to deny the P code to unauthorized users but to pre-
vent the spoofing of the precise code by an unfriendly force. Unfortunately, A-S
denies the P code to unauthorized users. Thus. A-S prevents these users from
correcting for ionospheric refraction, since the L2 signal only carries the P code,
although there are "codeless cross-correlation" techniques that do allow this
measurement [22, 23]. A-S does not prevent the use of the coarse/acquisition
(Cj A) code, which is only carried on the L I signal.
The intentional degradation. on the other hand, is meant to deny accuracy
to an unfriendly force. It is called selective availabilit_v (SA). Unfortunately,
SA also denies accuracy to unauthorized users that are friendly, which is the
entire civil community. The peao~-time policy of the DoD is to provide an
unauthorized accuracy of I 00 meters, 2drms (horizontal accuracy) [24].
Either A-S or SA. or both, may be turned on. If neither is turned on, SPS
accuracy is the same as PPS. In 1996, the U.S. stated that it is its intention to
turn off SA within a decade [135]. More details on GPS system accuracy are
provided later in this chapter.
The GPS Segments GPS has the basic system configuration illustrated in Fig-
ure 5.1. The monitoring and satellite control sites are dispersed around the
L1 AND L2
NAVIGATION
SIGNALS
• MONITOR STATIONS
~fir GROUND ANTENNAS

~
~
Figure 5.8 GPS sys1em configuration.

200 SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATrON
TABLE 5.1 GPS segment functions

Segment Input Function Product
Space Satellite commands Provide atomic time scale PRN RF signals

Navigation messages Generate PRN RF signals Navigation message
Store and forward navigation Telemetry
mes~:age
Control PRN RF signals Estimate time and ephemeris Navigation message

Telemetry Predict time and ephemeris Satellite commands
Universal coordinated Manag,~ space assets
Time (UTC)
User PRN RF signals Solve navigation equations Position, velocity, and time
Navigation messages
world. GPS is comprised of three segments as illustrated in Figure 5.8. The

functions of these three segments are summarized in Table 5, I.
5.5.2 GPS Satellite Constellation and Coverage

GPS Satellite Constellation The fully operational GPS satellite constellation,
as described in the 1992 Federal Radio Navigation Plan [24], comprises 24
satellites, four each in six 55"-inclined orbit planes spaced 60° apart in lon-
gitude. The nominal GPS 24 satellite constellation is given as orbit parame-
ters for an epoch of July I, 1993, at 0000 GMT [25] as follows: semimajor
axis A = 26, 559.8 km; eccentricity e = 0; inclination i = 55°; argument of
perigee w = oo; right ascension of ascending nodes 0 = 272.847° (plane A),
332.847" (plane B), 32.847" (plane C), 92.847" (plane D), 152.847° (plane E),
212.847" (plane F); and mean anomalies M 0 that are nonuniform but nominally
90" between satellites within a plane and !Yo between planes. The actual mean
anomalies vary significantly from those nominal values in order to provide opti-
mum coverage over regions of interest.
Because of the altitude of the orbits, the satellite paths, as projected onto the
surface of the Earth, along a line to the center of the Earth, repeat every day
once a day. However, the time at any point along the path occurs three minutes
and 56 seconds earlier every day. This is known as a sidereal day, even though
the orbit period is approximately 12 hours, because of the daily rotation of the
Earth.
Coverage As stated earlier, the coverage, defined as providing a satisfactory

instantaneous navigation solution, is not I 00%. In turn, a satisfactory instanta-
neous navigation solution is one where there are at least four satellites visible
to the user above a desired elevation angle, usually taken to be 5", and line-of-
sight vectors to those satellites provide an adequate geometric solution. Simply
having four satellites visible is not sufficient. There are even times when more
than four satellites are visible and the geometry is not adequate. To measure this
adequacy, we introduce the concept of geometric dilution of precision (GDOP)

[26]. GDOP is defined from the linearized navigation/time solution derived
from a vector of N (N 2 4) pseudorange residuals:
(5 .40)
where the ith row (for satellite i) of the measurement matrix H (h;) is given as
(5.41)
in terms of Equation 5.3. (The first three elements of Equation 5.41 are the
directional cosines from the user position to the satellite position.) GDOP is
defined as
GDOP = y trace[HTH]-1 (5 .42)
where trace[·J indicates the sum of the diagonal elements of [·]. If the vector
of pseudorange residuals defined in Equation 5.40 are statistically uncorrelated
with equal !-sigma errors of aPR· then the !-sigma position/time error is
I 1 1 2 , 2
(5.43)
ax. 1 c:c GDOP ·apR=ya~+a~+a:+c-a 11 ,
Position dilution of precision (PDOP) is computed by deleting the fourth diag-

onal element in the trace of Equation 5.42 (of which the square root represents
time dilution of precision, TDOP).
To compute horizontal and vertical dilution ofprecision (HDOP and VDOP),
the ECEF coordinate residuals of Equation 5.40 must first be transformed to
local tangent plane (LTP) residuals, defined as north, east, and up residuals at
the estimated location. This results in the new measurement matrix
HLTr = HTEcEF~LTP =
cos El 1 cos Az1
COS El1 COS
-:
Azo
-
cos El 1 sin Az1
cos El2 sin Az2
sin El1
sin El2 -1]
-I
[
cos EIN cos AzN cos EIN sin AzN sin EIN -1
(5.44)
where El; and Az; are the elevation and azimuth angles from the user to satellite
i and where
~]
- sin Au sin ¢u COS ¢u
COS Au 0
(5.45)
sin Au cos tPu sin ¢u
0 0
where ¢u and Au are the estimated latitude and longitude of the user. This new
H matrix then replaces the one in Equation 5.42, and fix, fiy, and fiz are replaced
with fiN, fi£, and fih, respectively. Then, the sum of only the first two diagonal
elements in the trace of Equation 5.42 are included for computing HDOP, and
only the third diagonal element is included for computing VDOP. The linear
transformation of Equations 5.44 and 5.45 is only appropriate for the transfor-
mation of location residuals and is not appropriate for total state ECEF coor-
dinates to latitude, longitude, and altitude, which requires a nonlinear transfor-
mation (see References [9] and [23] of Chapter 2).
Adequate coverage is usually defined by the U.S. DoD when PDOP is less
than 6 for elevation angles greater than 5°. However, in some applications of
GPS, such as civil and commercial aviation, this is not adequate coverage. In
these applications, augmentation using pseudolites or geostationary satellites
is necessary. These augmentations are discussed later in this chapter. Because
of these advanced applications, the DOP concept has been replaced with the
concept of availability of accuracy, accounting for satellite failures. This avail-
ability is based upon analytical procedures using the mean-time-between-fail-
ures (MTBF) and mean-time-to-repair (MTTR) characteristics of satellites (and
appropriate augmentations), a concept originally developed by the French space
agency CNES [27, 28] and later extended [29, 30]. With these extensions, cov-
erage is more appropriately defined in terms of probabilities (or availability).
An Example of Coverage in Terms of Availability ofDOP Using all nonfailed

satellites in view (above 5°) of the nominal GPS satellite constellation [25],
the average and worst-case location availability HDOP and VDOP over the
continental United States (CONUS) is illustrated in Figure 5.9. This availability
was computed with a 5-minute time and a 28 grid granularity. Note that HDOP
is at least twice as good as VDOP, especially at the worst-case location. Since
the HDOP and VDOP values plotted in Figure 5.9 are probabilistic and do
not necessarily occur at the same location, they cannot be root-sum-squared to
obtain PDOP. The inset in Figure 5.9 is a plot of the underlying joint probability
of the unavailability of exactly N satellites in the constellation of 24 satellites
for 0 :<::: N :<::: 24.
As described later in Section 5.7.4, availability of 99.999% of at least a finite
HDOP is required for civil and commercial aviation. In addition, availability
of 99.9% of good VDOP is required for precision approach applications. The
99.999% available HDOP cannot be observed in Figure 5.9, and, in fact, a
finite HDOP is not available with that probability. The 99.9% available VDOP
is 4.29 averaged over CONUS and 5.62 at the worst-case location. None of
1 / ~-1-~--~~r~~-~~]~--~-~, ------ __ :~-r--~C--~~---
0.995
r/ l·.--· 1
-l -·- - ·- - -CONUS HOOP

0.99 ~ ~-~ -----·HOOP@ N36 W111
1:' i I --CONUS VOOP
0.985
f : . ---- VOOP@ N40 W115
0.98 1( . . ···_
. _1
__ · · · J24 GPSI s. ATEL~ITES ·-
/I: I
~
....1
0.975
-/~
I : : I
L_____
Ll···································
- ___L.__ _
-
..L__----,
co
<! 0.97 t 1E+01 , ,
I
i.
....1
<i:
> 0.965
I:
: ~
m
1 E-01
1 E-o3
r---.....-------r-
-- r ~
I I I I
<! 1
•
I: ! ~ 1 E-05 I - I ···-·
~0.. ~ 'r--..._
0.96
I :' ! 1E-07
• ' I
0.955 I~ 1 ! ~ 1E-09 1'-..1
I: ! ~ 1E-11 I I ..........
0.95 :
I;
I ;;: 1E-13 t-------1- j ~
: 1E-15 ,
0.945 I: ! o 1 2 3 4 5 s 1 a 9 10 11
i I; j NUMBER OF SIMULTANEOUS SV FAILURES
0.94 .
0.5 1.5 2 2.5 .3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6
N
"ALL-IN-VIEW" DILUTION OF PRECISION OVER THE CONTINENTAL US
0
Vol
:Figure 5.9 Availability of HOOP and VDOP over the continental United States (CONUS).
these values is acceptable, especially since real-time integrity of the signals is

not guaranteed. Thus, some type of augmentation to GPS is required for civil
and commercial aviation. Possible augmentations are described later in Sections
5.7.3, 5.7.4, and 5.8.
5.5.3 Space Vehicle Configuration

The various generations of N AVST AR GPS satellites that are in orbit are three-
axis stabilized vehicles with the navigation subsystem L-band antenna pointing
in the direction toward the Earth. The satellites have been designed to track the
sun about their yaw axis, which allows the solar array panels to have only a
single degree of freedom. This concept also simplifies the thermal control envi-
ronment for the satellite and its navigation payload, since one side is exposed
to the sun and the other two sides always face deep space.
In addition to the navigation subsystem, which from a user's perspec-
tive is the primary mission payload, the satellite consists of seven other
subsystems-electrical power; attitude and velocity control; reaction control;
thermal control; telemetry, tracking and command; orbit injection; and struc-
ture.
Navigation Payload The navigation payload consists of the following key

components and assemblies: transmitting antenna array, redundant atomic
clocks, digital processing or baseband assemblies, and RF equipment. The GPS
antenna array formed by inner quad helices encircled by a ring of eight outer
helices provides near equal power density to all terrestrial users. This arrange-
ment results in a shaped coverage beam with a 28.6c field of view. A block
diagram of the payload electronics for the Block IIR satellites is shown in Fig-
ure 5.10.
The atomic clocks used as the I 0.23-MHz frequency standards are the heart
of the GPS navigation concept. Initial Block I satellites employed three rubid-
ium (Rb) atomic standards. The subsequent Block lA versions incorporated
an additional cesium (Cs) atomic standard. Both standards provide equivalent
short-term stability of about I part in I 0 13 , but the Rb standards tend to wander
over periods of days, requiring a drift rate term to be uploaded by the control
segment. The Block II satellites employ two Cs and two Rb frequency stan-
dards. The Block IIR satellites use three frequency standards made up of a
combination of Cs and Rb standards.
Baseband GPS processing to generate the specific satellite pseudorandom
noise (PRN) codes (P and C/ A) and the 50 bit per second digital navigation
message data are controlled by redundant processors. These processors also
generate the time-of-week (TOW) count (or Z-count), which can be aligned
to the GPS system time by the control segment. The primary functions of the
processors are to store, format, and modulate the navigation message data onto
the signals transmitted via the L-band subsystem.
The L-band subsystem consists of carrier frequency synthesizers, modula-
NAV \Of ~I L1/L2
SYNTH. TRI· ~TRANSMISSION TO
PLEXER USER TERMINALS
HPA
FREQ. --------------------------M'ou-·:
STDS
~~- -------------- -· -- -----------------, I
I
I
I I
I
I
I
I
PROCESSOR lI ·--.
I
-------------------------------------l
hI
MEMORY
110 TX ~An~~~ 1+1 TY ~
I .... , &COMSEC
: I NT!:R-SA TELUTE
:coMMUNICATIONS
DATA I
I
,UPLOAD
I
I
I
I
FORMAT
CONVERTER
I
I
I
I
I
·- -------------- ------------------------ -·
I CTDU :
I
I
I
I
SMCD I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
POWER I
I
I
I SWITCHING I
I
·---
I
------------· I
EPHEMERIS
--·----·--~I
rt ..L.t..
I I
r-----
DATA
TT&C : :
I
EPS
I
:
'
I
I ADS
I I
I I I I
I
•___________ J
----------J ·-------------~
Figure 5.10 Block diagram of the Block IIR GPS satellite payload electronics (courtesy,
N ITT Aerospace/Communications Division, ITT Defense).
Q
Ul
TABLE 5.2 Recehed RF signal levels (minimum

level received) [7]
Frequency P-Code C/ A-Code

Ll --163 dBw -160 dBw
L2 -166 dBw N/A
tors. and intermediate-power and high-power amplifiers. These RF equipments

are totally redundant and switchable. The two L-band carriers at 1575.42 and
1227.6 MHz are combined in a triplexerjfilter. which then feeds energy into
the 12-element helix antenna array. (A third L3 signal is also generated. when
needed. for another non-navigation satellite function.) The transmitted power is
such that the received power level for a user. defined at the output of a 3 dBi
linearly polarized antenna, is given in Table 5.2.
In Figure 5.10 an intersatellite communications function is also shown. On
the Block IIR satellites, this function includes an intersatellite ranging capability
that will be used for a future autonomous navigation capability.
Block Characterization Summary There are to date six generations of GPS

satellites-Block I. lA. II, IIA, and IIF. To a great extent, the variations in
these vehicles are transparent to the navigation users. The differences (espe-
cially in satellite weight. power, and complexity) simply reflect the addition
and evolution of military requirements for enhanced survivability and auxiliary
payload growth. As an example. the Block I satellites consisted of approxi-
mately 33.000 individual parts wi.lh limited radiation hardening requirements.
The Block II production satellites, on the other hand, contain almost 65,000
parts, have a much larger form factor. and are planned to achieve a 7.5-year
design life. With the Block IIR replenishment launches, the navigation user
should be assured of continued and unchanging navigation coverage and perfor-
mance well into the next century. In 1996. a contract was awarded for Block IIF
(follow-on) satellites with initial deliveries scheduled for the year 200 I [ 125].
Two of the important new features of the Block IIF satellites are a design life
of 11.5 years and the capability for inclusion of a new. second. civil-transmit-
ted frequency (L5). That frequency would permit civil users to perform auto-
matic ionospheric delay error correction that is normally only done by autho-
rized (military) users (Sections 5.4.1 and 5.5.7). The frequencies under con-
sideration for L5 are in the ranges of 1207 to 1217 MHz and 1309 MHz to
1319 MHz. The frequency should be at least 200 MHz away from L I for
optimum ionospheric corrections and it must not be subject to interference by
other systems operating in the same band, such as JTIDS. DME. and L-band
radars [ 134].
5.5.4 The GPS Control Segment [31]

The principal product of the GPS control segment (CS) is the GPS navigation
message data representing the predicted state of each GPS satellite, which is
put into a standardized format and periodically uploaded to each satellite mem-
ory for continuous retransmission to the user. The CS function of controlling
and maintaining the status, health, and configuration of the space segment (SS)
assets is of equal importance to total GPS integrity. Scheduling the contacts
required for the full constellation while not compromising the basic naviga-
tion service is a CS challenge second only to ensuring the navigation service
integrity. The third CS function of continuously monitoring the navigation ser-
vice availability and accuracy as available on L-band is essential for quality
control. The fourth CS function is to monitor and manage ground-based assets
so as to provide uninterrupted GPS support.
CS Performance Requirements The following are the basic CS performance

requirements:
I. Navigation range service. A six-meter RMS user range error (URE)

is required at the GPS satellite to support the 15-meter spherical error
probable (SEP) navigation service to full capability users. This require-
ment is derived from a constellation geometry criterion that the PDOP
be no greater than six. The responsibility of the URE budget compo-
nent is shared by the CS and SS, since both satellite process predictabil-
ity and CS process state estimate fidelity are significant performance
factors.
2. Time transfer service. A 90-nsec (1-sigma) calibration of the GPS time
scale relative to universal coordinated time (UTC) (USNO) is required to
meet a 97 -nsec (1-sigma) apparent uncertainty at the satellite. GPS time
(modulo I sec) is aligned to UTC within I p.sec for user convenience.
3. Constellation accommodation. The CS must accommodate up to 24 oper-
ational satellites providing full navigation service. In addition, up to
six spare satellites must be maintained within the S-band command and
telemetry processing resource capacities.
4. Orbital operations. The CS must support pre-launch compatibility vali-
dation tests prior to launch of each satellite. Full CS responsibility com-
mences after the satellite is three-axis stabilized on-orbit with an active
L-band capability.
5. Space vehicle communications. The CS must provide full command,
telemetry, and GPS navigation message upload support to satellites of any
Block design. This includes memory-map management and provisions for
telemetry data analysis and archiving. Assets to support three navigation
message uploads per day for each satellite are required to achieve the
6-meter URE performance requirement with specification satellite atomic

clocks (Allan standard deviation not exceeding two parts in 10- 13 beyond
one day).
CS Configuration The CS consists of a centralized master control station

(MCS) and remote RF facilities coupled by dedicated communication services.
Establishing locations for these RF facilities was a compromise between utility
and the availability of adequate facilities to establish global satellite visibility
so as to strengthen tracking geometry, to provide maximum monitoring oppor-
tunity, and to preserve operational flexibility.
Monitor stations (MSs) are the L-band facilities that receive the same signal
as the user. These passive stations measure pseudoranges and collect the navi-
gation messages for two purposes. First, the pseudorange histories are required
to estimate the satellite trajectories and clock calibrations. Second, both are
required to faithfully monitor the navigation service as provided to the user
community. Colorado Springs, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, Kwajalein, and
Hawaii comprise the CS MS sites. The resulting track coverage is provided by
these sites for satellites above 5c elevation angle. The ground projection lati-
tude of the satellites will never exceed the 55° orbit inclination angle, and thus
better than 90% average constellation coverage is provided. Contact with each
of the six ground tracks is different, varying from 90% to 100%. Segments
of uncovered ground tracks occur west of South America. Regions of coverage
overlap are important, since they result in the common MS viewing of satellites
which enable the direct MS- to MS-time transfers with the estimation process
that stabilize the relative MS-time scales.
The MCS is the operations center for GPS. It is composed of the personnel
and the facilities to provide overall system management. Here the processing to
support the navigation mission and to maintain the satellite constellation are per-
formed. Both equipment configuration and procedures were designed to assure
continuous integrity of the total :;ystem. The Consolidated Space Operations
Center (CSOC) is the permanent MCS site.
Ground antennas (GAs) are the S-band facilities that provide duplex com-
munication with the multiple satellites by receiving telemetry and transmitting
both commands and upload data.
Contact opportunities are provided by the GA sites of Ascension Island, Diego
Garcia, and Kwajalein. Regions of coverage overlap provide scheduling flexibil-
ity to best meet the MCS contact requirements. A fourth GA without redundancy
is located at the Eastern Launch Site to support segment compatibility verification
but is of limited operational utility because of range transmission restrictions.
Figure 5.11 illustrates the total CS configuration. External operational inter-
faces to the Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF), United States Naval
Observatory (USNO), and the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) are imple-
mented to permit initial satellite handover, to provide UTC time coordina-
tion, and to provide Earth orientation data, respectively. Less formal interfaces
also exist which import Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) sun/moon data and
FALCON AFS or
ONIZUKA AFB
• NAVIGATION
PROCESSING
HANDOVER
DATA
EJ
AFSCF
GPS UTC VANDENBURG AFB

• SATELLITE
TIME
UPLOAD,
COMMAND &
COORDINATE~
CONTROL L:_j
MONITOR STATIONS
• PASSIVE TRACKING
• OCS CONTROL
AND SYSTEM
MANAGEMENT (
SELECTED
LOG DATA
)>
8
WASHINGTON, DC
EARTH DATA,
DMA
• PRECISE MEASUREMENTS_.__ _ _ _ ___, WASHINGTON, DC
MASTER CONTROL STATION

•MANNED
• CENTRALIZED
• REDUNDANT
UPLOAD (TRANSMIT)
GROUND ANTENNAS
•ACTIVE TRACK
•REDUNDANTELECTRON~S
Figure 5.11 GPS control segment configuration.
exchange pertinent information with other GPS segments. The following is a

brief description of the various components of the CS.
Monitor Stations Navigation visibility is provided to the CS by the globally

distributed MSs that are unmanned. The MSs are comprised of antenna elec-
tronics, a multichannel dual frequency receiver, a cesium frequency standard,
a test and calibration signal generator, meteorological sensors, a communica-
tions subsystem, a central processor, and backup power supplies. The antenna
electronics consists of a single beam pattern antenna that receives both the L I
and L2 frequencies, a conical ground plane with annular chokes for multipath
signal rejection, and a low-noise amplifier.
The MS receiver has 12 dual frequency channels (24 demodulators) that
acquire and track up to 12 GPS satellites simultaneously. These channels each
provide accurate pseudorange and accumulated delta-range (phase) measure-
ments on both the Ll and L2 frequencies every 1.5 seconds. They also demod-
ulate the GPS navigation message and measure carrier-to-noise density as sig-
nal quality measurements. All of these quantities are set into a message for-
mat for transfer to the central processor for subsequent transfer to the MCS.
The receiver uses as its frequency reference the output of one of two cesium
frequency standards, which provide the basis for the highly stable GPS time.
The receiver's channels are periodically calibrated using a dual frequency GPS
signal generator that is slaved to the same frequency reference. This signal gen-
erator is also used to provide signals for fault isolation.
One of the two frequency standards is on hot standby to provide a quick
change-over in case the operational standard exhibits faulty operation. A phase
comparator compares the phases of the two standards to help detect faulty oper-
ation, as well as to provide an initial frequency estimate of the backup standard
for a smooth transition. Both frequency standards are kept alive with a backup
power supply in case of prime power failure.
Meteorological sensors (barometric pressure, temperature, and relative
humidity) are polled by the central processor to permit accurate correction for
tropospheric delay at the MCS. These data, along with the receiver measure-
ments and status information, are forwarded to the MCS over a dedicated secure
communication channel in response to tracking orders received over the same
duplex channels. This channel utilizes a commercially developed SDLC proto-
col to provide error detection and data block re-transmission.
Master Control Station The MCS consists of the processing complex and
controller facility to completely manage and control the operational GPS space
assets and to provide navigation messages. The navigation mission requires an
upload availability of 98%, so redundancy is provided for all mission-critical
equipment. Dual processors with communication controllers and the customary
compliment of peripherals are configured to permit processing of the on-line
navigation processing and satellite control functions with either unit. Personnel
at the MCS control all navigation processing, constellation, and CS assets and
are responsible for the system integrity. This requires established procedures
and efficient access to critical mission data.
The navigation process is illustrated in Figure 5.12. It is based upon a lin-
ear expansion about a reference trajectory, which is obtained by integrating the
equations of motion forward in time from an initial position and velocity state.
The satellite force model used to accomplish this integration includes mathe-
matical expressions for the following effects: ( l) WGS-84 geopotential expan-
sion, (2) sun gravitational attraction, (3) moon gravitational attraction, (4) Earth
gravitational tides, (5) solar flux reaction (including eclipse), and (6) satellite
y-axis acceleration.
Partial derivatives with respect to the epoch states of inertial position and
velocity are generated to reduce the estimation and prediction process to linear
mathematical relationships. Given values for estimated state residuals, evalu-
ation of the first-order expansion provides the position trajectory used to pro-
cess measurements or to generate the navigation message. The inertial-to-ECEF
coordinate transformation matrix is generated to be consistent with externally
supplied Earth orientation data.
The measurement update process consists of data editing, smoothing, mea-
surement model transformation, and estimation steps. The raw MS data are
examined and correlated with receiver fault indicators to ensure track conti-
MS SURVEY DATA INERTIAL PARTIAL DERIVATIVES INITIAL
POSITION
& VELOCITY
~
TRAJECTORY
MEASUREMENT STATE
RESIDUALS RESIDUALS
REFERENCE
PHASE
TRAJECTORY
AIDED
GENERATION
SMOOTHING
DERIVATIVES
A PRIORI POLAR
TIME MOTION
INERTIAL
REFERENCE
DATA
~
A PRIORI INERTIAL POSITION TRAJECTORY
ROTATION MATRIX ROTATION

MATRIX
GENERATION
EARTH FIXED POSITION
',,
NAVIGATION
UPLOAD GROUND
MESSAGE
PARAMETER
MESSAGE I ... ANTENNA
GENERATION DATA
FITTING
N Figure 5.12 Control segment navigation data processing.

.....
.....
nuity. Both first- and second-difference histories are compared with threshold
values to detect any data inconsistencies. Smoothing is applied to refine the MS
measurements, combining the 1.:5-sec measurements into one low-noise data
point every 15 min. Corrections for the ionosphere and troposphere induced
delays and interchannel receiver delays are made. Then the measurement model
accounts for the Earth's rotation during the signal propagation time, the effects
due to crustal tides, relativistic time distortions and the a priori knowledge
of estimated states to form measurement residuals. Measurement partials with
respect to the estimated states are also evaluated to support the estimation pro-
cess.
A Kalman filter recursive estimator (Chapter 3) is implemented to estimate
the following states: (1) satellite position at epoch time, (2) satellite velocity
at epoch time, (3) satellite clock phase at epoch time, (4) satellite clock fre-
quency at epoch time, (5) satellite clock aging (rubidium frequency standards
only), (6) solar flux, (7) satellite y-axis acceleration bias, (8) MS clock phase
at epoch time, (9) MS clock frequency at epoch time, and (I 0) MS wet tropo-
sphere height. The estimation process is partitioned to conserve computational
resources. A common time scale ensemble of MS clock states is determined and
this common time scale holds the partitions together. The partitioned estima-
tion performance penalty is insignificant when an adequate number of satellites
exist in each partition to maintain a solid MS-time transfer network.
Every eight hours the state of each satellite is used to generate a predic-
tion of the time-scale correction and trajectory in ECEF coordinates. The same
linear expansion and coordinate transformations are used. Navigation message
parameters are obtained as a weighted least-squares fit to these data in accor-
dance with ICD-GPS-2008-PR and the GPS SPS signal specification [7, 8],
and the generated user information is put into a standard format and forwarded
to the GAs for upload. This process is time-phased across satellites to evenly
distribute the MCS work load.
Navigation service integrity is monitored using MS data for four-satellite
position solutions and by comparing the pseudorange and received message
data with MCS expectations. Measurement residuals are evaluated by the MCS
whenever tracking data exist, and performance statistics are maintained as infor-
mation available to system operator personnel and the user community. Each bit
of the received navigation messag,e is compared with the corresponding upload
data-base value to verify proper dissemination.
Ground Antennas Communications with the satellite constellation is pro-

vided to the CS by the globally distributed, unmanned GA facilities. These
installations consist of a 10-meter S-band antenna and extensive dual-string
electronics consisting of an RF exiter, high-power transmitter, receiver, servo
equipment, communication channels, and a processor. Command, telemetry, and
navigation upload traffic is handled by these GA installations. Tracking orders,
equipment configuration commands, and data are received over secure dedi-
cated duplex communication channels, using SDLC for the error detect and re-
transmission features. Data from the MCS are buffered on disk prior to satellite
contact as a telemetry data from the satellite prior to transmission to the MCS.
5.5.5 GPS Signal Structure

The GPS satellites broadcast two signals: Link I, Ll, at a center frequency of
1575.42 MHz and Link 2, L2, at a center frequency of 1227.6 MHz [6, 17].
Each of these frequencies is an integer multiple of the 10.23 MHz clock, 154 for
Ll and 120 for L2. The purpose of broadcasting signals at two frequencies is to
allow the appropriately equipped user to correct for the ionospheric refraction
described in Section 5.4.1.
The L 1 signal consists of two carrier components: One carries a precise (P)
pseudorandom noise (PRN) code, while the other, transmitted in quadrature,
carries a coarse/acquisition (C/ A) PRN code. The L2 signal consists of only
one carrier that carries only the P code. Both codes are modulated with a 50-
bit-per-second (bps) data message. The format and contents of that message are
Signal Modulation The PRN codes and data are modulated onto the carriers
using binary phase shift keying (BPSK). This modulation shifts the phase of
the carrier 180° each time there is a change in state of the digitally defined
code and data. First of all, the PRN code is a sequence of 1's and O's, as are
the message data. The message data sequence is modulo-2 added to the code
sequence, which is nothing more than an exclusive or of a code bit and a data
bit, although the data bits transition at a much slower rate than do the codes.
The resulting sequence of I 's and O's are converted to 180" and oc phase shifts
of the carrier, respectively. Since the 180° phase shifts simply change the sign
of the carrier, an equivalent representation is simply an amplitude modulation
of ±1 's. The result is a mathematical representation of the signals as follows:
su (t) = AP(t)D(t) cos (27rf 1t + ¢o 1) + VlAC(t)D(t) sin (27r_{ 1t + ¢oJ) (5.46)

A
sL2(t) = v2 P(t)D(t) cos (21fht + cfJo2) (5.47)
where A is the Ll P signal amplitude, P(t) and C(t) are the ±I P and C/ A code
PRN sequences, D(t) is the ±I message data bit sequence,.f 1 andh are the Ll
and L2 carrier frequencies, and ¢ 01 and ¢ 02 are the ambiguous Ll and L2 carrier
phases. Note that the two signals are not phase coherent, even though they are
derived from the same frequency reference. There are also slight group (code)
delay differences between the P code and Cj A code modulations and between
the P code modulations at the two frequencies l7l
PRN Code Properties The PRN codes are generated as products (modulo-
2 sums, if expressed as I 's and O's) of two other codes clocked at the same
chipping rate, where
C;(t) = G 1(t)G2(t + 11; Tc) (5.48)

P;(t) = X 1(t)X2[t + (i - 1)Tp] (5.49)
for satellite i, where T, is the C/A code chip width, or the inverse of the C/ A
code chipping rate of 1.023 MHz, Tp is the P code chip width, or the inverse of
the P code chipping rate of 10.23 \1Hz, and 11; is an integer assigned to satellite
i for the C/ A code. In case of the P code, 11; takes on a value between 1 and
37 for 32 satellites and 5 reserved for ground transmitters (GTs) [7, 8]. In the
case of the C/ A code, the 11; are selected values between 1 and I 023 for codes
exhibiting desirable properties [32].
These PRN codes provide the desirable code-division, multiple-access
(CDMA) property that, to an extent, the codes received from the various satel-
lites do not correlate with each other, nor do they correlate with a reference
code in the user's receiver unless the state of the received code matches that of
the reference code. Thus, all satellite signals can be received at the same fre-
quency (except for Doppler differences) and selectively acquired and tracked,
depending upon the selection of the code in the reference code generator. These
PRN codes also exhibit the property that, to an extent, they spread interfer-
ence signals over the signal's bandwidth, providing a degree of interference
rejection. These spread spectrum properties of the GPS PRN codes will be dis-
cussed later in this chapter. Here we will discuss the correlation properties of the
codes.
I. CjA codes. The C/ A codes are Gold codes [ 18], where the G 1 and G2
codes are generated in maximal-length, 10-stage linear feedback shift registers,
each of which generate repeating maximal-length codes of length 1023 chips.
Figure 5.13 represents an implementation of a C/ A coder [32]. In this imple-
mentation the initial state of the G2 register represents the delayed state of that
maximal-length code (the 11; in Equation 5.48) from its initial state of all 1's.
The resulting C/ A (Gold) code is not a maximal-length code. A maximal-
length code x(t) has the autocorrelation property that [33]
2M -I
L x(t1)x(ti + kTc) = -1, k cf. 0

J=I
(5.50)
where k is an integer number and M is the number of stages in the shift register.
This is partly true for the C/ A codes, but they do not have perfect correlation
properties. On the average, a C/ A code has the autocorrelation property that,
for k -J 0 [ 17],
r------------------------------------------
CODE SET TO
CLOCK ALL 1'S
INITIALIZE
G2 STATE
_..G2(t+niTc)
..._.... .
1
~~~,-L-~~,_~~~.-~~ I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
G2CODER :
------------------------------------------·
Figure 5.13 C/ A coder implemented with initial 02 state.
1023
L C(j)C(j + k Tc)
j= I
= -1 with probability 0.75

10 2 2
= 2< + l/ - 1 = 63 with probability 0.125
= -20°+ 2)/ 2 - 1 = -65 with probability 0.125 (5.51)
although the probabilities vary somewhat, depending upon which code is eval-
uated [32]. Also, whereas the maximal-length codes are always balanced, 256
of the I 023 Cj A codes are not. That is [32],
(5 .52)
216 SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATrON
All of the 32 codes selected for the GPS satellites and the four codes selected
for the ground transmitters are balanced.
The autocorrelation property de:;cribed above carries over to the cross-corre-
lation between the different Cj A codes. This means that the Cj A codes are not
quite orthogonal, and care must be taken during acquisition of the satellite sig-
nals to prevent false acquisitions and false alarms. At zero Doppler difference
between satellite signals, Equation 5.51 above represents a separation of 23.9
dB between signals of equal power. There is also a degree of cross-correlation
between signals at other Doppler differences. This property will be described
later when we discuss the spectral characteristics of the PRN codes.
2. P codes. Whereas the C/ A codes are linear codes, the P codes are non-
linear. That is, the Cj A codes are made up of two maximal-length codes that
are clocked synchronously and are allowed to proceed through all of their I 023
states. This is not true for the P codes. The underlying linear codes of the P
code are short-cycled before creating the product of the codes. This has the
effect of creating an extremely long code. In fact the 37 individual P codes are
simply a one-week piece of a long code that is approximately 38 weeks long.
A typical P code implementation is presented in Figure 5.14 [7]. Note that
there are four shift registers, two each for the X I and X2 code generators. Each
of these 12-stage shift registers that have 2 12 - I = 4095 possible states are
short-cycled, either at 4092 or 4093 states, and reset. Both of the XI shift reg-
isters are reset on X I epochs (every 1.5 seconds), while the X2 shift registers
are reset every 1.5 seconds plus 37 chip clock cycles. All shift registers are reset
at the end of the week. Although the X I and X2 coders repeat every 1.5 and
1.5+ sec, the fact that they are running asynchronously at I 0.23 MHz, their
modulo-2 addition generates an extremely long code. Delaying the X2 code
with respect to the X I code an additional i- 1 chips for the ith satellite pro-
vides codes for each satellite. The count of the X I epochs provides a Z-count
that is used as basic timing for the system to which the data message and the
Cj A coder are synchronized. If th1~ coder were not set at the end of week, the
code would eventually run into the code of the other satellites and return to
the beginning almost 38 weeks later. Unlike the Cj A codes, the P codes have
excellent cross-correlation properties.
3. Spectral characteristics qf" the PRN codes. In the frequency domain the
spectral density of the signal is the spectral density of the PRN codes centered
at ±f;, i = I, 2. At baseband, the spectral density of the P code is
-00 <.{ < 00 (5.53)
where Tc is the P code chip width, or the inverse of the P code chipping rate
of 10.23 MHz, and Pp; is the appropriate P code carrier power. Actually, this
spectral density is bandlimited in the GPS satellites in order to protect radio
astronomers, so its range is not infinite. This could prevent a user's receiver
:--lAVSTAR GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM 217
COUNT TO
RESET
403,199
RESET (ONE WEEK)
-- ------------------------------'
'' + 3750
X1A EPOCHS
FOR X1
2.5 kHz EPOCH
L----..JX11.5 SEC EPOCHS
15,345,000 CHIPS
10.23 X1 CODE GENERATOR

MHZ ---------------------------------•
r--··-------·--·-----------------i
'
COUNT 3750 :'
EPOCHS '
PLUS 37
CHIPS
DELAY i
15,345,037 CHIPS CHIPS FOR
SATELLITE
'
, X2 CODE GENERATOR :'
~---------------------------------·
Figure 5.14 Typical P coder implementation.
from achieving full correlation. However, all P code receivers also are band
limited. The resulting effect is known as correlation loss due to filtering.
The C/ A code for satellite i is a short one millisecond repeating code whose
spectral density is a line spectrum with components cii• j = -oo to +oo, where j
represents spectral lines I kHz apart and
jf Cji = P,; (5.54)

j.=~oo
where P,; is the C/ A code carrier power. The envelope of this line spectrum
takes on the form
(5.55)
However, the spectral lines deviate from this envelope significantly. Figure 5.15
illustrates this for the first two lobes of the spectrum. As stated earlier, the C/ A
codes do have a level of cross-correlation at Doppler differences. It has been
shown that this cross-correlation level is approximately equal to the magnitude
of the spectral line component of another Cj A code in the family of l 023 [ 18].
Since the line spectrum shown in Figure 5.15 is typical of all the codes as
far as variation about the envelope is concerned, that spectrum shows typical
levels for this type of cross-correlation-on the order of 2I dB below the carrier
power. Thus, the cross-correlation at Doppler differences can be higher than at
zero Doppler offset. However, its occurrence is quite rare, and a receiver would
never track it because it would disappear as the relative codes move past each
other. These occurrences can cause false alarms during initial signal acquisition.
Navigation Data Synchronization The 50-bps navigation data stream is

modulo-2 added to the codes prior to their modulation onto the carrier [7, 8].
The data bits are synchronized to the P code and C/A code epochs. The data
frames, described in the next section, are synchronized to the XI epochs and
the data bits are synchronized to the C/ A code 1 ms epochs. Each data bit is 20
milliseconds in length, encompassing 20 C/ A code epochs. The leading edge
of every 75th bit is synchronous with an XI epoch.
5.5.6 The GPS Navigation Message

The GPS navigation message is the information supplied to the GPS users from
a GPS satellite. These data are provided via the 50-bps data bit stream modu-
lated on the PRN codes described in Section 5.5.5, providing the user with the
information needed to navigate [34]. Among other data, the user is provided
with information from which can be computed the position and velocity of the
satellite and the time and frequency offset of its clock, as well as information to
resolve ambiguities in the received C/ A code. The other information includes
almanacs for determining the position, velocity, and clock offsets of the other
satellites, an ionosphere model and a description of the time offset between
GPS system time and universal coordinated time (UTC).
Frames, Subframes, and TLM and HOW Words The GPS navigation mes-
sage consists of a frame of five 300-bit subframes spanning 30 seconds of time
as illustrated in Figure 5.16 [7, 8]. Each six-second subframe consists of ten
30-bit words, the first two of which repeat in each subframe. These words, also
illustrated in Figure 5 .16, are the Telemetry Word (TLM Word) and the Hand-
Over Word (HOW Word). These two words are generated by the satellite, while
the other eight words are generated by the CS and uploaded to the satellite as
0
-10
N
::I: -20 - - - PRN 2 LINE SPECTRUM
u
co
"C
' -30
>-
!:::
C/l
z -40
w
0
...1
ct -50
et:
t-
(.)
w -60
Cl..
C/l
w
0 -70
0
(.)
~ -80
(.)
-90
-100
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
FREQUENCY OFFSET- kHz
Figure 5.15 PRN 2 CI A code spectra l dens ity.
SUBFRAME
NUMBER
I
I
10 30-BIT WORDS; 6 SECONDS; ONE SUBFRAME ~I
I I I
rl
L2 FLAGS, URA, WEEK NUMBER AND
TLM HOW CLOCK CORRECTION PARAMETERS
w
2 I I ITLM HOW
EPHEMERIS PARAMETERS
::;:
<(
0:::
u..
w
z
0
(/)
0
3 I TLM 'HOW I EPHEMERIS PARAMETERS

l z
0
u
w
(/)
0
M
(/)
1-
SPECIAL MESSAGE, IONOSPHERIC MODEL, UTC iii
4 PARAMETERS, SATELLITE ALMANACS & HEALTH C)
C)
25 PAGES, REPEATING EVERY 12.5 MINUTES

"'
5 I TLM 'HOW I SATELLIHo ALMANACS & HEALTH, WEEK NUMBER
25 PAGES, REPEATING EVERY 12.5 MINUTES

l
TELEMETRY MESSAGE l·l·ls BITS PARITY I
PREAMBLE • RESERVED BITS
F-~-"~ ~ - E_ .l I_P_:_1R_T1s_~_ _.l_o_. l_ .o

How woRDI'-_ _ _ _T_R_u_N_c_A_TE_D_z_-c_o__u_N_T_ _ _ ___.I___.I___...I ..........I...... I
l
TIME OF START OF NEXT SUBFRAME LALERT l...LBITS TO CAUSE
FLAG FINAL PARITY
A-S FLAG BITS TO ZEROS
Figure 5.16 GPS navigation message frame and TLM and HOW words.
described in Section 5.5.4. The TLM Word consists of an 8-bit preamble and a
satellite telemetry message. The preamble (1 000 I 011) allows the user's receiver
to synchronize with the subframes to establish time of reception and subsequent
resolution of the Cj A code ambigu:tty. This ambiguity exists because the signal
transit time from the satellite is on the order of 80 msec, while the length of the
repeating Cj A code is only 1 msec. For the most part, the telemetry message
is of no use to the user; it primarily provides real-time telemetry information
from the satellite to the CS.
The HOW Word contains a 17-bit truncated Z-count indicating the time of
the start of the next subframe in units of six seconds, or four X 1 epochs. It
also contains two flags, an A-S onjoff flag and an alert flag, and a subframe
identification (ID) (1 to 5 for subframes 1-5). The Z-count is used by the user's
receiver to establish GPS time. For P code users the Z-count also provides the
time information required to hand over to P code, and thus the reason for the
name of the word.
The A-S on/off flag alerts non-PPS users as to whether or not they are able
to acquire the P code, and it alerts PPS users as to whether or not they should
encrypt their reference P code [7]. The alert flag indicates to unauthorized users
that the satellite user range accuracy (URA) may be worse than indicated in
subframe I and that they should use the satellite at their own risk [7].
Parity Both the TLM and HOW words contain satellite-generated parity, six
bits per word. The other eight words of each subframe contain MCS-generated
parity. The HOW Word contains two noninformation bearing bits so that the
last two parity bits can be forced to O's, since the parity algorithm overlaps
word boundaries.
The parity algorithm is a (32, 26) Hamming error detection algorithm. It
will detect 1-, 2-, or 3-bit errors. As stated above, the parity overlaps the 30-
bit words, since it is based upon 32 bits, always including the last two bits
of the previous word. Thus, since the parity in the TLM and HOW words are
generated in the satellite, and the parity on the other words are generated in the
MCS, two bits in the HOW Word and Word I 0 of the MCS generated words
are wasted. This is so that both the satellite and the MCS know the state of the
last two bits of the previous word (set to 0) when generating the TLM Word
(satellite) and Word 3 (MCS). The Hamming error detection algorithm used is
specified in [7, 8].
Words 3 through I 0 of each subframe contain the message data. Subframes 1,
2, and 3 repeat every 30 seconds consisting of the same data for nominally one
hour but can change more often or less frequently. Subframes 4 and 5 subcom-
mutate 25 times each, so that a complete data message requires the transmission
of 25 full 1500-bit frames, or 12.5 minutes. Thus every 30 seconds one page of
subframes 4 and 5 are transmitted. These pages consist of less timely data that
change whenever the satellite is uploaded, while sub frames I, 2, and 3 consist
of more timely data that change periodically. This periodicity is either once per
hour, on the hour, once per 4, 6, 12, or 24 (or more) hours on 4-, 6-, 12-, or
24-hour (or more) boundaries. Any period greater than an hour represents a
case when a satellite could not be uploaded within a day of a previous upload,
which would be rare. In addition, the data could change at any time with a
quick upload. Again, this is a rare condition required to change substandard
or erroneous data. One-hour data sets are valid for three additional hours. All
other data sets are valid for two hours past their period of transmission.
Subframes 1 and 2 Data Content The primary content of subframe I con-

sist of clock parameters describing satellite time during the valid time interval.
222 SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATJON
TABLE 5.3 Subframe 1 par:ameters

Parameter Description
Code on L2 flag C/ A or P or reserved; nominally P

Week number GPS week since I, January 1980, mod I 024
L2 P data flag Navigation data on or off; nominally on
URA parameter Exponent parameter for URA evaluation
Satellite health Discretes describing the satellites health
TGo Additional clock correction for Ll-only users
IODC Issue of data-clock
Reference time for clock corrections
Satellite clock offset relative to GPS time
Satellite clock fractional frequency offset
Satellite clock drift rate
Other contents include the GPS week number, URA, health of satellite, various
flags, and data reserved for authorized users. Content details are given in Table
5.3.
I. Satellite clock corrections. The satellite clock parameters describe a poly-

nomial that allows the user to determine the effective satellite PRN code phase
offset and carrier frequency offset. !::.t, is referenced to the phase center of the
satellite antennas and with respect to GPS system time t. The equation for cor-
recting the time t, received from the satellite in seconds is
t = t, - !::.t,,. (5.56)
where
(5.57)
where afO· an, and af2 are the polynomial coefficients transmitted in subframe
1, toe is the clock data reference time in seconds, and !::.t r is the relativistic term
in seconds computed as
2X,·V, r:.
!::.tr = - - ·-2 - · =FeY A Sll1 Ek (5.58)
c
where the orbit parameters e, A, and E are derived from the data contained in
subframes 2 and 3, and
-2.j/i
F = = -4.442807633 x 10-IO sec/~ (5.59)
c2
where
p. = 3.986005 x 10 14 meters 3 jsec 2 (5.60)
is the value of the Earth's universal gravitational parameter, and
c = 2.99792458 x 10 8 meters/sec (5.61)
is the speed of light. These relativistic effects on the GPS satellite clocks are
described in [35]. It suffices to use the uncorrected value of ts in the evaluation
of the above equations, since, prior to correction, it is within 1 msec of the
corrected value.
Since the clock correction parameters estimated by the MCS are based upon
L I and L2 measurements combined for correction of the delay through the iono-
sphere, and since there is a potential L I /L2 differential bias in the satellite, the
L !-only user must revise his computations of the satellite's clock offset with
[7, 8, 36]
(5.62)
By specification [7, 8], this correction can be as large as 23.19 nsec.

The issue of data clock (IODC) indicates changes in the subframe 1 data,
which occur nominally once per hour. It alerts the user if new data are being
transmitted but does not indicate the age of the data. It should also be used
by the user's receiver to match the issue of the ephemeris data provided in
subframes 2 and 3.
2. User range accuracy. URA is the MCS 's prediction of the pseudorange
accuracy provided to the user for the satellite, indicating no better than X
meters, where
X= 2(1 +N/2) N'5.6

= 2(N-2) N>6 (5.63)
where 0 '5. N '5. 14 is the parameter provided in subframe 1. N = 15 indicates the

absence of an accuracy prediction. This accuracy does not include the effects
of ionospheric delay modeling performed by a single frequency user.
3. Satellite position computations. Subframes 2 and 3 contain the ephemeris
parameters required to compute the position X, and velocity Vs of the satel-
lite in ECEF coordinates. Table 5.4 lists these parameters. These parameters are
224 SATELLITE RADIO NAVIGATlON
TABLE 5.4 Parameters of subfrarnes 2 and 3

Parameter Description
Mo Mean anomaly at reference time

tJ.n Mean motion difference;; from Computed Value
e Eccentricity
vA Square root of the seminajor axis
no Longitude of ascending 1odc of orbit plane at weekly epoch
io Inclination angle at reference time
w Argument of perigee
(l Rate of right ascension
di/dt Rate of inclination angle
Cue Amplitude of the cosine harmonic correction term to the argument of latitude
Cus Amplitude of the sine harmonic correction term to the argument of latitude
Crc Amplitude of the cosine harmonic correction term to the orbit radius
Crs Amplitude of the sine h<trmonic correction term to the orbit radius
C;c Amplitude of the cosine harmonic correction term to the angle of inclination
C;s Amplitude of the sine hamonic correction term to the angle of inclination
toe Reference time for ephemeris computations
lODE Issue of data-ephemeri:;
that of a curve fit over the time of validity (fit interval) and not necessarily
an entire orbit. A fit interval flag in subframe 2 indicates whether the interval
is four hours or greater than four hours. lODE has similar meaning for the
ephemeris parameters as IODC has for the subframe I parameters.
The user receiver applies the parameters to a variation on the equations given
in Section 5.3. However, not all the parameters are indicated in that section.
These additional parameters reflect orbit drift and other orbit perturbations such
as the sun and moon gravitational forces and solar radiation pressure. Typical
equations for the computation of the satellite's position in ECEF coordinates
are given in Table 5.5 [7, 8].
The accuracy of curve fit used in generating these parameters and subsequent
truncation is quite good. For the four-hour fit, the user range error (URE) based
on a projection of the curve fit error onto the user range is less than 0.4 meters,
1-sigma. For a six-hour fit, the URE degrades to 1.6 meters, 1-sigma. The equa-
tions provide the satellite's antenna phase center position in the WGS-84 ECEF
reference frame defined in [7, 8].
Subframe 4 and 5 Data Content. All of the data contained in subframes 4

and 5 are of the almanac variety; that is, the data describe long-term parameters
associated with all GPS satellites and the GPS system itself. These subframes
consist of 50 pages, not all of which are in use. Table 5.6 presents a summary
of the data contained by page number.
1. Satellite almanacs. The ephemeris and clock almanac data are a subset
TABLE 5.5 Typical satellite position computations

Equation Computation
t k = t - toe Time from ephemeris reference spoch toe

n =no+ !:;.n Corrected mean motion
Mk=Mo+ntk Mean anomaly at time tk
Ek=Mk+esinEk Eccentric anomaly at time tk
Vk =tan -l(~sinEk) True anomaly at time tk

cos Ek-e
Pk=Vk+W Argument latitude at time tk

OUk = Cus sin 2 k +Cue cos 2 k Second harmonic perturbation to argument of
latitude at time tk
Ork = Crs sin 2 k + Crc cos 2 k Second harmonic perturbation to orbit radius
at time tk
oik = Cis sin 2 k + Cic cos 2 k Second harmonic perturbation to inclination
angle at time tk
Uk = Pk + OUk Corrected argument of latitude at time tk
rk =A (I - e cos Ek) + Ork Corrected orbit radius at time tk
ik ~ io + oik + di/dt · tk Corrected inclination angle at time tk
xk' = rk cos Ilk Position in orbital plane at time tk
_',"k' = /"/(Sill
. Uk
!1k = !1o + (0- Or:)tk- OEtoc Corrected longitude of ascending node at time
tk accounting for earth's rotation rate !1 e
Xk = x~ cos !1k- y~ sin !1k cos ik ECEF coordinates at time tk
Yk = x~ sin !1 k + y~ cos !1 k cos ik
Z.k = Yk' ..
Sin lk
of that provided in subframes I and 2, describing the complete orbits of

all satellites in the constellation. The ephemeris parameters effectively
consists of only the six basic Keplerian parameters plus the rate of right
ascension. The clock parameters consist of only the clock offset and frac-
tional frequency offset. All of the parameters are referenced to a common
time 3.5 days in advance of the start of transmission. These parameters
can be used for an extended period of time in the future provided that
the number of weeks (since the almanac reference week number trans-
mitted on page 25 of subframe 25) are accounted for in projection of the
parameters to that time.
2. Ionospheric delay model. The ionospheric delay model is intended for the
L !-only users. Eight model parameters are provided on page 18 of sub-
frame 4 that serve as polynomial coefficients describing the maximum
zenith amplitude and the time dependency of the model as a function of
geomagnetic latitude of the Earth's projection of the ionospheric inter-
section point (liP), assuming a mean ionospheric height of 350 km. This
latitude is computed as a function of the user's geodetic latitude and Ion-
TABLE 5.6 Page content of subframes 4 and 5

Pages Content
Subframe 4, pages I, 6, II, Reserved for authorized users

12, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22,
23 and 24.
Subgrame 4, pages 2, 3, 4, Ephemeris and clock data for satellites with PRNs
5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 25 through 32
Subframe 4, pages 13, 14 Spare pages
and 15
Subframe 4, page 17 Special messages
Subframe 4, page 18 Ll-only user's ionospheric delay model and GPS
time/UTC conversion parameters
Subframe 4, page 25 A-S fiags and satellite configurations for 32 satellites;
health data for satellites 25 through 32
Subframe 5, pages I Ephemeris and clock data for satellites with PRNs
through 24 I through 24
Subframe 5, page 25 Almanac reference week number and health data for
satellites I through 24
gitude. Details of the algorithm are given in [7, 8] and [36]. The algorithm
reduces the delay error for the single-frequency users on the order of 50%
to 60% [37].
3. UTC parameters. Page 18 of subframe 4 also provides the parameters
needed to relate GPS time to UTC and notices to the users regarding the
scheduled future or recent past changes due to leap seconds. The param-
eters include the number of integer seconds between UTC and GPS time,
plus first-order polynomial coefficients describing the drift between GPS
time and UTC. However, this drift is kept to a minimum by the MCS by
steering GPS time toward UTC modulo I second. Details of this relation-
ship are described in l7, 8].
5.5.7 GPS Measurements and the Navigation Solution

Measurements The basic GPS measurements are pseudoranges from N satel-
lites as described in Equation 5.1, where N ~ 4, unless the solution is augmented
with another type of measurement such as barometric altitude. Two other types
of measurements are available to the avionics user-pseudorange rate (Doppler)
and delta-pseudorange (integrated Doppler). These measurements are used to
strengthen the determination of velocity and user clock drift, although the inte-
grated Doppler measurement is sometimes used as a change in pseudorange,
and thus change of position, in precise kinematic modes of operation being
considered for precision landing applications [2].
The pseudorange rate is simply the derivative of Equation 5. 1, where
dPR; . . . .
-- =
dt R; + cb.t,;
. ~ cb.tu + EPR I (5.64)
In a linearized sense, the perturbation of the pseudorange rate is
dPR; ~ ~ . .
0 -- = 1; · oXu ~ cf1tu + EPR
dt I
(5.65)
where h; is as defined in Equation 5.41.

Delta-pseudorange is usually used by an avionics receiver to approximate
a pseudorange rate measurement using a relatively short integration time [ 38 J
(0.1 to I second, depending upon dynamics), where. in a linearized sense, the
perturbation equation is simply Equation 5.65 multiplied by D.t = ti ~ ti 1, or
multiplying the components of h; and the error term by that quantity. In the
case of the kinematic mode of operation, Equations 5.7 and 5.8 hold.
Measurement Errors The error term is handled with a combination of correc-

tions and modeled uncorrected error sources. The corrections for pseudorange
measurements are as follows:
I. Satellite clock relativity correction. This correction is described by Equa-

tion 5.58. It is caused by the conservation of energy due to the difference
in kinetic and potential energy of the satellite and the user. The correction
is based on the theory of general relativity [35].
2. Ionospheric refi·action correction. This correction is either made by mea-
suring the difference in pseudorange (PR 1; PR 2;) at two different fre-
quencies and applying it to a dual frequency con·ection, or applying the
single-frequency model defined in Section 5.5.6 and in reference [36]. The
dual frequency correction is based on Equation 5.32 [ 18]. The correction
for an L I pseudorange is
D.PR!i = ( ./ ~ 1 ) (PR1; ~ PR2;)

f I ··f 2
= 1.546(PRJ; ~ PR2;) (5.66)
Since the L2 delay is greater than the Ll delay, the correction is negative,
decreasing the pseudorange.
3. Tropospheric refraction correction. This correction is made by subtracting
the effects of Equation 5.36. There are many variations to this correction,
depending upon the desired accuracy or complexity.
4. Earth's rotation correction. The error in pseudorange caused by the

Earth's rotation is due to the fact that the Earth is rotating while the signal
is propagating from the satellite to the user. The pseudorange error can
be as large as 30 meters with a sign dependent on the user's position with
respect to the satellite. The correction can be done in one of two ways
[6]. The first is a correction in pseudorange, which is
(5.67)
The second correction is realized by rotating the satellite back in time

about the Earth's axis to compute its position for a slant range rather
than a geometric range. This is accomplished by modifying the equation
for the corrected longitude of ascending node described in Table 5.5 by
the value
(5.68)
where R; is the estimated range to the satellite.

5. Selective availability errors. The authorized user (PPS mode) is also
allowed to correct for system-induced SA errors.
Uncorrected Error Sources After all the corrections stated above, residual
error sources remain. Among the most predominant are SA errors for the unau-
thorized user (SPS mode). The next most predominant error source is the resid-
ual ionospheric refraction error for the Ll-only users. Next is the standard sys-
tem errors in the satellite clock parameters, followed by multipath errors, the
tropospheric refraction, the satellite ephemeris, and finally receiver noise. New
receiver technology has reduced the effects of multipath and receiver noise,
with the exception of operating in a jamming environment.
The Navigation Solution The standard methods for producing a navigation

solution (position and velocity) are using Kalman filtering and sequential least-
squares methods (see Chapter 3). Military applications generally use Kalman
filtering, while commercial applications generally use least squares. A general
least-squares method is illustrated here.
The basic assumption is that an initial (or previous) solution estimate is
known (which could initially simply be the center of the Earth). Then residuals
are computed with respect to that initial (or previous) estimate and sequentially
updated based upon the latest projected solution estimate. The resulting mea-
surement residuals are then defined as
= HT[oX~ OC11tu oX! oc~iu]T

= HToPVu (5.69)
where oM is a 2N vector of pseudorange and pseudorange rate (or delta-pseu-

dorange) residuals (difference between estimated and measured) for N satel-
lites, oPVu is a 8 x 1 state vector made up of position, velocity, and time state
residuals, and
(5.70)
is a 2Nx8 matrix mapping the position, velocity, and time state residuals into the
2N measurement residuals. The H matrix could be the HLTP matrix of Equation
5.44 if the solution is in the north, east, and up domain. Since the HT is general
not a square matrix, the solution is overly determined. In that case, the solution
for oPVu in a weighted least-squares sense is
(5.71)
where W is a matrix weighting the measurements from the various satellites

according to their accuracy or other weighting criteria. This perturbation solu-
tion is then added to the projected estimate previously used to compute the
residuals. If the weights are inversely proportional to the variance of the mea-
surement errors, the position, velocity, and time estimation error covariance
matrix is then
(5.72)
5.5.8 Aviation Receiver Characteristics [121 (Chapter 8)]

GPS avionics receiver technology has evolved significantly since the start of
development in 1974 and is continuing to evolve for military avionics appli-
cations and especially for commercial avionics applications. The GPS avionics
receiver characteristics vary considerably, from the low-end general aviation
receiver to the high-performance military aircraft and missile avionics receivers.
Only the high-end commercial and military avionics receiver characteristics are
described in this chapter.
General Characteristics The architecture of commercial and military avionics

receivers is generally the same. They only differ in design parameters related
to the environmental, dynamic capability, anti-jam (AJ), integrity, and security
requirements. Except for the integrity requirements (see Sections 4.3.1, 5.7 .I,
and 5.7.3), the military avionics :receiver dynamic performance requirements
are usually more stringent, while commercial avionics applications are more
concerned with safety-of-flight integrity requirements. Prior to describing the
differences related to these requirements, a summary description of a generic
GPS avionics receiver is given. More details follow in the description of com-
mercial and military avionics receivers, respectively.
A system level functional block diagram of a generic GPS avionics receiver
is shown in Figure 5.17. The receiver consists of the following major functions:
(1) antenna, (2) preamplifier, (3) reference oscillator, (4) frequency synthesizer,
(5) downconverter, (6) an intermediate frequency (IF) section, (7) signal pro-
cessing, and (8) navigation processing.
The antenna may consist of one or more elements and associated control
electronics, and it may be passive or active, depending upon its performance
requirements. Its function is to receive the GPS satellite signals while rejecting
multipath and, in some military applications, to reject interference signals. The
passive antenna usually has a hemispheric coverage pattern.
The parameters that dictate the antenna requirements are as follows: gain
versus azimuth and elevation, multipath rejection, interference rejection, pro-
file, size and environmental conditions. The gain requirements are a function
of satellite visibility requirements and are closely related to multipath rejection
and somewhat related to interference rejection. The goal is to have near-uni-
form gain toward all satellites above a specified elevation angle while reject-
ing multipath signals and interference typically present at low-elevation angles.
These are usually conflicting requirements. Some multipath rejection can also
be achieved by reducing the left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) gain of the
antenna without reducing the right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) gain. This
is because the satellite signals are RHCP signals, whereas reflected multipath
signals usually tend to be either linearly polarized (LP) or LHCP, depending
upon the dielectric constant of the reflecting surface.
Interference rejection can also be achieved using a phased-array antenna,
where the relative phase received from each antenna is controlled to "null'' out
the interference in the combined reception. This type of an antenna i~; called a
controlled reception pattern antenna (CRPA), and it is usually reserved for mil-
itary applications. A low antenna profile is important in the avionics application
to minimize drag, but this is traded off against a desired gain pattern.
Environmental conditions dictate the type of material used for the antenna
and whether a radome is required. Some materials change their dielectric prop-
erties as a function of temperature.
The minimum operational performance standards for commercial avionics
antennas are given in [122b].
The preamplifier generally consists of burnout protection, filtering, and a
ANTENNA
· PREAMPLIFIER
RF~ I DOWN-
CONVERTER
I >I I IF
> SIGNAL
PROCESSING
PR,,
"' NAVIGATION
PROCESSING "'
POSI~ ON,
) )~ j' PHASE,
)~
VELOC TY,
'
LO
LOs& CLOCKS
DATA TIME, E TC.
'",
REFERENCE FREQUENCY
OSCILLATOR SYNTHESIZER INTERRUPTS
..
Figure 5.17 Generic GPS avionics receiver functional block diagram.
N
~
......
low-noise amplifier (LNA). Its primary function is to set the receiver's noise
figure (see Section 4.2.1) and to reject out-of-band interference. The parameters
that dictate the preamplifier requirements are the unwanted RF environment as
received through the antenna and losses that precede and follow the preamplifier
and desired system noise figure (or noise temperature) as derived from overall
receiver performance requirements. The gain of the preamplifier is not a system
level requirement per se, but a derived requirement that satisfies the system level
requirement.
The unwanted RF environment as received through the antenna affects the
preamplifier in two ways. It can cause damage to the preamplifier electronics,
or it can cause saturation of the preamplifier and circuitry that follows. Nor-
mally, except for damage prevention, one can do nothing to suppress the RF
environment, as passed by the antenna, at frequencies that are in the bandwidth
of the desired GPS signal. That environment is considered to be either jam-
ming or unintentional interference. There are, however, more advanced tem-
poral interference suppression techniques that can be used to suppress narrow-
band interference [121, (Chapter 20)]. Suppression of the RF environment out
of the desired GPS signal band can be accomplished by filtering before, during.
and/or after amplification. When It is accomplished it is based upon a trade-off
between system noise figure requirements, filter insertion loss. and bandwidth
efficiency. Suppression of in-band and out-of-band damaging interference is
usually accomplished with diode-; that provide a ground path for strong sig-
nals. In the case of lightning protection, more complex lightning arrestors may
be used.
The system noise figure is set using a low-noise amplifier (LNA) that pro-
vides enough gain to cause any losses inserted after the LNA to have a negli-
gible effect. An LNA cannot account for losses inserted before its operation or
for its own noise floor.
The reference oscillator provides the time and frequency reference for the
receiver. Since GPS receiver measurements are based on the time of arrival
of PRN code phase and received carrier phase and frequency information, the
reference oscillator is a key function of the receiver. Its output is used by the
frequency synthesizer, which converts the oscillator output to local oscillators
(LOs) and clocks used by the receiver. One or more of those LOs are used by
the downconverter to convert the radio frequency (RF) inputs to IF frequencies.
The signals are easier to process in the IF section of the receiver.
The requirements on reference oscillators for avionics receivers vary depend-
ing upon the avionics application. A high-quality oscillator can be the most sig-
nificant cost item of a modern receiver. Thus, there are compromises made on
oscillator performance. There are some commercial and military applications
where refrence oscillator performance is critical.
Typical requirements parameters applied to reference oscillators are as fol-
lows:
• Size. Stable oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs) and rubidium

oscillators can be quite large. Temperature compensated crystal oscillators

(TCXOs) are relatively small. Larger oscillators have more temperature
inertia.
• Power. OXCOs and rubidium oscillators consume significant power.
• Short -term stability (less than l 0 sec) due to temperature, power supply,
and natural characteristics. Short-term stability affects the ability to esti-
mate and predict time and frequency in the receiver.
• Long-term stability (greater than and I 0 sec, up to hours and days) due to
natural characteristics, including crystal aging.
• Sensitivity to acceleration-g force and vibration sensitivity. Vibration
causes phase noise and dynamic g forces affect the ability to estimate time
and frequency in the receiver.
• Phase noise, High-frequency stability (frequencies above I Hz offsets from
the nominal frequency).
Mostly, the requirements placed on the frequency synthesizer are derived

requirements and are the receiver designer's choice. Its design is based on
the designer's frequencv plan that defines the receiver's IF frequencies, sam-
pling clocks, signal processing clocks, and so on. The frequency plan requires
careful analysis to insure adequate rejection of mixer harmonics, LO feed-
through, unwanted sidebands, and images. A key design parameter for the syn-
thesizer is the minimization of phase noise generated in the synthesizer. The
frequency synthesizer is also required to generate local clocks for signal pro-
cessing and interrupts for the navigation processing. These local clocks com-
prise the receiver's time base.
The downconverter mixes LOs generated by the frequency synthesizer with
the amplified RF input to an IF frequency and, if so designed, the IF frequency
to lower IF frequencies. This process implements the frequency plan. which
again is the receiver designer's choice.
The purpose of the IF section is to provide further filtering of out -of-band
noise and interference and to increase the amplitude of the signal-plus-noise to
a workable signal-processing level. The IF section may also contain automatic
gain control (AGC) circuits to increase the dynamic range of the receiver and
to suppress pulse-type interference.
The requirements on the IF section are as follows:
I. Final rejection of out-of-band interference. unwanted sidebands, LO feed-

through, and harmonic~. The bandwidth of this rejection is a trade-off
against correlation lo~s due to flltcring. In addition, rejection of wideb<md
noise i~ required to minimize aliasing in the signal-processing sampling
process.
'1 lncrc~N' the amplitude of the sigr.a!··plus-noise to workable levels for sig-
ilal pruccssing anJ con1.ml that amplitude. a~ required. for signal proces~
mg (AGC)_
3. Suppress pulse-type interference.

4. Converts the IF signal to a baseband signal comprised of in-phase (/) and
quadraphase (Q) signals.
The signal-processing function of the receiver is the core of a GPS receiver

that performs the following functions: (I) splits the signal-plus-noise into multi-
ple signal-processing channels for processing of multiple satellite signals simul-
taneously, (2) generates the reference PRN codes of the signals, (3) acquires the
satellite signals, (4) tracks the code and the carrier of the satellite signals, (5)
demodulates the navigation message data from the satellite signals, (6) extracts
code phase (pseudorange) measurements from the PRN code of the satellite sig-
nals, (7) extracts carrier frequency (pseudorange-rate) and carrier phase (delta-
pseudorange) measurements from the carrier of the satellite signals, (8) extracts
signal-to-noise ratio information from the satellite signals, and (9) maintains a
relationship to GPS system time.
The prime requirement of the signal processing is to provide the GPS mea-
surements and navigation message data from selected satellites required to per-
form the navigation-processing function. The outputs of the signal process-
ing function are pseudoranges, pseudorange rates and/or delta-pseudoranges,
signal-to-noise ratios, local receiver time-tags, and GPS system data for each
of the GPS satellites being tracked.
The navigation-processing function controls the signal-processing function
and uses its outputs to satisfy the navigation requirements. It does this by per-
forming some or all of the following functions:
I. Selects satellites to be acquired and tracked by the signal-processing

function.
2. Computes signal acquisiti:on and tracking aiding information for the
signal-processing function.
3. Reinitializes the signal-processing function in case of loss of lock.
4. Collects measurements and navigation message data from the signal-pro-
cessing function and maintains a system data base.
5. Computes the satellites' positions, velocities, and time corrections as
6. Corrects the measurements as described in Section 5.5.7.
7. Accepts and processes external navigation data to aid the navigation pro-
cessing.
8. Solves for position, velocity, and time as described in Section 5.5.7.
9. Determines the integrity of the position and velocity solutions.
10. Performs area navigation as described in Chapters 2 and 14.
II. Performs input/output processing. In the case of the commercial avion-
ics receivers, this processing is usually in accordance with ARINC 429
standards. In the case of the military avionics receivers, the usual inter-
face is in accordance with MIL-STD-1553 bus standards exercising GPS

1553 protocols.
12. Accepts appropriate crypto keys in military avionics receivers and per-
forms computations required for SA and A-S.
Commercial GPS Aviation Receivers In 1996, GPS receivers for commercial

avionics are still in the developmental stage, awaiting the definition of required
navigation performance (RNP) for sole means navigation. However, a prop-
erly designed and tested receiver can be used for supplemental means navi-
gation. Requirements for a supplemental means GPS receiver are defined in
the Federal Aviation Administrations (FAA) Technical Standard Order TSO-
C 129 [39] for all phases of flight except precision approaches, which is based
upon RTCA's Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for Air-
borne Supplemental Navigation Equipment Using Global Positioning Svstem
(GPS!-RTCAjD0-208 [40]. The European minimum operational performance
specilications for airborne GPS receiving equipment are given in [123]. Similar
standards are being developed for sole means navigation, including tho~e for
precision approach [41]. Precision approach requires the concept of differential
GPS (DGPS), which is described in Section 5.5.9.
The characteristics for a GPS avionics receiver ( GPS sensor) for commercial
transport applications are specified in ARINC Characteristic 743A -/ GNSS Sen-
sor [42]. These characteristics arc specified for two configurations, one where
the receiver and LNA arc packaged scparatdy (2 MCC configuration) and one
where the receiver and LNA arc packaged together for installation near the
antenna (alternate configuration).
Commercial GPS avionics receivers are specified in ARINC 743A-l to u~e
the C/A code only, which limits them to the Ll frequency. Since some of these
receivers are being developed with precision landing capabilities in mind, high-
accuracy C/ A code tracking is required. Thus, in this section, the receiver used
as a model for the description of commercial GPS avionics receivers i:-. one that
use~ state-of-the-art technology for this high accuracy, namely the 12-channel
Nov A tel GPSCardTM. This receiver uses the narrow correlutor spacinfi tech-
nology that reduces the effects of ambient noise and multipath [43, 44]. An
OEM card version is illustrated in Figure 5.18. This card is being upgraded
for the commercial aviation environment. A functional block diagram of this
receiver card is illustrated in Figure 5.19. The following is a description of
those functions:
1. Antenna/LNA. The antenna shown in Figure 5.20 is not peculiar to the

described receiver card. It was developed and is manufactured by Sensor
Systems (P/N S67-1575-39). It is an FAA TSO-Cll5a certified airborne
radome-protected antenna that includes a built-in 26 dB LNA, band-
pass filtering and lightning protection. The LNA is powered through the
coaxial cable with a de voltage between 4 and 24 v at a maximum of
Figure 5.18 OEM GPS receiver card (courtesy, NovAte! Communications, Ltd.)
I 00 mw. The antenna is .1.5 in. in diameter and weighs 5 oz. It meets
the requirements specified in references [42] and [ 122].
'"l Reference oscil/atm: Like most commercial receivers, this receiver uses a
small TCXO as its reference oscillator (on the center of the hoard shown
in Figure 5.18). These small TCXOs have marginal stability and phase
noise characteristics for some GPS applications, hut they are satisfac-
tory when used in conjunction with a multiple-parallel-channel receiver
with tracking loop bandwidths commensurate with dynamic applications.
Note that the reference oscillator output (20.473 MHz) is used directly
as clocks for sampling and signal processing.
3. Synthesi::.erjdmvnconvertcr. A block diagram of the synthesizer and
downconverter is shown in Figure 5.21 ]4.1]. A commercial synthesizer
chip with a programmable divider (prescaler) is used to phase lock a
voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) to the reference oscillator. The VCO
output frequency is doubled to provide the downconverter LO.
4. Filtering. IF filtering is realized with a 8 MHz bandwidth surface acous-
tic wave (SAW) filter centered at the IF frequency of .15 MHz ]4.1].
Although this SAW filter has a significant group delay, the delay is sta-
ble, and the filter provides excellent rejection of out-of-band noise and
interference.
5. IF sampling and A/D conversion. The IF sampling and A/D conver-
sion process is illustrated in Figure 5.22. This processing includes a
precorrelation automatic gain control (AGC) ]4.1] that controls the level
y t-11CROPROCESSQR
lf:> DOWN~
CONVERTER
LO
FILTERING ANDND
FUNCTION!>
~FILTERING
~ACQUISITION
ALGORITHMS
~TRACKING
LOOPS
LOCK
DETECTION
~DATA RECOVERY
REFERENCE SYNTHESIZER ~MEASUREMENT
OSCILLATOR NCO
PROCESSING
NCO AND
REFERENCE
CLOCKS
Figure 5.19 Functional block diagram of commercial receiver (courtesy, NovAte! commu-
nications, Ltd.)
N
~
......
GPS
oo
cNOi PA\N1
Figure 5.20 Civil aviation antenna (courtesy, Sensor Systems)
of the signal-plus-noise entering the 2.5-bit A/ D converter for optimum

quantization in the presence of both noise and narrowband interference.
Typical lower-performance commercial GPS receivers use 1-bit quanti-
zation with no AGC, which suffer 2 to 3 dB loss of signal-to-noise ratio,
depending upon the precorrelation bandwidth, in the presence of noise,
and up to 6 to 8 dB loss in the presence of narrowband interference
[45-50]. The multi-bit quantization coupled with AGC is important in
34.8267 MHz (IF)= 714 F0 -1.00105 MH
PROGRAMMABLE
INPUT
N=9632
SIGNAL PROCESSING
Q__""-PHASE
CLOCK
~DETECTOR
@ 79.99727 kHz F0 = 20.473 MHz

REFERENCE
Figure 5.21 Synthesizerjdownconverter block diagram (courtesy, NovAte! Commu-

nications, Ltd.)
aviation applications in which good receiver sensitivity and interference

rejection is a characteristics [42]. The IF sampling rate of 4f1F/N,, where
N, is an odd number (designer's choice), is a method of converting in-
phase (I) and quadraphase (Q) samples directly, without first converting
the IF signal to baseband. The result is a sequence of samples of the
signal components [43]:
SAMPLE CLOCK
Figure 5.22 Typical IF sampling and A/D conversion process.

(5.73)
or
l,k, -Q,,k, -l,k, Q,k. l.,k. -Q,k, -l,k. Q,k, ... (5.74)
depending upon the value of N,, where
l,k == ACkDk cos r:/Jk (5.75)

Q,k == ACkDk sin r:fJA (5.76)
where Ck. [)" and ¢k are the code, data bit, and signal phase at sample
time tk.
6. Doppler removal (phase rotation). The Doppler removal process of Fig-
ure 5.19 is part of the signal-phase or frequency-tracking function, which
is a complex multiplication between the signal I and Q samples and ref-
erence I and Q samples generated by the carrier number-controlled oscil-
lator (NCO). This NCO is controlled by the microprocessor's portion of
the carrier-tracking loop. Since the Cj A PRN code Doppler [s related
to the carrier Doppler by a factor of 1540, the carrier NCO also outputs
the basic code clock Doppler correction, which is further corrected by
the microprocessor's code tracking loop function with code phase cor-
rections. In some receiver implementations a completely separate NCO
is used to derive the code Doppler and phase.
7. Coder. The implementation of a typical C/ A coder is shown in Figure
5.13. This implementation, in which the G2 state is initialized, allows the
generation of all I 023 codes in the C/ A code family. which is important
for future implementations !32].
8. Correlators. The correlation process for narrow conelator processing is
illustrated in Figure 5.23 [43, 44]. In this process early, punctual, and
late codes are derived in a shift register that shifts the (early) C/ A code
from the coder at a clocking rate defined by the desired early/late cor-
relator spacing (in a fraction of a C/ A code chip). The dual correlation
process is realized by performing a multi-bit exclusive or between the
single-bit PRN codes and the multi-bit I and Q samples. A discrimi-
nator selection process allows the selection of either early and late or
early-minus-late and punctual correlation. Early and late correlation is
used during the signal acquisition process using the maximum (approx-
imately) one chip spacing :N I0 in Figure 5.23) for rapid acquisition.
Early-minus-late and punciUal correlation is used during tracking using
a 0.1 chip spacing (N •·· I) for optimum parallel code (early-minus-late
times punctual) and carrier (punctual) tracking. This dynamic spacing
concept provides fast acquisition and C/ A code-tracking performance
I SAMPLES
------l~\.6)
K/..~-----------'
.. E-L OR EARLY
""I SAMPLES
PUNCTUAL OR LATE
r-------------------r--~ISAMPLES
Q SAMPLES
~~-----------------r--~E-LOREARLY
Q SAMPLES
PUNCTUAL OR LATE
r-~-PU_N_C_T_U_A_L_O
__R______-r--~QSAMPLES
LATE CODE
DISCRIMINATOR SELECT
E-L OR EARLY CODE

LATE CODE
SELECT ~
20.473 MHz
~
SAMPLE CLOCK
~ EARLY CODE
~L..,_--1----'--~1+------- CIA CODE
EPL SHIFT REGISTER

CORRELATOR SPACING SELECTION
Figure 5.23 Dynamic correlation spacing process [43].
that approaches that of conventional P code-tracking performance. This is

because the code-tracking error variance as a function of correlator spacing
d and signal-to-noise density SjN 0 is given as l44]
(5.77)
where BL is the single-sided tracking loop bandwidth and Bu- is the two-
sided predetection bandwidth. The d for N = I is one-tenth that for the
conventional N = I 0, while the signal-to-noise density for Cj A code
tracking is twice that for P code tracking.
9. Postcorrelation filtering (accumulators). After correlation, the two sets
of I and Q samples are accumulated and dumped to the microprocessor

(Figure 5.19) at the C /A code epoch rate to provide 1-kHz predetecti on
bandwidth I and Q samples for further processing at that rate. That rate
is used directly for wideband signal acquisition and bit synchronization
after acquisition. Bit synchronization determines bit timing, after which
the predetection bandwidth is reduced to the navigation message data
rate of I 00 Hz for optimum signal processing.
10. Microprocessor signal processing. The receiver in Figure 5.18 uses a
32-bit microprocessor with a built-in math coprocessor to perform both
the signal processing and the navigation processing [43]. The different
signal-processing functiom. are indicated in Figure 5.19. In summary,
these are as follows:
• Signal ac~uisition is accomplished by computing signal-plus-noise
power Lk= 1 (/~ + Q~) at one-half C/ A code chip increments until it
exceeds a threshold based upon an estimate of noise power.
• Carrier phase tracking is accomplished by minimizing tan- 1(Qdh).
• Code tracking is accomplished by minimizing either a dot product dis-
criminator
(5.78)
or an early-minus-late power discriminator
(5. 79)
both of which minimize early-minus-late correlation amplitude, where

the I and Q options and early /punctual/late correlator spacing are con-
trolled as indicated in Figure 5.23.
• Data demodulation is accomplished by sampling the sign of h while
tracking the carrier phase.
• Bit synchronization is accomplished by sensing sign changes in 1-kHz
data samples.
• Frame synchronization is accomplished by correlating with the naviga-
tion message preamble at the beginning of the TLM Word (see Section
5.5.6).
• Phase lock is verified with the computation of the correct data parity
or through the computation of L.f=1 (/~ - Q~), which is an estimate
of the cosine of carrier phase.
• Signal-to-noise density computations.
• Formulation of pseudorange and delta-pseudorange measurements.
NAVSTAR CJLOBI'd~ POSITIONINCi SYSTEM 243
In the receiver of Figure 5.18, signal processing is optimized to accommodate

up to 6 g of acceleration.
Military GPS Aviation Receivers In 1996. the standard GPS receiver for mil-
itary avionics was the miniature airborne GPS receiver (MAGRJ produced
by Rockwell International, which also produces another variety intended for
embedded applications. where the entire receiver (the miniature GPS receiver.
MGR). less antenna, is housed inside another avionics assembly such as an
inertial navigation system [51[. The requirements for the MAGR are defined
in [52[. Guidelines for embedded military receivers are specified in [5~ I and
described in [54[. The MAGR receiver is illustrated in Figure 5.24.
J<'igure 5.24 MAGR receiver (courtesy, Rockwell International).

N
""'""'
MICRQ!'flQQE;>l;Qfl
RF F'REAMPLIFIGATION ~-~liONS
IF
AND FILTERING
-FILTERING
-ACQUISITION
ALGORITHMS
1ST
-TRACKING
LO LOOPS
-LOCK
DETECTION
·DATA RECOVERY
REFERENCE
OSCILLATOR
SYNTHESIZER CARRIER
NCO
-MEASUREMENT
PROCESSING
NCO AND
REFERENCE
CLOCKS
Figure 5.25 Functional block diagram of MAGR receiver functions [55].

NAYSTAR CILOBAL I'OSJTIONINC SYSTEM 245
The MAGR is a stand-alone live-channel PPS Ll / L2 receiver, although there

are two configurations (Air Force and Navy). The Air Force configuration does
not include the Antenna Electronics (AE). which consists of the LNA and down-
converter. while the Navy configuration does 152]. In the Air Force configura-
tion. the AE is remote at the antenna. The Navy configuration is intended to be
located near the antenna.
The functional description to follow will be for the Navy MAGR configura-
tion only. Its functional block diagram is given in Figure 5.25 1551. Note that
it is functionally similar to the commercial receiver illustrated in Figure 5.19.
The following is a description or those functions:
I. Antenna. The antenna shown in Figure 5.26, a version of the military

Fixed Radiation Pattern Antenna (FRPA-3), is the Dorne & Margolin DM
C 146-10-2 L I/ L2 antenna being used on the F-18 , the AV -8-B Harrier
and the TR-1 , the new version of the Lockheed U-2 156]. It is a low-
profile antenna ( 1.5 in . high) with a diameter of less than 5 in. It weighs
0.5 lb .
'~ Preumplificution, dmt •nconl'ersion , reference oscillutor and smlhe.1iz.cl:

The pre-select filtering , burnout protection, and LNA are made up of con-
ventional discrete components 150!. The downconversion and synthesizer
comprise two custom silicon bipolar integrated circuit chips as shown in
Figure 5.26 FRPA antenna (courtesy. Dorne & Margolin).

Figure 5.27. Dual downconversions are accomplished, one for Ll and one for
L2. The LO for these downconversions are common, converting both RF fre-
quencies to identical IF frequencies. This LO is derived in the synthesizer,
which is driven with the output of an ovenized reference oscillator at a fre-
quency of approximately I 0.95 MHz. The synthesizer also generates in-phase
and quadraphase LOs for later con version to baseband and clocks for the signal-
processing function.
3. AGC, conversion to baseband and A/D conversion. This process is

applied to both the L I and the L2 IF signals through identical wide band
IF silicon bipolar chips, whose block diagram is shown in Figure 5.28
----------- --------------1
154F0
(L1)
)I'V\_---'>•~L1
\61 r ~··· ~
I
I
I TO 17 F0
I
I BPF
I
120 F0 ~
~-:,L2
(L2)
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I I ---..1~.+.·.'.J...'
i
CONTROL VOLTAGE TO PLL CHIP
FROM PLL CHIP F : 10.23 MHz
0
TO LBAND FROM LBAND

CHIP CHIP
.tr~~-- .~~~~~~~~~~---~
17.25 F0 (0 DEGREES)
17.25 F (90 DEGREES)

0
FROM FREQ. TO FREQ/TIMER

STANDARD CHIP
137/128 F0
(10.95 MHz)
PHASE LOCK
DETECTOR
Figure 5.27 MAGR downconversionjsynthesizer silicon bipolar chips [55].

17.125 F0 (0° & 90) 3-LEVEL THRESHOLD (R)

FROM PLL CHIP FROM SIG. PROCESSOR
""" "" -----------"---- -------- -~- ---------------------------- --------------------"1
17 F0 :'
IF IN :
''
''
'''
:__ ----T---------------------------------------------------------------------------- J'
AGC VOLTAGE
Figure 5.28 MAGR wideband IF chip [55].
[55]. Conversion to baseband is realized through mixing the L1 and L2 IF

signals with in-phase and quadraphase LOs from the synthesizer. Filtering
follows to limit the bandwidth to 20 MHz, the bandwidth of the P code, to
prevent aliasing in the sampling process. The AGC is a rapid wideband
AGC, whose purpose is to suppress pulsing interference as well as to
provide a large dynamic range (70 dB) to accommodate high levels of
jamming. The sampling process, at double code clock rate of 20.46 MHz,
provides 1.5 bit I and Q samples to the signal-processing function. The
thresholds (Rand -R) are controlled by the signal processing for optimum
performance in the presence of noise and narrowband interference.
4. Doppler removal, coder, correlators, and postcorrelation filtering. These

functions are performed in the MAGR in a similar manner to that of the
receiver shown in Figure 5.19, with the following exceptions:
• The code Doppler removal is realized with an independent code NCO.
• The coder function consists of both the C/ A and P coders as well as
the P code encryption function to produce the Y code.
• The early-minus-late correlator spacing is fixed at one C/ A or one P
chip depending upon which coder is being used.
• Rather than two sets of I and Q correlators and accumulators in each
of twelve channels, the MAGR has ten sets of I and Q correlators and
accumulators in each of five channels. This configuration provides fast
signal acquisition and reacquisition in the presence of jamming.
5. Microprocessor signal processing. The MAGR uses Rockwell's AAMP-2
microprocessor to perform both the signal processing and the navigation
processing [57]. The signal-processing functions are indicated in Figure
5.25. This includes variations on all the functions depicted in Figure 5.19
for the commercial receiver, with the following exceptions [58]:
• Because of the very high dynamic requirements (9g, lOg/sec [59]), the
MAGR performs carrier frequency tracking, instead of carrier phase
tracking, by minimizing tan- 1(Qk/h)- tan- 1(Qk-J/h- 1) (time differ-
ence of carrier phase error). Data are demodulated differentially by
observing the changes in the sign of h.
• Instead of verification of phase lock, measurement validity is deter-
mined comparing signal-plus-noise power L~= I u;
+ Q~) to a threshold
based upon an estimate of noise power.
• Code-tracking loop aiding processed from corrected external inputs
from an inertial navigation system to achieve a high AJ tracking capa-
bility [52, 60].
• L2 tracking for ionospheric delay corrections is normally performed
sequentially on the fifth channel. However, if it is determined that L I
is jammed, L2 tracking can be performed on some or all channels [52,
60].
6. A-S and SA processing. The MAGR incorporates a precise position-
ing service-security module (PPS-SM) and auxilliary output chip (AOC)
devices to perform A-S and SA processing [52, 59]. The AOC devices are
provided for each channel to allow tracking of the encrypted code when
the receiver is properly authorized. The PPS-SM performs crypto-key pro-
cessing and management for the A-S and SA processing. It operates on
battery power so that keys may be loaded or zeroized without receiver
prime power. A dedicated data path from the PPS-SM to the AOC devices
prevents sensitive data from being handled by the other processors.
5.5.9 Differential GPS

The concept of differential GPS (DGPS) is illustrated in Figure 5.29 [61,
62, 21]. DGPS requires a reference station at a known location that receives
the same GPS signals as does the avionics user. This reference station pro-
cesses its GPS measurements, deriving pseudorange, delta-pseudorange, and
pseudorange-rate errors with respect to its accurately known location and then
transmits these corrections to participating users in the area. The avionics user
then applies these corrections to his measurements, thus canceling all common
errors. Sub-meter accuracies to accuracies of I 0 meters have been experienced
using DGPS depending upon techniques used and distance from the reference
station.
This differential technique works if the common errors are bias errors due
to causes outside of the receiver. The major sources of common errors are the
following [63, 64]:
1. Selective availability errors. Although these errors are not biases, they
have correlation times that are long enough to be eliminated if the cor-
NAVSTAR CJLOB A L POSITIONI NG SYSTEM 249
DIFFERENTIAL
REFERENCE
STATION
Figure 5.29 Dillerential GPS concept.
rcction update rate is high enough. Typical pseudorange errors are about
JO meters, 1-sigma. but they have the potential to be hi gher.
,.., lonos;Jheric dclurs . These propagation group delay errors can be as high
as 20 to 30 meters during the afternoon hours to I to 6 meters at ni ght.
if not removed usi ng two frequ ency correcti ons. The single freq uency
mode l will reduce this by approximately .'iO'/c . These errors are slowly
varying biases but spatiall y dccorrclatc over larger distances.
J. Tro;}().lplieric dclovs. These propagation delays can be as much as 30
meters to a low-elevation satellite but are quite consistent and can be
modeled. However. variation s in the index of refraction can cause dif-
ferences between the reference station and the use r of I to 3 meter.-; for
low-ele vati on satellites. T hey arc also slow ly varying biases. and they
spatially decorrelate over larger distances.
4. E'p/u' nle ri.l errors. Normally, the difference between the actual satellite
location and the locati on computed from the broadcast e phemeris is small ,
less than I to 3 meters, but this error can be increased signi fica ntly with
selective availability. Ephe meri s errors arc very slowly varying biases but
can spatially decorrelate over large distances .
.'i. So!e!lilc clock errors. The differences between the actual satell ite clock
time and that computed from the broadest corrections can become large
if a satellite's clock is misbehaving.
Satellite clock errors, including those caused by SA dithering, are completely

eliminated by DGPS, except for the SA dithering effects due to delays in esti-
mating, broadcasting, and making the DGPS corrections. As noted above, all
of the other errors may not be completely eliminated as the distance between
the reference station and the user increases. The following errors are not
eliminated-multipath and receiver noise at the reference station and the user.
Multipath has been found to be the dominant error source that limits the accu-
racy in a local DGPS environment, while the ionospheric delay is usually the
limiting factor for achieving the best accuracy over large distances. Care must
also be taken to ensure that both the reference station and the user are perform-
ing their computations using the same satellite navigation messages, and that
their computations are performed using accurate algorithms.
RTCM Recommended Standards for Differential NAVSTAR GPS Service

The Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) Special Com-
mittee SC104 took on the task of defining a standard set of broadcast messages
for disseminating GPS differential corrections [63, 64 ]. Although these stan-
dards were established primarily for maritime users, they have been applied
successfully to aeronautical uses as well. However, the aeronautical commu-
nity is in the process of defining it' own standards for precision landing appli-
cations [41]. The RTCM SC104 standard has, however, provided the framework
for other applications, including differential techniques similar to that used by
the surveyors for kinematic surveying [651. Data links and data link protocols
have not been standardized.
The key standardized message types that have been fixed include the follow-
ing [63, 64 ]:
1. Differential GPS corrections made up of pseudorange and pseudorange

rate corrections for all satellites in view of the reference station. A user
differential range error (UDRE) indicating the accuracy of each correc-
tion, plus the issue of satellite navigation data (IOD) are also included.
The corrected pseudorange for satellite i is then
dPRC;(to)
PR;c(t) = PR;(t) + PRC;(to) + (t - to) (5.80)
dt
where PRC;(t 0 ) and dPRC;(t 0 )jdt are the broadcast corrections for satel-
lite i at their time of applicability to.
2. Delta-differential GPS corrections made up of corrections to the broad-
cast corrections applicable to the previous issue of satellite navigation
data (IOD) for a period of time after an IOD change. These delta cor-
rections for the pseudorange and pseudorange corrections for satellite i,

respectively, are
f::.PRC;(to) = PRC;(to, IODoict)- PRC;(to, IODnew) (5.81)
!::. dPRC;(to) dPRC;(to, IODoict) dPRC;(to, IODnew)

(5.82)
dt dt dt
3. Reference station parameters made up of the WGS 84 ECEF coordinates

of the reference station with a resolution accuracy of 0.01 meters.
4. High-rate differential GPS corrections made up of the same contents as
the differential GPS corrections, but for only those satellites having high
rates of change of differential corrections. This message is used in the case
when the normal broadcast rate of transmission of differential GPS correc-
tions is not high enough to maintain the desired accuracy for those satel-
lites. The cause of this would be excessively high-bandwidth SA errors,
coupled with a low-bandwidth differential broadcast link.
Although DGPS provides a significant increase in accuracy over standard

GPS, especially when SA is invoked, the user time solution is no longer a
solution with respect to GPS time unless the reference station's time is syn-
chronized to GPS time. The time solution is now with respect to the time base
of the reference station. Normally, the practice is to maintain a time solution
at the station that drives the average of the corrections of all satellites in view
to zero, under the assumption that the mean of all errors are zero. Depending
upon how this average is filtered and the quality of the frequency standard or
oscillator used in the reference station, the effective time base will vary with
respect to GPS time. Furthermore, any biases present in the reference station's
receiver will be an offset with respect to GPS time. Receiver calibration can
minimize this offset.
Special Category I Precision Approach Operations Using DGPS At the

request of the FAA, RTCA, Inc.'s Special Committee SC159 established a spe-
cial ad hoc development team to prepare Minimum Aviation System Perfor-
mance Standards (MASPS) for Special Category I Precision Approach Opera-
tions Using DGPS [41]. This special capability is intended for designated air-
craft at special use airports and later at public use airports to provide standards
for the operational use and evaluation of DGPS techniques in actual precision
approach and landing conditions. Such a capability has been demonstrated using
the high-performance receiver described in Section 5.5.8, Figure 5.18, for both
the reference station and the airborne receiver using the RTCM DGPS mes-
sages described above with a three second update rate. Ninety-five percentile
accuracies of 1 meter, horizontal, and 2 meters, vertical, were obtained over 68
approaches using a laser tracker as a reference [66, 67, 68]. The MASPS devi-
ates slightly from the RTCM messages for this application for three reasons:
(1) to ensure the higher update rates using existing data links, (2) to provide
additional information required for the precision approach and landing appli-
cation, and (3) to increase the integrity of the broadcast with a much stronger
parity algorithm. The flight test results described above suggest that DGPS,
using differential pseudorange corrections, can meet even Category III preci-
sion approach and landing requirements [68].
Wide Area DGPS RTCA Special Committee SC 159 is also preparing require-
ments for the use of Wide Area DGPS (WADGPS) as part of the FAA's future
Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) to achieve a Category I precision
approach and landing capability [69]. WAAS uses a braodcast through a geosta-
tionary satellite to provide corrections over a very wide area, such as the conti-
nental United States (CONUS). Th1~ accuracy of this approach suffers somewhat
because of spatial decorrelation and limited broadcast bandwidth but is expected
to provide the required Category I precision approach accuracy over a region
such as CONUS. To achieve this, the broadcast messages differ significantly
from the RTCM messages because information on ephemeris and ionospheric
errors must be provided to correct for spatial decorrelation of these errors. More
detail on the WAAS is provided in Section 5.7.3.
Differential Carrier Phase Techniques There is some belief that differential

carrier phase techniques are required to achieve Category III precision approach
and landing accuracy performance using DGPS [2]. This application of DGPS
has promoted the development of differential GPS kinematic surveying tech-
niques toward achieving Category Ill performance. These techniques resolve
the carrier phase ambiguities to provide dynamic accuracies on the order of
a few centimeters. This is accomplished by augmenting the pseudoranges of
Equation 5.1 with the term c'A.N;, where 'AN; is the number (N; is an integer)
of ambiguous carrier wavelengths for satellite i, and to solve for these ambi-
guities [65]. Generally, these ambiguities are resolved using double-difference
techniques, where the double differences are computed between the user and the
reference station and between pairs of satellites, canceling all of the common
errors [70]. Unfortunately, within the initialization accuracy, there are many
possible solutions for the ambiguities, although only one solution is correct
[71].
The general technique for solving for the correct ambiguity is to search the
uncertainty region for the correct solution using error minimization techniques.
This requires a minimum amount of geometry change between the user and
the satellites. The amount of change required depends upon the initial uncer-
tainty, which is usually that of the double-differenced pseudorange measure-
ment solutions. Unfortunately, because of multipath and receiver noise, the
change required takes up to on the order of 30 seconds, even under the best
conditions using enhanced L ]-only C/ A code performance [72]. Once the ambi-
guities are resolved, resolution after cycle slips or signal outages are instanta-
neous, provided that there are redundant satellites being tracked. There are a
few techniques available to improve this initialization process. Two of the most
promising are the use of dual-frequency receivers [72] and the use of local near-
Ll transmitting pseudo lites (pseudosatellites) [73 J. The former approach uses
the differential carrier between Ll and L2 to first resolve ambiguities using a
larger beat frequency wavelength, and then transferring the solution to initialize
the Ll ambiguity resolution. The larger wavelength ambiguity takes much less
time to resolve. The second approach takes advantage of the rapidly changing
geometry between the pseudolite and the user, providing more leverage to the
resolution problem. The use of pseudolites for DGPS is discussed further in
Section 5.7.4.
The use of carrier phase techniques for precision approach and landing is still
in development. However, carrier-smoothed-code techniques are much more
robust. These techniques solve for the ambiguity not as an integer but as a
floating-point number. The ultimate accuracy of DGPS for precision approach
still remains unknown.
5.5.10 GPS Accuracy

Error Budgets GPS accuracy depends upon user receiver implementation.
There are PPS and SPS implementations, there are P code and Cj A code users,
there are Ll/L2- and Ll-only users, there are DGPS users, there are differential
carrier phase users and there are combinations of all of the above. Table 5. 7
presents error budgets for three of these implementations-one for the autho-
rized P code Ll/L2 PPS user from the MAGR (see section 5.5.8, Figure 5.24)
specification [52], one for the unauthorized C/ A code Ll-only user for airborne
supplemental navigation equipment [40], with and without SA, and one for the
special Category I precision approach and landing DGPS user [41].
The position errors in Table 5.7 are obtained from the system pseudorange
errors (UEREs) as follows:
I. The horizontal CEP (circular error probable) budgeted for the MAGR is
given as [52]
CEP = 0.8326 x rmshor = 0.8326 x HDOP x UERE (5.83)
where HDOP was taken to be approximately 1.39 with an elevation mask

angle of 5°.
2. The vertical LEP (linear error probable) budgeted for the MAGR is given
as [52]
LEP = 0.6745 X rmsver = 0.6745 X VDOP X UERE (5.84)
where VDOP was taken to be approximately 1.97 with an elevation mask

angle of 5°.
TABLE 5.7 GPS avionics user error budgets

ERROR (meters)
Unauthorized Unauthorized
C/A Code C/A Code DGPS Special
Authorized Ll User Ll User Category I
Error Source Ll/L2 User with SA Without SA User
Space/control segment/ 6.0 30.8 6.0 1.21

reference station
User
Ionosphere 2.2 10.0 10.0 0.0
Compensation
Troposphere 2.0 2.0 2.0 O.o2
Compensation
Multipath 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Receiver noise 1.47 7.5 1 7.5 1 0.5
and resolution
Other 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.05
System UERE (RSS) 6.98 33.33 14.()7 1.78
Horizontal position error 8.10 CEP 100 2drms 42.2 2drms
Vertical position error 9.28 LEP 5.52-95%
Time error (UTC) 100 ns, I u
1Lower receiver noise errors are obtainable using carrier aiding of the code loop, resulting in lower code loop
bandwidth [121 (Chapter 8), 133 (Chapter 5), 135].
3. The 2drms budgeted for the commercial avionics user is given as [40]
2drms = 2 X rmshor = 2 X HDOP X UERE (5.85)
where HDOP was taken to be approximately 1.5 with an elevation mask

angle of 7.5°.
For the special Category I DGPS user [41], the space/control segment error
budget is reduced to residual SA, residual clock, and spatial decorrelation errors
amounting to 0.5, 0.01, and 0.0 I meters, respectively. The reference station
budget is set at 1.1 meters, resulting in a total spacejcontrol segment/reference
station error budget of 1.21 meters, root-sum-squared. The users' error bud-
get presented in Table 5.7 is an example. The special Category I user has the
choice in allotting his budget between sensor (GPS receiver) error and flight
technical error (FTE), which defines the pilot's or auto-pilot's ability to fly the
prescribed flight path. The total vertical error budget is 9.76 meters, with a prob-
ability of 95%. Thus, the GPS receiver error budget depends upon the assigned
FTE for a given aircraft. Using a 95% probability VDOP (ratio of 95% vertical
navigation error to !-meter rms pseudorange error) of 3.1, the 95% probabil-
ity vertical error for the pseudorange error budget in Table 5.7 is 5.52 meters,
leaving a 95% probability budget for FTE of 8.05 meters. An aircraft with a
good autopilot could use a receiver with larger errors. The HDOP is not speci-
fied for special Category I DGPS users because the 95% probability horizontal
navigation error budget is so large-33.54 meters, which is easy to achieve
using DGPS techniques.
Time Accuracy The time error budget with respect to universal coordinated
time (UTC) for the MAGR is a GPS system level specification for time trans-
fer [52]. The control segment's budget for maintaining the difference between
GPS time and UTC is 90 nsec, 1-sigma. The 1-sigma GPS time error due to
pseudorange error is
UERE 6.98
a~::. 1 =TDOPx = 1.12x --
c c
= 26.1 ns (5.86)
assuming a TDOP of 1.12 with an elevation mask angle of 5°. The MAGR
is required to output time via a one pulse per second (1- PPS) accurate to the
specified I 00 nsec, !-sigma. The remaining error budget to achieve this is
v 1002 - 902- 26. t2 = 34.9 ns (5. 87)
The unauthorized user time-transfer accuracy is dominated by the SA errors.

Using the same value of TDOP (1.12) yields the following:
2
33 33
(
1.12 X ~ )
+ (90 X lQ- 9 )2 = 153.6 ns (5.88)
Velocity Accuracy GPS velocity accuracy is not guaranteed, nor is it usually

specified, except possibly in classified military specifications. However, mea-
sured results have been published and are very much a function of the dynam-
ics of the host vehicle at the time of the measurement. Tests performed on the
authorized MAGR have yielded velocity accuracies better than 0.1 meter/ sec
in constant dynamic or inertially aided maximum dynamic conditions, and bet-
ter than 1 meter/sec if unaided [60, 74]. This velocity accuracy is generally
accepted as the norm under these conditions. For the unauthorized user, on the
other hand, the velocity accuracy is dominated by SA pseudorange rate errors,
which have been measured to be between 0.3 to 0.9 meter/sec, rms, horizon-
tal, under stationary conditions [75]. Carefully implemented DGPS yields the
same velocity accuracy as the authorized user. Receiver implementation (P, or
Cj A, and/or Ll/L2 or Ll-only) has no effect on velocity accuracy. The use of
differential carrier phase DGPS should yield much better velocity accuracy.
GPS Accuracy Summary Figure 5.30 provides a summary of GPS position

accuracy for the various receiver implementations. The moving survey accura-
100
N
U1
~
RELATIVE
10 -
(/)
0:::
w
1-
w
:2
I
u>-
~
:::> 0.1
u
u<(
ABSOLUTE
0.01 1-- -
I I I
0.001 I I I I I
STATIC MOVING DIFFERENTIAL PPS/A-S SPS (W/0 SA) SPS

SURVEY SURVEY GPS (DEGRADED)
Figure 5.30 GPS position accuracy summary.
GLOBAL ORBITING NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM (GLONASS) 257
cies are indicative of what might be achieved if differential carrier phase tech-
niques are developed for precision landing applications. Otherwise, accuracies
indicated for differential GPS are more applicable.
5.6 GLOBAL ORBITING NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM

(GLONASS)
The GLONASS satellite navigation system was developed by the Russian

Federation; it was started by the former Soviet Union (USSR) [76]. It was
declared operational in 1996 with a full constellation of satellites. GLONASS
offers many features in common with the NAVSTAR GPS, but with significant
implementation differences [77, 78]. In particular, the orbital plan also consists
of 24 satellites. However, rather than 4 in each of 6 planes, GLONASS has a
plan with 8 in each of 3 planes (designated planes 1-3) separated by 120' and
with spacing of 45° within the plane. The GPS spacing is not uniform. The orbit
altitudes also differ from that of GPS; the ground tracks repeat approximately
every eight days rather than approximately one day for GPS. GLONASS satel-
lites also transmit two spread-spectrum signals in the L-band (Ll and L2) at
around the same power levels as GPS at frequency bands that are approximately
20 to 30 MHz higher than GPS [79]. However, satellites are distinguished by
radio-frequency channel rather than spread-spectrum code (Frequency Division
Multiple Access, FDMA, instead of CDMA). Common codes are used for all
of the satellites. Both a C/ A code and a P code are transmitted in quadrature
on the L1 signal [80]. Otherwise, the basic principle of operation is identical
to that of GPS.
5.6.1 GLONASS Orbits

Table 5.8 provides a summary of the GLONASS orbital parameters compared
to those of GPS f77, 78]. Note that the orbit period and semimajor axis are less
TABLE 5.8 GPS and GLONASS nominal orbit parameters

Parameter NAVSTAR GPS GLONASS
Period (minutes) 717.94 675.73

Inclination 55' 64.8'
Semi major axis (meters) 26560 25510
Orbit plane separation 60' 120
Phase within planes Irregular ±30
Ground track repeat (orbits) 2 17
Longitude drift per orbit 180 169.4
than those of GPS that cause the GPS satellites to repeat their ground track
each day. Because of this, the GLONASS ground tracks precess around the
Earth and repeat every 17 orbits lasting 8 whole days plus 32.56 minutes. This
is equivalent to 16 GPS orbits.
5.6.2 GLONASS Signal Structure

Broadcast Frequencies The GLONASS satellites broadcast two signals: Link
I, L1 and Link 2, L2. According to figures made available to the International
Frequency Registration Board (IFRB) in Geneva [81], and updated in Novem-
ber 1994 for GLONASS-M [82], GLONASS transmits a maximum power spec-
tral density of -44 dBW/Hz in the frequency band of 1597-1617 MHz (Ll)
and -57 dBW/Hz in the frequency band of 1240-1260 MHz (L2). A shaped-
beam antenna is used to produce uniform power spectral density on the ground
[77]. The L1 C/ A and P code signals are transmitted at the same frequency, in
quadrature, just as the NAVSTAR GPS Ll signals are.
In the initial plan for GLONASS-M, each satellite was to be assigned a
unique frequency according to the following equation [82]:
.h = /1 + 0.5625z MHz, i = 0, I, ... , 24 (5.89)
for satellite i of 24 satellites (i = 0 is for testing), where the base L1 frequency

is
.f1 = 1602.0 MHz (5 .90)
That is, when all 24 satellites were to be in the constellation, each would have
a frequency assigned to it with 562.5 kHz separation between satellite signals.
Similarly the L2 P-Code signal is transmitted at a frequency assigned to the
satellite. Each satellite is assigned a unique frequency according to the follow-
ing equation [82]:
hi = h + 0.4375i MHz, i = 0, I, ... , 24 (5.91)
for satellite i of 24 satellites (i = 0 is for testing), where the base L2 frequency

is
h = 1246.0 MHz (5.92)
That is, when all 24 satellites are in the constellation, each will have a frequency
assigned to it with 437.5 kHz separation between satellite signals. Note that the
ratio of the Ll and L2 frequencies is 9/7, including the frequency separations.
Also note that they are an integer multiple of a common frequency of 62.5 kHz.
However, because of interference issues, the Russian Federation revised the

frequency plan as follows for GLONASS-M [79, 831:
I. Until 1988, GLONASS-M will not use carrier frequencies for i = 16

through 20 for normal operations. Frequencies for i = 0, I, ... 12, 22,
23 and 24 wi II be used. Frequencies for i = 13, 14, and 21 will only be
used under exceptional circumstances. This revision is to prevent trans-
mission into radio-astronomy antennas in that band, and will be realized
by re-using frequencies on anti-podal satellites (satellites visible on the
opposite side of the Earth).
2. From 1988 to 2005, GLONASS-M will use frequency channels i = --7
through + 12 for normal operation and use i = 13 only under exceptional
circumstances.
3. After 2005, GLONASS-M will usc frequency channels i ~ ~ 7 through
+4 for normal operation and usc i +5 and +6 as technical channels
only for limited periods of time during orbital insertion or other periods
of exceptional circumstances.
The shift down in frequency is to avoid interference from future Mobile Satellite
Services (MSS) terminals.
Signal Modulation The L I and L2 signals arc both bi-phasc modulated with
the PRN codes and navigation data. The PRN code and navigation data char-
acteristics arc as follows:
l. C/A code. The GLONASS C/ A L'ode is comprised of a nine-state shift

regislcr with tap feedback that produces a 511-hit maximal-length sequence. It
is clocked at a rate of 511 kHL so that it repeats every millisecond. A functional
block diagram of the C/ A code generator is shown in Figure 5.31.
Every satellite generates the same C/ A code. The 1-msec C/ A code epochs
are eoherently synchronized to the satellite's time, which is maintained to within
5
9
9-BIT SHIFT REGISTER
7
511 kHz
C/A CLOCK
C/ACOOE OUT
Figure 5.31 GLONASS C/ A code generator.

1.953 msec of GLONASS system time. The resultant signal spectrum is a line
spectrum centered at the assigned satellite frequency with an envelope equal
to that given in Equation 5.54 with a T, of I /511 ,000 sec, where the lines are
spaced 1 kHz apart, and a spectral null occurs at multiples of 511 kHz. Since
the assigned satellite frequencies are spaced only 562.5 kHz apart, there is an
overlap of signal spectra.
Even though the spectra of the C/ A codes of the different satellites over-
lap, it has very little effect on signal acquisition and tracking, because the user
receivers, when correlating with the code, will track the correct carrier. Spectral
interference will occur, but will be well below the thermal noise level. Adjacent
frequency numbered satellite signals will have a cross-correlation level not to
exceed 48 dB [79]. Because of the separation in frequency, even if full code
correlation between signals occurred for an instant, postcorrelation integration
reduces the effect to that level. The C/ A code only appears on the Ll signals
[77, 80].
2. P code. The CIS has never published the GLONASS P code. However,
it has been determined independently [80]. The GLONASS P code is com-
prised of a 25-stage shift register with tap feedback that would produce a
33,554,431-bit maximal-length sequence, except for the fact that it is short-
cycled to 5, II 0,000 bits and reset to all I 's. It is clocked at a rate of 5.11 MHz
so that it repeats once per second. A functional block diagram of the P code
generator is shown in Figure 5.32. Every satellite generates the same P code.
The !-sec code epochs are synchronized to the 1-msec C/ A code epochs to
ease the handover from one code to the other.
The resultant P code signal spectrum is a line spectrum centered at the
assigned satellite frequency with an envelope equal to that given in Equation
5.53 with aT, of I /5, II 0, 000 sec, where the lines are spaced I Hz apart, which
5.11 MHz
P CLOCK
C/A CODE
HAND OVER
Figure 5.32 GLONASS P code generator.

essentially makes it a continuous spectrum. A spectral null occurs at odd mul-

tiples of 5.11 MHz. Since the assigned satellite frequencies are only 562.5 kHz
and 437.5 kHz apart for the L I and L2 frequencies, respectively, the P code
spectra of the different satellites overlap a great deal. For the same reasons as
with the C/ A code, this does not pose a problem when acquiring and tracking
the signals. The P code is modulated on both the Ll and the L2 signals [80].
3. Navigation data. The navigation data is modulo-2 added to both of the
codes prior to the bi-phase modulation of the carriers. Because of that, these data
do not alter the spectrum of the signals. The effective data rate is 50 bps. How-
ever, it is differential and return-to-zero encoded, so the modulation is actually
at 100 symbols per second [84].
Signal Power The GLONASS ICD for the L I C/ A code signal indicates a
minimum received power of - 161 dEW, which is 1 dB less than specified for
the GPS L I C/ A code [79], although this level has been updated to -160 dBW
[82], which may be the total received C/ A code plus P code power. The L I
P code signal level is not published. The L2 P code received signal power is
-166 dEW [82].
5.6.3 The GLONASS Navigation Message

The GLONASS navigation message differs significantly from its GPS counter-
part. It is made up of lines, frames, and super frames [79]. Each line is 2 seconds
long containing I 00 bits: 85 bits of digital data in I. 7 seconds containing 8 bits
of a Hamming (85,77) parity code followed by a 30 symbol time mark at the
I 00 bps rate. Each frame contains 15 lines over 30 seconds. A super frame is
5 frames over 2.5 minutes.
The first four lines of each frame contain ephemeris and time information for
the satellite broadcasting the message. The fifth line contains a day number and
system time correction. Lines 6 through 15 contain almanacs for five satellites,
two lines per almanac. The fifth frame contains only four almanacs.
Ephemeris Data The GLONASS ephemeris data are broadcast as ECEF carte-
sian coordinates in position and velocity with lunar/solar acceleration perturba-
tion parameters that are valid over about 0.5 hour [84]. The assumption is that
the user integrates via a fourth-order Runge-Kutta method the motion equations
that include the second zonal geopotential harmonic coefficient. Details of these
equations are given in the GLONASS ICD [79].
Almanacs Even though the ephemeris data differs completely from that of
GPS, the almanac parameters are quite similar as modified Keplerian parame-
ters.
Clock Corrections Clock correction parameters are also similar to that of GPS
in terms of clock offsets and clock drift.
5.6.4 Time and Coordinate Systems

GLONASS Time The GPS control segment provides corrections so that GPS
time can be related to UTC(USNO) modulo I sec to within 90 nsec, whereas
the GLONASS control segment provides corrections so that GLONASS time
can be related to UTC(Moscow) to within I ~-tsec [79]. GPS time does not
follow the leap second corrections that UTC occasionally makes. GLONASS
time does [79 J.
GLONASS Coordinate System The GLONASS system transmits ephemeris

and almanac data describing the 'atellite's antenna phase center in the Earth-
fixed reference PZ-90, which differs from WGS 84 by under 15 meters. A pre-
liminary estimate of the coordinate transformation between the two sy~tems
(ECEF) is a translation of 2.5 meters in the y direction and a rotation of 0.4
minutes about the z-axis [85].
5.6.5 GLONASS Constellation [86, 87]

At times. the GLONASS system has a full constellation of 24 satellites. In 1996
the system was usually operating with 21 or 22 satellites transmitting healthy
signals [87]. However. none of these satellites were of the new GLONASS-M
variety.
5.7 GNSS INTEGRITY AND AVAILABILITY
Acceptance of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) as a sole means

navigation aid in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) will necessitate
meeting stringent availability and continuity of function requirements that are
usually unachievable without some sort of augmentation. Key issues arc safety
and performance assurance that relate to satisfying accuracy, integrity, availabil-
ity, and continuity of function requirements. The following definitions pertain
to these issues:
I. Accuracy pertains to the capability of the system, with or without augmen-

tation, to meet the navigation accuracy requirements specified by phase
of flight in the U.S. Federal Radio Navigation Plan [241.
2. Integrity relates to the probability of detecting anomalous signals that
could induce navigation errors beyond defined protection limits and to
providing timely warnings to the users [40, 41].
3. Availability of a navigation system is the ability of the system to pro-
GNSS INTEGRITY AND AVAILABILITY 263
vide required guidance at the initiation of the intended operation. It is an

indication of the ability of the system to provide usable service within
the specified coverage area. Signal availability is the percentage of time
that navigation signal broadcasts are available for use. Availability is a
function of both the physical characteristics of the environment and the
technical capabilities of the transmitter facilities [40, 41].
4. Continuity of a system is the ability of the total system (comprising of
all elements necessary to maintain aircraft position within the defined
airspace) to perform its function without interruption during the intended
operation. More specifically, continuity is the probability that the system
will be available for the duration of a phase of operation, presuming that
the system was available at the beginning of that phase of operation [41].
However, current GNSS systems (GPS or GLONASS) do not meet these

requirements for most phases of flight, especially for the more stringent pre-
cision approaches, without augmentation. In this regard, the FAA has defined
the following GNSS user services [88]:
l. Multisensor system implies that the GNSS and any augmentations can be
used for navigation, but only after it has been compared for integrity with
another approved navigation system in the aircraft.
2. Supplemental system implies that the GNSS and any augmentations can
be used alone without comparison to another approved navigation sys-
tem. However, another approved navigation system must be on board the
aircraft and usable when the GNSS is not available.
3. Required navigation performance (RNP) system is one that meets all the
requirements without need for any other navigation equipment on board
the aircraft. An RNP system may include one or more navigation sensors
in its definition (e.g., GPS with an inertial reference system, IRS).
GNSS does not add much to the aircraft's navigation system if it is only cer-
tified as a multisensor system service. It can add accuracy as long as the system
it is being compared with meets RNP requirements. This service is also useful
for test purposes. GNSS can, by itself, be certified as a supplemental system
through the use of receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) [40] and
possibly oceanic en route [69, 89J. In 1996, based on FAA requirements, as
an RNP system, GNSS requires augmentation, such as combining GPS either
with GLONASS, an independent WAAS-type system, and pseudolites or with
another type of sensor, such as an IRS [69, 891.
5.7.1 Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM)

All GNSS RAIM schemes are based on making self-consistency checks of some
sort. This idea is not new. Prudent navigators have used redundant observations
to verify their position fixes since antiquity. The thing that is different now is
that computer technology has made it possible to use relatively sophisticated
mathematical methods in performing the consistency checks. Before getting into
the details of one RAIM method, it should be noted that catastrophic failures
are easy to detect with primitive methods, so they are not discussed further
here. It is the more subtle or incipient failures that are treated here; those where
a somewhat out-of-tolerance signal in space causes the user position error to
wander outside some specified limit for the phase of flight in progress. If the
GNSS is a supplemental system, it is sufficient for RAIM to simply detect the
failure and sound an alarm accordingly. If the GNSS is an RNP system, it is
necessary for RAIM to both detect and isolate and exclude the failed source.
This added burden of isolation and exclusion complicates the RAIM (now called
fault detection and exclusion, FDE) problem considerably [90, 91, 135].
RAIM Basics For tutorial purposes it is useful to begin with a simple two-
dimensional example. Suppose that we have three range measurements, each
defining a line of position (LOP) in a plane. Three possible situations are shown
in Figure 5.33. In Figure 5.33a we have the usual situation with good geometry
and consistent measurements (at least within the expected measurement noise).
The result is three intersections (fixes) that are close together. The observer
would then conclude ''no failure" in this situation. In Figure 5.33h we see
another possible situation in which we have favorable geometry but the fixes
are relatively far apart. The observer must conclude that something is wrong
here, and the decision is "failure.'' Note, though, that the information is insuf-
ficient to tell us which measurement is at fault that is, we can do simple error
detection here, but we cannot do fault isolation with just one redundant mea-
surement. Finally, in Figure 5.33c we see an extreme case of poor geometry.
Two of the LOPs are parallel. We can conclude here that measurements I and
2 are consistent (their LOPs are close together), but there is no valid check on
measurement 3. An error in it would go unnoticed. Thus the decision as to a
possible failure in this case is inconclusive. The observer must simply say, "No
(a) Consistent Measurements (b) lnc,:msistent Measurements (c) Poor Geometry Situation
Figure 5.33 Examples of three LOP intersections.

valid integrity check is possible because of poor geometry." All three situations
shown in Figure 5.33 have their counterparts in the more complex GNSS RAIM
setting. Of course the meanings of "close together" and "far apart" need to be
quantified. Also, statistical performance criteria relative to the reliability of the
observer's decision need to be developed. More will be said of these items later.
Work on autonomous means of GNSS failure detection began in earnest dur-
ing the latter part of the 1980s. It was also during this period that the acronym
RAIM (for receiver autonomous integrity monitoring) was coined. We will not
attempt to document all of the technical papers on RAIM that appeared during
this period. One has only to browse through the proceedings of the meetings of
the Institute of Navigation to assess the degree of activity that took place dur-
ing this period and on into the 1990s. A summary of three different methods
is given in [92].
One of many RAIM schemes will now be described; it is easily understood
and can be thought of as a baseline or reference method. While it is a good
scheme, there is no claim that it is the best.
RAIM Detection Algorithm In 1987 a RAIM technique that is known as the

least-squares-residuals method was presented l93 j. It begins with the assump-
tion that the receiver has simultaneous redundant pseudorange measurements
(five or more), and that the position-fixing problem has been linearized in the
usual manner (see Sections 5.5.2 and 5.5.7). First, the ali-in-view least-squares
solution is formed. It is well-known and is given by Equation 5.71. The sum
of the squares (weighted, in general) of the components of the measurement
residuals vector oM (from Equations 5.69 and 5.71) is the scalar quantity
SSE= oMrWoM (5.93)
SSE is the basic observable in the sum-of-squared-residual-errors RAIM

method. The decision rule is as follows: If, for a predetermined threshold TH,
SSE::;; TH (5.94)
decide "no failure," but if
SSE> TH (5.95)
decide "failure."
The intuitive rationale for this rule is simply that if the measurements are
consistent, we can expect the residuals to be small; on the other hand. if the
measurements are inconsistent. we can expect SSE to be large because of a poor
least-squares fit. Once the threshold value THis set, the decision rule is quanti-
fied. With this RAIM algorithm, it is easy to set the threshold to yield an alarm
rate that is independent of geometry in the absence of a satellite malfunction.
This is usually set at the maximum allowable rate. The RAIM algorithm then
accepts whatever detection probability that results from this threshold setting.
RAIM Specifications There are four key parameters that must be included in
the RAIM specifications:
1. Alarm limit (also called alert limit). Alarm limit refers to the maximum
allowable radial error before the alarm is sounded.
2. Time response of the alarm (i.e., delay to alarm time). Too much delay
can be disastrous in critical situations.
3. Maximum allowable alarm rate in the absence of a satellite malfunction.
There must be a limit to nuisance alarms.
4. Detection probability. This must be close to unity if the RAIM algorithm
is to be effective.
These specifications compete with each other to some extent. For example,
tightening the false alarm rate specification makes it more difficult to meet
the detection probability requirement. The "elastic" in the system that makes it
possible to meet all of the stated four requirements is availability. The RAIM
algorithm can (and indeed must) reject poor detection geometries. RAIM avail-
ability, of course, suffers from such rejections.
RAIM for a Supplemental System Extremely high integrity availability is not

essential for use of GNSS as a supplemental system. However, nearly 100%
availability and continuity of function are needed for an RNP system. Many
studies have shown that RAIM alone will not provide this high degree of avail-
ability when operating with just the GPS (or GLONASS) 24-satellite configu-
ration. This is especially true when one considers the extra burden on RAIM
in having to isolate the faulty satellite as well as detect the failure. But GPS
alone can be certified as a supplemental system, with an availability approach-
ing 94% for the nonprecision approach phase of flight and up to 99% if aided
with barometric altitude [94]. For the less stringent phases of flight, the avail-
ability is much higher. For a supplemental system, continuity of service is not
required because, upon the sound of an alarm, the other approved navigation
system can be used. However. because of the length of outage times, continuity
of service requirements could never be met for an RNP system without some
sort of augmentation.
RAIM for an RNP System In the RNP application, RAIM will have to be aug-
mented with additional measurement information from outside GPS. Many such
possibilities exist, such as using the combination of GPS and GLONASS, and
the marketplace (and perhaps politics) will determine the mix of sensor infor-
mation to be used in any particular application. Also, it is likely that the ultimate
GPS integrity protection will be provided by a combined W AAS/RAIM sys-
tern. The two systems are complementary, and there is much to be gained by
having the two systems work together [95]. (For a discussion of the W AAS,
see Section 5.7.3.)
5.7.2 Combined GPS/GLONASS

To improve the availability and continuity of service of RNP service using
GNSS, augmenting GPS with GLONASS has been suggested. This would
essentially guarantee the signal redundancy required for RAIM, even for fault
isolation. However, there are problems with combining the two systems.
Technical Problems There are numerous technical problems with combining

the two systems that need to be resolved by the user. These include the fact
that the two systems operate on different time scales and that they are ref-
erenced to different geodetic systems. The combined approach also increases
the cost of the user avionics receivers, which now must receive signals from
both systems and process two different sets of navigation data using different
ephemeris algorithms. Even beyond the fact that the GLONASS system oper-
ates at a different frequency, receiving the FDMA signals results in a more
complex receiver design than the receipt of the CDMA GPS signals.
Institutional Problems Institutional problems also exist. First, the GLONASS

system has not yet proved to be reliable. Over the years, there have been more
GLONASS satellite failures than the number of GPS satellites that have been
launched [96]. In addition, it is more susceptible to satellite communications
transmissions that exist in frequency bands near and above the band allocated
for GLONASS [97, 126].
GPSjGLONASS RAIM The fact that the two systems operate on different
time scales can be solved by the avionics user by simply adding the time dif-
ference to his solution state vector. This does, however, require an additional
satellite signal source because it adds another unknown to the solution. Further-
more, at least two satellites are required from both systems in the solution. If
there is only one satellite, any error in its pseudorange will simply be assigned
to the solution for the time difference based upon the position solution deter-
mined from the other system. However, this requirement for an additional satel-
lite would not exist continuously, since the time scales of both systems are quite
stable and a reliable time difference solution would remain valid over a long
time. Continuous monitoring may be required for solution integrity, however,
as well as detecting interfrequency errors in the receiver.
The problem with operating with two coordinate systems can be solved over
a period of time and updated as necessary with data-base parameters. For most
phases of flight, the differences appear to be small enough, so they do not mat-
ter [85 J. For precision approach applications, the use of differential corrections
would cancel the differences, including the differences in the time scales.
The combined system can also be used in conjunction with the W AAS
described in Section 5. 7 .3, in which case the differences can be broadcast via
the W AAS. If there are a number of failures in either system, the availability
of RAIM and continuity of service could also suffer because, as stated at the
beginning of this section, the two systems' orbits are not synchronized. That is,
if the GLONASS system were to augment the GPS system on one day, it may
not on the next because the ground tracks of the satellites moved with respect
to each other. This could be a problem if the GLONASS system continues to be
unreliable and the number of satellites in orbit do not maintain an operational
status.
5.7.3 Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)

The WAAS Concept The WAAS is being developed by the FAA and is
expected to provide a test signal by 1998 [ 125]. In parallel the Europeans are
developing the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS)
[127] and Japan is developing the MTSAT Satellite-Based Augmentation Sys-
tem (MSAS) [128]. Both of these systems will be very similar to WAAS. Japan
will use their own satellites (MTSAT-1 and MTSAT-2). The Europeans will
share the Inmarsat-3 satellites with the FAA. ICAO has named the generic
WAAS-type system a Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS). It is a
safety-critical system consisting of a signal-in-space and a ground network to
support en-route through precision approach air navigation. The W AAS aug-
ments GPS with the following three services: a ground integrity broadcast that
will meet the RNP integrity requirements for all phases of flight down to Cate-
gory I precision approach, wide area differential GPS (W ADGPS) corrections
that will provide accuracy for GPS users so as to meet RNP accuracy require-
ments for all phases of flight down to Category I precision approach, and a
ranging function that will provide additional availability and reliability that will
help satisfy the RNP availability requirements for all phases of flight down to
Category I precision approaches [69].
Figure 5.34 illustrates the WAAS concept [69, 98]. The W AAS uses geo-
stationary satellites (GEOs-Inmarsat-3 's and successors) to broadcast the
integrity and correction data to users for all of the GPS (and GEO) satellites
visible to the W AAS network. This broadcast is at the GPS L 1 frequency mod-
ulated with a C/ A code in the same family as the GPS C/ A codes. This family
of codes contains I 023 codes, of which all but 256 are balanced codes and
of which 36 are assigned or reserved for GPS [32]. Nineteen of the remain-
ing codes have been reserved for the wide area augmentation broadcasts [98].
Thus, a slightly modified GPS avionics receiver can receive these broadcasts.
Since these codes will be synchronized to the W AAS network time, which is
the reference time of the W ADGPS corrections, the signals can also be used for
ranging. A sufficient number of GEOs provides enough augmentation to satisfy
RNP availability and reliability requirements.
The first two launches of Inmarsat-3 satellites, the first such satellites avail-
W IDE-AREA
REFERENCE
STATION
(WRS)
Figure 5.34 W AAS concept.
able for wide area augmentation at the L I frequency were in 1996 [87]. Four
satellites are planned with an edge-of-Earth coverage shown in Figure 5.35 .
Note that many areas have double coverage, while some areas (e.g. , Europe)
have triple coverage. However, at least double coverage is required everywhere
in the service volume to provide the required RNP availability and reliability
[29, 30]. Thus, for CONUS, at least one or two additional GEOs are required
[30] . Unlike the Inmarsat-3 communications satellites, these additional GEOs
may be small single-mission navigation satellites [I 00].
In theW AAS concept, a network of monitoring stations (wide area reference
stations, WRSs) continuously track the GPS (and GEO) satellites and relay the
tracking information to a central processing facility [69, 98]. The central pro-
cessing facility (wide area master station, WMS), in turn, determines the health
and W ADGPS corrections for each signal in space and relays this information,
via the broadcast messages, to the ground Earth stations (GESs) for uplink to
Figure 5.35 lnmarsat-3 four ocean-region dep loyment showing 5° elevation contours.
the GEOs. The WMS also determines and relays the GEO ephemeris and clock
state messages to the GEOs. The signal is converted to the L I frequency on
the GEO satellite is then broadcast to the avionics user by the GEO satellite.
WAAS Navigation Payloads The navigation payload of lnmarsat-3 is added

to the normal communications payload to provide the wide area broadcast. This
payload is simply a bent-pipe transponder that converts a C-band uplink to both
a C-band downlink and the L I broadcast using the normal communications
C-band receivers and transmitters [32] . In the payload, input from the C-band
receiver is converted to IF, filtered, and then converted to the frequency required
for the C-band transmitter, plus converted to L I for continuous transmission via
the Ll HPA and antenna. Uplink power and the Ll gain are controlled so that
the Ll HPA always operates in saturation. This minimizes transmitted power
variations and, along with the requirement for a strong uplink signal , reduces
the effects of uplink interference and maximizes the ability to sense it [101].
Power control is realized via an encrypted TT &C.
Future WAAS navigation payloads may take on a different form - more like
that of the GPS satellites as described in Section 5.5.3 but without the military
mission features of the GPS satellites ]100] . Instead of being a simple signal
transponder, the payload will act as a data transponder, incorporating its own
stable clock. In this way, the uplinked data can be encrypted and , thus, provide
a more secure data and signal channel.
Message Format and Content [I 02, 1291 The integrity message contains the
status of each GPS satellite as use/ don '1 use information as well as WADGPS
error corrections and GEO ephemeris and clock data. The messages set into a
format with the capability to include both GPS and GLONASS data, although
GLONASS data are not planned in the FAA system. The magnitude of the
W ADGPS corrections can be also be used as error statistics for the users that
are not applying the corrections in the appropriate phases of flight.
The message data rate differs from that of the standard GPS signal [I 02,
I 03, 104, 129]. It has a symbol rate of 500 symbols per second. A rate 1/2
forward error-correcting (FEC) convolutional code of length seven is used to
reduce the effective data rate to 250 bps, but allowing a 5-dB gain in effective
energy-to-hit ratio over an uncoded 250 bps transmission [105]. Each message
block, shown in Figure 5.36, contains 250 bits, lasting one second. Each frame
contains 24 bits of parity to provide a strong burst error detection capability
as required for high integrity. The higher data rate provides two capabilities.
The first is a required capability to provide an integrity alarm to within 5.2
sec of a signal-in-space fault during Category I precision approach [98]. The
second is to broadcast W ADGPS corrections at a rate commensurate with SA
and ionospheric delay errors.
The various message types are listed in Table 5.9 [129]. There are two types
of correction data-fast and slow. The types 2 through 5 fast corrections are
intended to correct for rapidly changing errors such as GPS SA clock errors,
while the slow corrections are for slower changing errors due to the atmo-
spheric and long-term satellite clock and ephemeris errors. The fast GPS clock
errors are common to all users and will be broadcast as such. Corrections des-
ignated with the maximum positive number indicate not-monitored satellites,
while those designated with the maximum amplitude negative numbers indi-
cate don't-use satellites, which is the integrity indication. Procedures for using
these messages are given in the RTCA MOPS [104, 129].
For the slower corrections, the users are provided with ephemeris and clock
error estimates for each satellite in view (message types 24 and 25). Users are
separately provided with a wide area ionospheric delay model and sufficient
real-time data to evaluate the ionospheric delays for each satellite using that
model (message types 18 and 26). This model is comprised of vertical iono-
spheric delays at a set of grid of points that a user can interpolate to the iono-
spheric pierce points of his pseudorange observations.
~-------------------250BITS-1SECONn-----------------------~l
I I I 212-BIT DATA FIELD
24-BITS
1 PARITY.
I
II 6-BIT MESSAGE TYPE IDENllFIER (0 - 63}

8-BIT PREAMBLE OF 24 BITS TOTAL IN 3 CONTIGUOUS BLOCKS
Figure 5.36 W AAS message data block format.
TABLE 5.9 WAAS message types
Type Contents
0 Do not use this GEO for anything (for W AAS testing)
PRN Mask assignments, set up to 52 of 210 bits
2-5 Fast corrections
6 Integrity information
7 UDRE acceleration information
8 Estimated standard deviation message
9 GEO navigation message, (X, Y, Z, time, etc.)
10-11 Reserved for future messages
12 WAAS network/UTC offset parameters
13-16 Reserved for futu,:e messages
17 GEO satellite almanacs
18 Ionospheric grid point masks
24 Mixed fast corrections/long-term satellite error corrections
25 Long-term satellite error corrections
26 Ionospheric delay corrections
27 WAAS service message
63 Null message
Since tropospheric refraction is a local phenomenon, all users must compute

their own tropospheric delay corrections using a standardized model. The GEO
broadcast messages will not include any explicit tropospheric corrections.
PRN masks are used to designate which PRN belongs to which correction
slot. These masks improve the efficiency of the broadcast by preventing the
continual inclusion of PRNs for the integrity data and corrections. The integrity
data and corrections are provided sequentially based upon PRN numbers that
are assigned to various types of satellies (GPS, GLONASS, GEO, and future
GNSS satellites).
WAAS/Fault Detection/Exclusion Interaction The users are only required to

use fault detection (RAIM) or fault detection and exclusion (FDE) in conjunc-
tion with theW AAS in two cases: Fault detection is required during Category I
precision approach, if available, and fault exclusion is required anytime W AAS
integrity is not available in the other phases of flight ll 04 ]. Otherwise, neither
fault detection nor fault exclusion is required, since these functions are provided
by the W AAS broadcast. The WAAS provides the following enhancements to
RAIM availability and performance l95, I 06]:
First, in providing use/don't use information, the WAAS broadcast elimi-
nates the requirement for the RAIM or FDE to perform fault detection and
isolation (or satellite exclusion). The WAAS network is isolating the faults.
Availability is increased because it removes the requirement for a fifth or sixth

satellite with good geometry.
Second, during precision approach, RAIM must be used if it is available-
enough satellites are available with good geometry. Its purpose is not to detect
satellite failures but to detect rare anomalous propagation events such as local
ionospheric, tropospheric, and interference effects. If RAIM is not available,
the performance of the signal in space indicated by the W AAS can be used for
integrity. The probability of the nonavailability of RAIM coupled with the rare
events is small enough to provide the necessary integrity.
Using GPS alone, these enhancements still would not increase the avail-
ability and continuity of function to that required for RNP service, primar-
ily because of satellite coverage. However, the W AAS can provide one more
enhancement that will do so-additional satellites with a ranging capability,
which is the subject of the next section.
WAAS Ranging Since the signals broadcast by the W AAS geostationary

satellites are modulated with a C/ A code, they can also be used for ranging
if the timing of the signals are controlled with enough accuracy. Even if the
signals are not controlled exactly, pseudorange corrections from their own data
messages will provide the required accuracy. The effect of this ranging capa-
bility is a very good GPS constellation augmentation, although geostationary
satellites, in addition to the Inmarsat-3 satellites, will be required for some areas
of the earth, including the central part of CONUS. The effect of adding four
ranging geostationary satellites on the coverage over CONUS is shown in Fig-
ure 5.37. These four satellites are the three (not including the one over the
Indian Ocean) illustrated in Figure 5.35 plus one located at W 120°. This avail-
ability can be compared to that presented earlier in Figure 5.9. The 99.999%
availability of HDOP (2.37 average, and 3.03 worst-case) meets nonprecision
approach availability requirements, although double coverage over all locations
is required to obtain reliable coverage in the case of a long-term geostationary
satellite failure. The availability presented in Figures 5.9 and 5.35 does not
include the availability of continuity. That is, they only present instantaneous
availability and do not take into account possible loss of availability over the
en tire flight phase, a subject discussed in reference [ 130].
The 99.9% availability of VDOP is 2.52 average and 3.13 worst case. These
values may not appear to be acceptable for Category I precision approach.
However, it is not the availability of VDOP that is important but the avail-
ability of vertical accuracy [106]. By applying a weighted-least-squares solu-
tion as described in Section 5.5.7, the concept of straight VDOP is not valid.
However, the square root of the vertical component of the covariance matrix
given in Equation 5.72 is valid. It has been shown that the 99.9% availabil-
ity of vertical accuracy can be met using the four GEOs described above
[30]. Furthermore, the weighted-least-squares approach can also be extended to
RAIM [106].
N
-..I ---= .. -~. .-.. - .-..-·-·-_·-CONUS
·---...l.::-""":"::''::'::'---,
""" ...-: ·.. .... HOOP
0.995 -1--------- . - - + ---f.;'-·- ..... - ----- -·--·-· .. · · · · HDOP @ N36 W1 05
0.99 ----i ·t····
/."
·-· · · · · · · . . . . . . . . ____
-.. -
___ --- -CONUS VDOP
VDOP@ N34 W093
0.985 -J-------- --+/: ·--·- ············ ·········· --·- -- · · · · ·-·-----· · · · -· · . ····-· 24 GPS + 4 GEO
• I
0.98 / •: .
...........•...... ······r············ ·······-- .. ....... ___ ···············- SATELLITES
~ 0.975 of·····-·-·················------
'
···-··-!········-········-·---·- ·+··········
...J
m 0.97 ---,. ...i... ________ -. l-- ........ ---- ....... --------!- .........___ ..__________ . . J.---------
<(
...J
-----,1: -· ··---···-~----·--- ~
1E+01
~ 0.965 --1~ .... -.. + . . . · · · 1-- ---1 ----t ~ 1E..01 ~
r-..1""---. I· 24GPS
<( :::i 1E..03 1.:'""
0.96
0.955 +···--····· . .
'
··ll···················
-lj- ··-
.... j
·········+·--1---·-·-----i .......... L ........

jjj
<(
m
0
0:
D.
w
1E..05
1E..07
1E..09
' ... "' """", ........._
-4 GEOs
' Kt
0:
::> 1E-11
0.95 -------- ' · · -·-

·-r~ -· -······· ·········l······-·····f···-····-···············-+···········--··········1
-'
<(
II.. 1E-13
1E-15
I~
. .J-!J
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
0.945 .. ·············-····l··--···f···--··········-·····-~---·'··--·---1
I
NUMBER OF SIMULTANEOUS SV FAILURES
11 lr I 1 I II
0.5 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
"ALL-IN-VIEW" DILUTION OF PRECISION OVER THE CONTINENTAL US

Figure 5.37 Availability of HDOP and VDOP when GPS is augmented with four GEOs.
~
GNSSSPACESEGMENT
DIFFERENTIAL CORRECTIONS
REFERENCE STATION
Figure 5.38 Pseudolite DGPS concept.
5.7.4 Pseudolite Augmentation

Pseudolite (PL) is an acronym for pseudosatellite. A PL is comprised of a
GNSS-like signal generator at a fixed known location that broadcasts DGPS
corrections as well as a ranging code. The concept is illustrated in Figure 5.38
and is analogous to the WAAS approach described in Section 5.7.3 with the
exception that the signal is generated on the ground. The advantages of PLs for
precision approach and landing applications are as follows:
I. They provide a data link for local DGPS corrections and integrity infor-
mation that can be received with a slightly modified GPS avionics receiver
[107, 108].
2. They provide additional ranging signals, just as the W AAS, resulting in
a significant VDOP availability enhancement [109, 110, 111, 112, 113].
This VDOP enhancement is illustrated in Figure 5.39 for two PLs aug-
menting GPS at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
VDOP is reduced from 2.3 for GPS only to less than 1 in the area of
the runways for GPS augmented with two PLs [113]. Similar enhance-
ments are shown in [ll2] for runways at O'Hare International Airport in
Chicago.
3. They provide a rapid change in geometry that is extremely important for
1.7
I
:::.:::
g
(.!)
0
g< -5.--_ __
M
i
1:1::: -10
-10 -5 0 5 10 15
RW13 CROSSTRACK (KM)
Figure 5.39 Illustration of VDOP reduction with 2 PLs at the FAA Technical Center.
kinematic carrier phase ambiguity (both integer and floating point) resolu-
tion techniques [73] and multipath mitigation. This approach is described
in Section 5.5.9.
4. Their signals in space can be more accurate than satellite signals because
of the nonpresence of ephemeris and ionospheric delay errors and reduced
tropospheric delay errors [Ill I].
Along with these advantages there are two significant disadvantages that require
attention: I. The proximity of the PL to the avionics user causes potential inter-
ference to the reception of satellite signals-the well-known near/far problem
[107, 108, 110, 114]. The PL signals become quite strong when the avionics
receiver is near the PL if the PL power is set for reception at a distance. For
example, the received PL signal power increases inversely with the square of
distance from the PL. For a precision approach and landing applications, the
PL power would be set for reception at about 20 nmi. Thus, at 0.1 mile, the
received signal is 40,000 times stronger (46 dB). 2. A PL's location on the
ground could present a problem with the antenna location on the aircraft for
simultaneous reception of the pseudo lite and the satellites [ 113, 115].
Solutions to the NearjFar Interference Problem The interference problem

can be solved by altering the signal structure of the PL [113, 115]. Two signal
diversity techniques have been tes.ted: the use of a pulsed signal and an offset
in frequency from that of the received satellite signals. Pulsing is required to
prevent the capture of a receiver due to the excessive dynamic range required
for a close-in signal [108]. The pulsing with a relatively low duty cycle reduces
the interference to any signal in the reception band. The strong signal simply
punches holes in the lower powered signals, reducing their received power by
only the duty cycle percentage. For example, if the duty cycle is set at 0.1, the
signal loss of the satellite signal is only I 0 log 10 0.9 = 0.458 dB, although an
additional loss in CjN0 is realized because the pulse power also enters the corre-
lator. This pulse power is reduced significantly by precorrelation pulse clipping
or pulse suppression, techniques that are already implemented in GPS receivers.
Pulsing is also required to prevent multiple PLs interfering with each other. This
adds a requirement of pulse timing so that pulses from two different PLs are
not received simultaneously, in addition to the requirement that received pulses
must be asynchronous with the reception of GPS data bit edges. This type of
timing is possible [113, 115].
Even though pulsing can reduce interference significantly, the strong signal
within the clipped pulses can still cross-correlate with the received satellite sig-
nals, if indeed the PL signals carry GPS-like Cj A codes [ 108, II 0, 113, 114,
115, 116]. This causes another dynamic range problem because the cross-cor-
relation margin between C/ A codes is only on the order of 22 to 24 dB [ 18,
32]. The I 0 dB reduction in average power of the pseudolite signal due to a
10% duty cycle pulsing does little to prevent cross-correlation [ 114 ]. This is
where the frequency offset helps. It has been shown that the cross-correlation
can also occur at frequency offsets but is proportional to the 1 kHz spectral
line component levels of another CjA code in the same family [18, 32]. As it
happens, however, the spectral line components near the null of the spectrum
are down on the order of 70 to 80 dB, as can be observed in Figure 5.15. Thus,
if the PL were to transmit in the null of the GPS satellite C/ A code spectra,
which are all at the same frequency to within 5 kHz due to Doppler differences,
the cross-correlation would be insignificant [ 113, 115]. Cross-correlation peaks
within 4 dB of the 0 offset case can still occur [ 116]. However, if the carrier
frequency jcode frequency ratio of 1540 is maintained, these peaks disappear
very rapidly and simply create an interfering noise that the pulsing mitigates.
Test results back up these interference mitigation theories [ 113 ]. Figure 5.40
20 40 60 80
Average PL to GPS Power (dB)
Figure 5.40 Effects of signal structure on PL interference to GPS satellite signal
reception.
presents the degradation in GPS silgnal reception C/No as a function of average

received PL to GPS power ratio for four cases: no PL pulsing or frequency off-
set, either pulsing or frequency offset, and both. The improvements using the
mitigation techniques are obvious. Using only a frequency offset buys very lit-
tle mitigation. Using pulsing alone results in a degradation of about 3.5 dB for
average PL to GPS power ratios of 16 to 70 dB (peak power is 10.5 dB higher).
Cross-correlation could occur in this case. This could be part of the degrada-
tion, but mostly due to the fact that the receiver uses multi-bit sampling that
allows some of the pulses to pass through the correlator. The best performance
is achieved when both techniques are used, resulting in about 1.5-dB degra-
dation. This is very acceptable considering the advantage gained in navigation
performance using PLs. The effect on low-cost "hard-limiting" GPS receivers
is even less. With this signal structure, the differential correction/integrity data
rate can be as high as 1 kbit/sec with standard BPSK modulation, and up to
2 kbitsjsec using quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) data modulation [113,
115, 131].
Solutions to the Antenna Location Problem A combination of solutions

needs evaluation to solve this problem if it is indeed a problem [113, 115].
First of all, if the signal diversity techniques are used to solve the interference
problem, then the receivers become insensitive to the PL's transmitted power
level as long as the average power is strong enough to receive at the maxi-
mum distance (e.g., 20 nmi). Thus, it might be possible to increase the power
of the PL so that it can be received via the reduced antenna gain at negative
elevation angles. Second, PL placement (high and off to the side) may be pos-
sible so that the elevation angle is near zero rather than large negative. Third,
although not desirable, an additional antenna could be added to the bottom of
the aircraft. This is not desirable for three reasons: an additional antenna also
requires another hole in the aircraft's fuselage, it requires an additional LNA and
associated cables, and it adds an additional lever arm and delay to the GNSS
solution.
Initial test results have shown that the antenna location problem can be
solved without an additional antenna [113, 132]. These results show PL sig-
nal data message dropouts, with no loss of lock, only occur at larger dis-
tances when the aircraft is maneuvering. No message dropouts occurred when
the aircraft was on final approach. These preliminary test results are promis-
ing.
5.8 FUTURE TRENDS
In this chapter, satellite radio navigation is described as it existed in 1996,

except for some developments to enhance GNSS integrity, availability, and
accuracy for commercial aviation. However, there are other developments that
will enhance GNSS even further. Two of these developments are discussed
PROBLEMS 279
in this section: the relationship of future personal communications systems to

GNSS and the evolution of a future civil GNSS.
With the proposed development of satellite-based personal communication
systems such as Iridium, the possibility of position reporting via these systems
is attractive. This brought about a concept in which the communication system
signals themselves could be used as navigation signals. However, this concept
failed to mature for two reasons. First, the number of satellites required for oper-
ation of the communication system was not enough to provide adequate con-
tinuous navigation, especially for dynamic users. Second, since GPS receivers
have become so much smaller and less expensive, such a receiver could eas-
ily be embedded into the personal communication receiver/transmitter, with-
out the development of communications signals with a navigation signal capa-
bility.
However, this does not mean that a future civil GNSS system could not take
advantage of these future communications systems. With a suitable orbit con-
figuration from a geometric point of view, the same satellites could be used for
both purposes [99, 100, 117, 118, 119, 120]. The investigations of the feasibility
of a future civil GNSS, at least as an augmentation to GPS, have been recom-
mended by the RTCA Task Force 1 [2] and the FANS GNSS subgroup of ICAO
[120]. Early investigations by Inmarsat recognized substantial cost savings for
such a system if navigation payloads were to be hosted on future communi-
cation satellites, provided that they were placed in intermediate circular orbits
(ICOs) [99, 100]. In fact, a navigation payload in each of these communication
satellites (12-15) would provide an excellent augmentation to GPS, increasing
accuracy, integrity, availability, and continuity of service significantly. Then, as
a future option, additional low-cost navigation satellites could be launched to
eventually provide a stand-alone civil GNSS as a future replacement for GPS,
in the event that GPS is no longer available.
PROBLEMS
5.1. A GPS user receiver is tracking four GPS satellites-PRNs 1, 13, 19, and
22. Via the reception of navigation data, the receiver receives the following
ephemeris parameters:
(a) Parameters common to all four satellites:
vA = 5153.619629 meters
e=O
i0 = 0.3055555556 semicircles
wo = 0 semicircles
toe = 345, 600 seconds in the GPS week
(b) Individual parameters:
Satellite PRN 0 0 Semicircles Mo Semicircles

I -0.3239929371 -0.1055577595
13 0.6760070629 0.5808311294
19 -0.9906596038 -0.3166133151
22 -0.6573262705 -0.2525022039
All other received parameters are zero. This user's measurements

were taken such that a common time of applicability of the satellites'
ephemerides is 531,000 sec in the GPS week. Evaluate the position of
each satellite at that time of week.
Ans.: The satellite positions are as follows:
X 1 = 13,672.46475 km
Y 1 = -6,720.41440 km
Z 1 = 21,755.97535 km
x, 3 = --2,370.46666 km
Y 13 = --23,498.04734 km
zl3 = -12,150.94171 km
X ,9 = - 18,962.99343 km
Y 19 = 6, 971.55345 km
Z 19 = 17,240.21601 km
X 22 = -10,899.89991 km
Y 22 = -14,301.92165 km
z22 = 19,546.60953 km
5.2. The user's estimated position (near Denver) in ECEF coordinates is as

follows:
X= -1, 268.4451896 km
Y = -4,739.4160255 km
Z = 4, 078.0482708 km
which corresponds to a position of N39° 44", W 104 o 59", at an altitude

of 1,609.344 meters. (Assume a spherical earth with a radius of 6378.163
kilometers.) Compute the slant ranges and azimuth and elevation angles
from his estimated position to the four satellites described in Problem 1.
Compute the HDOP, VDOP, PDOP, TDOP, and GDOP at the user's esti-
mated position.
PROBLEMS 281
Ans: The slant ranges are as follows:
R1 = 23,230.69260 km
R 13 = 24,829.03623 km
R19= 24,969.68770 krn
Rn = 20, 578.69009 km
The azimuth and elevation angles are as follows:
Az1 = 45.201 o El 1 = 24.955°

Az13 = 171.127° El 13 = 8.759°
Az19 = 305.645° El19 = 7.436°
Azn = 302.780° El 22 = 66.743°
The OOPs are as follows:
HOOP = 1.241
VOOP = 1.631
POOP = 2.050
TOOP = 0.823
GOOP = 2.208
5.3. After traveling some distance the user then measures the following actual
ranges to the four satellites:
R 1 = 22, 280, 304.1 78 meters

R 13 = 25,351,375.133 meters
R 19 = 25, 373,230.135 meters
R22 = 20, 867, 137.653 meters
What is the user's new position in ECEF coordinates? What are the
azimuth and elevation angles to the satellites and the HOOP, VOOP, POOP,
TOOP, and GOOP at this new position, which has an approximate position
of N44° 58", W93° 15", at an altitude of 200 meters? Assume a spherical
earth with a radius of 6378.163 kilometers.
Ans.: The user's position solution (near Minneapolis) is as follows:
X = - 255.843602 km
Y = - 4,505.54881 km
Z = 4, 507.55905 km
The azimuth and elevation angles are as follows:
Az1 = 51.406° Elt = 36.316°

Azn = 182.344° El13 = 3.909°
AZJ9 = 310.241° El19 = 3.709°
Az22 = 288.152° Eh2 = 59.474°
The DOPs are as follows:
HDOP = 1.304
VDOP = 1.603
PDOP = 2.066
TDOP = 0.8432
GDOP = 2.231
6 Terrestrial Integrated Radio
Communication-Navigation
Systems
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Since the 1970s, many radio communication and navigation systems have
used the same portion of the frequency spectrum and common technology,
such as time synchronous operation, digital modulation, spread spectrum wave
forms, coding and user-borne clock oscillators. Synchronous operation, in con-
junction with signal time-of-arrival measurement, has lead to a direct method
for measuring the range between transmitter and receiver locations in sys-
tems using this technology. For these reasons, integrated relative and absolute
communication-navigation systems, which provide both digital communication
and navigation functions by means of the same wave form, have been widely
developed. These systems typically use the content of digital data and the time
of anival of the messages measured by the receiver, to determine the receiver
platform's position, through some form of multilateration. In general, the posi-
tions are determined in a relative sense within an arbitrary grid, although the
unit positions can be referenced to an absolute, geodetic coordinate system,
such as latitude, longitude, and altitude, through the use of reference stations
whose positions are independently known in the absolute coordinate system. In
addition, the position data may be combined in a Kalman filter with dead-reck-
oning sensor data, such as from an inertial platform, for the purpose of position
extrapolation and calibration of the dead-reckoning sensor enors.
Several types of tenestrial integrated communication-navigation systems
have been developed. One is a decentralized system, in which the operation
is not dependent on any central site or node, and each user in a community of
members determines its own position. Such a system is also called nodeless. A
second type is a centralized system, wherein the operation is dependent on a
central site (node) and may be controlled by it and wherein the determination
of the positions of the users in the community is performed by that central site.
Frequently, it is desired to have the positions of a large number of users known
and tracked at the central site, such as in military or civil command and con-
trol systems. Typically, in such a system, users may obtain their positions by
automatic, periodic, or occasional requests from the central node; hence such

284 COMMUNICATION-NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
a system is considered nodal. Sys.tems are being developed that exhibit both
nodal and nodeless characteristics and thus become hybrid systems. However,
the fundamental design of these systems is typically based on either the decen-
tralized or centralized concepts.
Typical examples of these systems are represented by the Joint Tactical Infor-
mation Distribution System Relative Navigation (JTIDS RelNav) function and
the position location reporting system (PLRS) and its enhanced versions, whose
principles of operation are described in this chapter. The former is representa-
tive of a decentralized system and the latter is representative of a centralized
system. Applications of these types of systems cover a wide spectrum, includ-
ing the handover of targets between units operating within a common grid,
rendezvous of aircraft or other units, command and control from the viewpoint
of a military commander having knowledge of the position of his forces, and
such specialized purposes as search and rescue and medical evacuation.
The systems described in this chapter were mature and operational in 1996.
For example, by 1996, over 3600 PLRS and enhanced PLRS user units had been
produced and deployed on a variety of U.S. Army and Marine Corps vehicles,
including tanks and helicopters and as manpack units, and about 1500 more
were planned for the future. By 1996, about 500 airborne JTIDS terminals had
been installed on such aircraft as the U.S. E3A, E2C, B-1, F-14D, F-ISC, and
JSTARS, as well as on several aircraft of other NATO countries. About 400
more such terminals had been planned for later installation in various military
aircraft and ships. Also in 1996, a major development was under way by a
consortium of several countries for a JTIDS-like smaller and modular MIDS
terminal that includes the relative navigation function. This reduction in termi-
nal size will make it possible to install it in a large variety of other aircraft.
6.2 JTIDS RELATIVE NAVIGATION
6.2.1 General Principles

The relative navigation (RelNav) function of JTIDS is a decentralized position
location and navigation system wherein each user independently determines its
position, velocity, and altitude from data received from other users. Member
units in a JTIDS community make transmissions in time slots assigned on a pre-
cise common time base maintained by on-board synchronized clocks. Among
the many transmitted message types are round-trip timing (RTT) messages and
precise position location and identification (PPLI) messages. The RTT mes-
sages provide maintenance of the precise clock synchronism that supports one-
way radio ranging, and PPLI messages provide the time-of-arrival (TOA) range
measurements and the source position information that are the foundation of the
RelNav function.
JTIDS RelNav is based fundamentally on trilateration, which may be visual-
ized geometrically as scribing arcs of known radius (derived from the TOA of
JTIDS RELATIVE NAVIGATION 285
PPLI messages) centered on the positions of the transmitters and intersecting at

the position of the receiver. The algebraically equivalent process involves the
solution of three simultaneous quadratic equations in two unknowns (the third
equation serving to resolve the ambiguity in the solution of the first two). The
solution may also be obtained by an iterative linear process in which an initial
position estimate is adjusted in the direction of first one and then another of the
sources until a position satisfying the ranges to all three is found. This essen-
tially is the process mechanized in the JTIDS RelNav Kalman filter. Each PPLI
message is processed independently and the observations need not be simultane-
ous. The importance of this is obvious if the user is moving and the observations
are sequential as in JTIDS time slots.
JTIDS units typically transmit PPLI messages at intervals ranging from 3 to
12 seconds. A navigating user's processor employs an estimate of its velocity to
extrapolate travel during the time between received PPLI observations. It uses
the extrapolated position estimate at the instant of each observation to com-
pute a range error vector, namely, the difference between the measured range
(TOA) and the range computed from the estimated position and the received
source position. The velocity estimate is obtained from the aircraft dead-reck-
oner system, such as inertial or air data, and the errors of the dead-reckoner
system contribute to the observed range error vectors so that, over time, the
dead-reckoner errors can be estimated. JTIDS RelNav is, therefore, typically
operated as a hybrid multisensor navigation system in which the range mea-
surements are used to derive corrections to the dead reckoner in a multi-state
Kalman filter. Chapter 3 describes the basic concepts of hybrid multi sensor nav-
igation systems.
JTIDS RelNav may also operate without input from a dead reckoner in what
is called a TOA-only mode, but in this mode the extrapolated position estimate
is based simply on the immediately preceding two positions and is suitable only
for very low-dynamic platforms, such as surface ships.
6.2.2 JTIDS System Characteristics

JTIDS is a synchronous, time-division multiple-access digital communication
system operating in the 960- to 1215-MHz band. The time slot and message
structure are shown in Figure 6.1. The first 32 pulses of each message are a
synchronization preamble to establish precise receiver sampling times for the
information chips modulated on the following data pulses. The unoccupied por-
tion of the time slot allows the transmission of certain longer message types and
guard time for RF propagation to all users before the beginning of the next time
slot.
The preamble and its digital matched filter detector establish message start
time to a precision of a few hundredths of a microsecond. Precise determina-
tion of message start is necessary to the sampling and decoding of the 200-ns
data chips and synchronized clocks are necessary for slot number definition and
crypto-decoding. With message TOA very precisely known on the receiver's
One time slot

containing one
Standard Message
""'~ ~ 258 P"''"' of 6.4 mic"""coods

duration, spaced 6.6 microseconds
• II IITfiTI1lffi IITITIITfl1
___~~,~,~,~.~~.~.~~,___ _,.~~,~,~,~I.LI.L__.~~.Willillill~~,~,~,~~--JIWUI.II.I.II.u.u.-
32 chips/pulse encoding five
information bits, continuous phase
shift modulated, pseudo-randomly
encoded
Figure 6.1 JTlDS signal structure.
clock, very precise synchronization of all the individual clocks, although not
necessary for the communications function of JTIDS, allows the receiver to
convert message TOA to an accurate one-way radio range to each of the trans-
mitters and thus support a precise multilateration navigation function.
6.2.3 Clock Synchronization

Two means of maintaining clock synchronism are provided: round-trip timing
(RTT), which operates independently of Re!Nav, and a passive technique intrin-
sic to the RelNav function. There is also provision for synchronization to an
on-board external time reference (ETR) such as an atomic clock or a global
positioning system (GPS) receiver.
The net time reference (NTR) transmits first in any new net and establishes
the system time to which all other units synchronize by the exchange of round-
trip timing interrogation (RTTI) and round-trip timing reply (RTTR) messages
either directly with the NTR or with another unit already synchronized to the
NTR. RTTis are very short messages containing only the addresses of the inter-
rogator and of the desired donor. The donor responds at a fixed time later in
the same time slot with an RTTR message containing the address of the inter-
rogator and the time of arrival (TOA) of the RTTI as measured on the donor's
clock. The interrogator measures the TOA of the reply and computes the adjust-
ment to its own clock necessary to make the donor's reported TOA equal the
TOA of the reply at the interrogator. Figure 6.2 illustrates the message exchange
and the associated calculation. A series of RTT transactions over a period of
a few minutes provides an estimate of the interrogator's clock drift rate; i.e.,
the frequency error of its clock oscillator and the frequency error estimate is
then used to retune the oscillator driving the clock. The estimation of clock bias
and frequency errors is carried out in a small Kalman filter that provides error
Interrogator t (o)
TOA(i)
err (i)
Interrogator
Source
Source t (o)
err (0 • [TOA (s) - TOA (0 + t (d)) I 2

err (i) Interrogator clock error
TOA(s) Time of arrival of interrogation on source clock
TOA(i) Time of arrival of reply on interrogator clock
t (d) Standard reply delay time
t(o) Slot start time
Figure 6.2 The round-trip timing (RTT) process.
uncertainties in its covariance matrix. The clock bias uncertainty (variance) is

converted to a time quality number that is transmitted in the PPLI messages.
A synchronizing user performs RTT transactions with the donor of the highest
time quality exceeding its own.
A technique of passive synchronization is provided for users constrained
to radio silence. A RelNav user's clock error adds linearly and equally to the
observed one-way radio ranges to all the PPLI sources. The RelNav Kalman
filter of passive users minimizes this common range bias by assigning it to the
clock state carried in the RelNav Kalman filter. The clock errors of passive
users are, therefore, correlated with source time and position errors and are
magnified by geometric dilution of precision (GDOP). (See Chapters 4 and 5
for a discussion of GDOP.) Generally, the time and position errors of passive
users are greater than those of active users because the simultaneous solution
for both time and position is the equivalent of hyperbolation, rather than tri-
lateration, and the associated GDOP is greater. Passive users with an external
time reference, of course, do not suffer this effect.
Synchronization to an external time reference (ETR) follows essentially the
same procedure as RTT. The ETR supplies a time pulse and a data message
declaring the time of the pulse. The JTIDS terminal observes the difference
between the TOA of the pulse and the ETR's declared time of the pulse and
adjusts its clock and frequency models accordingly. Synchronization to ETRs
allows widely separated JTIDS ground units to maintain synchronism and readi-
ness to communicate and support RelNav over extended periods without radio
contact with other RTT sources.
6.2.4 Coordinate Frames and Community Organization

Coordinate Frames The primary coordinate frame for Re!Nav calculations is
geodetic latitude and longitude; however, JTIDS may simultaneously support
a secondary purely relative grid (Re!Grid) coordinate frame unique to JTIDS.
Operation in the Re!Grid is at times useful for the exchange of target coor-
dinates between units operating in areas with poor reference to local geodetic
coordinates, such as over ocean or deep-penetration missions.
The RelGrid is a cartesian frame tangent to the Earth at its origin with
U -coordinate east, V -coordinate north, and W -coordinate upward at the ori-
gin. The Re!Grid is typically established by a single moving unit called the
navigation controller (NC) that serves the same function in the Re!Grid as do
surveyed ground references or GPS-equipped users in the geodetic frame; it
establishes a reference baseline from which other units make trilateration mea-
surements. There must, therefore, be relative motion between the single NC
and the dependent users. The NC uses a specified geodetic location for the grid
origin to transform latitude and longitude from its on-board dead-reckoner sys-
tem to Re!Grid coordinates, and it appends the RelGrid coordinates to its PPLI
message. Position and velocity errors of the NC dead reckoner lead to offset
and drift of the Rei Grid relative to the true Earth and azimuth errors introduce
a rotation of the Re!Grid about the W-axis. However, the objective of RelGrid
operation is the calibration of the dead reckoners of the users relative to the
dead reckoner of the NC rather than calibration with respect to the Earth.
Re!Grid user units acquire an estimate of the Rei Grid origin by computation
from the geodetic and Re!Grid coordinates in a PPLI message from the NC or
from another unit established in the Re!Grid. The new grid entrant derives its
initial Re!Grid coordinates from its own geodetic position estimate and the com-
puted origin location. Thereafter, Rei Grid and geodetic navigation computations
proceed independently using the same source selection and Kalman filtering
logics as described in Section 6.2.7. Though computations in the two coordinate
frames are essentially independent, in a community with both geodetic and Rei-
Grid sources there is some interaction through the common dead-reckoner error
terms of the Re!Nav Kalman state vector (Table 6.1) as it attempts to reconcile
own-unit dead-reckoner errors and the NC dead-reckoner errors reflected in the
grid drift. If well disposed accurate geodetic references are available, there is
no need to establish a relative grid.
Community Organization A unique characteristic of JTIDS decentralized

RelNav is that users navigating in the system become navigation reference
sources for other users, and it is highly interactive in that the navigation errors
of one user propagate to other users. Re!Nav employs a dynamic covariance-
based user hierarchy to control these interactions and prevent reciprocal ranging
and regenerative circulation of errors. Rank in the hierarchy is transmitted in
the position quality and time quality fields of the PPLI message. Each user
independently estimates position and velocity corrections on the basis of PPLI
TABLE 6.1 Kalman filter state vector for ReiNav inertial

dead-reckoner system
State-Vector
Element Description
Relative grid U-position error
2 Relative grid V-position error
3 Geodetic quaternion error-element I
4 Geodetic quaternion error-element 2
5 Altitude error correction
6 RelGrid controller azimuth angle error
7 Clock bias
8 Platform Z-axis angle error
9 X-velocity error
10 Y-velocity error
II X-axis tilt error
12 Y-axis tilt error
13 Altitude scale factor error correction
14 RelGrid controller U-axis velocity error
15 RelGrid controller V-axis velocity error
16 Clock frequency error
messages received from users of superior quality and establishes its own rank in
the hierarchy on the basis of the qualities of its sources and the measurement
geometry as reflected in the RelNav Kalman filter covariance matrix. Some
units in the community must, of course, have independently known positions
and qualities to get things started.
In the time hierarchy, the net time reference (NTR) transmits the highest
time quality ( 15). Other units transmit time qualities derived from the time vari-
ance developed in their synchronization Kalman filters. Primary users employ
only the RTT technique, while secondary users employ primarily passive syn-
chronization, making recourse to RTT only under certain conditions of poor
geometry. Explicit designation of secondary users is seldom made. Radio-silent
users, unable to participate in RTT message exchanges, automatically assume
secondary user status.
Within the RelNav hierarchy, the equivalent of the NTR is the RelGrid
navigation controller (NC). RelGrid coordinates transmitted by the NC are by
definition perfect as indicated by transmission of the highest relative position
quality of 15. There is no equivalent of the NC in the geodetic frame; that
is, there is no equivalent arbitrarily perfect reference designator. Designation
as a position reference disables geodetic position update; however, this desig-
nation does not connote perfection. The accuracy of the geodetic position in
PPLT messages is characterized by the geodetic position quality which, for all
units, is determined initially by operator entry and subsequently by the RelNav
Kalman filter covariance. The maintenance of the covariance based hierarchy
in both time and position is the function of the source selection logic described
in Section 6.2.6.
6.2.5 Operational Utility

JTIDS RelNav provides precise position registration in geodetic coordinates and
(optionally) in its own unique U/V/W relative coordinate frame while requiring
no additional hardware beyond the JTIDS data link terminal and its data bus
interface with the host system. It provides calibration of on-board dead-reck-
oner errors (continuous in-air alignment) with consequently improved platform
alignment for referencing on-board weapon launch and guidance systems and
improved navigation accuracy during excursions out of JTIDS net coverage,
such as low-level missions in forward areas.
Precise registration of user positions and calibration of dead-reckoner errors
lead to improved registration between targets acquired by an on-board radar
and target track reports received from surveillance systems, especially those
from JTIDS-equipped airborne surveillance systems such as the E3 AWACS,
E2C Hawkeye, and JST ARS. More importantly, accurate relative position and
platform alignment provide improved registration of locally acquired targets
exchanged between the mission elements themselves. Position accuracy of one-
tenth to one-quarter mile is typically required to support reliable correlation
of these target reports. This exceeds the relative accuracy of unaided iner-
tial navigators after an hour of flight but is well within JTIDS RelNav accu-
racy. Accurate correlation of target reports between mission elements results
in more efficient weapon/target allocation. Accurate knowledge of the loca-
tions of the cooperating mission elements via the exchange of PPLI messages
also contributes to reduced risk of fratricide and allows greater freedom and
precision of maneuver between supporting elements in low-visibility condi-
tions.
6.2.6 Mechanization
The overall diagram of the RelNav function in Figure 6.3 shows its three major
subfunctions: source selection, Kalman filter and navigation processing. Each
received PPLI message is processed by the source selection function immedi-
ately following its reception. Host dead-reckoner data are processed in the nav-
igation function to provide an estimated own-unit position at the time of receipt
of each selected PPLI message. Source selection stores the selected PPLI obser-
vations and the associated navigation data to await processing by the RelNav
Kalman filter. The computed range and direction to the source and the mea-
sured range from the TOA of the received PPLI message provide a range error
vector which the filter uses to estimate position, velocity, and other dead-reck-
oner error states. These error estimates are applied to the internal dead-reck-
oner model in the navigation function and corrections are supplied to the host
platform.
Estimated Present Position
~
Souroe J Compute Range & leosinQ!;

1 Di'eotion Coeinee r --.
rNavigation
Nominal
IPOSitiOn State and
PPLI Message
(latitude ,Longitude, r.; ~Predicted

Ranae
Covariance
Update l
Dead
Altitude, nme of
Arrival & Qualities)
Source nmeof J Observation
Residual I .... Correction
Reckoner ~~--
Host Dead
Reckoner
Selection 1Nnva1
1 I Model Inputs
Source Vanance
Horizontal Position Variance ' I l J
.I
Careotione To
HOIJt
Kalman Filter Navigation
~---- ------ '- - -- - - -
Figure 6.3 Overall relative navigation flow diagram.
N
~
Source Selection The source selection function is crucial to the decentralized

design of JTIDS RelNav; in fact, it is the fundamental instrument for the main-
tenance of community stability. It enforces a position and time quality hierarchy
to prevent the regenerative circulation of errors and it also performs geometric
tests to give preference to sources from the directions most likely to improve
the user's position estimate.
Usually more PPLI messages are received than can be processed by the
Kalman filter function and some must be rejected. The JTIDS computer performs
many of its tasks on a slot-by-slot basis. However, there are tasks that do not need
to be completed within one time slot, and, indeed, there is usually insufficient time
for completion of all the tasks within a single slot. The Kalman filter involves
many trigonometric and matrix operations requiring considerable computer time,
but dead-reckoner error states are only slowly variable so the filter performance
is not very time sensitive. It is as:>igned a low task priority, and the processing
of a single observation may require many time slots for completion. Meanwhile,
the source selection function operates on each PPLI message as it is received and
buffers those selected to await processing by the filter. When the Kalman filter
completes processing the batch of observations gathered during the preceding
cycle, the current source selection buffer is transferred to the filter's input buffer
and a new source selection cycle is begun. The duration of the filter cycle, and
hence also of the source selection cycle, is variable (usually from 3 to 20 seconds)
because it is dependent on both the total processing load on the computer and on
the number of observations processed by the filter.
Figure 6.4 shows the functions and interfaces of the source selection pro-
cess. The minimum range test rejects observations from sources so near as
to threaten the linearity assumptions of the Kalman algorithm. The qual-
ity screening test is fundamental and maintains the quality-based hierarchy
by a comparison of the time and position qualities of the received PPLI
I Communications
Management Function
I PPLI
IMessage -----4_ Minimum Range Test I
I Kalman Filter Function Posrtion

!
l"ovar1anoe
--i-1
Quality Screening
I
- rl
1
I Time Base Function Time
vanance
Rank Tests
I
.j
1
Source Buffer I
I Navigation Function lNavigation
!Lata I
Management
I
Selected
.;:,ources
Kalman Filter
I
Figure 6.4 Relative navigation source selection flow diagram.
messages with those of the receiving user. In general, both the time and position
qualities of the source must exceed the position quality of the receiving user.
This test is, in a sense, antithetical to the concept of the Kalman filter which
was designed to derive low-variancae estimates from higher-variance observa-
tions; however, it has been found to be essential to the operation of the network
of interactive filters in a RelNav community. It recognizes that the simple qual-
ities transmitted in the PPLI messages do not represent true variances (noises)
in the estimation sense; rather, they represent uncertainties of estimation errors
that are predominantly correlated bias errors. The limited PPLI message bits
available to the RelNav function precluded the more sophisticated approach
of transmitting the separate position terms of the RelNav filter covariance
matrix.
Users enter the network with an operator-assigned initial position quality
indicating the uncertainty of the initial position estimate. In airborne users, posi-
tion quality will degrade with time in accordance with the error signature of the
user's dead reckoner as modeled in the Kalman filter's time propagation of the
covariance matrix. The Kalman filter processes PPLI observations to estimate
the dead-reckoner errors (and reduce their covariance terms) and this will be
reflected in a decreased rate of degradation of position quality. A dynamic bal-
ance supportable by the quality and geometry available from the PPLI message
sources is soon established.
The geometric rank tests of Figure 6.4 recognize that the value of a PPLI
observation is related not only to its position and time qualities but also to the
direction from which it was received. Several sources of equally high quality
all in approximately the same direction provide little more information than
one such source, but each will consume source selection buffer locations and
filter processing time and will crowd out observations of lesser quality but of
greater value by virtue of their directions. The rank test uses the orientation,
eccentricity, and semimjaor axis of the bivariate error ellipse defined by the
horizontal position terms of the RelNav Kalman filter covariance matrix and
the quality-based variance and direction of a received observation to compute a
numerical rank that is stored with each observation. The rank is the approximate
variance of a hypothetical observation lying directly on the extended major axis
that would provide the same benefit as the received observation at its angle off-
axis. In this context, benefit implies the reduction in the major axis of the error
ellipse to be expected of Kalman filter processing of the received observation.
Kalman Filter The JTIDS RelNav Kalman filter is an extended Kalman filter
that estimates linear error states of the navigation process. Table 6.1 presents
a typical state vector for use with an inertial dead reckoner. Two of the state-
vector elements (7, 16) are time and frequency states used only by passive
users. For active users, these two states are carried in a separate synchronization
filter that uses RTT or ETR data. Five states (1, 2, 6, 14, 15) are relative grid
states. Of the remaining nine states, the two horizontal geodetic position error
terms are carried as quaternions, while the third dimension is carried as altitude
error and an altimeter instrument scale factor term. The inertial filter models
velocity errors in the north and west directions in the geodetic frame and the
three platform misalignment or tilt states in the local-level frame. A filter for use
with air-data computer/attitude and heading reference system (ADC/ AHRS)
inputs is also included and differs in that it models the dead-reckoner errors
as two wind components, an airspeed instrument scale factor, and azimuth bias
and azimuth gyro drift rate errors.
Figure 6.5 is a flow diagram of the Kalman filter function. Only the mea-
surement geometry, measurement innovation, measurement validity, and filter
characterization features that are peculiar to JTIDS RelNav will be discussed
here. See Chapter 3 for a general discussion of Kalman filters used in multi-
sensor navigation systems.
The source position and the own-unit position stored with it are subtracted
vectorially to obtain a predicted range and three-dimensional direction cosines.
The range error (measurement innovation) is obtained by subtracting the pre-
dicted range from the measured range. The measurement variance derived from
the source qualities and the direction cosines are supplied to the Kalman gain
function, and the range error is supplied to the state and covariance update
function.
The validity tests are intended to detect divergence of the filter and to pro-
vide protection against inconsistent observations. This is particularly impor-
tant to JTIDS RelNav, as compared to other radio-ranging systems because the
ranging sources are typically other, sometimes erroneous, navigating users. The
dilemma facing any validity test is whether the error lies with the local esti-
mate or with the input data. The source selection function makes this decision
more difficult by narrowing the group of sources to the few, typically three to
five, with the best announced qualities (whether true or false). An observation
is rejected if the measurement innovation (the computed range error) is large
compared to the receiving user's filter variances (3-sigma reasonableness test).
A series of observations exhibiting an average innovation exceeding 2-sigma
for this test, triggers a proportional increase of the position terms of the filter
covariance matrix. Eventually, if the recurrence rate of these covariance expan-
sions exceeds a threshold, the process is abandoned and the filter is restarted.
The filter characterization function serves only to convert filter covariance
data to forms more convenient to the source selection and PPLI generation
functions. Position quality in the PPLI message is defined by the JTJDS mes-
sage standard as representing the semimajor axis of the horizontal position error
ellipse and the rank computation requires the semimajor and semiminor axes
and the orientation angle of the error ellipse. Each Kalman cycle, the filter char-
acterization module computes these terms and stores them for use during the
next cycle.
Navigation Processing Figure 6.6 is a diagram of the inertial navigation

system implemented within the JTIDS terminal. The particular model (north
slaved, wander azimuth, unipolar, or free azimuth) installed in a given terminal
Error state ... Navigation Data
Extrapolation
Time-tagged
data
Error State & Covariance--" Kalman Gain
Covariance Measurement Predicted
Computation data
Propagation vector &
Error state r- covanance
reset
II
Innovation Measurement
Process Kalman
w noise
covariance
gain Geometry ..._ PPLI
II Computation posiUon
Navigation
Correction Careotion & Meaeurement
to t-- Validity T eating
Covariance Predicted
Navigation Extrapolation
model measurement
Error state Measurement Measurement (TOA) ......:: ~ Source
Correctio
state
' transition
matrix
innovation
~
' of
Selection
Function
transition State Transition Updated error state & Error State & Measurement
matrix
- Matrix
Maintenance
covariance Covariance
Update
Innovation Innovation
Computation
~ Measurement times & I

source seK!cuon olo_Covariance data
boundary times
I, Message
PPLI Qualities Ch FiltEl!' . ( Qualities and ell~e data
aractenzat1011 J
Generation f
Figure 6.5 Relative navigation Kalman filter flow diagram.
N
\C
Ul
N
',c)
C'l
~ Misalignment correction
Platform an_g_ular....::.
rates Misalignment Angle Velocity correction
Update Kalman Filter
14--- Alti~ & au.aternion
J Misalignment
angles
corrections
VAincitv __, Computed

Geodetic Velocity
v
data angular rates
Update
Host 1-<-- Grid
Navigation
System
Interface
IVelocity
'V
AI
V'/
correction
PPLI Message
Altitude
Geodetic Quatemion
Update
1-- 1
Rei Grid
~
Generation
Navigation
1 Quaternions & altitude . .. jUpdate
Geodetic pOSition
Direction Cosine and
Position Geodetic Update Geodetic & Qrid ..:::. Source
Veloaty .& Tilt pOSitiOn &. velOCity Selection
corrections
Figure 6.6 JTIDS relative navigation inertial navigation model.

is selected to correspond with that of the host system. JTIDS initial position
is obtained from the host inertial system, but thereafter JTIDS uses only the
velocity and baro-inertial altitude inputs to compute delta-velocities for use in
the internal inertial mechanization. This model continuously applies the Rel-
Nav filter corrections to velocity and acceleration (via platform misalignment
calibration) to improve upon the solution provided by the host inertial system.
Corrections to position, velocity, and tilts are also returned to the host data
system.
As mentioned earlier, an air-data model is available for use in aircraft having
only an ADC/ AHRS, but JTIDS RelNav has seldom been installed in such
aircraft. Its primary use is as a backup mode to continue RelNav operation and
PPLI transmissions should the host's inertial system fail and force a switch to
air data.
Integration with GPS JTIDS RelNav processes position fixes from an inter-
connected GPS receiver as two uncorrelated, one-dimensional Kalman updates
in the north and east directions. The variance data in the GPS input are used in
RelNav source selection and Kalman gain computations in the same manner as
the qualities in received PPLI messages. If GPS data are of high quality-that
is, if GPS GDOP and signal availability (Chapter 5) are within typical GPS sys-
tem performance criteria-the JTIDS terminal will tend to operate exclusively
on GPS data, and the transmitted PPLI messages will reflect GPS position accu-
racy. A few aircraft with interconnected JTIDS and GPS equipments can, via
JTIDS RelNav, extend the benefits of GPS-based position fixing to an entire
community of JTIDS users.
6.2. 7 Error Characteristics

JTIDS RelNav is subject to errors of the dead reckoner, errors in the positions
of the reference sources, errors of range measurement and RF propagation, and
the amplifying effect of GDOP.
Dead-Reckoner Errors The inertial filter explicitly models velocity and plat-
form misalignment errors, but higher-order terms are modeled only as dynamic
process noise. The air-data filter models wind and azimuth errors as Markov
processes. To the extent that actual dead-reckoner errors depart from these
assumptions, JTIDS RelNav will experience errors. As one example, winds aloft
typically vary with altitude so a RelNav user coupled with an ADC/ AHRS can
be expected to exhibit temporarily increased errors following a substantial alti-
tude change.
Equipment Delay Errors Installation-specific data are used to compensate

transmission times and received message TOAs for equipment and cable delays
between the antenna and the signal processor. These delays are determined for
each installation and are subject to measurement error, but they are usually sig-
nificant only in ground or shipboard installations where the antenna may be

remote from the terminal.
Clock Synchronization Errors A typical JTIDS terminal clock runs at 80

MHz (clock quantization of 12.5 ns) and the JTIDS RF wave form uses a
phase-modulation chip of 200 ns (5-MHz chip rate). These parameters and sim-
ple double-oven crystal oscillaton: have proved able to provide consistent clock
synchronism of ±25 ns using RTT exchanges approximately every two minutes.
Clock synchronization errors have not been found to contribute appreciably to
Re!Nav error; however, oscillator stability under the extremes of temperature,
pressure, and acceleration of fighter aircraft is an important consideration as
has been demonstrated in several flight tests.
The clock error of a passive user is typically greater than that of an active
RTT user; however, it does not contribute independently to position error. It is
simply a fully correlated manifesration of the same source errors and GDOP.
Source Position Errors The best PPLI position quality (15) implies a site sur-
vey of better than 50 ft, !-sigma. More important than accurate survey, however,
are the position qualities assigned at the ground reference sites. These must
reflect a conservative estimate of the position uncertainty. Optimistic position
qualities can result in user validity failures and recurrent filter resets leading to
instability rather than just increased position error.
RF Propagation Errors JTIDS Re!Nav applies an approximate compensation

for atmospheric index of refraction (speed of propagation) by calculating an
average index over the signal path of each selected PPLI message using the
altitudes of transmitter and receiver and a standard atmosphere lapse rate for
index. Nonstandard atmospheres mtroduce significant error only over the very
longest of paths between high-altitude aircraft.
The pseudorandom coding of the phase-modulated chips of the JTIDS signal
wave form conveys strong resistance to multipath ranging errors. The digital
matched filter of the preamble detector will ignore as noise a delayed replica
signal arriving more than 200 or 300 ns after the direct signal. Delays of less
than 200 ns (chip overlap) cause ~light broadening and delay of the peak of the
preamble correlator output.
Geometric Dilution of Precision (GDOP) GDOP is a source of error in all

multilateration and hyperbolation systems (see Chapters 4 and 5) but is particu-
larly important to JTIDS Re!Nav. JTIDS Re!Nav GDOP is much more variable,
both geographically and temporally than, for example, that of GPS or Loran-
C. It may range from unity to over one hundred within the service area of
a JTIDS community. JTIDS ground reference sites are typically major com-
mand and control centers or airfields whose locations result more from tacti-
cal, political, and geographic considerations than from an intent to support the
JTIDS Re!Nav function. Also, local GDOP is a function of user altitude as the
POSITION LOCATION REPORTING SYSTEM 299
community of ground references within line-of-sight changes and as transient

airborne sources temporarily contribute to filling holes in the basic GDOP con-
tours provided by the reference sites. Furthermore, the GDOP at a given user
position is determined by the geometry to only those few sources selected by
the quality, rank, and validity tests of the source selection logic, and, despite
their intended purpose, these tests may or may not always choose the geomet-
rically optimum set of sources. Thus it is impractical to describe a generally
meaningful GDOP contour map as can be done for other less dynamic systems.
In many instances, however, GDOP is the dominant error contributor and must
be explicitly included in JTIDS RelNav performance analysis.
6.2.8 System Accuracy

The JTIDS system specification defines RelNav performance tests that compare
the measured position errors to a criterion called the available position quality
(APQ). Short track segments are selected, and, from all the received PPLI mes-
sages recorded by the test unit during that segment, the best a posteriori solution
and its error ellipse (the APQ) are computed for each point along the segment
at which the test unit transmitted a PPLI message. The deviations of the test
unit's computed positions from the true positions, as measured by the test-range
tracking system, are compared to the available position quality as representing
the 1-sigma bound of the error under the immediate local conditions.
Results of flight tests by the military services have not yet been published in
the open literature; however, the accuracy can be quite closely predicted from
the system design parameters and conservative estimates of the error sources.
Results of several computer simulations have been reported [1, 9, 13, 14], and
indicate that JTIDS RelNav can, with high confidence, be expected to achieve
airborne user position accuracies of 100 to 300 ft over a range of reasonably
assumed error budgets, flight scenarios, and GDOP.
6.3 POSITION LOCATION REPORTING SYSTEM

The position location reporting system (PLRS) and its derivative systems pro-
vide centralized position location and reporting and data communications for
communities of hundreds of cooperating users in a tactical environment. Time-
of-arrival (TOA) measurements between units in a community, aided by baro-
metric pressure measurements, are processed at a central site to establish posi-
tion tracking of a large number of users. The positions of a few participants are
used as grid references. At the central site, both ranges and clock offsets are
derived from mutual pairs ofTOA measurements (Section 6.3.5). With the clock
offsets established, additional ranges are derived from one-way TOA measure-
ments. The positions of users are then tracked, using adaptive predictor-correc-
tor filterng. All positions are available to the cooperating users and to command
centers.
PLRS also provides short message data exchange for both manual and auto-
mated users. All control, measurement reporting, and data exchange are crypto-
graphically secured in a synchronous, anti-jam communications network. Mas-
ter stations (MSs) establish control circuits between radio sets (RSs) and the
MSs via a control network. This control network supports the position location,
navigation aid, and friendly unit identification. From a message flow standpoint,
the control network provides an "order-wire" capability that can be used for
data exchange between users. In addition to the order wire, the control network
also supports user access to a wide range of position location, navigation, and
identification information.
The system has a range of capabilities which support the conduct of coordi-
nated military operations. For the individual tactical user on foot, in a surface
vehicle, or in an aircraft, the system determines and displays to him his accurate
position in real time. It alerts him if he enters a restricted area. It also provides
the user with guidance to predesignated points, to other users, or along corri-
dors in accordance with requests, as well as providing a free text data exchange
capability.
For a tactical commander, the system provides the identification, location,
and movement of all cooperating users within an assigned area of responsibility.
In addition to allowing the commander to monitor the movement of forces,
the system also has the ability to input and modify control measures such as
coordination points, safe corridors, and restricted zones.
For all participants, the system (which operates beyond the line of sight
via integral relays) incorporates electronic counter-counter measures (ECCM)
and provides cryptographically secure digital data communications. Each user
has the capability of sending preassigned short messages to provide data to or
request information from the system and to exchange short free text messages.
A single synchronous community can support over 900 users with a varied
distribution of manpack, surface vehicle, and airborne platforms. System per-
formance is provided within the primary ground operating area, and airborne
users can be located and tracked within a 300-km square extended operating
area. It can interoperate with other communities in adjacent or overlapping geo-
graphical areas. It operates in the UHF band at frequencies from 420 to 450
MHz.
6.3.2 Major System Elements

PLRS employs two categories of hardware: master station (MS) and radio sets
(RS). The MS provides centralized network management as well as automatic
processing and reporting of position, navigation, and identification information
for each participating RS. RSs, which are individually identifiable to the MS,
perform reception, transmission (including relay), range measurement, and var-
ious signal-processing and message-processing functions necessary for position

location and communication operations within the system.
PLRS is usually deployed with two or more identically equipped MSs. The
MSs monitor each other's operation, cooperate in the network position location
and communications functions, and assume adjacent community control either
by planned action, directed by the MS operators, or automatically upon an MS
failure.
The identification and position determination of RSs by PLRS is fully auto-
matic. When the RS operator turns on the equipment, it automatically becomes
and remains a member of the PLRS network. However, to permit the RS oper-
ator to provide data and requests to the MS and to receive and display informa-
tion from the MS, a separate user input/output (I/0) device is employed with
each RS. For manpack and surface vehicular RSs, this I/0 device is a small
hand-held device called the user readout (URO) module. For airborne RSs the
I/0 device is a pilot control display panel (PCDP). The PCDP provides a larger,
brighter display and an interface to a bearing indicator so that the pilot can "fly
the needle" in response to automatic bearing updates from the MS.
6.3.3 Control Network Structure

Tactical deployments require operations beyond line of sight (LOS) from the
MS. The approach taken in PLRS to satisfy this non-LOS requirement is to use
relays. In most deployments one and sometimes two or three relay levels are
needed to establish a path between a remote RS and a MS. To satisfy this need,
an integral relay capability is built into every RS. Any RS can be automatically
utilized to maintain contact with any other RS. This reduces the need for ded-
icated relays and improves speed of adaptation to changing deployments. To
maintain communications and provide organized reporting of data for position
location calculation, a concept of control network organization, called a PORT
structure, is used. This is a communications structure (Figure 6.7) consisting of
,--' ' _--

....
...,.. .....;
;
_..........
' ,,,'"
TOA LINK
PORT LINK ••
Figure 6.7
NODE (RADIO SET)
GRID REFERENCE NODE
PLRS network structure.

MASTER
STATION
a set of PORT links that connects RSs (nodes) to the MS either directly or
via one to three relay nodes. Network control and measurement reporting is
transferred over the PORT path. In addition to the bilateral PORT links, one-way
TOA links are utilized to provide the additional multilateration structure needed
for position location and tracking. Since the timing of RS clocks is established
using paired TOA data along the PORT paths (Section 6.3.5), one-way TOAs
can be converted to true range es.timates. In a typical PLRS deployment over
half of the range measurements are based on one-way TOAs.
To initialize the position locarion function and to maintain a relationship
between the internal coordinates and the external military grid reference system
(MGRS) coordinates, the MGRS positions of three or more cooperating RSs are
input to PLRS. These are normally input as three-dimensional fixed reference
positions, and the RSs then become grid reference nodes. The MS may be, but
is not necessarily, one of the grid reference nodes. In addition the system can
operate without any fixed reference RSs as long as the positions of three or
more RSs are regularly input to the position tracking function. In this latter
case the positions may be input and updated by RSs which are moving. This
is termed a dynamic baseline operation. External position sources such as the
global positioning system (GPS) (Chapter 5) can be used to provide the position
reference information to PLRS, but external data sources require the appropriate
coordinate conversion from the respective geoids and datums to MGRS.
6.3.4 Waveform Architecture

PLRS performs its functions in the face of either deliberate or accidental inter-
ference. One of the design characteristics that makes this possible is the use
of a spread spectrum type signaling wave form. Specifically, the information
transmitted is spread to a bandw:idth of approximately 3 MHz by modulation
with a pseudonoise (PN) code sequence. The chip width of the PN code is 200
nsec. Each time a RS or a MS transmits a burst, that signal burst is spread by
the code. The spread spectrum signaling format provides a low-density signal
spectrum that reduces detection by would-be interceptors and offers minimum
interference to other co-channel users. In addition, the effect of this modula-
tion is to encode the signal and thus help protect it from those who might try
to extract information if the signal is detected. The burst of signal that is sent
by a PLRS RS consists of two portions: a preamble portion and a message por-
tion (Figure 6.8). The receiver examines the preamble, using a digital matched
filter that accepts or rejects the signal on the basis of the degree of correlation
between the pseudonoise code received and that expected. If the preamble is
accepted, then the message, which consists of addresses, commands, measure-
ments, queries, and/or replies, can be decoded.
All of the burst transmissions appear to be identical. That is, whether the
particular transmission being sent is a reply to a query, a request for information,
or whatever, it has the same bandwidth and burst duration, and it cannot be
distinguished from any other transmission without having the proper receiver
PREAMBLE TIME DATA = 182 SYMBOLS INCLUDING

RERNE 94 INFO+ 10 PARITY BITS
Figure 6.8 PLRS timeslot signal structure.
and crypto key. Also, ranging may be accomplished with any of the bursts sent,
no matter what their purpose, as far as the message portion of the transmission
is concerned.
PLRS is a synchronous time division multiple access (TDMA) system, which
also employs frequency division multiple access and a srread spectrum wave
form (Figure 6.9). PLRS employs a network that is fully synchronous in three
respects: all RSs maintain timing such that cryptographic resynchronization is
seldom required; all RSs perform actions in a programmed cyclic manner such
that reprogramming RS assignments for relay. ranging, and reporting is seldom
required ; and each RS's time base is maintained with sufficient accuracy such
that one way time of arrival measurements can be translated to ranges by the
MS. Each of these aspects reduces the number of required control transmissions
and makes time available for other syslem functions or for increased system
capacity.
PLRS employs time division multiplexing to permit a large number of users
to utilize the same frequency. Each of the RSs in a network takes turns trans-
mitting its burst while other RSs listen. These timeslots are assigned by the
MS. based on the particular requirements of each user. For example. for a given
~--ONE 64 SECOND EPOCH= 256 FRAMES

EACH ACTIVE RS CYCLES AT LEAST 1/EPOCH
ONE 0.25 SECOND FRAME= 128 TIMESLOTS

EACH ACTIVE RS CLCLES AT MOST 1/FRAME
----__,/ ONE TIMESLOT = 2 mSEC
_..of--- PROPAGATION TIME

= 600 )lSEC
----TRANSMISSION BURST
=BOO )lSEC
Figure (l.9 PLRS time division multiple access tTDMA) organization.
tracking accuracy, an aircraft-mounted RS needs more timeslots than a manpack

RS because of its higher dynamics.
In the synchronous TDMA approach, every RS has its own time-base gen-
erator that keeps track of the time that it should receive, transmit, or perform
other programmed operations. 011ce this time base is synchronized with the
network time base, then messages can be sent or received and range measure-
ments made. The MS's time base normally acts as the prime timing source for
the RSs under its control, and the MS corrects each of the RS clocks whenever
they require it. In this way, the timing oscillators included in the RSs need to
have only moderate stability.
The network utilizes the resources of time, frequency, and code to multi-
plex the many operations necessary for system operation. The structured use
of time allows a convenient and efficient method for gathering time-of-arrival
data and for managing the multiple relay levels within the network. The use of
the frequency resource provides additional anti-jam protection and allows for
noninterfering, coordinated operadon to increase system data capacity.
The Time Resource Each RS is commanded by the MS to perform transmis-

sions and receptions at specific times. The time division structure simultane-
ously accommodates both minimum and maximum network access rate require-
ments. For position location and control, these vary from manpack RSs requir-
ing update rates approximately once every minute to high-performance fixed-
wing aircraft with desired update:; 30 times per minute.
Timeslot The fundamental time division is the timeslot. The timeslot length is
1.95 msec. The burst transmission accounts for 800 p.,sec, and 600 p.,sec is allo-
cated to RF propagation delay. The remaining time is required for processing
overhead such as message encoding, validation, and guard time.
The Frequency Resource Each transmission occurs on a particular frequency

channel. When operating in the hop mode, each channel is pseudorandomly
hopped across the 420- to 450-MHz band to provide the network with additional
anti-jam performance. There are eight frequency channels in the PLRS, thereby
increasing the capacity of the network by allowing simultaneous transmissions
to occur with a minimum of mutual interference.
The Code Resource In addition to the time and frequency separation, PLRS
uses a pseudonoise code resource. These codes provide a different spread spec-
trum pattern for each transmission in the network, thereby eliminating cross talk
and reducing interference.
6.3.5 Measurements
TOA Measurements One-way ranging is made possible by the fully syn-
chronous nature of the PLRS network. Each RS employs a set of time markers
RANGE
(PROP)
DELAY
-t------~TRANSMISSSION ~--------1--
~-----TIMESLOT MARKERS ---------1~
Figure 6.10 PLRS synchronous ranging.
to designate when a transmission is to start and when a reception must be com-

pleted. Thus a RS needs only to measure the time delay from the end of the
reception to a time marker at the end of the timeslot. This yields a digital num-
ber (TOA measurement) precisely related to the range between the two RSs
(Figure 6.1 0). These TOA measurements are compensated for local equipment
delays and sent to the controlling MS.
Spread spectrum signals are especially amenable to range estimation because
of the high chip rate codes employed in their modulation and because those
code sequences have excellent correlation functions. Over the entire length of
a code sequence, there is only one point at which a code will correlate with
itself, and that point is only about one chip increment in length. Standard TOA
measurement methods are used for spread spectrum systems that allow them to
resolve time to a small fraction of a chip.
Time Offset and Range Measurements To provide time synchronization, the

system performs time-difference measurements. When one RS transmits, a sec-
ond RS measures to TOA (Figure 6.11). The RSs report their TOA measure-
ments to the MS. The MS uses these two TOA measurements to determine the
timing offset between the two RSs, and the MS commands the RS to correct
its clock timing, when required. All timing information is stored in the MS's
computer.
The MS also uses these pairs of TOA measurements to estimate the range
between the two RSs. These two-way range estimates are more accurate than
one-way range estimates, since the clock offset errors are eliminated.
Altitude Measurements Each PLRS RS contains a barometric transducer that

measures air pressure (Chapter 8). These air pressure measurements are sent to
the MS, along with the TOA measurements. The MS then converts these pres-
sure measurements to altitude estimates. The use of relative barometric pressure
to aid vertical location is especially useful when the line-of-sight range vectors
have small vertical components.
p"
-RS#1
I
I~ TOA2 .I RS#2 F"~/
LEGEND
~T= TOA2-TOA1
2 ~TRANSMISSION ~I - TIMING OFFSET
RANGE = 1 k - TOA 2;TOA 1 ] c=J RECEPTION B - DURATION OF BURST
P- PROPAGATION TIME
Figure 6.11 Time difference and range measurement technique.
6.3.6 Position Location and Tracking

The initial location of position within PLRS is based on the use of three ranges
and an altitude to unambiguously locate a new RS in three dimensions (Figure
6.12). The altitude, based on a barometric measurement, establishes the RS on
a horizontal surface; two ranges, based on TOA measurements, are then used to
establish a pair of points on that surface; and the third range is used to resolve
the ambiguity. Velocity is then established using a sliding three-point method
for filter initialization. All of the position locations within PLRS are established
and tracked at the MS based on measurements taken by the RSs. These data
are provided to the MS via user measurement reports. Each user measurement
~-RANGE 1 , 4 - - - - - - - - f
~ ®-RA~E2.4
L-~-T_A_T~_o_N~/~:: ~ ~ ~ : - - - dGE3,<
POSrTIONS
RS#1,
OJ 0 RANGE 1,4
RANGE 2,4
}
..-'\. POSITION OF RS #4
RS#2, RANGE 3,4 L..y"
&RS#3 ELEVATION RS#4
Figure 6.12 Position location by multilateration in PLRS.

report message may contain up to three TOA measurements and a barometric

measurement.
Choice of an algorithm for position location update is strongly influenced
by the RS dynamics and by the multi-level relay requirements. The majority of
RSs are typically not in line of sight (LOS) to the MS and in a large network it
is unlikely that most RSs have LOS to any known reference RSs. Thus a typical
RS must be located by using measurements from other RSs which are them-
selves being tracked. Since all position measurements cannot be made simulta-
neously, it is necessary to extrapolate the position of one (or both) RSs cooper-
ating in a range measurement. A portion of a position correction is ascribed to
each RS involved. The amount of correction applied is a function of the track
uncertainty of each RS along the line of path between the two RSs.
Because of the availability of multiple links and their usefulness in track-
ing other RSs, a single RS may have up to ten or more TOA measurements
taken at various times, utilized in a single position report period. To maintain a
simple algorithm that adapts to the variable data base and minimizes computer
memory requirements, each TOA measurement is processed as it is received
at the MS. This provides a sequence of partial updates and makes the tracking
algorithm relatively independent of which RS is the primary beneficiary of a
given TOA.
6.3. 7 Tracking Filter

There are four adaptive predictor-corrector filters used in PLRS. All of these
filters are simplified versions of the discrete Kalman filter (Chapter 3) and are
implemented in the software of the MSs. Together the filters take the raw mea-
surement data from each RS's measurement report message, consisting of TOA
and barometric pressure transducer values, and convert them to updated esti-
mates of the user's three-dimensional position and velocity. Figure 6.13 depicts
the interconnectivity of the four filters. All filters take one piece of input data
at a time. The mean sea level (MSL) filter's purpose is to furnish an offset cal-
ibration for all the nonreference RS barometric pressure transducers by using
reference RS barometric pressure transducer data as input Reference RSs are
at known altitudes. The output of the MSL filter is used as a constant by the
altitude filter. The purpose of the altitude filter is to obtain vertical position
and vertical velocity estimates based on barometric pressure transducer input
when there is little or no vertical information in the TOA data (because of unfa-
vorable geometry between users). The altitude filter output is also required to
aid the position initialization algorithm in initialization of the track review and
correction estimation (TRACE) filter. The position initialization algorithm pro-
vides checking of entries, initial track acquisition, ambiguity resolution, and
initial position and initial velocity estimation for the TRACE filter. The cen-
tral logic oscillator control (CLOC) filter is used to obtain estimates of each
RS's clock offset and drift rate with respect to the MS's clock. CLOC pro-
vides, as required, commanded corrections to each RS's clock offset andjor
OOE REFERENCE RS
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE - - . - 1 1-4--- ALTITUDE REFERENCES
MEASUREMENT
• .,..__ _ _ _ BAROMETRIC MEAN SEA
OOE NON-REFERENCE R S - - - - 1 LEVEL (MSL) PRESSURE
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE ALTITUDE
MEASUREMENT FILTER UPDATED NON-REFERENCE
- ~ RSALTITUDEANDVERTICAL
......---- VELOCITY ESTIMATES
UPDATED NON-REFERENCE ----1,.,._.
RS ALTITUDE ESTIMATE POSITION REFERENCES
(FIXED)
SINGLE TOA OR [ TRACE
PAIR OF TOA ---------~ FILTER 1-----II•UPDATED 3-D POSITION
MEASUREMENTS AND VELOCITY ESTIMATES
FOR BOTH RSs
• - - - - - CLOCK OFFSET AND DRIFT

RATE RELATIVE TOMS
ONE PAIR OF TOA
MEASUREMENTS -------·~[ CLOK 1-4--- MASTER STATION CLOCK
FILTER
Figure 6.13 Tracking fil1:ers interconnectivity and data sources.
frequency to keep all RSs nominally synchronized with the MS, and thereby
with one another.
Finally, the purpose of the TRACE filter is to take each TOA measurement
and partially update the two cooperating RS's position and velocity estimates in
three-dimensional space. Without the supporting processing from the other three
filters, TRACE would not be able to operate successfully. Link value account-
ing is one of the unique byproducts of the TRACE processing. If a particular
TOA link assignment is not aiding the position location accuracy (due to geom-
etry or excess TOAs in a particular direction) of either RS then that TOA link
assignment is replaced by one that may be more beneficial to overall system
accuracy.
These filters provide the partially updated positions necessary to permit the
MS to report a fully updated posJition about half a second after MS receipt of
each user's measurement report.
6.3.8 Network and Traffic Management

The MS is a processing facility providing centralized technical control and mon-
itoring of a community of PLRS: users. The MS performs dynamic network
management of all RSs under its control. The MS is the central control point
of the PLRS network, allowing a technical control operator to maintain a real
time overview of the network within his area of responsibility. The RSs accept
and implement MS issued commands and report status and communicant data
(i.e., information on mutual RS connectivity). These reports are used to support
automatic adaptive routing. The MS operator, as the communications technical
controller, is responsible for network initialization and monitoring community
performance, using a graphic display. Normal operation requires only minimal

operator intervention.
Control Network Traffic Four types of messages are transmitted over the con-
trol network: user data input, user data output, network control, and measure-
ment report messages. All messages are sent to their appropriate destination,
through relays as necessary, without data content change. Error control is used
in order to insure a low(< 10- 5 ) message error rate. User data input messages
originate at any RS via an inputjoutput (I/0) device. An I/0 device may also
be used to originate queries requiring user data output messages to be sent back
to the RS. This establishes two-way communication between any RS and the
MS. Two way communications between any pair of RSs can also be established
using these message types.
Network control messages and measurement report messages are used by the
MSs to maintain communication with, and exercise control over, each RS. The
network control messages contain commands to the RS, (e.g., link assignments
and timing correction commands). Measurement report messages contain TOA
and altitude measurements and status information. The actual routing of mes-
sages to the proper destination is implicit in the network structure. The MS,
with its knowledge of the connectivity, assigns transmit and receive times to
provide proper relaying of messages to their destinations. RSs performing a
relay function make no distinction between different message types.
User-to-User Traffic The basic PLRS provides for user-to-user data exchange
using two distinct approaches. The first is by way of the MS, using the data
input and data output messages mentioned above. This approach can be used
by any RS operator to send short alerting or coordination messages to any other
user in the community. These messages are stored and forwarded by the MS(s).
The other approach provides local groups of up to eight users the ability to send
short messages to each other, without going through the MSs.
6.3.9 System Capacity and Accuracy

Each MS contains a data base which defines navigation aids and user parameters
for the entire multiple MS community. This data base contains the identifica-
tion, configuration, data access authorization, position, and current status for
each participating RS. Up to 900 RSs can reside in the data base. A nominal
community consists of 125 to 250 RSs controlled by each MS, but an MS is
capable of controlling a maximum community of 460 RSs with some reduc-
tion in support rate and in positional accuracy. An MS can produce 50 position
updates per second, spread across the RSs under its control.
In deployments with static RS positions, minimal clutter from buildings and
trees, and surveyed grid reference RS locations the average RS radial position
location error is about 5 meters. This ideal accuracy has been repeatedly demon-
strated in system testing with communities of 150 RSs. For most deployments,
the average radial error is 5 to 15 meters for static ground-based users, 10 to 30

meters for mobile ground-based users, and 15 to 50 meters for airborne users.
6.3.10 PLRS User Equipment Characteristics

The PLRS user equipment is the radio set (RS). Each RS consists of a receiver-
transmitter, a user readout device, a power source, and an antenna. The user
readout device serves as a control panel for the RS, and for limited data
exchange. The RS generates and processes PLRS messages. Centralized control
of the RS by a microprocessor within the message processor supports partition-
ing into the RS functions shown in Figure 6.14.
The RF /IF function performs frequency conversion, amplification, and fil-
tering of the transmitted and received signals. During receive, this function per-
forms an adaptive A/D conversin of the incoming signals. During transmit,
the digital output of the signal processor is used to generate a continuous
phase shift modulation (CPSM). The transmitted power of the RS is over
I 00 w. The signal processor function performs preamble detection/ generation,
interleaving/deinterleaving, error correction/error detection encoding/decoding,
pseudonoise code generation, data correlation, and time-of-arrival measure-
ment. The secure data unit performs encrypting/decrypting of transmitted and
received data, message validation, and provides outputs for transmission secu-
rity. The message processor contains a microprocessor that is the central con-
troller of the RS. It controls all processes done within the RS. Additionally, the
message processor generates and decodes link messages and provides the data
interface format for the user readout.
6.3.11 System Enhancements

While several derivatives of PLRS have been developed, the most advanced
functional extension is the enhanced position location reporting system
(EPLRS). EPLRS maintains all of the basic PLRS capabilities while greatly
increasing the user-to-user data communications capability. The EPLRS utilizes
ACORDC AIR PRESSURE

PONER
Figure 6.14 PLRS radio set functions.

FUTURE TRENDS 311
the PLRS control network for monitoring and controlling large communities
of user RSs. In addition to the positioning, position-reporting, navigation aid,
cryptographic key distribution, and status-reporting functions, the control net-
work is also utilized for distributing communications circuit assignments and
monitoring user-to-user communications performance. The EPLRS RSs support
communication network management by implementing the commands, moni-
toring and reporting circuit status, establishing new circuit paths, and controlling
the flow of data packets into and out of the network.
Both duplex (point to point) and group-addressed (broadcast) types of service
are available via the same user RS. Each RS can support up to 30 user circuits
(needlines) simultaneously with a composite (receive plus transmit) information
rate of 4 kbps. Each duplex circuit is capable of supporting acknowledged data
rates of up to 640 bps in each direction. Each group addressed circuit is capable
of supporting nonacknowledged data rates up to 1280 bps. The primary user
interface is via the Army Data Distribution System Interface (ADDSI), which
uses permanent virtual circuit protocols based on CCITT x.25. A !553B data
bus interface is also used for compatibility with existing aircraft and vehicular
systems.
The EPLRS concepts have been proven through live testing with 160 RSs.
In addition, extensive computer modeling and large-scale user community sim-
ulation have been used to confirm extension of performance to operations with
over 500 user RSs. EPLRS is interoperable with the basic PLRS allowing for
mutual support and coordinated operations between basic PLRS- and EPLRS-
equipped users.
6.4 FUTURE TRENDS
In most JTIDS-equipped aircraft, there are similarities and redundancies in the

computations performed separately by JTIDS Re!Nav, GPS and INS units. Cou-
pled with the continuing miniaturization and cost reduction of digital process-
ing, this suggests the future development of fully integrated navigation systems
embodying all the functions of JTIDS, GPS, INS, and the air-data computer in
one unit, occupying less space and consuming less power than the individual
separate units, and also providing the optimum combination of the measure-
ments from these multiple sensors (Chapter 3).
Miniaturization and lower equipment cost will also lead to small, expend-
able, receive-only JTIDS units for use in such vehicles as cruise missiles and
unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. These units will perform JTIDS ReiN av
functions for midcourse self-positioning, in addition to any midcourse correc-
tion signals from control centers.
In 1996, an intensive international effort, called MIDS, was underway toward
further miniaturation and modularization of JTIDS terminals which, in turn,
will lead to a trend of much wider implementation of JTIDS and its relative
navigation function on military aitrcraft worldwide in view of the low weight

and size of these JTIDS terminal~..
In the PLRS system, there is a strong trend toward distributing the position
and range/bearing calculations from the central processors to the individual user
units. This trend is based on the decreasing cost of digital processing and by
the worldwide availability of GPS signals, along with low-cost GPS receiver
modules. Using Kalman filtering techniques, the user units could then combine
the GPS-based positions with the PLRS TOA range-based positions to improve
both the accuracy and consistency of the positioning and navigation functions
for the user.
PROBLEMS
6.1. A JTIDS RelNav RTT exchange indicates an accumulated clock error of

+60 nsec (ahead) since the last clock update two minutes earlier. If the
terminal clock oscillator operates at 80 MHz, what is its frequency error
relative to the oscillator of the RTT source? Is the frequency high or low?
Ans.: 0.04 Hz high.
6.2. The PLRS time of arrival signal processing splits a PN chip into 16 equal
parts. What is the precision of a one-way range measurement in meters:
Ans.: 3.7 meters.
6.3. If the clock offset error between two PLRS RSs involved in a range mea-
surement is 15 nsec, what error in one way range measurement does this
cause?
Ans.: 4.5
6.4. In Problem 6.2, what error would result if this were a two-way range mea-
surement?
Ans.: 19 meters.
6.5. In Problem 6.3, what error would result if this were a two-way range mea-
surement:
Ans.: None.
6.6. In the military grid reference system used for reporting positions to a user
readout in PLRS, a location is reported as 4 decimal digits of casting and
4 decimal digits of northing within a designated 100-km grid square. What
is the maximum error introduced due the precision of this report?
Ans.: 5J2 meters
7 Inertial Navigation
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Inertial navigation is a technique for determining a vehicle's position and veloc-

ity by measuring its acceleration and processing the acceleration information in
a computer. Compared with other methods of navigation, an inertial navigator
has the following advantages:
I. Its indications of position and velocity are instantaneous and continuous.

High data rates and bandwidths are easily achieved.
2. It is completely self-contained, since it is based on measurements of accel-
eration and angular rate made within the vehicle itself. It is nonradiating
and nonjammable.
3. Navigation information (including azimuth) is obtainable at all latitudes
(including the polar regions), in all weather, without the need for ground
stations.
4. The inertial system provides outputs of position, ground speed, azimuth,
and vertical. It is the most accurate means of measuring azimuth and ver-
tical on a moving vehicle.
The disadvantages of inertial navigators are the following:
I. The position and velocity information degrades with time. This is true
whether the vehicle is moving or stationary.
2. The equipment is expensive ($50,000 to $120,000 for the airborne sys-
tems in 1996).
3. Initial alignment is necessary. Alignment is simple on a stationary vehicle
at moderate latitudes, but it degrades at latitudes greater than 75° and on
moving vehicles.
4. The accuracy of navigation information is somewhat dependent on vehicle
maneuvers.
The techniques of inertial navigation evolved from fire-control technology,

the marine gyrocompass, and conventional aircraft instrumentation (Chapter
9) [9]. The earliest practical applications-and the heaviest expenditure of
funds-were for ballistic-missile-guidance systems and for ship's inertial nav-
314 INERTIAL NAVIGATION
igation systems (SINS). In the late 1950s, increased procurement of military

aircraft led to the development of aircraft inertial navigators. Many of the disad-
vantages of inertial systems can be overcome through aiding with other sensors
such as GPS [54], radars, or star-trackers [29]. Chapter 3 discusses multisensor
navigation systems.
In !996, inertial navigation systems were widely used in military vehicles.
Many ships, submarines, guided missiles, space vehicles, and virtually all mod-
ern military aircraft are equipped with inertial navigation systems due to the fact
that they cannot be jammed or spoofed. Large commercial airliners routinely
make use of inertial systems for navigation and steering [60].
7.2 THE SYSTEM
In the earliest inertial navigation systems, gimballed platforms isolated the

instruments from the angular motions of the vehicle. The gyroscopes acted as
null-sensors, driving gimbal servos that held the gyroscopes and accelerome-
ters at a fixed orientation relative to the Earth. This permitted the accelerometer
outputs to be integrated into velocity and position. In the late 1970s and early
1980s, the invention of large-dynamic-range gyroscopes and of more power-
ful airborne computers permitted the development of "strapdown" inertial sys-
tems in which the gyroscopes and accelerometers were mounted directly on
the vehicle. The gyroscopes track the rotation of the vehicle, and algorithms in
the computer (Section 7 .4.1) transform accelerometer measurements from vehi-
cle coordinates to the navigation coordinates where they can be integrated. In
strapdown systems, the transformation generated by the computer performs the
angular-stabilization function of the gimbal set in a platform system. In effect,
the attitude integration algorithms permit the construction of an "analytic" plat-
form.
Figure 7 .I shows a block diagram of a terrestrial inertial navigator. A plat-
form (either gimballed or analytic) measures acceleration in a coordinate frame
that has a prescribed orientation relative to the Earth. Usually, the stabilized
coordinate frame is locally level (two horizontal axes, one vertical). The com-
puter, which may be the aircraft's central computer or a navigation computer,
calculates the aircraft's position and velocity from the outputs of the two hori-
zontal accelerometers. The computer also calculates gyroscope torquing signals
that maintain the platform in the desired orientation relative to the Earth. In a
strapdown system, the analytic platform is "torqued" computationally. A verti-
cal accelerometer is usually added in order to smooth the indication of altitude,
as measured by a barometric altimeter or air-data computer (Chapter 8). The
calculation of velocity from the accelerometer outputs is described in Section
7.5; the calculation of position from the velocities is described in Section 2.4.
In a platform system, the gimbal-isolated structure, on which the gyroscopes
and accelerometers are mounted, is called the stable element. The gimbals (Fig-
ure 7 .2) allow the aircraft to rotate without disturbing the attitude of the sta-
Initial altitude and
d ltitude rat ~
Vertical acceleration channel Baro-inertial altitude

r------
I
z< 8 >-axis
IL ______ Baro-inertial
computations Baro-inertial altitude rate
Platform: Barometric altitude
spatially stabilized
or analytic
Destination
:~-=-a~; coordinates
L
I
----- Platform stabilization commands
Gyros i y-axis I
,-----
8
I
Gyros 1 z< >-axis I
L-----
I r ___ _t __
r------ Course-line 1---~ Rangeand
Gimbal angles : x< 8 >-axis I
computer : bearing to
(pick offs) 7L----- Inertial navigation Horizontal position I
Horizontal acceleration channels computer, horizontal L _ (Sec.

___ _ _ """ _ __. destination
2.7)
~--r--·--1 J
I I I I '>~._------ channels
I I I I
l y< 8 >-axis
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I L----.:: l Initial position
and velocity
Horizontal velocity
Platform wander a
angle, if not
north pointing
Vehicle azimuth - Vehicle azimuth
relative to platform + from north
---···· ---
Vehicle attitude angles
(roll and pitch)
Figure 7.1 Block diagram of an inertial navigator.

~
......
Ul
(H
......
a-
Azimuth / Gyro error signal

torquer II' drives gimbal
r-<}-, servo (typical)
Stable element -h::/ ' ~ : ~------,..
Roll
I Azimuth Vehicle attitude
I 1 Pitch angle
Pitch gimbal readout
I
I Pitch
I I
L_~
Redundant gimbal Inner roll angle J
drive -------------
(Sec 7.4.2)
(Four-axis platform only)
Figure 7.2 Four-axis stable platform of an inertial navigator.

INSTRUMENTS 317
ble element. The gimbal angles are measured by transducers, usually resolvers
(Section 7 .4.2), whose outputs indicate the aircraft's roll, pitch, and heading
to the displays, auto-pilot, and sometimes to the computer. In strapdown sys-
tems, attitude angles are mathematically extracted from the analytic platform
transformation matrix (Section 7 .4.1 ).
When the inertial system is turned on, it must be aligned so that the computer
knows the initial position and groundspeed of the vehicle and so that the plat-
form (gimballed or analytic) has the correct initial orientation relative to the
Earth. The platform is typically aligned in such a way that its accelerometer
input axes are horizontal, often with one of them pointed north. As the vehi-
cle accelerates, maneuvers, and cruises, the accelerometers measure changes in
velocity, and the computer faithfully records the position and velocity.
The inertial navigator also contains power supplies for the instruments, a
computer, often a battery to protect against power transients, and interfaces
to a display-and-control unit. The system may be packaged in one or more
modules. Typical gimballed systems in 1968 weighed 50 to 75 lb (excluding
cables), of which 20 lb were for the platform. Steady-state power consumption
was approximately 200 w. First-generation strapdown navigators (early 1980s)
weighed 40 to 50 lb and consumed l 00 to 150 w. In 1996, strapdown systems
weighed 20 to 30 lb and consumed approximately 30 w.
7.3 INSTRUMENTS
This section discusses the sensing instruments (gyroscopes and accelerometers)

as they relate to stable platforms and strapdown systems.
7.3.1 Accelerometers
Purpose An accelerometer is a device that measures the force required to
accelerate a proof mass; thus, it measures the acceleration of the vehicle con-
taining the accelerometer. Figure 7.3 shows a black-box accelerometer whose
input axis is indicated. The instrument will supply an electrical output propor-
tional to (or some other determinate function of) the component along its input
axis of the inertial acceleration minus gravitation. If the instrument is mounted
in a vehicle whose inertial acceleration is a and if the vehicle travels in a New-
tonian gravitational field G, (Section 2.2), then the force acting on the proof
mass mp is
F = mpa = F R + mPG + F o
FR Fo
-=a-G--=f (accelerometer output) (7.1)
mp mp
where F R is the force exerted on the proof mass by the restoring spring or
a-G
-G
Electrical output _ _ 1 -
proportional to --,I 1
xa (a - G)IA I I I
I I I
Inertial acceleration
of accelerometer
G
R (Gravitation) along input axis
Figure 7.3 Black-box diagram of an accelerometer.
~til)(;. z
~
Permanent
magnet
Pendulum and___..--
torquer coil
Capacitive
pick off
plate
Flexure pivot
(flat metal spring)
Figure 7.4 Flexure-pivoted accelerometer.

INSTRUMENTS 319
restoring amplifier, as shown in Figure 7 .4, and FD is the unwanted disturbing

force caused by friction, hysteresis, mechanical damping, and the like. Thus,
if the instrument is designed with negligible disturbing forces, the restoring
force is a measure of (a - G) along the instrument's input axis. As explained
in Section 7.5, accelerometers are used to calculate the vehicle's acceleration
a; their outputs must be corrected for gravitation G in the computer.
If the accelerometer rests on a table, then a= 0 (neglecting the rotation of the
Earth) and the unit measures -G. If the accelerometer is falling in a vacuum,
then a = G, and the output is zero. If the instrument is being accelerated upward
with an acceleration of 7 g, then a- G = 7 g - (-1 g), and the instrument reads
8 g (l g is a unit of acceleration equal to approximately 32.2 ftjsec 2 = 981
cmjsec 2 ; if an acceleration must be specified more exactly than 0.5%, it should
be stated in fundamental units of length and time).
On the rotating Earth, a stationary accelerometer at a position R is acceler-
ating centripetally at n X en X R) in inertial space due to the Earth's rotation
rate n. The accelerometer's output therefore measures n X en X R) - G =
-g, which is the ordinary definition of gravity, as discussed in Section 2.2. A
stationary plumb bob on the Earth's surface points in the direction of g not G
[24].
Construction Several accelerometer designs are used in aircraft inertial nav-

igators:
1. Pendulum, supported on flexure pivots, electrically restrained to null.

2. Micro-machined (silicon) accelerometer with electrostatic nulling.
3. Vibrating beam accelerometer whose frequency of vibration is a measure
of tensile force and hence acceleration.
The flexure-pivot accelerometer, shown schematically in Figure 7.4 is most

commonly used in aircraft systems. The sensitive element consists of a pen-
dulum with a torquer coil and pickoff supported by a torsional spring or flex-
ure. The pickoff measures displacement of the pendulum from null and is often
mechanized with an optical sensor and shadow mask or with capacitors. The
torquer coils restore the pendulum to null, the torquer current being a mea-
sure of the restoring torque and, hence, of the acceleration. Mathematically, let
f =a- G. The torque T on the pendulum is
T=TR-k8+mbfi -mbh8=l(O+J>) (7.2)
where
TR is the residual torque applied to pendulum by friction in supports
and connecting wires and by electrical forces, Newton-meters
e is the pickoff angle, rad

k is the spring stiffness, mechanical and electrical, Newton-meters/rad
mb is the pendulosity, kg-meters
I is the moment of inertia of the pendulum about the pivot axis,
kg-meters 2
¢ is the angular acceleration of the case about pivot axis, rad/sec 2
fl,h two components of the linear acceleration of the case relative
to inertial space, metersjsec 2 ,f 1 is along the input axis,
The damping is neglected for illustration. In the steady state
e= mb [
k
/y + TR/mb- I¢jmb
I + mbfzlk
l (7.3)
If the stiffness k is high enough, 11 is small, and the instrument measures only
f 1, independent of the presence of a cross-axis acceleration /2. Sensitivity to h
is called cross-coupling and is most serious in a vibration environment when
e andh oscillate in phase and rectify. This rectification is often referred to as
vibropendulous error. The term Trd k is the angle offset due to the presence
of an unwanted torque on the pendulum; it causes an accelerometer bias. I¢/k
is an angular offset of the pendulum due to angular acceleration of the case
around the pivot axis; ¢ is negligible when the accelerometer is mounted on a
mechanical platform, but it is an important source of error in strapdown systems
e
where ¢ and oscillations can rectify. If position calculations are referred to
the center of percussion of the pendulum, the sensitivity to angular acceleration
is reduced (see size effect, Section 7 .4.1 ). The distance from the center of mass
to the center of percussion is I/ mb.
Flexure-pivoted accelerometers are simpler to construct than the older
floated instruments since they do not require adjustment for buoyancy f23, pp.
288-289]. Because they are undamped, they exhibit high-frequency mechanical
resonances. Resonances must therefore be controlled relative to both vibration
inputs and rebalance-loop characteristics. Undamped accelerometers offer the
greatest bandwidth (important for strapdown systems) but must almost always
be supported on a shock-mounted sensor block (Section 7 .4.1) in order to sup-
press high-frequency vibration and to prevent shock damage. Accelerometers
that include fluid damping exhibit reduced bandwidth and additional thermal
sensitivity due to changes in the fluid characteristics.
In navigation-grade accelerometers, a restoring loop maintains the pendu-
lum near null. The restoring servo must be linear and repeatable from l 0 to 25
11-g to 40 g, a range of six to seven orders of magnitude. A digital output can
be obtained by either digitizing the analog output (the current in the torquer
coil) or by pulse-rebalancing with a digital restoring servo. When rebalancing
with pulses of uniform height, pulse width measures incremental velocity Ll V.
INSTRUMENTS 321
In either case, a properly initialized digital counter accumulates the pulses and
stores the velocity change. The rebalance pulse train must not excite accelerom-
eter resonances.
The pivot or flexure supporting the pendulum must provide minimal restraint
for the pendulum in the direction of the input axis while exhibiting high stiffness
in the other two directions. The spring constant of the pivot/flexure generates a
restoring force that reduces the gain of the electronic restoring loop. The spring
constant should be repeatable in order to ensure accuracy, but the high-stiffness
restoring loop dominates. The pivot must not exhibit hysteresis, which may
cause accelerometer biases. Generally, high-quality accelerometers can operate
over wide temperature ranges (-55°C to 90°C) provided that temperature is
measured and bias and scale factor are thermally compensated (Section 7 .4.1)
in the computer. Heating of the torquer coil due to rebalance current can lead
to rectification of vibration inputs and must often be compensated. A pulse-
rebalance torquer maintains constant heating.
A new generation of accelerometer employs silicon micro-machining [55]. A
typical silicon accelerometer structure is shown in Figure 7 .5. Single-crystal sili-
con forms the frame, hinges, and proof-mass. Anodic bonding joins this piece to
metallized wafers which enclose the accelerometer and also serve as electrodes
for sensing proof-mass motion and for rebalancing. Electrostatic centering of
the proof-mass obviates the need for magnetic materials and coils. Due to the
very small gaps achievable between the covers and the proof-mass, gas-film
damping suppresses mechanical resonances. This permits the accelerometer to
operate in high-frequency vibration environments.
SILICON ACCELEROMETER
Figure 7.5 Silicon accelerometer (courtesy of Litton Guidance and Control Systems).
The silicon accelerometer can be rebalanced using either voltage or charge

forcing. In voltage forcing, a potential is applied to the pendulum and to one
or both electrodes. The voltages establish electric fields that induce charge on
the nonconductive pendulum. This causes a net force to act on the proof mass.
Thus, in the case of voltage forcing, the force generated is a function of the
square of the applied voltage ancl of the gap between the pendulum and the
electrode. Thus, non-linearities in force-versus-deflection may be incurred and
may require compensation. The rebalance force can also be generated by apply-
ing charge to one or both electrodes of the device, by applying a precise current
for a precise period of time. In the case of charge forcing, a fixed amount of
charge generates a force that is independent of the pendulum's position, thereby
permitting linear operation. However, proper charge metering requires complex
electronics, particularly when small amounts of charge are to be transferred. Sil-
icon accelerometers have less bandwidth than flexure-pivoted devices. An elec-
trostatically induced spring rate results if the pendulum is not properly centered
or if its position deviates from null. This causes scale factor or bias errors. A
more detailed discussion of silicon accelerometers may be found in reference
[55]. Silicon accelerometers are easy to manufacture using standard semicon-
ductor technology, are rugged, and resist shock. In 1996, silicon accelerometers
were used in some medium accuracy inertial measurement units (IMUs) and
inertial-grade devices had been demonstrated.
Though the restrained-pendulum accelerometer is used in most operational
aircraft inertial navigators, the micromachined vibrating beam or vibrating
string accelerometer is sometimes used [38, 39]. One version con,ists of a
proof-mass that exerts a tension Ton one or more vibrating beams (fabricated of
metal, quartz, or other dimensionally stable materials). The frequency of oscil-
lation of each beam is proportional to the square root of T, which varies with
acceleration. By using two beams in push-pull, under an initial tension To, a
frequency-difference measuremem can determine acceleration:
Frequency of the first string= v 1 = k1 VTo + mga

Frequency of the second string= v2 = k 1VT0 - mga
. r;;- [ mga l
.. VJ- V2 = k1V To ~ +S (7.4)
If the tension To is large in comparison with the maximum acceleration load

mga, then the difference frequency is proportional to acceleration, with a
decreasing series of higher-order corrections, in terms of odd powers of accel-
eration. The vibrating beam accelerometer requires a means of supporting the
proof-mass in such a way that only the beam provides a support force along the
input axis. Vibrating beam accelerometers are often sensitive to vibration and
INSTRUMENTS 323
cross-axis inputs. One of their advantages is the ability of obtaining a digital

output simply by counting the output frequency.
Multi-axis accelerometers that measure three components of acceleration
with a single proof-mass have been developed. However, design difficulties
exist in supporting the proof-mass and in constructing the geometry to keep
inter-axis coupling sufficiently low; hence, these devices had not gained pop-
ularity in 1996. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to use the supporting
force on a gyroscope to measure acceleration, thus converting the gyro into a
combined gyro accelerometer. Other types of accelerometers, such as pendulous
integrating gyro accelerometers (PIGAs) are used in space launch vehicles.
Error Model A typical error model for an accelerometer (including the

restoring-amplifier electronics) expresses the steady-state instrument output u
as
u = D + H + ko + kd1 + k2fT + k12h + k13h + ke()h + k41 T + · · · (7.5)
where
!1 is a component of a - G along the input axis
h.h are cross-axis components of a - G
T is the deviation from calibration temperature
D is the dead zone, or threshold below which the instrument will
not sense acceleration. This is typically caused by mechanical
stiction and is much smaller than k 0 . This term is negligible in
most modern inertial quality accelerometers.
H is hysteresis (generally thermal)
ko is the accelerometer bias (ko is slightly different each time the
instrument is powered-up; the mean value is usually biased
out in the computer or the instrument itself; the
uncompensated residual causes navigation errors.)
is a linear scale factor, whose stability is essential in the
design of the instrument
is a nonlinear calibration coefficient (it is often desirable that
this be negligible, in order to simplify the navigation
algorithms)
are coefficients of cross-axis sensitivity
is the vibropendulous coefficient
is the pendulum deflection angle
is a linear temperature coefficient, for small deviations
around the operating temperature
Dynamic rectification effects can also exist as a result of vibration and of satu-
ration of the restoring amplifier. Typical accelerometer specifications control the
values of k1 and k2 and their permissible variation due to temperature, vibra-

tion, cross-axis acceleration, and magnitude of input acceleration. Maximum
values of D, H, k2, k 12, k13, k 41 , and ke are usually specified.
Accelerometer Testing Accelerometers are statically tested and calibrated in

the Earth's gravity field, using a dividing head. The dividing head causes the
input axis to rotate in a vertical plane, around a horizontal axis, thus sensing
a component of gravity that varies from 0 to ±1 g. Scale factor and bias are
determined from such a test [Chapter 4 of Ref. 41 ]. Cross-axis sensitivity and
variation of scale factor with cross-axis acceleration can be determined by tilt-
ing the pivot axis of the dividing head and repeating the test. To calibrate scale
factor on a dividing head, a gravimetric survey should be performed at the cali-
bration station. Without a survey, sea-level gravity can be predicted from Equa-
tion 2.6 within 0.02 cmjsec 2 . Centrifuge tests are used to calibrate instruments
that operate at acceleration levels greater than I g [61a,ej. Ref. 6lh discusses
precision centrifuge testing of accelerometers.
Aircraft instruments should be capable of operation at acceleration levels
as high as 12 g (during military maneuvers) with an accuracy of better than
I 00 parts per million (ppm), if I nmi/hr navigation accuracy is to be achieved.
The presence of vibration or shock on the sensor assembly requires that the
accelerometer be scaled to sense considerably more than the maximum expected
linear acceleration, in order to prevent saturation in the presence of accelera-
tion combined with vibration. The accelerometer's frequency response can be
restricted as long as the proof-mass does not strike the stops. Wide bandwidth
is essential in accelerometers that input to a flight-control system or that are
used to strapdown navigators.
The performance parameters of a typical aircraft accelerometer (circa 1996)
scaled for 30-g maximum acceleration were the following:
D negligible
H 25 f.,tg
ko 25 f.,tg (after thermal modeling)
kl Stable to 50 ppm (after thermal modeling)
k2 < 5 ~-tg/g2
kl2, kl3 Stable to within 25 p.rad
ke < 2 ~-tg/ ~-trad-g
k41 30-100 1-tg;oc (stable to better than 0.5 1-tg;oC)
7.3.2 Gyroscopes
Purpose The purpose of the gyroscopes ("gyros") in an inertial navigation
system is to space-stabilize the accelerometers. In gimballed platforms, the
gyros measure rotation of the platform, which is angularly isolated from the
vehicle's motions. The gyros rotate at inertial angular rates from 0.005 degjhr
to 50 degjhr, the maximum torquing rate on fast aircraft; a range of I 0,000.
INSTRUMENTS 325
The gyroscopes are used as error detectors to sense small rotations of the plat-
form relative to the navigation coordinates. A gimbal servo-loop restores the
error to near zero (see Figure 7.2 and Section 7.4.2).
In strapdown systems, the gyroscopes are fixed to the vehicle and follow its
angular motion. A gyroscope on a military aircraft must sense angular rates as
low as 0.005 degjhr and as high as 400 degjsec (I ,440,000 degjhr), a range
of 8.5 orders of magnitude. Strapdown gyroscopes on civil aircraft need only
sense an 8-order-of-magnitude range of angular rates.
Construction Many types of gyroscopes have been invented. Since the 1930s,
directional gyroscopes have been used in cockpits as heading references (Chap-
ter 9). They are spinning-wheel, large-angle, unfloated instruments with ball
bearings that have drift rates on the order of 50 degjhr, and hence are useless
for navigation.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, single-degree-of-freedom (SDF) floated gyros
were perfected. A spinning wheel was mounted inside a single gimbal that was
floated at neutral buoyancy. A magnetic pickoff sensed rotations (several min-
utes of arc) and a magnetic torquer precessed the rotor according to a rebalance
algorithm. These gyros achieved drift rates less than 0.01 degjhr but had to be
used on a stable element since they were very sensitive to cross-coupling. They
were used principally in space launch vehicles [6lb].
From the 1950s to the 1970s, floated two-degree-of-freedom (TDF) gyro-
scopes were perfected for aircraft. A spinning wheel was mounted in two gim-
bals and floated at neutral buoyancy. Two orthogonal pickoffs (usually mag-
netic) sensed rotation of the float and two orthogonal torquers (also magnetic)
precessed the float according to a rebalance algorithm. These gyros achieved
drift rates of 0.0 I degjhr and were almost always used on a gimballed plat-
form. The motors, fluids, and seals caused perennial maintenance problems.
These instruments were described in the first edition of this book [23].
During the same period, electrostatically suspended TDF gyroscopes were
developed for submarines [56]. Their spinning wheels are electrostatically cen-
tered, achieving 0.001 deg/hr accuracy but at costs orders of magnitude higher
than floated TDF gyros. Due to their high accuracy, electrostatic gyroscopes are
used for high-precision, deep-penetration, long-time-of-flight aircraft. Hydro-
statically suspended gyros, using pressurized bearings to support the gimbals,
were also developed but little used.
From the 1970s to the 1980s, "dry-tuned" or "tuned-rotor" or "dynamically
tuned" gyroscopes were perfected, as described in Section 7.3.4. Navigation
gyros of this type have insufficient range for strapdown use and were mostly
used in gimballed platforms. Strapdown tuned-rotor gyros were used in 1996 for
lower-cost, moderate accuracy attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS),
which also serve as coarse navigators (Chapter 9 and Section 7. 7.4 ).
In the 1980s, optical angular sensors were perfected after 30 years of devel-
opment. They are the mainstay of aircraft inertial navigators in the 1990s
and are described in Section 7.3.3. These instruments are called gyroscopes
to emphasize their function. Research efforts on new gyros are described in

Section 7.3.5.
7.3.3 Optical Gyroscopes

Optical gyroscopes were universally used in strapdown aircraft inertial nav-
igators in 1996. These gyros offer extremely high dynamic range, linearity,
bandwidth, ruggedness, and reliability. By the 1980s, most of the key problems
inherent in the ring laser gyro (RLG) had been solved or circumvented. Thus,
the RLG surpassed the mechanical gyro as the rotation sensor of choice for
inertial navigation systems. Strapclown RLG systems have become the predom-
inant inertial navigators for commercial and military aircraft. New generations
of laser gyroscopes have also been developed. These include multioscillator
laser gyros that employ optical biasing as a means of circumventing lock-in (a
key limitation in laser gyros), and fiber-optic gyros. All optical gyros make use
of the Sagnac effect, a relativistic phenomenon that permits the observation of
rotation relative to inertial space. Optical gyros can be configured as resonators
or as interferometers, as discussed below. Systems designed with optical gyros
are much simpler than those using mechanical gyros.
The Sagnac Effect The Sagnac effect [43] is a general relativistic phe-
nomenon relating to the propagation of light in a rotating reference system.
When laser beams circulate in a closed path that is rotating in inertial space,
the optical length seen by the co-rotating beam appears longer than that seen by
the counter-rotating beam. The Sagnac effect permits observation of rotation in
one of two different ways.
• In a resonator (such as an RLG), the counterpropagating beams form res-

onant modes within the cavity. These create an electromagnetic standing
wave that remains fixed in inertial space [ 1]. When the housing of the gyro
rotates, a detector can count nodes of the standing wave, each of which
represents a fixed increment of angle (see Figure 7 .7).
• In an interferometer, counterpropagating beams are launched into an opti-
cal path and recombined as they exit. The interference generated by the
recombination depends on the optical phase difference (proportional to the
optical path difference) between the two beams and therefore provides a
measure of rotation. In 1996 most fiber optic gyros were configured as
interferometers. Fiber-optic gyros may also be constructed as resonators
but the absence of a gain medium and the relatively high losses of the
fiber rendered this type of device impractical in 1996.
Two-Mode Ring Laser Gyros The RLG has undergone extensive development
since the late 1970s. In 1996, the two-mode RLG [8, 59] was the most preva-
lent optical inertial sensor, although multioscillator gyros were penetrating the
INSTRUMENTS 327
marketplace as fully strapdown sensors (i.e., no dither). The conventional two-

mode and the multi-oscillator gyros subscribe to many of the same principles
but also differ in fundamental respects.
Two-mode RLGs (Figure 7.6) are planar by design so that only linearly
polarized modes can be resonant in the cavity. Suppression of one of the two
polarizations ensures stable operation. The two-mode RLG therefore employs
a single linearly polarized clockwise (cw) and a single linearly polarized coun-
terclockwise (ccw) beam. Higher-order modes are suppressed through proper
alignment and apertures. A block of glass is bored to form a three-or-more-sided
polygonal path. High-quality mirrors at each vertex complete the resonant cav-
ity. The bores are filled with a gas mixture (generally helium and neon) that
CW intensity photodiode Piezoelectric dither torquers
ccw
intensity
photodiode
Mirror
Gain
support medium
assembly
Glass
block
Cathode
Beam
cavity
Prism
Photo detectors Mirror Anode Mirror transducer

Figure 7.6 Two-mode ring laser gyro (courtesy of Litton Guidance and Control Sys-
tems).
serves as a laser gain medium. The laser is excited by an electrical discharge-

generated by one or more cathodes and one or more anodes in contact with the
gas. The laser beams that resonate within the cavity are electrically "pumped."
A high gain-to-loss ratio permits the RLG to achieve good accuracy.
The RLG provides an angle readout via a partially transmissive mirror at
a vertex. A set of combining optics (typically a prism) coherently recombines
(heterodynes) the clockwise (cw) and counterclockwise (ccw) beams in order to
permit the observation of the standing-wave pattern (also referred to as interfer-
ence fringes) created by the counterpropagating modes. Photoelectric detectors
measure the intensity of the interference fringes.
As discussed in the previous section, the standing-wave pattern does not
rotate in inertial space. Thus, rotarian of the RLG relative to the standing wave
may be observed as a change in intensity sensed by the body-fixed detectors, as
illustrated in Figure 7.7 for a fictitious "circular" RLG. In this figure, two coun-
terpropagating waves create a standing-wave pattern. When the gyro is rotated,
the detector moves with respect to the interference pattern and senses dark and
light areas. Each dark/light cycle represents one-half wavelength of the laser
beam along the circumference of the path. The number of dark/light transitions
can therefore be geometrically related to the angle of rotation as indicated in
Figure 7.7. The count of transitions yields the total rotation angle. At a typical
laser wavelength of 630 nm, each dark/light cycle would represent one arc-
second of rotation for a 5-cm radius ring. The scale factor of the instrument
depends on the ratio of enclosed area to path length, as shown in Figure 7. 7 for
the "circular" RLG. A similar analysis can be made for any closed polygonal
laser path:
4A
N fringes = A. L i:l 0 (7.6)
where
A is the enclosed area of the laser path
L is the path length of rhe laser beam
A. is the wavelength of the laser
i:l.O is the rotation angle increment
Nrringe; is the number of fringes traversed, measured in units of half a
wavelength
RLG Quality The laser is based on stimulated emission of photons. However,

the gas medium that supplies the gain for the laser also occasionally emits pho-
tons which are unrelated to the laser signal. This is known as spontaneous emis-
sion, and leads to noise and random walk in the RLG angle output. Spontaneous
emission is described statistically through quantum mechanics and cannot be
eliminated. To reduce its impact on gyro performance, the active signal must
INSTRUMENTS 329
0:::
0
f-
(.)
w
f-
w
0
ccw cw
BEAM BEAM
• Interference between CW and CCW beams creates standing

wave pattern
• Standing wave pattern stays fixed in inertial space
• As gyro case rotates, detector moves around ring and
counts minima
• Scale factor correspondence:
J.J2 circumferential displacement = 2nrad optical phase shift

~e mechanical rotation = (4nR/f...) ~e optical phase shift
Figure 7.7 Circular ring laser gyro.
be as large as possible. A gyro with high gain and low loss is said to have a high
"finesse" (analogous to Q in a resonator). To increase finesse, it is important to
incorporate high-quality mirrors into the RLG. Low loss minimizes the impact
of spontaneous emission and reduces the "quantum limit," which is a measure
of the best noise performance (and hence angle random walk) achievable with
the gyro.
For reasons discussed below, it is essential to minimize the backscatter gen-

erated by the mirrors. Greater angle of incidence leads to decreased backscatter.
A trade-off must be made between the number of mirrors used and the result-
ing angle of incidence. For example, a three-sided gyro employs only three
mirrors but exhibits a 30-deg angle of incidence while a four-sided gyro has a
more favorable (45-deg) angle of incidence but requires a fourth mirror with
its attendant losses. Gyros with more than 4 sides are not made.
Lock-in The most severe problem encountered in the RLG is that of lock-in.
In the 1960s, it was observed that the RLG was insensitive to low angular rates,
as illustrated in Figure 7.8. The cause of the lock-in phenomenon is backscat-
ter within the cavity, usually resulting from imperfections in or particulates on
the mirror surfaces. At low rates, the two counterpropagating beams in the res-
onator are very close in frequency (less than a few hundred out of 5 x 10 14
Hz) because their optical path lengths are nearly equal. Coupling of one beam
into the other (which results from backscatter) causes the two modes to "lock,"
together thereby making the gyro insensitive to the actual rate. In Figure 7.7,
backscatter amounts to friction between the standing-wave pattern and the cav-
ity. When the gyro is rotated at low rates, the standing-wave pattern "sticks"
to the cavity instead of remaining fixed in inertial space. The detector there-
fore does not shift with respect to the interference fringes, and the gyro does
Output Qo-_
1 Input Qi
~Lock-in QL
Figure 7.8 Two-mode RLG input/output (no dither).

INSTRUMENTS 331
not observe the rotation. At high rates, the "friction" is overcome because the
frequencies separate and the gyro is capable of measuring rate.
In a two-mode RLG, mechanical biasing is employed to overcome lock-
in. The usual means for accomplishing this is mechanical "dither," which is
a large-amplitude sinusoidal motion applied to the gyro body. Typically, peak
dither rates are 100 deg/sec. The output of the gyro must then be compensated
for the dither motion so that the true rotation of the vehicle can be determined.
There are many effective techniques for compensating. One of the drawbacks of
dither is increased random walk. As the sinusoidal motion crosses through zero
velocity, a small lock-in error occurs. Since the gyro reverses direction twice per
dither cycle, these errors accumulate as a random walk process. Dither-induced
random walk decreases with the square root of dither rate but is usually the
dominant source of random walk.
An alternative method (which avoids the random walk problem) of bias-
ing the RLG employs a turntable that applies a constant rotation to the gyro.
An angular encoder measures the relative angle between the instrument and
its base. This technique is referred to as rate biasing. Rate-biased systems with
small-path-length RLGs have been delivered for missile applications. High-per-
formance systems also use this method in order to avoid excess random walk,
to provide partial error cancellation as the instruments rotate in space, and to
improve calibration [35]. Because of the mechanical complexity involved in
rate-biased systems, they are rarely used in aircraft.
Mechanical Design Most RLG systems in 1996 employed dither to circum-

vent lock-in. However, dither places serious constraints on the mechanical
design of the system. High-frequency (typically several hundred Hertz), high
Q mechanical flexures apply the dither. Coupling of dither to mounting struc-
tures has many undesirable effects such as acoustic noise, vibration, and energy
loss. Thus, hard-mounted dithered systems are generally not practical and a
low-frequency suspension (typically 30 to 50 Hz) isolates the sensor assembly
from the aircraft. Dither torques in the three instruments excite coning rotations
(discussed in Section 7.4.1 ), which cause errors in the navigation of the block
solution [20]. Coning drift increases as the square of dither amplitude.
Cavity Length Control The RLG operates as a resonant cavity. The gas mix-
ture, which sustains the laser, exhibits gain at certain optical frequencies that
excite the stimulated emission, resulting in lasing action. Therefore, the length
of the cavity must be tuned to be an integral number of wavelengths. For a
helium-neon gas mixture, the wavelength is approximately 630 nmeters. Obvi-
ously, a cavity whose length is accurate and stable to 1% of a wavelength would
be impractical to design. Thus, cavity length is controlled actively by contin-
uously adjusting mirror positions in order to maximize total laser intensity.
Piezoelectric transducers mounted on the back of one or more mirrors induce
minute displacements of the mirror faces.
Since mirrors can only move a few wavelengths, the cavity must be made
of a low-expansion glass so that the mirror travel is sufficient to compensate

for expansion over the entire temperature range. Otherwise, "mode hops" must
be performed, wherein the path length of the gyro is quickly changed by one
wavelength to another control point. Unfortunately, data are lost or corrupted
during a mode hop. Frequent mode hops or mode hops during high dynamics
must be avoided. Unless low-expansion glass is used, mode hops could occur
as frequently as once every 3"C.
Gas Mixture The RLG cavity should be designed to avoid gas flow within
the cavity. A net gas flow causes gyro bias and can be a dominant error source
in any RLG. To reduce flow, the temperature gradients across the glass block
should be limited to l-2°C.
Because of their small size, helium atoms diffuse easily into many materials.
In very small RLGs, the volume-to-surface ratio is low and, helium diffusion
limits gyro life. The glass that forms the laser cavity must have low thermal
expansion and low helium permeability.
RLG Scaling Laws The performance of a ring laser gyro depends on its size.
The parameters that describe gyro performance include the random walk coef-
ficient, bias stability, resolution (also known as quantization), and scale factor
stability. Because the ratio of area enclosed by the beam to path length deter-
mines the sensitivity of the gyro, most of the performance parameters improve
with path length. The following s:caling laws are provided as guidelines:
For quantization,
L'
for bias stability,
for scale factor nonlinearity,
for random walk, caused by spontaneous emission; and
caused by dither.
Reference [59] provides a more detailed discussion of error sources and

mechanisms. Due to the strong path-length dependencies, quality (particularly
of mirrors) becomes more critical as path length is reduced. Thus small RLGs,
while offering packaging advantages, generally do not provide cost advantages.
Vibration Sensitivity Although 1he laser is insensitive to vibration, the RLG

may have dynamic errors. For example, if the RLG flexure (which permits
dither) exhibits cross-axis compliance, then the three gyros in an inertial sys-
INSTRUMENTS 333
tern no longer form a rigid body, and large navigation errors may result during
vibration. The flexure design must be compliant (with a very high Q) about the
input axis while being extremely rigid about the other two axes. An angular
pick-off senses the dither motion thereby correcting for dither. Still, vibration-
induced errors will result if the pickoff mechanism is sensitive to translational
acceleration.
For example, if the strain sensors that measure dither are slightly asymmet-
rical, they will erroneously indicate an angular motion of the gyro. If the false
angular signal is synchronous with a true angular motion about a perpendicular
axis, the strapdown equations will generate a coning-like error which is called
pseudo-coning.
Multioscillator Gyro The two-mode RLG requires dither or turntable rotation,

imposes constraints on the mechanical designs, and causes increased noise (both
vibratory and acoustic), random walk, and coning. Therefore, methods of opti-
cally biasing ring laser gyros have been attempted since the 1960s. This has led
to the class of RLGs known as multioscillators [49]. These are fully strapdown,
wide bandwidth, high-resolution, angle-sensing devices. They have no moving
parts and generate no acoustic noise. A description of their operation is given
below.
Construction In one form of multioscillator RLG, a left-hand circularly polar-

ized (LCP) mode and a right-hand circularly polarized (RCP) mode are each
split apart in frequency creating two gyros acting within the same resonator. The
LCP and RCP modes are separated with an optically active crystal that rotates
polarization states and consequently introduces a differential phase between the
LCP and RCP waves (reciprocal splitting) [49]. A more attractive alternative
makes use of an out-of-plane geometry that causes polarization rotation. This
is likened to the rotation of an image as it is subject to a series of reflections.
The geometric technique of polarization separation is preferred, since it does
not require the addition of a crystal within the beam path.
Once the LCP and RCP modes are split, they may be treated as two separate
gyros each possessing clockwise and counterclockwise beams. As such, lock-in
may occur in each of the gyros thereby precluding low-rate measurements. To
avoid this, the clockwise beam is biased away from the counterclockwise beam.
This can be accomplished with a doped glass element in the beam path which,
when subjected to a magnetic field, causes a differential phase shift between
the clockwise and counterclockwise beams. The shift is in opposite directions
for the LCP and RCP modes. The phenomenon responsible for the phase shift
is known as the Faraday effect, and the glass element that produces it is known
as a Faraday rotator. The frequency splitting in a multioscillator gyro is illus-
trated in Figure 7 .9a. It is noted that in this multioscillator, four laser modes
simultaneously resonate within the cavity.
As illustrated in Figure 7.9b, when a mechanical rotation is applied to the
multioscillator, the rate sensed by one of the two "gyros" (LCP in Figure
INTENSITY GAIN
CURVE
FREQUENCY
CW LCP CCW CCW RCP CW
FR,QUENCY
~ ~
FARADAY BIAS FARADAY BIAS
(a)
II~TENSITY
CW LCP CCW CCW RCP CW
FREQUENCY
FARADAY BIAS FARADAY BIAS

+RATE -RATE
(b)
Figure 7.9 (a) Mode splitting in a multioscillator RLG; (b) effect of rate on mul-
tioscillator RLG.
INSTRUMENTS 335
Mirror Anode Mirror Combining Photo-

(tilted down) (tilted up) optics assy detectors
Cathode
Faraday
rotator
Mirror
cavity (tilted down)
Figure 7.10 Multioscillator RLG (courtesy of Litton Guidance and Control Systems).
7.9) increases, while the rate sensed by the other "gyro" (RCP in Figure 7.9)
decreases. The subtraction of the two gyro outputs cancels the Faraday bias
while doubling the true angular rate measurement. The multioscillator readout
is much the same as that of the RLG except that two sets of fringes (one from
each polarization) are counted. The difference in the number of fringes is pro-
portional to the rotation angle. The resonant multioscillator cavity resembles
a conventional RLG cavity but must have at least four sides arranged so that
the beam does not circulate in a plane. A Faraday rotator lies within the beam
path and a magnet applies the field required to generate the Faraday rotation.
Figure 7.10 depicts such a multioscillator gyro. As with conventional RLGs,
cathodes and anodes support the electric discharge, which pumps the laser, and
combining optics detects the interference fringes.
While lock-in is avoided in multioscillators, other difficulties arise. Interac-
tion between scatter sources on the surfaces of the Faraday rotator and of the
mirrors causes mode coupling, which can lead to increased gyro bias. High-
quality mirror and rotator coating:; minimize this problem. To ensure cancella-
tion of common mode errors, it is important to balance the LCP and RCP inten-
sities. This may be accomplished by dynamically adjusting the cavity length
either to maximize total gyro intensity or to control the difference between the
LCP and RCP intensities.
The elimination of mechanical dither makes the multioscillator gyro excep-
tionally well suited for low noise, flight control, and pointing applications. The
elimination of dither leads to a low random walk coefficient. The scale fac-
tor stability is exceptionally good due to the absence of scatter-induced lock-in
effects present in dithered gyros. The doubling of the scale factor allows smaller
instruments to be used, and the lack of dither-induced mechanical noise permits
superior angle measurement and enhanced flight control potential. The mechani-
cal designs are simplified due to the absence of high-frequency, high-Q dither
flexures.
Fiber-Optic Gyro Fiber-optic gyros (FOGs) may be constructed as resonators

(much as RLGs) or interferometers. Resonant FOGs have been attempted but
suffered from a high loss-to-gain ratio and excessive scatter. In 1996, most oper-
ational FOGs were interferometers [II].
Principle of Operation The interferometric fiber-optic gyro (IFOG) consists

of a light source, a coupler, a fiber coil, and a detector as shown in Figure 7.11.
Light is launched from a broadband laser source and coupled through a fiber-
optic coil in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Because of
the Sagnac effect, the optical paths seen by the two beams differ in proportion
to the angular rate applied to the gyro. Upon recombination, the two beams
interfere and the intensity measures the phase difference between the beams.
Reference [32] shows that the phase difference is proportional to
SPLITS SOURCE INTO CW AND CCW BEAMS;

RECOMBINES RETURN BEAMS
SOURCE
/
C()UPLER
DETECTOR
Figure 7.11 Interferometric fiber-optic gyro.

INSTRUMENTS 337
¢,(t) = r_T W(t')dt' (7.7)
where w is the instantaneous inertial angular velocity along the axis of the coil
and T is the time for the light beam to traverse the coil. Thus, the fiber-optic
gyro's output characteristic is that of a rate-integrating gyro with a short mem-
ory as opposed to a ring laser gyro, which is a rate-integrating gyro over a
longer period of time (i.e., as long as interference fringes are being counted).
Fiber-Optic Gyro Modulation In an interferometer, small phase shifts (corre-

sponding to low angular rates) cause minute intensity changes (see Figure 7 .12).
To increase the rate sensitivity, it is necessary to modulate the fiber-optic gyro
so that the phase shift between beams is an odd multiple of 1rj2. In early FOGs,
the beams were phase-modulated mechanically by the piezoelectric mandrel that
served as the spool for the fiber-optic coil. An electrical excitation applied to
the piezoelectric material stressed and stretched the optic fiber, thus causing a
change in its index of refraction. The result was a modulation of the beam phase
in the fiber. The development of integrated optics permits the replacement of
the piezoelectric mandrel with an electro-optic modulator within the beam path
as shown in Figure 7.13. Light passing through the modulator is phase-shifted
in proportion to the voltage applied. Modulation must be applied with a period
approximately equal to the transit time. A detailed discussion of FOG mod-
ulation may be found in reference [52]. It may take the form of a sinusoidal
wave form, but, in 1996, state-of-the-art devices often employed complex dig-
ital modulation to achieve maximum sensitivity and to avoid problems with
distortion.
DETECTED INTENSITY
_ L_ _ _L___L~~~_L___L___L~~--~--~--~~INTERFEROMETER
-5Jt -2Jt -3Jt -lt -lt 0 3Jt 2Jt 5Jt PHASE
2 2 2 2 2 2
0 =MAXIMUM SENSITIVITY POINTS
Figure 7.12 Detected intensity versus interferometer phase.
w
w
Q()
POLARIZER
IDETECTOR~ I
PHASE
MODULATOR
10 (t) = ° (1 + COS(Ijl
2 8 + ljl(t) - ljl(t - T)))
WHERE 10 = DETECTED INTENSITY

10 =INTERFEROMETER TOTAL INTENSITY
<lls = SAGNAC PHASE
$ =PHASE MODULATOR PHASE
't = COIL TRANSIT TIME
Figure 7.13 IFOG with phase modulator.

INSTRUMENTS 339
Closed-Loop Fiber-Optic Gyro Operation Gyro modulation improves sensi-

tivity at low rates. However, electronics nonlinearity, intensity variation, pho-
todetector sensitivity, preamp gain, and background intensity all contaminate the
open-loop output of the FOG. For this reason, closed-loop operation of the FOG
is advantageous for higher accuracy and greater dynamic range [52]. Angular-
rate-induced phase shift may be nulled by applying a phase rebalance with the
modulator. However, the modulator is not selective as to direction of beam tra-
vel. A step voltage applied to the device will sustain a differential phase shift
between the clockwise and counterclockwise beams for one transit time of light
through the coil. A steady-state voltage will result in no net steady-state differ-
ential phase. A persistent differential phase can only be generated by a repeated
increase in the voltage applied to the modulator. Thus, to null the rate-induced
shift with a phase modulator, it is necessary to increase the voltage applied at
least every transit time. Since available voltages are bounded, the phase can-
not increase indefinitely. Thus, periodic voltage "resets" (of sub-microsecond
duration) with corresponding phase magnitude of 27r are applied to maintain the
voltage supplied to the phase modulator within prescribed limits. The magnitude
of each reset must be exactly 21r of phase to ensure that the gyro is not per-
turbed. A block diagram of a typical closed-loop FOG mechanization is given
in Figure 7.14. As in the case of modulation, a digital implementation of the
rate rebalance loop is attractive because it permits more precise control, track-
ing, and integration of the rate rebalance signal. Control of the reset amplitude
is usually accomplished through the use of a secondary servo, which compares
the effect of a nominal 1r/2 step to that of triple the nominal step. If the step
RATE
SAMPLER
PHASE
MODULATOR
DEMODULATOR
FEEDBACK
GENERATOR
SAGNAC PHASE
ESTIMATE
(I.E., RATE)
Figure 7.14 Closed-loop FOG operation.

were exactly 7r/2, the triple step would be -37f/2, which should have the same
effect. However, if the step was not exactly 7r/2, the difference between the
step and triple step would adjust the voltage on the phase modulator to achieve
7f/2 [52].
Polarization Nonreciprocity The construction of the fiber-optic gyro usually

leads to a high degree of reciprocity. That is, in the absence of external influ-
ences (angular rate, modulation), the clockwise and counterclockwise beams
each experience equal phase shifts, leading to zero differential phase. How-
ever, one common error source, which may be nonreciprocal, is the coupling
of different polarizations within the fiber/coupler circuit. Such coupling is usu-
ally highly temperature-dependent and cannot be modeled. Polarization nonre-
ciprocity must be minimized through the use of high-quality polarizers, short-
coherence-length sources, and poilarization-maintaining fiber and/or depolariz-
ers. In 1996, most fiber-optic gyros employed a broadband source such as a
superluminescent diode (SLD) or an active gain fiber source. Narrow-band laser
diodes are generally unsuitable for use in FOGs.
Vibration/Thermal Sensitivity The index of refraction and the physical length

of the fiber-optic gyro coil are affected by ambient temperature and pressure.
These cause a rate error known as the Shupe effect. Thermal Shupe effect
leads to a gyro bias that is a function of temperature and temperature gradient
changes, while mechanical Shupe effect converts periodic translational vibra-
tion into periodic angular rate. Both of these effects may be reduced through
clever coil-winding methods. Thermal compensation may further improve per-
formance.
Electronics Short-fiber-length (50 to 1000 meters) gyros require fast elec-

tronic components that generate modulation, process data, and rebalance the
gyro phase. Digital modulation, demodulation, and loop-processing are the most
effective.
Advantages of Fiber-Optic Gyros The FOG requires no mechanical biasing

and is rugged enough to be operated in a hard-mounted configuration. Short-
fiber-length FOGs offer small size, weight, and cost. The fiber-optic gyro pro-
vides extremely fine quantization (<0.01 arcsec) thereby permitting its use as a
rate-integrating device and as a low-noise rate sensor. In 1996, one-degjhr FOG
systems were in production for attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS)
[36]. They are adequate for many GPS-inertial systems. Navigation-accuracy
FOGs have also been produced and demonstrated.
Size, Weight, and Performance In 1996, optical gyros suitable for inertial
navigation weighed from 500 to 2000 g per axis. Laser gyros employed path
lengths of between 15 and 35 em. while navigation-grade fiber-optic gyros uti-
lized approximately 1 km of fiber. In most cases, optical gyros are sold with
INSTRUMENTS 341
their supporting electronics. The drift rate of an optical gyroscope is given by
Drift rate= Co+ C1T +D +H +MilO 1 +M1202 +M1303 + k1IBI + k12B2

+ k 13 B 3 + W (7.8)
The sources of error are classified below. The 0; are the components of angular
rate about orthogonal system axes and T is the difference between the operating
and calibration temperature of the gyro.
Bias and Random Drifts Bias terms C 0 and C 1 are driven by gas flow effects
in RLGs, scatter effects in multioscillators, and polarization and electronics
effects in FOGs. They change with age but bias is extremely stable from turn-
on to turn-on. Long-term bias aging is usually compensated in a system using
Kalman filter observations of bias error (Section 7.7.3). Thermal hysteresis H
may be incurred due to the buildup of gradients or stresses in the gyros during
thermal cycling.
Deadband The deadband or threshold term D specifies the rate below which
the gyro is insensitive. It is due to lock-in in RLGs and electronics errors in
FOGs.
Scale Factor and Nonorthogonality In laser gyros, scale factor error M ll is

due to mode coupling effects and is usually negligible, limited only by the accu-
racy of calibration. In FOGs, scale factor error is driven by the wavelength
of the light source and the index of refraction of the fiber. Nonorthogonality
errors MiJ are due to mechanical misalignment between the gyros and the sen-
sor assembly. Compensation of nonorthogonality is performed in the system
computer.
Magnetic Sensitivity Magnetic sensitivity k;i is due to the interaction of mag-

netic fields with polarization states and with the propagation medium. Laser
gyros and FOGs are usually enclosed in a high-permeability shield that atten-
uates external magnetic fields.
White Noise The white noise W of an optical sensor is usually a significant

error source. Noise due to spontaneous emission of photons in light sources and
due to backscatter in dithered RLGs sets the ability to measure the gyro output
within a set period of time. For example, a gyro whose power spectral den-
sity of rate noise is 0.12 degjhr-~Hz will measure angular rate with a standard
deviation of 0.0055 degjhr when using an integration time of eight minutes.
Rate noise can be converted to angle noise by dividing by 60. Thus, a spec-
tral density of (0.12 degjhr-~Hz) is equivalent to an angle spectral density of
(0.002 degNhr?.
After compensation, the residual errors are given by
Co 0.005 deg/hr uncompensated gyro bias

C1 5 x 10- 5 deg/hr- oc uncompensated bias thermal
sensitivity
D 0.003 degjhr residual deadband
H 0.003 deg/hr bias thermal hysteresis which depends on
previous temperature history
2 x I o- 6 uncompensated scale factor error
5 x 10- 6 rad uncompensated input axis orthogonality
error
0.002 degjhr-gauss bias magnetic sensitivity
0.12 deg/hr---.}Hz. the gyro white noise density
Testing Optical gyroscopes are tested using rate tables with thermal chambers
to measure scale factor and bias at various temperatures. Testing is simplified
due to the excellent scale factor stability of these gyros. Vibration testing is
sometimes performed to verify construction quality and durability and to mea-
sure vibration rectification errors. Ref. [6li] describes test procedures for single-
axis laser gyroscopes.
7.3.4 Mechanical Gyroscopes

Prior to the advent of the optical gyroscope, mechanical devices formed the
basis of inertial navigation systems. References [47, 23] describe various types
of mechanical gyroscopes.
Spinning Wheel Gyros The principle of operation is that in the absence of

applied torque, a rapidly rotating mass will tend to maintain its orientation in
inertial space. If a torque acts on the mass, then it will precess at a constant
rate. If a rigid body of angular momentum H (H = lws, where I= moment of
inertia of the mass about the axis of rotation, and Ws = spin rate) were acted
upon by a torque T, then the body would precess at an inertial angular velocity
w:
Tx = A(wx +Ox)+ H(wy + Oy) + (C- A)wyWz

Ty = A(wy + Oy) - H(wx +Ox)- (C- A)wxWz (7.9)
where
T; are components of the applied torque
A is the rotor transverse moment of inertia
C is the rotor polar moment of inertia
H is the angular momentum of the rotor
w; are the case angular velocities in inertial space
(); are the pickoff angles
INSTRUMENTS 343
Gimbal
axis
Gx
Electrical
Electrical output
torquing lly
command -............_
Ty -............_......._
Spin
// reference
Electrical
/
/
/ .................. _
.......................... axis
~ Electrical
torquing output
command llx
Tx
Figure 7.15 Black-box model of mechanical gyroscope.
If the angular momentum is high enough, Equation 7.9 can be simplified as

represented in Figure 7.15:
Tx = Hwy
Ty = -Hwx (7.10)
The simplification neglects anisoinertia (C-A), mass unbalance, and gimbal

moments of inertia. Many of these effects must be considered particularly in
strapdown systems that experience high dynamics and change their orientation
with respect to gravity. Other errors are present at higher frequencies where
the rebalance loops cease to faithfully maintain the rotor at its null position.
Detailed discussions of errors may be found in references [9, lOj.
Equation 7 .l 0 shows that a torque applied around an axis perpendicular to
the spin axis generates a precession rate T jH around an axis perpendicular to
the other two. By definition, the rate w resulting from a deliberately applied
torque is called a precession, whereas that due to an accidentally (and unwanted)
applied torque is called drift.
If a constant torque were applied to a nonrotating mass, the result would be
a constant angular acceleration T/I. After a timet, the nonrotating mass would
turn through an angle Tt 2/21, whereas the gyro would turn through Ttjlws. By
increasing the spin rate Ws, a gyro can be made much stiffer than an inert mass
of the same moment of inertia. References [48, 51] discuss the dynamics of
mechanical gyros in great detail.
Tuned-Rotor Gyros Figure 7.16 schematically illustrates a two-degree-of-

freedom (TDF) gyro. A balanced rotor supported in flexure-gimbals is free to
344 INERTIAL NAVIGATIOI'<
Rotor spin axis
Gimbal
Flexures
X, Y, S are axes fixed

in the gyro case
h. ~Y• $8 : Angular rates of case

relative to inertial space
8x, 8y,: Rotor angular displacements
relative ·:o the case (pick offs)
Figure 7.16 Schematic representation of TDF tuned-rotor gyro.
rotate about two axes relative to the shaft Preloaded bearings support the shaft
within the case and a motor drives the rotor at a precise spin speed of approx-
imately 200 revolutions/sec. Pickoffs (usually magnetic) measure the angular
displacements (Ox and Oy) of the rotor relative to the case. Mechanical stops
prevent damage to the gyro due to excessive motion of the rotor. The pick-
off outputs drive servo loops, which control torquers that restore the rotor to
its null position. The gyroscopic equations relate the torque applied (measured
by the current supplied to the torquer coils) to the angular rate sensed by the
gyro. Angular rate measurements about two perpendicular axes are obtained.
Additional descriptions of tuned-rotor gyro design are given in reference [31].
Suspension Tuning The suspension includes a gimbal and two sets of flexures.
Its function is to provide translational support for the rotor while decoupling
the case and the rotor for rotations about any axis perpendicular to the spin
direction. When the gimbal-flexure-rotor assembly spins, a dynamically induced
spring rate is generated [ 10]. The tuned condition is achieved when the dynamic
INSTRUMENTS 345
spring rate exactly cancels the mechanical spring rate attributed to the flexure.
The gimbal inertias are adjusted such that their tuned frequency exactly matches
the motor frequency. When ideally tuned, the rotor will appear to be completely
free to rotate about axes perpendicular to the spin axis.
Rebalance Servo To keep the gimbal angles within seconds of arc, a rebal-
ance servo drives the pickoff signals to zero. Magnetic torquers act on the rotor
to provide the restoring force. As in the case of accelerometers, the rebalance
loops can be analog or digital (pulse rebalance). Gyro resonances and rebalance
loops must be designed to achieve sufficient bandwidth while ensuring stabil-
ity. Torquer calibration includes orthogonalization relative to the gyro spin axis
and relative to the other torquers. In older designs, such calibration was gen-
erally performed electrically with a resistor matrix. Newer instruments rely on
mathematical compensation in the navigation computer.
Torquing of strapdown gyros is difficult for several reasons. To achieve high
rate capabilities and high bandwidth, either large torquers must be used or a
rotor with low inertia must be used; both degrade performance. In the first
instance, excessive power dissipation, thermal sensitivity, and thermal gradi-
ent sensitivity cause drift. In the second case, accuracy is sacrificed because of
the reduced gyroscopic effect. The angular momentum of inertial-quality gyros
is 200,000 to 2,000,000 gm-cm 2 jsec. For strapdown navigation, optical gyros
(Section 7.3.3) have nearly displaced mechanical gyros. Lower-accuracy strap-
down inertial measurement units still employ miniature two-degree-of-freedom-
tuned gyros.
Size, Weight, and Performance Inertial-quality TDF gyros range from micro-
machined 30-g instruments to 300-g tuned instruments excluding power sup-
plies and control electronics. They consume milliwatts to 5 w. The drift rate of
one axis of a mechanical gyro can be represented as
Drift rate= Co+ C,a, + C2a2 + C3a3 + C12a1a2 + Cna1a3 + C23a2a3 + C41 T
+Cs,B,+Cs2B2+Cs3B3 (7.11)
The sources of error are classified below. The a; are the components of case
acceleration along the spin axis and gimbal axes of the gyro, T is the difference
between the operating and calibration temperature, and the B; are the compo-
nents of the ambient magnetic field.
Bias and Random Drifts Bias drift C 0 is caused largely by suspension torques
and by the back reactions of pickoffs. The bias drifts differ slightly each time the
instrument is turned on (day-to-day and long-term repeatability) and will fluc-
tuate randomly with time because of pivot friction, pigtail hysteresis, brinelled
bearings, and power supply variations. A turn-on to turn-on bias shift can result
from the way in which the shaft bearings align themselves at each spin-up. Bias
and random drifts are specified in degjhr. Mechanical gyros in aircraft are usu-
ally rebiased on a regular schedule, based on the number of flights, flying hours,
or elapsed time. In most systems, biases are estimated in flight by the navigation
Kalman filter (Chapter 3).
Mass-Unbalance Drift The C1, C2, and C 3 are the mass-unbalance drift coeffi-
cients. Mass-unbalance drift is proportional to vehicle acceleration and is caused
by inadequate mass balance of the assembly or by a defective spin motor. If H
= 2 x 10 6 g-cm 2 /sec and the rotor weighs 250 g, a mass shift of 1 ~-tin. causes
a drift coefficient of 0.06 degjhr-g. The absolute values of C; and their stabil-
ity are usually specified. Compensation is sometimes performed in the system
computer using accelerometer measurements.
Anisoelastic Drift The C12, C13, and C 23 are the anisoelastic drift coefficients,
usually specified in deg/hr-g 2 . If the wheel suspension is not isoelastic, the
mass center of the rotor does not deflect along the direction of acceleration
and a torque results. A difference in stiffness of 1 lb/ ~-tin. will cause a drift
coefficient of 0.04 degjhr-g 2 if H = 2 x 106 g-cm 2 /sec and the rotor weighs
250 g. Furthermore, a vibration that has in-phase components along and normal
to the spin axis will cause rectified drift.
Higher-Order g-Sensitivity If the deflections along the principal axes are non-
linear functions of load, the anisoelastic drift coefficient will vary with g 3 and
higher-order terms. These terms are not ordinarily discernible in aircraft sys-
tems.
Temperature Coefficient of Dr(ft The temperature-dependent drift in a gyro

results from dimensional changes in the mechanical assembly or temperature
dependent terms in the magnetics. These coefficients are quoted in degjhr-°C of
temperature off calibration and of the temperature gradient. For maximum accu-
racy, mechanical gyros are often heated and maintained at a precise temperature.
A temperature model can also be derived during calibration and subsequently
applied in the system computer for drift compensation.
Magnetic Field Coefficient of Dr~Ft External magnetic fields can act on the
motor or suspension causing torques that depend on the field strength and on
the orientation of the gyro in the field. The source of the field can be the Earth,
nearby equipment (e.g., radars), platform torque motors, or sources within the
gyro. The magnetic field coefficient is quoted in degjhr-gauss.
In a typical navigation-grade mechanical gyro (circa 1996), the coefficients
in field usage are
INSTRUMENTS 347
0.1 deg/hr, stable within 0.02 degjhr for periods of weeks

0.5 deg/hr-g, stable within 0.1 degjhr-g for periods of
weeks
C12, C13, C23 0.1 deg/hr-g 2
C41 0.02 deg/hr- oc
Cs1, Cs2, Cs3 0.005 degjhr-gauss
Gyro scale factor linearity 0.05%
Testing There are many methods for conducting static drift tests on gyros. In
the simplest, the gyro is mounted on a rigid table and connected as a single-axis
or two-axis rate gyro, with its pickoff(s) caged to its torquer(s). The indicated
gyro output expressed as a rate, minus the calculated Earth rate, gives the drift
rate. This method depends on knowledge of the torquer scale factor and requires
the subtraction of two large numbers to calculate the small drift rate. This test
is usually performed on mechanical aircraft gyros because they have calibrated
torquers and because the test maintains the gyros in a fixed orientation relative
to gravity. Measurements of the gyro drift rates in various orientations relative
to the gravity field can be used to solve a set of simultaneous equations of the
form of Equation 7.11 to yield the drift coefficients in that equation [61 g].
Vibration tests of a gyro are often desirable, particularly to determine the
anisoelastic coefficients, which are a function of the frequency of vibration.
Centrifuge tests also characterize gyros but are difficult to perform accurately.
Sled tests and Scorsby tests (Section 7.4.3) are used to test strapdown blocks
but not individual gyros.
7.3.5 Future Inertial Instruments

For precise inertial navigators (better than 2 nmijhr RMS error), optical
gyroscopes are likely to remain in use for decades. Efforts will continue to
avoid mechanical dithering and to improve the reliability of the laser cavities.
Approaches that combine three RLGs into one block of glass may also be pur-
sued for some applications [57].
As worldwide, continuous, precise satellite fixes become available at low
cost, they will be coupled to moderate-accuracy (5 nmijhr error) inertial nav-
igators of the kind that were called "attitude and heading reference systems"
(AHRS) from the 1970s to the 1990s. Micro-machined gyroscopes, combined
gyroscope-accelerometers [ 19], and FOGs are likely to dominate in this arena,
which may become the largest quantity market for inertial navigators during
the period when GPS is in service.
Micro-machined gyroscopes are likely to be vibrating beams of various
designs that detect the Coriolis force on the oscillating tines when the gyro-
scope rotates in inertial space. They are likely to be packaged as a microchip
with integral signal conditioning and rebalance electronics.
Hemispherical Resonator Gyro This gyro has been in development since the
1960s [50]. It employs a quartz resonator in the shape of a wineglass to support
acoustic modes that are inertially stabilized. By measuring the motion of the
acoustic nodes relative to the glass, it is possible to infer rotations. Manufac-
ture of the hemispherical resonator gyro (HRG) is complicated by the require-
ment for very high mechanical Q's (in the millions), high-resonator uniformity,
high resolution, high-impedance readout electronics, and high-quality vacuum.
The HRG generally exhibits significant vibration sensitivity. These factors have
limited its use in the navigation market. HRGs have been used in space appli-
cations.
7.4 PLATFORMS
7.4.1 Analytic Platform (Strapdown)

Mechanization In a strapdown navigator, gyroscopes and accelerometers are
rigidly mounted to a sensor assembly that is usually mounted to the vehicle on
a set of shock mounts. The gyroscopes track the rotation of the body and drive
an algorithm that calculates the orientation of the vehicle. The accelerometer
outputs are transformed to the navigation axes by the computed rotation matrix.
This leads to the analytic pla~form, a computed set of stabilized axes, which are
analogous to the stable element axes in a gimballed system. The transformed
accelerometer outputs are integrated to velocity in the analytic platform coor-
dinate system. In a strapdown system the gyroscopes do not act as null-sen-
sors (as in gimballed units) but sense the inertial angular rate of the vehicle.
An extremely high dynamic range (0.005 degjhr to 400 degjsec or more) is
required in many applications. Further, the calculation of system orientation
and the transformation of accelerations require complex computations. Strap-
down navigation systems have been made possible by optical gyroscopes and
high-throughput computers [44, 45]. Since the mid-1980s, navigation perfor-
mance has been similar to the best gimballed systems. Strapdown units offer
additional advantages such as extended bandwidth, reduced mechanical com-
plexity, wide temperature operation, and improved reliability. Table 7.1 shows
typical characteristics of a strapdown inertial navigation unit. The error propa-
gation of a strapdown navigator follows the same laws as gimballed navigators,
but errors depend more heavily on trajectory, since the instrument orientation
varies as the aircraft maneuvers.
Strapdown Computations The purposes of these computations are (I) to cal-

culate the vehicle's attitude relative to the navigation coordinates using the gyro
measurements, (2) to transform the accelerometer measurements from vehicle
axes into navigation coordinates, and (3) to perform the dead-reckoning com-
putations of Equation 2.5.
PLATFORMS 349
TABLE 7.1 Typical inertial navigator specification (1996)

Parameter Value
Navigation accuracy 0.8 nmijhr

Velocity accuracy 2.5 ft/sec RMS
Pitch-and-roll accuracy 0.05 deg rms
Azimuth accuracy 0.05 deg rms
Alignment time gyrocompass 3-8 min
stored heading 30-90 sec
Size 500-1 000 in. 3
Weight 20-30 lb
Power 30-150 w
Acceleration capability 30 g
Angular rate capability 400 deg/sec
Mean time between failures 3500 hr
in a fighter environment
Attitude Integration In three dimensions, it is not possible to add rotation

angles. The readers may convince themselves of this point by manipulating a
three-dimensional object with labeled x-, y-, and z-axes. For example, as illus-
trated in Figure 7. I 7, a 90-deg rotation about the x-axis followed by a 90-deg
rotation about the z-axis yields a different final orientation as compared to a 90-
deg rotation about the z-axis followed by a 90-deg rotation about the x-axis.
This example involving large angles illustrates the principle of noncommutativ-
ity discussed in many references [4, 16]. Noncommutativity also applies in the
case of small angles. Attitude computations must therefore take into account
the properties of rotations.
In three dimensions rotations may be described by three or more parameters.
Three-parameter definitions include the Euler angles, which specify three rota-
tion angles taken in a specific order (thereby emulating a gimbal set). Unfortu-
nately, the Euler angles suffer from singularities (as do all three parameter sys-
tems) and extreme nonlinearity and are ill-suited for attitude integration. They
are, however, commonly used as attitude readout parameters. The rotation vec-
tor is another three-parameter description of rotation. Such a vector specifies
an instantaneous axis of rotation and the angle of rotation about this axis (any
orientation can be transformed to any other by a single-axis rotation). The rota-
tion vector is a useful concept for small angles but is difficult to manipulate for
large rotations.
The most common means of describing rotation in strapdown systems
employ more than the minimum three parameters [37]. A calculation using
direction cosines [2 I] was briefly in use for slowly rotating vehicles in the
I 960s. In the late I 960s, quaternions supplanted the direction cosines, and, in
the early 1970s, preprocessing of the gyro outputs was introduced to speed up
the computations.
CASE 1 CASE 2
Rmat.(•
about z
,L,
~
r'l'
Rotate goo y
Not,e the difference in the

final orientations
due to the order of
rotations
Figure 7.17 Example of noncommutativity of rotations.
Direction Cosine Formulation A direction-cosine matrix is mathematically

well behaved and suited for integration. Vectors are easily transformed using
these matrices.
Let the vehicle's coordinate frame (the body frame) be denoted by B, and
the navigation coordinate frame by N. The direction cosine matrix transform-
ing from the body coordinates to the navigation coordinates is C~. The exact
relationship between c~ and the instantaneous angular rate is
dC~ ·N N (B) (N) N

- - = C s = [C s][wsN] = [wsN][C s] (7.12)
dt
where w<J}~ is the instantaneous angular rate vector of the body frame with
respect to the navigation frame as measured in body coordinates, w~N is the
same angular-rate vector, resolved into navigation coordinates, and the [w]
PLATFORMS 351
matrix is:
[w] = [ ~3 (7 .13)
-W2
The solution to the differential equation (7.12) is updated at specific inter-

vals determined by the computer's workload. Thus, strapdown gyros must be
"rate-integrating gyros" that measure the integral of the component of angu-
lar velocity along their input axes (sometimes called "incremental angles" 6.() i)
during the computing interval. From the !:ifh the computer calculates the air-
craft's attitude change during the interval. The fi() outputs of the integrating
gyros are numerically scaled as angles though they do not represent geomet-
ric angles because they do not form a true vector; consecutive fi() are neither
additive nor commutative. The smaller the angle, the more closely fi() approxi-
mates a vector and represents the change in attitude. Note that a rate gyro, that
samples the instantaneous rate sometime during the computing interval, would
introduce large attitude errors because the rates change during the iteration
interval.
To a first approximation,
Cn- Cn- 1 [d9]

Cz ""Cn-1--
fit fit
Cn"" C1 -I([l] + [d9]) (7 .14)
This is a method of calculating the nine elements of the direction cosine matrix
Cat each read-time from the set of three gyro measurements. It is practical only
in the slowest-rotating applications such as some land vehicles and spacecraft
because of the following problems:
1. The C matrix will gradually become nonorthonormal and nonorthogonal

unless explicitly corrected. Orthonormality requires that the sum of the
squares of any row or column equal unity, and orthogonality requires that
the dot products of any two rows or columns equal zero. Mathematically,
L cikcJk
k
= au
L ckickJ
k
= au (7 .15)
where oii is the Kronecker delta (au= 1 for i = j, ou = 0 for i ci j).

2. There are nine simultaneous equations to be propagated at each gyro-read

interval.
3. Rate-integrating gyros prevent the loss of angular information in the pres-
ence of angular acceleration during the gyro-read interval. However, a
change in the direction of the angular rate vector during the interval leads
to noncommutativity or coning errors, which render Equation 7.14 inac-
curate.
Quaternion Formulation The first two problems described above are avoided
through the use of quaternions. A quaternion is a four-element entity consisting
of a scalar part A and a vector part p with the following representation:
q=[A,p]
It defines the instantaneous axis of rotation. The product of two quaternions is

defined as
q1 * q2 =[AI, PI]* [A2,P2l

= [AIA2- PI. P2,AIP2 +A2PI +pi X P2] (7.16)
For a rotation quaternion, the norm is unity (given by A2 + p · p = I). Thus,

there is a single normalization constraint (the sum of the squares of the four
elements must be equal to unity). A rotation quaternion may be expressed as
q = [cos ( ~) , 1¢ sin ( ~)) (7.17)
where 1¢ sin (¢/2) is the vector part p and cos ¢/2 is the scalar part A. Thus,
any rotation can be expressed as a single rotation about an inclined axis. In this
case, 1¢ is the unit vector along the inclined axis of rotation and ¢ is the angle
of rotation about that axis.
The quaternion inverse is given by
q--I = [.\/\, p] --I = ['>1\, -p ] (7 .18)
The differential equation for a quaternion is
r 1
d; = 2 q[O,w] (7 .19)
PLATFORMS 353
where w is the instantaneous angular rate vector. The exact solution to equation
(7.19) is given by
q((n + 1 ),1t) = q(n,1t) * qu
qu = [cos ( ~¢) ,sin ( ,1:) ~:] (7.20)
This equation must be solved using the incremental angles measured by the
gyroscopes. To a first approximation, the vector change in angle is related to
the angular rate vector sensed in the form shown below:
(7 .21)
A better approximation is needed in aircraft systems as discussed in the next

paragraph. The quaternion update algorithm is executed at a rate (typically 50
to 500 times per second) such that the magnitude of the .:1 <!> vector will remain
small (0.0 I sec at 50 degjsec = 0.5 de g). In this case, a second-order expansion
is used for cos ,1¢/2"" 1- ((,1¢) 2/8) and for sin (,1¢/2)/(,1¢/2)"" 1- (,1¢) 2 j24.
Quaternion integration algorithms usually make use of the normalization con-
straint to control error growth in the computations. The sum of the squares of
the quaternion elements are subtracted from unity to yield the normalization
error.
Coning Errors Coning refers to a motion in which the axis of rotation is itself
moving in space. In this type of motion, the axes of the body trace a cone in
space. Reference [ 16] demonstrates that a gyroscope whose input axis describes
a cone will sense an average angular rate equal to the solid angle swept per unit
time. However, there is, in fact, no net rotation taking place about that axis. In
the other two axes perpendicular to the coning axis, the actual motion may
be described as "oscillatory signals in phase-quadrature." Because the attitude
integration in a strapdown system takes place at a finite iteration frequency,
the oscillatory components will not be faithfully reproduced (particularly if the
coning frequency approaches or exceeds the iteration frequency), and a net error
will be generated. This error is attributed to the approximation .:1<!> "" .:19 in
Equation 7 .21. The net coning error E c depends on the coning frequency .fc and
the iteration interval ,1t and is proportional to the coning rate 0 c:
(7.22)
For a circular cone of angle a and frequency fc,
De= 47r:fc sin

2
( ~) (7.23)
The apparent drift rate Ec increases with the frequency and amplitude of the
coning motion. Coning errors may be reduced by raising the quaternion itera-
tion frequency but this is costly in terms of computer throughput [37]. Instead,
an algorithm preprocesses the gyro data at a higher rate than the quaternion inte-
gration to improve the approximation in Equation 7.21 in order to follow the
actual motion of the rotation axis closely. The algorithm computes an average
rotation over the slower quaternion update interval. The preprocessing algo-
rithms are sometimes called coning algorithms [28, 37, 46]. An example of a
coning algorithm is given below.
Every "fast" preprocessing cycle
1
C = C + o<j> >< .:iOn + - .:10 11 _ 1X .:iOn
12
Every "slow" quaternion update cycle
~~.<!> = o<!> + c
i)<j> = 0
C=O (7.24)
where
n is the fast iteration counter
C is the vector coning correction
.:10 11 is the three axis integrated rate over the nth fast cycle
o<!> is the resettable integration of .:10
.:1<1> is the rotation vector used to propagate the quaternion over one
"slow" cycle
At the end of the "slow" cycle ,:l,cj> updates the quaternion as in Equation 7.20.
Typically, the preprocessing algorithm executes up to 2000 times per second,
while the quaternion algorithm eKecutes 50 to 250 times per second.
Direction Cosine Formation A direction cosine matrix may be calculated

exactly from a rotation quaternion. If the quaternion is properly normalized,
PLATFORMS 355
the resulting direction cosine matrix will always be orthogonal and orthonor-
mal:
2(PxPy- Apz)
'A2-p2+p2-p2
X y Z
2(PxPz + Apy)
2(PyPz- Apx)
J (7.25)
2(PyPz + Apx) 'A 2 _ P2X _ P2y + P2Z
Euler angles may be extracted from this matrix as discussed in Section 7.5.1.
In a quaternion mechanization, the Euler parameters serve strictly as system
outputs for attitude (e.g., to show roll and pitch).
Incremental Velocity Transformation Accelerations sensed in the body frame

are transformed through the body-to-navigation direction-cosine matrix in order
to compute acceleration in a stabilized coordinate system. However, because
this transformation cannot be performed on a continuous basis, the accelerom-
eter outputs are integrated in the body frame to form incremental velocities
(d V) which are then transformed to the navigation frame:
(Between transformations)
(7.26)
(Transformation)
(7.27)
The use of incremental velocities instead of instantaneous acceleration is impor-

tant to preserve the correct velocity in the presence of changing acceleration
during a sampling interval. The approximation in Equation 7.26 can lead to
sculling errors, as discussed on page 359.
Quaternion Navigation Updates The gyroscope outputs update the quaternion

as given in Equation 7.20. However, gyroscopes measure rotation relative to
inertial space, while navigation is generally performed in Earth-fixed, local-
level coordinates, as discussed in Section 7 .5. Thus, the attitude quaternion
must be modified to account for the rotation of the Earth and the travel of
the vehicle around the Earth. The combination of these two terms describes the
rotation of the locally level plane with respect to inertial space. A quaternion
torquing algorithm (analogous to gimbal torquing) is used in addition to the
body update algorithm to permit tracking of attitude with respect to the locally
level plane. The algorithm that employs torquing rate commands (also known
as tilt corrections) is given below:
(7.28)
where
with
where wL is the torquing rate vector. The rotation rate of the navigation frame
is usually less than 50 degjhr. Thus, the iteration frequency of the navigation
updates can be substantially lower than that of the body updates. Further, due
to the very small angles involved (Earth rate over a I 0-Hz interval represents
only 7.5 ~J-rad of angle change), a first-order expansion of the trigonometric
functions
D,cpL
cos--"' 1
2
sin D.¢L/2 "'
1
i3.¢L/2
is usually all that is needed in Equation 7 .28.
Packaging The gyros and accelerometers are rigidly mounted on a block

with temperature sensors. The block is usually shock-mounted to the vehicle
to control the bandwidth of the motion sensed at the instruments [33 ]. Shock-
mounting limits vibration rectification errors within the instruments themselves
(accelerometers, in particular). In choosing the natural frequency of the isolation
mount, trade-offs must be made between bandwidth, navigation accuracy, and
computational throughput. In all cases, the isolation system must be designed to
avoid vibration-induced coning and sculling errors. If the strapdown instruments
are used for flight control, tight coupling to the vehicle (e.g., high bandwidth)
is desirable, though it increases navigational errors.
In the 1970s, some early strapdown blocks were mounted on a gimbal-like
turntable for preflight calibration and employed heaters for thermal stabiliza-
tion. Optical gyroscopes have eliminated the need for turntables and heaters in
the majority of applications. A typical strapdown sensor assembly is shown in
Figure 7.18.
PLATFORMS 357
y Gv~'"'-----' I
INTERFACE
ACCELEROMETER CARD
ACCELEROMETER
Figure 7.18 Typical strapdown inertial navigator or RLG sensor asse mbl y (courtesy.
Honeywell Inc .) .
For fault tolerance, blocks may contain more than the rmmmum of three
single-axis gyroscopes and accelerometers. With four of each, fail-safe opera-
tion is obtained allowing the detection hut not necessarily the isolation of a sin-
gle failure . /solution is the process of determining which instrument failed and
changing the algorithm to use the remaining instruments for navigation. With
six gyroscopes and six accelerometers , detection and isolation of up to two fail-
ures of each type of sensor is possible. Some systems have been constructed
with six RLGs and accelerometers on a single isolated sensor assembly. They
have been applied to space-launch vehicles. However, the added complexity of
maintaining six redundant channels has made them costly and bulky, so they are
not widely used. Aircraft operators prefer redundant IMUs, each having three
single-axis gyroscopes and accelerometers.
Calibration Instruments must be calibrated at the factory and compensated

during flight for best performance. In the factory, systems are mounted on rate
tables, and specific motions are executed to excite various error sources. For
example, rotation about a given axis will excite gyro scale factor and misalign-
ment errors. Tipping an accelerometer into gravity will excite accelerometer
scale factor and misalignment errors. In certain calibration procedures, a large
number of measurements are taken, and the data are reduced in a least-squares
program to fit the anticipated error model [5]. Reference [34] presents an attrac-
tive method for isolating individual error sources in minimum time. Often, the
calibration steps are repeated over a wide temperature range in order to generate
thermal models for the instrument parameters.
Most strapdown systems do not require re-calibration since optical gyro-
scopes exhibit excellent long-term stability and since in-flight Kalman filters
recalibrate the instruments during operation. Curve fits of the following param-
eters are made in the factory as a function of temperature and the model coef-
ficients are stored in nonvolatile calibration memory:
• Gyro bias
• Gyro scale factor
• Gyro misalignment
• Accelerometer bias
• Accelerometer scale factor
• Accelerometer misalignment
For mechanical gyros, mass unbalance is also calibrated.

In flight, the strapdown sensors (generally not temperature controlled) are
compensated based on measured temperature, using the models stored at the
factory. The navigation filter is able to calculate residual instrument errors if
an independent source of velocity or position information (e.g., GPS, Doppler
radar, or star-tracker) is available. A Kalman filter (Chapter 3) often fine-tunes
gyro and accelerometer biases in flight. More complex Kalman filters may also
calibrate scale factor and misalignment states.
Size, Weight, and Performance Instrument error models are given in Section
7.3 (for accelerometers in 7.3.1, for optical gyroscopes in 7.3.3, for mechanical
gyroscopes in 7.3.4). Strapdown systems have added errors due to trajectory,
angular acceleration, and computing cycle time.
Coning Errors In military aircraft, large coning rates are generated in maneu-
vers known as S turns. Large roll and azimuth rotations occur 90 deg out of
phase, leading to a large coning rate about the pitch axis. If ±45-deg turns occur
PLATFORMS 359
four times per minute, a coning rate of 25,000 deg/hr will be generated. The
observed system drift will depend on the effectiveness of the coning and quater-
nion algorithms [28, 37, 46] as well as on the scale factor and misalignment
accuracies. Errors as small as a few parts per million or a few microradians are
significant.
Sculling Errors If the acceleration vector were measured, transformed to sta-

bilized navigation coordinates continuously, and integrated to velocity, no error
would be incurred. The computed .:1 V would be
.:1 v<NJ = J' c~ (t)a< 8l(t) dt (7 .29)

t - f!.t
However, the accelerometers integrate acceleration in the body frame at discrete

intervals. This yields the approximation of Equations 7.26 and 7.27.
In the presence of combined rotation and acceleration known as sculling,
this approximation can lead to errors referred to as sculling errors. Figure 7.19
illustrates sculling and indicates how errors are generated. In the presence of a
rotation synchronous with an oscillating acceleration, an average acceleration is
erroneously computed. For most mechanizations, the residual acceleration error
for small angular motions may be expressed as
. aoeo ( sin w!:lt/2 )

S cui 1mg error = - - I ~ / (7.30)
2 w!:J.t 2
where a 0 is the amplitude of the oscillatory acceleration and eo is the amplitude

of the oscillatory angular motion in radians. Sculling error is usually expressed
m J-tg.
To avoid large sculling errors, it is necessary to execute the velocity trans-
formation at least four times faster than the anticipated frequencies of vibra-
tion. It is also possible to use a high-iteration-rate sculling algorithm. It com-
putes the cross-product between the gyro data and the accelerometer data to
improve the approximation in Equation 7.27. It is important to use wide-band-
width accelerometers in order to reconstruct the oscillatory information.
Size-Effect Errors It is impossible to co-locate the three accelerometers. As

a result, each accelerometer senses acceleration at a slightly different point in
space (typical separations are on the order of a few centimeters). In the pres-
ence of angular motion, each of the accelerometers will sense centripetal and/or
tangential acceleration. The set of three accelerometer outputs will not be con-
sistent due to their different physical locations. The result is a size-effect (lever-
arm) error. The size-effect error rectifies with a magnitude proportional to the
Pivot
/ \ /Oscillatory
Accelerometer ~\ angular motion
sensitive
axis at left \ Accelerometer
' sensitive
-~< \\v(
--?->
axis at right
extreme position
Acceleration \0)
Synchronous
to angular
motion
(a) Pendulum motion
Acceleration
projects positive
on accel axis
Smaller Large
positive positive
projection /projection
Acceleration Acceleration Acceleration Acceleration

(Reverses polarity
Synchronously
with angle)
Sculling computes an erroneous

steady acceleration although
inputs are purely oscillatory
(b) Following the pendulum through its cycle
Figure 7.19 Illustration of sculling motion.
distance between accelerometer centers and the square of the angular rate. Size-
effect errors do not occur in gimballed systems, since the accelerometers are
isolated from angular motion.
Size-effect errors can be excited with low-frequency rocking motion. For
example, if a system is rotated ±45 deg with a period of 4 sec and an accelerom-
eter lever arm of 2 em, the size-effect is:
PLATFORMS 361
2
Size effect= _!_ ___2_c_m_c--_
2
2981(cm/sec )/g 4
-7f-)
(.!!__ rad - 2
4sec
"' 1.6 mg
This error is easily corrected in the computer.
7 .4.2 Gimballed Platform

The purposes of a stable platform are the following:
I. To orient the accelerometers in a definite coordinate frame relative to the

Earth or inertial space, despite angular motions of the vehicle.
2. To provide a convenient readout of vehicle attitude by reading each of the
gimbal angles separately, thereby yielding convenient Euler angle outputs.
3. To protect the accelerometers and stabilization gyros from large angular
motions of the vehicle, which would cause incorrect operation.
4. To protect the instruments from vibration, temperature, and magnetic
environments.
Gimbal Order A schematic diagram of a four-gimbal stable platform is shown

in Figure 7 .2. Though four-axis platforms were universally used on aircraft, the
three-axis platform will be discussed first for clarity. A three-axis platform is
formed by holding the inner-roll angle (B angle) of the four-gimbal platform
rigidly at zero. The vehicle is free to rotate about the roll, pitch, or yaw axes
without disturbing the stable element.
Any gimbal order can be chosen, subject to limitations imposed by the
mission. The innermost and outermost gimbal axes have potentially unlimited
freedom, whereas the middle axis (pitch in Figure 7.2) is limited to approxi-
mately ±70 deg. The condition in which the middle-gimbal angle approaches 90
deg is called gimbal lock. In this condition, the innermost and outermost axes
coincide, thus depriving the platform of one of its degrees of freedom. All-
attitude operation can be achieved with a four-axis platform as described on
page 363.
Stabilization In some simple systems, the orientation of the stable element is

maintained by brute-force gyro stabilization, relying on the moments of inertia
of the stable element and the angular momentum of the gyros to reduce the
precession caused by small friction torques. Brute-force stabilization is used
only on platforms designed for a few seconds of flight, where the precession
rate of the platform (friction torque + H) is acceptably low.
In most cases, servo stabilization is needed in order to maintain the ori-
entation of the stable element (Figure 7.2). The error detectors, which provide
inputs to the stabilization servos, are typically precision TDF gyroscopes. Their
outputs are resolved and used to drive the gimbal servos.
The ability of the stable element to remain nonrotating relative to a space or

Earth coordinate frame depends on the following factors:
1. Drift rate of the reference gyros

2. Accuracy of the gyro torquers
3. Angular motion of the vehicle (vehicle motion isolation)
4. Orthogonality of components on the platform
Gyro errors are discussed in Section 7.3.4. Base-motion isolation and cross-
coupling are measured by nine ratios (wp;/wb1). Each of these ratios measures
the angular velocity of the stable element about the x;th-axis (wp;) in response
to the angular velocity of the vehicle about the y1 th-axis (wb1). These ratios
serve as a measure of platform performance, since they indicate how well the
platform isolates the instruments from vehicle motion. The nine ratios provide
measures of in-axis as well as cross-axis isolation as a function of frequency.
The degree of base-motion isolation is largely determined by the servo char-
acteristics. For a single-axis platform using TDF gyros for stabilization, the
platform response has the form
Wpiatform
(7 .31)
Wvehicle
where T; are functions of the gimbal drives, moments of inertia, and of the
damping. A more exact analysis would include the characteristic time of the
gyro and the intergimbal coupling.
Another parameter of importance is the platform's response to gyro-torquing
signals (e.g., those commanding the platform to remain locally level and north
oriented). The torque commands change slowly, even when the vehicle exe-
cutes a high-speed turn. As a result, there is seldom a problem of attenuation
of command signals in the servos. The design of gimbal servos is discussed in
detail in [40, 41] and Chapter 3 of [7].
Mechanical Design From the mechanical designer's viewpoint, the platform

serves the following three functions:
I. Vibration control. The gimbal structure should attenuate vibration (exter-

nally-induced and self-excited due to spinning gyros and other gimbal-
mounted components), thus allowing the gyros and accelerometers to
operate in a benign environment. The gimbals should exhibit no undue
resonances and should not have vibration characteristics that are strong
functions of gimbal angle. Attempts have been made to build gimbals of a
laminated material that has good dimensional stability and can detune res-
onance peaks. Shock mounts are usually needed to supplement the gim-
bal's attenuation characteristics.
PLATFORMS 363
2. Temperature control. Most mechanical gyros and accelerometers must be

held within a degree or less of their desired operating temperature (and
temperature gradient) in order to maintain full accuracy. As a result, the
gimbal system and housing must provide for suitable conduction and con-
vection (usually using cooling air) of heat from gyros, accelerometers,
motors, and gimbal-mounted electronics. An air-to-fluid heat exchanger
or Peltier-effect refrigerator can prevent contaminated cabin-cooling air
from entering the platform cavity. Temperature control of the stable
element must be independent of changes in the gimbal angles. This
requires ingenuity in the method of circulating coolant within the plat-
form cavity. Rapid warmup may impose stringent requirements for pre-
venting large temperature gradients in the stable element. The measure-
ment of gyro temperature and the computation of compensations eases the
problem.
3. Magnetic field control. Gyros and accelerometers are often magnetically
sensitive. Each instrument so affected is usually separately shielded. How-
ever, care must be taken to prevent large externally (cables, radars)
or internally (direct-drive gimbal torque motors) generated fields from
affecting the instruments.
Misalignments between instruments cause navigation errors, as discussed in

[25]. For example, a gyro-to-gyro misalignment (3 causes an apparent drift rate
(3wm, where Wm is the platform precession rate. Orthogonality errors can be
corrected mechanically during assembly, or they can be computer-compensated
in the outputs of the instruments. Aircraft platforms are typically orthogonalized
within minutes of arc. It is important that the platform be designed so that the
orthogonality angles do not change in the presence of vibration and repeated
thermal cycling.
Four-Axis Platform A four-axis, all-attitude platform is shown schematically

in Figure 7.2. Its inner three gimbals are identical to those of a three-axis plat-
form. In normal flight, B is servoed to zero; A, C, D are the degrees of free-
dom. At near-vertical aircraft attitudes ( C "' 90 deg), A = 0, and B, C, D are
the degrees of freedom. Much ingenuity has been exercised in designing con-
trol circuits to execute the transition from A, C, D freedom (B = 0) to B, C, D
freedom (A = 0).
The four-gimbal platform trades the gimbal-lock problem for the "flip" prob-
lem exhibited when the C-axis approaches 90 deg and D must flip through an
angle of 180 deg. Whereas a three-gimbal platform would tumble in the gimbal-
lock position, the four-gimbal platform does not, as long as the gimbal servos
are fast enough to prevent the gyros from hitting their stops during the flip
maneuver. Electric power and servo signals must be carried from gimbal to
gimbal. Axes of limited freedom can be supplied with coiled wires. Other axes
require slip rings. Figure 7.20 shows a four-axis aircraft navigation platform.
364 INERTIAL NAV IGATION
Servo
electron ics
Stable element /
Figure 7.20 Typical aircraft inertial platform (courtesy, Litton Systems).
7.4.3 Inertial Specifications

A typical performance specification for an inerti al syste m contains the follow -
mg:
I. Size and weight.

2. Cooling and/ or heating requirements.
3. Power consumption during warm-up and crui se. Increased servo power
req uired during maneuvers (platforms onl y). Power regu lati on (volt-
age and freque ncy) and susceptibility to transients and momentary
dropouts.
4. Maximum rates and accelerations al ong and around each ax is.
5. Vibration spec ifications for su rvivability and for meeting spec ifi ed navi-
gati on performance.
6. Shock-mount returnability a nd maximum angular defkct ion.
7. Reliability including MTBF (mean time between failure) and reca libration
interval (if applicable).
8. Self-test capability and equipment integrity.
Inertial systems for civil use are packaged in accordance with ARINC spec-
ifications 1601. Mi litary syste ms mu st conform to the applicab le Department
of Defense standards and spec i tications such as 1621. T he equi pment used to
test platforms or strapclown syste ms include the rate table (two- or three-ax is)
MECHANIZATION EQUATIONS 365
which applies angular rates about different axes and the vibration table which
supplies oscillatory motion to the system. Rate tables are sometimes used in
Scorsby mode whereby a sine motion on one axis is simultaneously applied with
a cosine on the other. This test induces a coning rate in the instrument package.
Rate table and vibration tests are also performed over temperature using thermal
chambers. For some applications, centrifuges and rocket-propelled sleds may be
used to test system parameters and sensitivities. Tests of individual instruments
are discussed in Sections 7 .3.4 and 7 .4.1.
7.5 MECHANIZATION EQUATIONS
The mechanization equations calculate velocity and position from the outputs
of the horizontal accelerometers in a platform or from the transformed accel-
erations in a strapdown system. This section discusses those portions of the
mechanization equations that calculate velocity of the aircraft relative to the
ground. Section 2.4 discusses the navigation computation equations that con-
vert ground velocity into position.
7.5.1 Coordinate Frames

Several coordinate frames must be defined for the purposes of mechanizing an
inertial navigator, Section 2.3. Figure 7.21 a shows the I coordinate frame (ECI)
with x-, y-, and z-axes centered at the mass center of the Earth and nonrotating
in inertial space (nonrotating relative to the stars). Such a coordinate frame can
be regarded as inertial if the measurement accuracy is not more precise than 5
x 10- 5 degjhr and 2 x 10- 7 g [26J. TheE coordinate frame has its origin at the
mass center of the Earth and is fixed to the Earth with its z-axis along the spin
axis of the Earth. This frame is also known as the Earth-centered, Earth-fixed
(ECEF) frame. It rotates at 0 = 15.04107 degjhr relative to the ECI frame, to
an accuracy of 5 x 10- 5 degjhr [26].
The geographic coordinates in which the vehicle position is calculated are
labelled G. Figure 7.2la shows the latitude-longitude coordinate frame. x(Gl
points level and east; y<Gl points level and north; z<Gl points vertically up (along
the g vector; see Section 2.2).
The navigation (or platform) coordinates N lie along the orthogonal
accelerometer input axes in the case of a gimballed platform. In a strapdown
system the N coordinates are the axes of the analytic platform defined by the
coordinate transformation matrix or quaternion. As discussed in Section 7 .4.1,
these axes represent a set of orthogonal accelerometers whose x and y axes are
level and whose y-axis makes an angle ex west of true north (see Figure 7 .23).
The use of an analytic platform renders the transformed strapdown acceleration
outputs equivalent to the outputs of mechanically stabilized accelerometers. All
Polar axis zOl, z<El

of Earth
North Pole
Site of alignment;
(a} In inertial space
(b) On Earth
x<El
Figure 7.21a Navigation coordinate frame definition.
navigation mechanization equations then become common to both forms of sys-

tems. The a angle is known as the wander azimuth and its use facilitates nav-
igation in the polar regions. The navigation frame is related to the Earth frame
by the following matrix:
-S"ACx- C"ASSa C)\ Ca - S"ASCa (7.32)
[
C"AC is the latitude
A. is the longitude
is the wander azimuth
EULER ANGLES
111 =YAW
0 =PITCH
<1> =ROLL
(VERTICAL)
Figure 7.21h Euler angles: Xo, Yo, Zo reference a xes at 1/; (J - 1> 0 . Xu. Y11 · Zti
vehi c le body axes.
C; are cos(i)
S; are sin(i)
In a strapdown system an additional coordinate transformation relates the body

frame (illustrated in Figure 7.2 1/J) to the navigation frame:
S,p Sos·,, + C..;, C~o

C,p.\'oS,1, St~ C1, (7.:\J)
CoS'4,
where
1/J IS y<m
(I is pitch
¢ is roll
7.5.2 Horizontal Mechanization

The differential equations that must be solved for navigation are given by
dv[
- = u- (w + 0) x V + g (7.34)
dt N
where
dv[ is the vector derivative of V in navigation (platform) coordinates

dT N
v is velocity of the vehicle relative to the Earth

u is the vector whose three components in the navigation axes are
proportional to the accelerometer outputs
w is the inertial angular velocity of the navigation frame
o is the angular velocity of the Earth in inertial space
g is gravity; the horizontal component of g is nominally zero
at the surface of the Earth, as discussed in Section 2.2
The solution of these equations lead to the computation of ground speed using
the mechanization illustrated in Figure 7.22 where the navigation components
of V are calculated from the accelerometer outputs u. The Coriolis correction
(generated by velocity in the presence of platform angular velocity) is given by
Coriolis acceleration= (w + 0) x V (7.35)
The navigation frame must rotate at w; in inertial space; hence, w; "torques" the
analytic platform as discussed in Section 7 .4.1 for strapdown systems or torques
the mechanical platform as discussed in Section 7.4.2 for gimballed systems.
The forms of w; and 0; depend on the choice of navigation coordinates, some
of which are noted below:
I. Locally level, north pointing, xCN) along xCGJ, yCNJ along yCGJ, zCNJ along
zCGJ:
0y = 0 cos •I>,
(7.36)
Gyro or (1)
Platform
quaternion
torquing
torquing
calculations
commands
X Initial Vx
Accelerom eter
4 ~ vx
D ~+
-
v Latitude
Integrator
Navigation
computer
y Integrator
Accelerom eter
~ Vy r .
D +
-
r v Longitude
Initial Vy
(Wz + Qz) Vx- (wx + Q) Vz

Coriolis
Coriol is acceleration corrections calculations
(wy + Qy) Vz - (Wz + Qz) Vy
Figure 7.22 Mechanization of an inertial navigator.
where
 is the latitude of vehicle
A is the rate of change of vehicle longitude
vt is east velocity
V,. is north velocity
RM is the radius of curvature of the Earth in the meridional plane,
Equation 2.2
Rp is the radius of curvature of the Earth in the vertical
east-west plane, Equation 2.3
2. Locally level, wander azimuth [27][42]; x<NJ and y<NJ are in a level plane,
with y<NJ at an angle a from y<Gl; z<NJ lies along z<GJ (Figure 7 .23).
y<G)
Grid True
north north
y(N)
Ground-speed vector
Azimuth axis ry:.:::::.._----------~ x<G)

(vertical)
Figure 7.23 Plan view of a level platform at an azimuth a.
0 x =' 0 cos sin a

0y = 0 cos cos <X
0 z =' 0 sin (7 .37)
2 2
Wx-
_ -Vy ( cos a + sin a) + Vxsin 2a ( 1
- 1 )
+0
RM + h Rp + h 2 Rp + h RM + h X
2 2
Wv = Vx ( cos a
+- - - - Vy sin 2a (
sin a ) 1
- --1 )
- +0 y
· Rp + h RM + h 2 Rp + h RM + h
(7 .38)
where Vx and Vv are the level components of the velocity vector in the
navigation coordinates and a is the azimuth of the y<Nl_axis relative to
north (Figure 7.23).
3. Tangent plane; y<Nl north at point of tangency (Figure 2.3):
Wx='flx=O
Wy ='fly= 0 COS <f>o

w z =c 0 z =0 sin 0 (7.39)
where 0 is the latitude at the point of tangency, usually the takeoff point.
The first coordinate frame offers the advantages of simplicity at low latitudes,
the readout of familiar latitude-longitude coordinates from the computer, and

the measurement of vehicle heading directly from the direction cosine matrix in
a strapdown system or from the platform azimuth angle in a gimballed system.
Unfortunately, this mechanization exhibits polar singularities at high latitudes.
The second coordinate frame introduces the complexity of an extra coordi-
nate, the wander angle a, in exchange for the following advantages:
I. Operation at all latitudes, with the correct choice of mechanizing a.

2. Omission of the azimuth torquing by setting Wz = 0 (free azimuth).
3. In gimballed platforms, some improvement in navigation performance can
be achieved by continuous azimuth rotation at a constant rate a. The
instrument axes point in various directions thus tending to cancel the
a
effect of their drift. In one platform l6] was 50 times Earth rate, so that
instrument drifts whose correlation time was greater than one-half hour
tended to be smoothed. The azimuth rotation can be reversed periodi-
cally to reduce the effects of an azimuth-gyro torquer error. Such perfor-
mance improvements cannot be achieved in strapdown systems because
the instruments remain fixed to the body.
Wander-azimuth systems do not read vehicle heading directly from the direc-
tion cosine matrix or the platform azimuth gimbal. The vehicle's heading rel-
ative to north is platform-indicated azimuth minus a. Heading becomes inde-
terminate at the poles. The majority of inertial navigation systems implement a
wander azimuth, since the benefits outweigh the additional computational com-
plexity involved. As an illustration of a typical mechanization, consider the
wander-azimuth system of Equations 7.37 and 7.38:
1. Integration of Equations 7.34 yields V from the accelerometer outputs.

2. The torquing signals are calculated from V according to Equations 7.37
and 7.38 and the azimuth condition w z = a+ 0 sin . Notice that vehicle
latitude and the wander angle are required for this calculation. Longitude
and azimuth exhibit polar singularities and therefore should not be used
as fundamental variables for worldwide operation. Instead, the direction
cosines C;1 of the N axes relative to the E axes are introduced (Equation
7.32). These parameters are mathematically well behaved at all latitudes
even when longitude and azimuth are not. The direction cosines obey the
differential equations
C;1 = (wy- Oy)C;3- (wz- f2z)Ci2

Ci2 = (wz- Oz)Cil- (wx- f2x)C;3
Ci3 = (wx- f2x)Ci2- (wy- fly)C;I (7.40)
i = I, 2, 3
and latitude-longitude coordinates are calculated from
sin 4> = c33

C32
tan 'A= -C (7.41)
31
a is calculated only when it is convergent:
tan a=---
Cn or sin a
Cn
or
c23
cos a = - - - (7.42)
c23 cos 4> cos 4>
3. The wander angle a can be constructed in many ways. Clearly, if a itself

had to be calculated as pan of the position-velocity mechanization, the
system would not be convergent over the poles. However, a,
defined as
Wz- n sin 4>, can always be calculated in a convergent manner. The wan-
der angle a is not used explicitly in the navigation solution. The wan-
der azimuth may be extracted for readout purposes using Equation 7.42.
Wander-azimuth mechanizations include, as special cases, all locally level
systems. For example, in a north-pointing system, a is constrained to be
zero.
4. In early navigation systems, where computational throughput was at a pre-
mium, updating of the direction cosines was performed at a low iteration
rate (a few times per second). In 1996, inertial systems included suffi-
cient computer power to perform the updates 50 or more times per second.
Direction-cosine algorithms generally have employed 32 bit-integer word
length, but microprocessors in the 1990s used floating-point instructions
to enhance accuracy.
An insight into the nature of the inertial mechanization can be obtained by

considering the steady-state situation in level flight.
1. The outputs of the level accelerometers are virtually zero, except for the
Coriolis acceleration, and accelerations due to air turbulence and equip-
ment vibration. Barring inadvertent rectification within the accelerome-
ters, vibration-like outputs do not indicate any net position change, no
matter where in the aircraft the instruments are located.
2. The dV;jdt in the computer are zero, since the computer-calculated grav-
ity vector g and Coriolis correction (w + fi) x V just cancel the gravity
and Coriolis accelerations measured by the accelerometers.
3. The velocity registers do not change.
4. The computed position changes slowly as the vehicle moves over the
Earth.
5. The torquing signals are nearly constant, changing slowly as the latitude
and heading of the vehicle change.
Section 2.7 shows how inertially derived position is used for steering. Locally
level mechanizations are desirable in terrestrial navigation systems for the fol-
lowing reasons:
I. In a gimballed, north-pointing system, roll, pitch, and azimuth are directly

available as gimbal angles. In a strapdown system, they are mathemati-
cally extracted from the quaternionjdirection cosine representation. For
wander-azimuth mechanizations, the platform (mechanical or analytic)
yaw angle minus the computer-calculated a equals true azimuth.
2. No gravity corrections are needed in the horizontal accelerometer chan-
nels. A small component of gravity is measured by the horizontal
accelerometer channels when they are tilted from the locally level plane
or when gravity anomalies exist (see Section 2.2).
3. For a gimballed platform, the gyros require accurate mass balance in only
one orientation, since horizontal acceleration is intermittent.
In some instances (particularly space applications), inertial systems may use

nonlocally level navigation frames. Reference [58] discusses an Earth-fixed
cartesian mechanization.
In pure inertial systems without external updates, constant instrument errors
tend to cause oscillatory position, velocity, tilt, and azimuth errors as discussed
in Section 7 .6. Stationary noise in the instruments tends to cause errors that
grow with the square root of time. For aircraft systems that operate for only a
few Schuler periods (multiples of 84.4 minutes), a pure inertial system is often
adequate. Growth of errors can be reduced by periodic position, velocity, or
azimuth updates (e.g., radio or celestial). Reference [13] discusses the effects
of the frequency of fixing on error propagation. Chapter 3 discusses multisensor
navigation systems in which frequent external fixes are analytically combined
with inertial measurements.
7.5.3 Vertical Mechanization

It might appear that altitude could be calculated by double integration of the
measured vertical acceleration. Unfortunately, such a mechanization would be
unstable, as will now be shown. Assume a constant-velocity flight at a speed
that is negligible compared with orbital speed. Let:
ha Actual altitude
he Computed altitude
Ao Constant uncompensated accelerometer error (bias)
u Accelerometer output == d 2 hu/dt 2 + g" +Ao
a Radius of the Earth
gc Computed gravity :::: g0 (1- 2hc/a); a linearization of the
inverse-square field at the Earth's surface
ga Actual gravity :::: go (I - 2ha/ a)
v2 2go/a
Then
h, == Jf (u - gc) dt dt (7 .43)
Expanding and letting !1h = he - ha,
·· 2go
!1h -- - !1h == Ao (7.44)
a
whose solution is
11ho Aoa
!1h(t) == !1h 0 cosh vt + - - sinh v t + - - (cosh vt- 1) (7 .45)
" 2g
For the first few seconds of flight:
(7 .46)
An initial altitude error (!1h 0 ) or altitude-rate error (!1h 0 ) or an accelerometer

error (Ao) will lead to an exponential growth in computed altitude (doubling
in the first 78 minutes), thus making the indicated altitude and altitude-rate
useless after the first few minutes. The instability of the vertical channel will
result, no matter how carefully the vertical component of gravity is mechanized
as a function of computed altitude.
On the other hand, a barometric altimeter is very stable for long periods of
time but suffers from a noisy output and a long time lag (due to aerodynamic
noise and the dynamics of air flowing through tubes, ports, and orifices; see
Section 8.2). As a result, instantaneous readings of altitude and altitude-rate
are impossible. The best features of inertial and barometric altimeters can be
combined in a baro-inertial altimeter shown in Figure 7.24. By comparing baro-
~·A and Initial-altitude

Coriolis rate
corrections
Indicated
altitude, he
Vertical
accelerometer Integrator Integrator
Barometric
altitude, h 8
Figure 7.24 Mechanization of a stable baro-inertial altimeter.
metric altitude with inertial altitude and feeding back through suitable filters, the
indicated altitude can have (I) the long-term stability of the barometric altime-
ter, (2) a frequency response that is much faster than that of a pure barometric
altimeter but that attenuates barometric noise, and (3) relative insensitivity to
low-frequency accelerometer errors.
The transfer function shown in Figure 7.24 (where G 1 and G 2 are constant
gains and the system is of second order) demonstrates that in a baro-inertial
altimeter, a constant accelerometer error A 0 causes an altitude error or approxi-
mately t:.h = A 0 jw~ where WN is the natural frequency of the altimeter loop. A
bias change of 1 mg causes only a few inches of altitude error for a one-minute
natural period. As a result, the Coriolis correction can usually be omitted and
vertical gravity can be computed as a constant, independently of altitude and lat-
itude. Nonetheless, most modern inertial navigation systems implement a more
complete gravity model. This permits more accurate vertical channel operation
particularly at high altitudes. Baro-inertial altitude and altitude-rate are used in
weapon delivery computers and in the calculation of flight path angle, /'
Further information regarding standard baro-inertial loops may be found in

reference [3]. If the statistical properties of the accelerometer and altimeter
noise are known, an optimum filter (Chapter 3) can be designed to give the
best estimate of altitude and altitude rate. More sophisticated mechanizations
may include estimates of the accelerometer bias and barometer scale factor [2].
7.6 ERROR ANALYSIS
7.6.1 Purpose
After mechanizing an inertial navigation system, the designer must investigate
the propagation of errors in the proposed system, based on mathematical analy-
sis and on the results of past tests. The error analysis establishes the maximum
permissible component tolerances; to simplify the mechanization equations (and
thus the computer complexity) when advantageous; and to predict compliance
with the position, velocity, attitude, and azimuth specifications established by
the user.
The sources of error that should be considered in performing the analysis
depend on the system design, the components used, and the required accuracy
of the navigation system. Some typical sources of error are enumerated below
(instrument errors are discussed in more detail in Section 7 .3).
I. Gyro drift errors caused by temperature variation, acceleration, magnetic

fields, and vibration.
2. Gyro scale factor errors including nonlinearity and asymmetry.
3. Accelerometer bias errors caused by variations in temperature or by
rectification of vibration inputs. Accelerometer resonances and dynamic
response are important considerations.
4. Accelerometer scale factor errors including nonlinearity and asymmetry.
5. Sensor assembly errors such as nonorthogonality of the gyro and
accelerometer input axes, transmission of vibration inputs through the
shock mounts, and thermal gradients that affect instrument performance
and alignment.
6. Computational errors due to roundoff, truncation, readout accuracy, as
well as approximations inherent in the algorithms. Detailed evaluation of
computational error propagation often requires a bit-by-bit simulation.
7. Initial condition errors (position, velocity, tilt, and azimuth) must be con-
sidered as they propagate with time.
7.6.2 Simulation
Error analysis is performed by assuming a flight path and processing the result-
ing acceleration and angular-rate profile in a mathematical model of the inertial
system and computer. The indicated positions and velocities are compared to
the assumed flight path, and the error histories are recorded. Azimuth and tilt
errors can similarly be derived. Analyses are done either with fixed instrument
errors or with statistically distributed errors in a large number of runs (Monte
Carlo simulations).
ERROR ANALYSIS 377
7.6.3 Error Propagation

A complete simulation assesses overall system performance for particular tra-
jectories. It yields a time-varying covariance matrix (Chapter 3) that quantifies
the growth of errors and the correlations among errors. However, to under-
stand the physical causes of errors and to troubleshoot systems, a simplified
closed-form analysis is invaluable. For simple flight profiles (e.g., straight legs,
90-deg-turns), deterministic initial-condition and instrument errors are readily
propagated with time, using analytic approximations. The solution is compli-
cated by the correlation that exists between in-flight instrument errors and the
initial conditions. In gimballed systems, some instrument errors during align-
ment tend to cancel the same instrument errors incurred in flight. However, in
strapdown systems, the instrument axes rotate with respect to the analytic plat-
form axes and error cancellation may not occur. Therefore, the propagation of
errors is far more dependent upon the trajectories in strapdown systems.
For closed-form analysis, the mechanization equations can be linearized for
a vehicle moving at low speed (relative to the surface speed of the rotation of
the Earth). The result is that undamped oscillations are present in the position,
velocity, tilt, and azimuth errors. The frequencies of these oscillations are (1)
0, Earth rate; (2) Ws = ~. the Schuler frequency (84.4-minute period);
and (3) beats between w s + 0 sin c:J> and Ws- 0 sin c:J>, which occur at 20 sin c:J>.
These oscillations result naturally from a correct mechanization of the dynamic
relations between position and tilt. The expression Schuler tuning dates back to
the early twentieth century, when attempts were made to eliminate maneuver-
induced errors in ship gyrocompasses. The term was retained during the late
1940s, when the gyrocompass evolved into an inertial navigator.
For short times of operation (less than four hours) and at speeds at least as
high as Mach 4, the Schuler frequency predominates. It alone was observed
in the early days of experimentation with inertial systems because long-time
operation was impossible with the crude instruments then available. Schuler
oscillations are often compared to those of an Earth's radius pendulum whose
bob remains fixed at the center of the Earth.
If long-period oscillations are not of interest, the behavior of a navigation
system can be predicted from the single-axis uncoupled model and transfer
functions shown in Figure 7.25. Here the Earth-rate torquing signals applied
to the platform (which cause 24-hour oscillations), and the errors in the Cori-
olis corrections are neglected. The resulting system errors are shown in Table
7 .2. Notice that a constant gyro drift during flight causes a linearly increas-
ing position error (with superimposed Schuler oscillation) as well as oscilla-
tory velocity and tilt errors at the Schuler frequency. A 100-~-tg accelerome-
ter bias causes a 0.3-nmi peak error, and a 0.017 -degjhr gyro drift causes a
1-nmijhr position error growth rate. Initial position, velocity, and tilts give
oscillatory bounded errors. A 4.5-knot initial velocity error (as might occur
when aligning on an aircraft carrier) causes a 1-nmi peak position error. Initial
Initial
position
~---------------~----P_o_sit_io_n+:
w4>3
(w is about orthogonal
Initial level axis)
velocity
Accelerometer
error A Tilt angle <f>
Level-gyro
drift rate, en
(s 2 + W8 2) <f>(s) =A~s) + stH(s) + sw,P3(s)

Schuler frequency= c..; 8 = -.fiiTU
Figure 7.25 Single-axis error model of an inertial navigator.
azimuth misalignment rotates the coordinate frame about the vertical and gives
an error proportional to distance traveled from the point of alignment. Instru-
ment nonorthogonality, accelerometer nonlinearity, and gyro mass unbalance
cause oscillatory impulse responses in position and velocity after each maneuver
of the vehicle. Single-axis error analyses are widely available [41, pp. 172-173;
12, pp. 335-346]. Because of the presence of Schuler oscillations, the rms
velocity error is 25% greater than the average increase in position error and
the peak velocity error is twice as large. As vehicle speed approaches orbital
speed, many of these simple relationships break down, and the analysis requires
a complete simulation. Reference [12] discusses this case for constant speed,
using undamped inertial altitude measurements in the loop. Complete analyses
are readily run on digital computers.
The analysis of the vertical channel of an inertial navigator shows that alti-
tude calculations, using the vertical accelerometer channel at slow speeds with-
out external damping, are unstable (Section 7.5.3). If barometric, radar, or
GPS damping is not used, the altitude error, shown in Equation 7.45, increases
rapidly with time. At orbital speeds, altitude errors are marginally stable [12].
It is clear that error propagation must also depend on the choice of navigation
axes. In a locally level platform mechanization, the horizontal channels can
ALIGNMENT 379
TABLE 7.2 Error propagation in terrestrial inertial navigators
Deterministic Time less than 4 hr Time ~ Several Days

Error Speed < Mach 4 Speed < 200 knots
Initial position L1xo LlX = LlX() L1x = L1xo cos 0 t (latitude)

L1x = L1xo (longitude)
.::1 Vo .::1 Vo .
Initial velocity .::1 Vo Llx = --sin Wst Llx = - - sm Wst
Ws w,
Initial tilt </>yo L1x = a</>yo(l ~ cos w, t) L1x = a</>yo cos 0 t
Initial azimuth <Pzo L1x =

sinw 1
Yzo + a</>2 o ( t ~ ~
·1) a¢2 o sin 0 t
A
Accelerometer bias A LlX = l (l ~COS Wst)
Ws
sinwst) aE . .
Gyro drift E LlX= QE t~ - - L1x = sm 0 t (latitude)
( Ws 0
= at cos <l>(Ez sin +
Eycos ) (longitude)
Note: Symbols: x, y = east and north distances traveled; ~x, ~y = errors in x and y; <!> ~ latitude; t = time,
measured from the instant at which the system is switched into the "navigate" mode; w, = Schuler radian
frequency= Vf,fa = 2?r radj84.4 min= 0.00124 radjsec; g =magnitude of gravity on the surface of the Earth
= 32.1 ftjscc 2 = 9.81 metcrjsec 2 ; a= radius of Earth= 3440 nmi = 20.9 x 106 ft; Q ~Earth's inertial angular
velocity = 15 deg/hr.
remain stable, since they are decoupled from altitude. However, in a system
that implements a platform at an arbitrary orientation with respect to gravity,
all channels may be affected by the vertical instability so that altitude damping
(barometric or other) must be used to stabilize the system.
7 .6.4 Total System Error

Section 2.8 discusses the definition of mean and circular-error-probability
(CEP) horizontal errors, and their measurement from flight-test data. References
[ 15, 17] discuss the errors present in strapdown systems in the late 1980s and
early 1990s, including test results over a large number of flights. Strapdown
RLG-based inertial navigators conforming to the military specification of Ref.
[62] demonstrated a CEP better than 0.3 nmi/hr accuracy during 4097 flight
tests performed by the Springfield, IL, Air National Guard during 1991 and
1992. These systems have also demonstrated an MTBF approaching 4000 hours
in military environments [ 15].
7.7 ALIGNMENT
An inertial system solves the five simultaneous second-order differential equa-

tions for the attitude and horizontal position of its platform. Hence, ten initial
conditions are required in order to initialize the computer, as discussed below:
1. Two initial position coordinates. When aligning an inertial system in a

stationary vehicle on the ground, the initial conditions are obtained from
a survey of the launch site. Airborne position fixes can be obtained by
visual or radar checkpoints or by the use of radio-navigation aids.
2. Two initial velocity coordinates. When aligning on a stationary vehicle,
the initial velocity relative to the Earth is nominally zero. When aligning
on a moving aircraft, velocity is measured with a Doppler radar (Chapter
I 0), a succession of radio-aid fixes (Chapter 4) or a GPS velocity mea-
surement (Chapter 5). When aligning on an aircraft carrier, a ship's iner-
tial navigation system is usually the reference and a lever-arm correction
must be made for the aircraft's position on the deck.
3. Three platform orientation coordinates. Terrestrial inertial navigation sys-
tems are initialized by leveling (two coordinates) and azimuth aligning
(one coordinate) to a convenient reference. Leveling is accomplished by
rotating the inertial platform (analytic or mechanical) until the average
acceleration along each of the two horizontal platform axes read zero, at
which time the navigation frame is deemed level. In a mechanical plat-
form, this corresponds to a null output of the two horizontal accelerom-
eters. In a strapdown system, none of the accelerometer outputs are nec-
essarily nulled. Rather, their outputs, resolved onto the horizontal axes of
the analytic platform, are driven to zero. Azimuth alignment is accom-
plished by any of several procedures discussed below.
4. Three orientation rates. These initial conditions are implicitly determined
by the values of the gyro drifts at the instant of switching from the "align"
mode to the "navigate" mode. These rates are not always measurable dur-
ing alignment and can cause navigation errors.
The presence of initial-condition errors causes position errors, which prop-

agate according to Table 7.2. To achieve 1 nmijhr navigation accuracy, initial
errors should be limited to 5 arcmin in azimuth, I 0 arc sec in tilt, and I knot in
velocity.
Several methods of alignment are used for aircraft:
1. Leveling and gyrocompassing using gyros and accelerometers. This pro-

cedure is analyzed in Sections 7.7.2 and 7.7.3. It can be performed on a
stationary or moving vehicle, except near the Earth's poles.
2. Tramfer alignment, relative to a master platform. A secondary inertial
navigation system may be aligned to a master unit (e.g., an aircraft unit
to a shipboard unit or a low grade unit to a higher accuracy system). The
transfer alignment can be accomplished via acceleration/velocity match-
ing and/or via attitude matching, Section 7.7.4. Large lateral accelera-
tions, such as exist on the deck of an aircraft carrier, are usually needed
to increase the signal-to-noise ratio during acceleration or velocity match-
ing.
ALIGNMENT 381
3. Memory alignment, in which the attitude angles recorded during a pre-

vious alignment are stored. This procedure saves time, because it can be
done in seconds, but it is limited by the angular repeatability of the air-
craft landing gear and inertial-system shock-mounts. The aircraft must not
be moved between the time of precise alignment and the time of memory
alignment. This method is not suitable for use on ships or in flight.
4. Runway alignment when the aircraft taxis on a runway or taxiway of
known heading prior to takeoff Alignment procedures can take advantage
of turns and stops to estimate errors. Stops at different headings provide
opportunities for refining the platform heading estimates and fine-tuning
the gyro-bias estimates.
5. Optical alignment. An inertial system can be aligned relative to an exter-
nal optical line of sight within a few seconds of arc. It is impractical, how-
ever, on ships and aircraft because of the necessity for optical access and
the inconvenience of establishing theodolite sites. Optical alignment of
terrestrial aircraft guidance systems is sometimes used in conjunction with
platforms that have star-trackers mounted on the stable element. Naviga-
tion systems for space applications often make use of optical alignment.
6. Portable platform alignment for rapid alignment. This procedure was
developed in the 1960s. It used a portable platform that was aligned
in a ready-room and carried aboard the aircraft at flight time. Portable
platforms are rarely if ever implemented because they must be precisely
installed in an accessible location and because they accumulate drift while
being carried to the aircraft.
Fast warm-up is an important military requirement for interceptors, strate-

gic bombers, and carrier-based aircraft. In older gimballed systems, warm-up
time was limited by the interval taken by the inertial instruments to reach ther-
mal equilibrium, typically 30 minutes. The warm-up rate could not be too high
because of the detrimental temperature gradients induced by rapid application
of heat. Use of the system before it had warmed up resulted in large naviga-
tion errors. In some systems, heaters were placed on the instruments in order to
achieve rapid thermal stabilization. Those systems were capable of full perfor-
mance within a few minutes. In the early 1980s, the shift to strapdown systems
based on optical gyroscopes, and high-speed microprocessors eliminated the
need for thermal stabilization. Since optical gyros exhibit much lower thermal
sensitivity than their mechanical counterparts, it is possible to model errors such
as bias, scale factor, and misalignments using polynomial functions of temper-
ature in a flight computer. Typically, second- through fourth-order functions are
implemented to model instrument errors during warm-up.
(7.47)
Strapdown accelerometers are also designed with low thermal sensitivity and
repeatability that permit thermal modeling. A factory calibration procedure

(Section 7.4.1) derives the temperature coefficients that are loaded into a non-
volatile memory. Sensors measure temperatures at key locations within the
instruments. During system operation, the calibration coefficients are applied
to polynomials of temperature, Equation 7.47. Thermal compensation in 1996
permitted better than 1 nmijhr performance with extremely rapid reaction (four
minutes). Only the most accurate systems included heaters for thermal stabi-
lization.
7.7.1 Leveling
The purpose of leveling is to orient the platform (analytic or mechanical) with
respect to gravity.
Coarse Leveling
Gimballed Platform In leveling a gimballed platform, the gimbal servos rotate
the stable element in order to null the outputs of the horizontal accelerome-
ters. To reduce alignment time, the gimbals are first slewed to null the pickoffs
(e.g., synchros) or the accelerometers. This "coarse leveling" can be performed
at slew rates of several hundred degrees per second, limited only by the con-
struction of the mechanical gyros. Synchro nulling is used when the attitude of
the platform within the vehicle at rest is nominally level. The accuracy of the
coarse-leveling process is limited by (1) errors in mounting the platform to the
vehicle, (2) shock-mount angular deflection and non returnability, (3) synchro
errors, and (4) rocking of the aircraft on its landing gear and tires, induced by
wind gusts or by personnel climbing on the aircraft.
Analytical Platform In a strapdown system, the orientation of the accelerome-

ters is determined by the attitude of the vehicle and cannot be adjusted. Instead,
leveling consists of rotating the transformation quaternion or direction cosine
matrix that relates the instrument axes to the locally level navigation axes. Lev-
eling is accomplished by adjusting the analytic platform in such a way that
the accelerometer outputs transformed to horizontal platform axes are nulled.
Estimates of the vehicle's pitch e and roll¢ are made using the accelerometer
outputs (body frame readouts):
-A(B))
&=tan
-1 I
( ~y
, Az
1> = tan- 1
( A
A(B)
x
~(B) + A;(B)
J (7.48)
ALIGNMENT 383
where x is forward, y is transverse (positive out the right wing), and z is down.
Based on the pitch and roll so-derived, the system's body-to-navigation coor-
dinate transformation (quaternion or direction cosine matrix) is initialized. The
process of coarse-leveling a strapdown system requires only a few seconds, the
time it takes to obtain a good measure of acceleration. The accuracy of coarse
leveling is limited by accelerometer errors and noise as well as by motion of
the vehicle.
Fine Leveling In a gimballed system, the outputs of the accelerometers gen-

erate gyro torque commands. The gyros, in turn, drive the gimbal servos until
two accelerometers are level and, on a stationary vehicle, measure no aver-
age acceleration. The maximum precession rate of the gyro torquers limits the
alignment speed.
In a strapdown system, the accelerometer outputs are transformed through
the attitude matrix to form the analogue of gimbal-mounted accelerometer out-
puts. The computed horizontal accelerations are used to "torque" the analytic
platform (i.e., rotate the platform axes by recomputing the attitude quaternion
or direction cosine matrix) to maintain zero level-axis accelerations.
Figure 7.26 shows one axis of a fine leveling loop for a stationary vehicle.
Tilt errors cause computed velocity to build up. Reducing tilt (via gyro torquing
in a gimballed system or via quaternion torquing in a strapdown system) rotates
the platform axes into alignment with the navigation axes. The addition of feed-
back to the velocity integrator provides the damping that forces the oscillations
to decay.
The choice of gains K 1 and K 2 represents a tradeoff between rapidity of
leveling and noise immunity. A Kalman mechanization computes time-vary-
ing optimal gains based on the system noise and error model. Nonetheless,
fixed precomputed gains usually yield acceptable leveling performance with-
Accelerometer error
Tilt
Level gyro
drift -~{"!X
Quaternion
Integration
Figure 7.26 Second-order fine leveling loop.

out a Kalman filter. Leveling on a stationary vehicle takes approximately 30

to 60 seconds. Vehicle motion lengthens the required leveling time. Leveling-
loop errors result from level-axis accelerometer or gyro errors, or from other
horizontal disturbances. During ground alignment, rocking of the aircraft on its
landing gear may be induced by wind gusts, machinery, and personnel boarding
the aircraft.
The response of the second-order leveling loop shown in Figure 7.26 is given
by
(7.49)
where
o¢ is the tilt error
¢o is the initial tilt
A is an uncompensated accelerometer bias
V0 is the initial velocity error
E is an uncompensated gyro bias error
s is the Laplace transform operator
7.7.2 Gyrocompass Alignment

In addition to orienting the platform (mechanical or analytic) with respect to
gravity, it is also necessary to initialize its orientation relative to north. Azimuth
alignment consists of either rotating the platform around the vertical to a desired
direction (e.g., true north or a great-circle flight track) or to determine the orien-
tation relative to the desired direction. The latter is applicable to wander azimuth
systems in which the initial wander angle cx 0 is calculated during alignment.
Gyrocompass alignment usually consists of the following steps:
1. Coarse leveling
2. Fine leveling
3. Gyrocompassing during which fine leveling continues
In strapdown systems, steps 2 and 3 are executed simultaneously, using a

Kalman filter to provide the proper weighting. Gyrocompass times are typically
3 to 8 minutes for stationary alignment of military vehicles (some of which
have quick-alignment requirements), 1 to 2 minutes for in-flight alignment with
high-quality velocity references, and 10 minutes for stationary alignment on
commercial airliners.
Gyrocompass alignment on a stationary vehicle is based on the fact that if a
platform is to remain level with respect to a rotating Earth, then it must rotate
at Earth rate. For a level platform at latitude <P and azimuth ex, the steady-state
ALIGNMENT 385
platform level rates are (see Figure 7.21 a)
Bx = 0 cos q, sin a about x(N)
By = 0 cos q, cos a about iN)

Bz = 0 sin q, about z(N) (7.50)
A stationary gyrocompass loop can be mechanized as an extension of the level-

ing loops as shown in Figure 7.27. Tilt rate states Br and By estimate the plat-
form rates necessary to maintain a level platform while Bz maintains azimuth.
Azimuth a can be computed from
a = tan- 1 ( ~)
Bv
(7 .51)
If latitude is known, then an estimate of the north gyro bias error may also be
obtained:
North gyro bias error = VB~ + s; - 0 cos q, (7 .52)
Computed gyro bias error in the north direction is often resolved into instrument
axes and applied as compensation (known as mini-bias) upon entering the navi-
gation mode. In a single-position gyrocompass alignment, gyro bias error in the
east direction cannot be distinguished from azimuth bias. Any uncompensated
component of gyro bias in the east axis will result in a heading error.
An alternative mechanization may be used for gyrocompassing in which the
platform is rotated so as to null a (i.e., to make Bx = 0). This can be accom-
plished via a mechanical rotation in a gimballed platform or by quaternion rota-
tion in a strapdown system. It cannot be done accurately above about 70-deg.
latitude.
The choice of fixed gains in the gyrocompass filter depends on the noise
characteristics of the instruments and on the operating environment. Refer-
ence [23] presents a detailed discussion of conventional gyrocompass loops and
their response characteristics. Since the 1970s, systems have employed variable-
gain Kalman filters for the fine leveling and alignment process. Kalman filters
can be mechanized to align at zero velocity (on stationary vehicles) or can be
mechanized to accept external velocity or position fixes. A simple zero-veloc-
ity ground-align filter implements the model shown in Figure 7.27 but includes
noise sources to calculate the optimum gains. Initial level errors and accelerom-
eter noise limit the first stages of alignment (i.e., the first 30 seconds). The tilt
gains peak in the first few seconds, then die out as the system levels. In the
steady state, heading estimation is limited by the gyro noise. The tilt-rate gains
start out low then grow within the first minute. Heading is captured during
this time. The tilt rate gains then tail off slowly to allow fine tuning of the tilt
rate estimates (and hence heading). A system with a gyro white noise of 0.12
degjhr-viHz (typical of a navigation grade optical gyroscope) and gyro-bias
accuracy of better than 0.01 degjhr can gyrocompass to a heading accuracy of
better than 1 mrad in less than 8 minutes at low and mid-latitudes.
The state equations for the diagram in Figure 7.27 are given by
x 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 X
y 0 0 () 0 0 0 0 y
Vx 0 0 () 0 0 g 0 0 y
~y 0 0 () 0 -g 0 0 0 Vy
(7.53)
~X 0 0 () 0 0 0 0 cf>x
cf>y 0 () () 0 0 0 0 c/>y
0 0 () 0 () 0 0 0 Bx
Bx
By 0 () () 0 0 0 0 0 Bv
This matrix equation is used in the Kalman filter equations [141 (see Chapter
3), along with estimates of the initial state uncertainties and noise terms. Noise
sources that must be considered include velocity noise (due to aircraft motion
and accelerometer quantization) which drives the position states, accelerometer
white noise and gyro quantization which drive the velocity states, and level-axis
gyro white noise which drives the tilt states.
In summary, a typical alignment consists of leveling (sometimes broken
down into coarse and fine leveling), and gyrocompassing. In the alignment pro-
cess, the gravity vector and the Earth-rate vector serve to define the coordinate
reference frame. Modern strapdown navigators of the 1-nmijhr variety align
in 3 to I 0 minutes on a stationary vehicle while achieving level accuracies
of approximately 5 arcsec and heading accuracies of I mrad at mid-latitudes.
Heading accuracy degrades in the polar regions due to the weak north compo-
nent of Earth rate.
Chapter 3 describes multisensor navigation systems that mix inertial mea-
surements with GPS or Doppler radars. These systems level and gyrocom-
pass the platform coordinates continuously. In the event of loss of power or
equipment failure, the multisensor system raises its gains for several minutes
to realign, after which navigation proceeds with optimal gains. In-flight align
times are typically on the order of one to two minutes but depend on the maneu-
vers executed and on the quality of the reference sensor.
7.7.3 Transfer Alignment

Some vehicles contain a high-quality inertial navigation system and one or more
lower-cost units, for example, mounted on weapons that are to be released in-
flight. Transfer alignment is the process of matching the slave platforms to the
master, using natural or deliberately-induced maneuvers of the vehicle. Transfer
By
Tilt rate Tilt Velocity Position
-g
I I
Quaternion
integration
Tilt rate
Bx Tilt Velocity Position
Quaternion
integration
(-.l
oc
-..I
Figure 7.27 Two-axis, fourth-order gyrocompass loops.
alignment consists of simultaneous leveling and gyrocompassing. Accuracy is

limited by the flexural vibration of the vehicle, which causes the outputs of
the master and secondary accelerometers to differ slightly even when the two
platforms are aligned. Since the slave platforms are not co-located with the
master, a lever-arm correction is necessary to compensate for the differences
in velocity at the master and slave.
The lever-arm velocity can be obtained by differentiating the lever-arm dis-
tance in navigation coordinates:
RCNJ = C~R<Bl
R_CN) = yCN) = C~(w X R(B)) + c~R_(B) (7.54)
where
R(B) is the lever-arm vector in body coordinates
R(N) is the lever-arm vector in navigation coordinates
c~ is the transformation matrix between body and navigation
coordinates
The term R_CBJ represents bending or flexing of the airframe. Difficulties in esti-
mating R_CBJ usually preclude its inclusion in the lever-arm compensation. It
represents an error in the transfer alignment.
In strapdown systems where the body-to-navigation direction-cosine matrix
is updated rapidly (e.g., 200 times per second), an alternative form of compen-
sation is preferred:
RCNl(nM) = C~RCBJ
RCNJ((n + 1),1t)- RCNl(n,1t)

VLN((n + ~)M) = ~~~~~~~~~ (7 .55)
M
where V LN is the lever-arm velocity in navigation coordinates. This mechaniza-

tion avoids potentially noisy measurements of angular rate. Lever-arm acceler-
ation may also be calculated by differencing V LN·
(7.56)
where ALN is the lever-arm acceleration in navigation coordinates. This com-

putation avoids the use of an angular acceleration measurement. The lever-arm
correction is particularly important when aligning on an aircraft carrier where
an aircraft INS is being aligned to the ship's inertial navigation system. The
limitations of the lever-arm compensation include the lever-arm flexure as well
as uncertainties in the distances involved.
FUTURE TRENDS 389
7.7.4 Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS)

Some inertial systems are configured only to provide attitude. Such systems
use lower accuracy gyroscopes. Inertial navigation systems may also revert to
AHRS operation in case a fault is detected in the system or degraded navigation
performance becomes apparent. In AHRS mode, it is assumed that horizontal
accelerations are transient conditions (Chapter 9). The system is maintained in a
"loose" leveling mode using gyros to track rapid attitude changes. In the steady
state, the accelerometers maintain the platform level. A magnetic compass or
other heading reference maintains long-term azimuth (Chapter 9). A second-
order AHRS leveling loop is mechanized in the same manner as the fine-level-
ing loop discussed in Section 7.7 .I, illustrated in Figure 7 .26, and discussed in
Section 9 .3. Time constants on the order of 30 seconds are used, and cutouts
are usually implemented to open the leveling loops when large accelerations
or angular rates are detected. Reference [30] discusses an AHRS implementa-
tion and reference [53] discusses a low-cost GPSjinertial system designed to
provide attitude.
7.8 FUNDAMENTAL LIMITS
The accuracy of inertial systems cannot be improved indefinitely, even with the
best instruments. Reference [26] shows that the most severe limit on position
measurement is the uncertainty in the Earth's gravity field in the region of oper-
ation, since accelerometers cannot distinguish between kinetic acceleration and
gravity. Angular errors in the measurement of inertial space are primarily lim-
ited by the precession of the equinoxes and the migration of the Earth's pole.
These errors are 5 x 10 5 degjhr, equivalent to 100ft position error [26].
Measurements of azimuth and tilt of the vehicle are typically limited by the
angular returnability of the shock-mounts, the installation accuracy, and the flex-
ure of the vehicle. These errors typically range from I minute of arc to 0.5 deg.
7.9 FUTURE TRENDS
Trends in inertial instruments are discussed in Section 7.3.5. Several trends are
emerging for inertial navigation systems:
I. Miniaturization of strapdown systems. Technological advances permit

smaller gyros (e.g., fiber optic) to be used. Advances in computer and
electronics packaging permit the miniaturization of system electronics,
resulting in lower volume and power consumption.
2. Integrated systems, which include inertial sensors and GPS receivers, pro-
vide high-bandwidth, low-noise navigation and attitude data with long-
term accuracy ensured by GPS [54].
• Low-cost civil navigators (using 2-10 nmi/hr inertial sensors) will rely
heavily on GPS, fiber-optic gyros, and micromachined accelerometers.
They will be used in many military vehicles as well.
• High-performance military navigators with precise inertial instruments
will be used in hostile conditions where reliable GPS signals may not
be available.
• Inertial systems are being incorporated into landing aids (see Chapter
13).
3. Multi}unction inertial systems. In addition to providing data for inertial
navigation, the sensors are capable of supplying high-quality information
for flight control, weapon delivery, and compensation of synthetic aper-
ture radar. Excellent angle resolution is also possible for pointing and
tracking applications. Rigid mounting of the angular sensors is required.
4. Throwaway inertial systems with GPS aiding will be used for a wide vari-
ety of applications including munitions and intelligent weapons. These
low-cost systems will be based on fiber-optics and micro-machined
sensors. Multi-axis gyro/accelerometer combinations employing silicon
micro-machining may be acceptable.
When Com-Nav satellites, that supply intermittent radio fixes, supplant GPS,
precise inertial navigation will be needed between fixes on commercial aircraft.
These inertial navigators may take the form of micromachined panel-mounted
instruments.
PROBLEMS
7.1. The following questions relate to accelerometers:

(a) An accelerometer is mounted on the table of a centrifuge with its input
axis horizontal and radially outward. What is its steady-state output in
terms of the radial dimension and the angular velocity of the centrifuge
about the vertical?
Ans.: w 2 R.
(b) The input axis is rotated 45 deg downward so that it lies in the vertical
plane containing the centrifuge axis. What is the steady-state output?
Ans.: (w 2 R + g)jv0..
(c) The pendulosity of an accelerometer is mh = 10 g-em, and the moment
of inertia of the pendulum about its pivot axis is 20 g-cm 2 . Calculate
the stiffness of the restoring electronics that would give a deflection
of I 0 arc sec at 5 g. Calculate the undamped natural frequency.
Ans.: 4.9 x I 0 3 dyne-cmjarcsec, 1.1 kHz.
7.2. The following questions relate to gyroscopes:
(a) What is the scale factor of a square ring laser gyroscope operating at
PROBLEMS 391
A = 630 nm and with a pathlength of 30 em in terms of seconds of

arc per count (half-wavelength)?
Ans.: 1.73 arcsecjcount.
(b) What path length is needed to obtain the same scale factor with an
equilateral triangle RLG operating at the same wavelength?
Ans.: 39.0 em.
(c) What is the maximum gyro random walk coefficient that will permit
measurement of angular rate in a three-minute averaging period with
a measurement standard deviation of less than 0.005 degjhr?
Ans.: 0.0011 deg/Vhr (= 0.066 degjhr-~).
(d) A mechanical gyroscope hasH= 2x 106 g-cm 2 . What residual torque
is allowable to achieve a drift rate of 0.005 degjhr?
Ans.: 0.05 dyne-em.
7.3. The following questions relate to analytic platforms:
(a) Given the navigation coordinates shown in Figure 7.21 with a = 0,
an aircraft is flying level in the north direction. What is the body-
to-navigation quaternion (assume x-body is foward, y-body is out the
right wing, and z-body is down)?
Ans.:
(b) What is the direction cosine matrix corresponding to the condition in

(a)?
Ans.:
(c) Given a 50-Hz sinusoidal acceleration with amplitude a 0 = 2.5 g along

the z-axis and a sinusoidal angular displacement in the same phase of
amplitude Bo = 300 ~-trad about they-axis, what is the sculling rectifi-
cation of the x accelerometer?
Ans.: 375 ftg.
(d) For the conditions in (c), calculate the net error resulting from a veloc-
ity transformation algorithm executing at 250 Hz. What is the error if
the transformation executes at I 00 Hz?
Ans.: 24 ftg, 136 ftg.
(e) An aircraft performing S-turn maneuvers generates a coning rate of

25,000 degjhr about the wing axis. Assuming the maneuvers last I 0
minutes, what tilt error is generated by a 5 p.rad gyro nonorthogonal-
ity error? Assuming no other error sources, what is the position error
exhibited at the end of the maneuver? What is the position error 42.2
minutes after the end of the maneuver?
Ans.: 331 p.rad, 0.11 nmi, 2.4 nmi.
7.4. The following questions relate to gyrocompass alignment:
(a) At a latitude of 30 degrees, what is the approximate azimuth error
resulting from a 0.0 I degjhr east gyro bias error in a stationary ground
alignment?
Ans.: 0.044 deg"" 2.6 arcmin ""0.77 mrad.
(b) What would the heading error be at 80 degrees latitude?
Ans.: 0.22 deg"" 13 arcmin"' 3.8 mrad.
(c) Given a gyro random walk coefficient of 0.002 degj-vhr, what is the
minimum alignment time required to attain an azimuth standard devi-
ation of better than 0.7 mrad at 45° latitude?
Ans.: 261 sec.
(d) A strapdown system at 45-degrees latitude is aligned at a heading of 30
degrees. The x body-axis gyro has a bias error of 0.02 degjhr. What is
the resulting heading error during gyrocompass alignment? What bias
corrections are computed for the gyros using mini-biasing?
Ans.: -0.054 deg, x gyro 0.015 degjhr, y gyro -0.0086 degjhr.
(e) A strapdown system at 34-degree latitude is aligned at a north head-
ing. The x gyro has a bias error of 0.01 degjhr and they gyro has a
bias error of 0.007 degjhr. What is the heading error of the system?
After alignment the system is switched to navigate mode with no mini-
biases used and immediately rotated 180 degrees in azimuth. What are
the north and east position error growth rates neglecting Schuler oscil-
lations? What are these rates if minibiases are used?
Ans.: -0.032 deg, north 0.84 nmijhr, east -0.6 nmijhr; north 0.84 nmijhr,
east 0.00 nmijhr.
8 Air-Data Systems
8.1 INTRODUCTION
An air-data system consists of aerodynamic and thermodynamic sensors and

associated electronics. The sensors measure characteristics of the air surround-
ing the vehicle and convert this information into electrical signals (via transduc-
ers) that are subsequently processed to derive flight parameters. Typical flight
parameters calculated by air vehicles include calibrated airspeed, true airspeed,
Mach number, free-stream static pressure, pressure altitude, baro-corrected alti-
tude, free-stream outside air temperature, air density, angle of attack, and angle
of sideslip. This information is used for flight displays, for autopilots (flight-
trajectory control and control-loop gain adjustment), for weapon-system fire-
control computations, and for the control of cabin-air pressurization systems.
Air-data systems are an outgrowth of the airspeed indicator and altimeter
used in early aviation. In those primitive, pneumatically driven instruments,
the computation was performed by nonlinear spring mechanisms incorporated
into specially designed bellows, which expanded or contracted in response to
changes in sensed pressures, thereby moving the dials of the flight instruments.
In the late 1950s, analog computers were interposed between the pressure sen-
sors and flight instruments. The transducers and computation elements found in
typical analog air-data computers of that era were documented in the first edi-
tion of this book [27]. In those designs, servo-driven cams or nonlinear poten-
tiometers computed parameters such as altitude, airspeed, and Mach number.
In the 1990s, all computation and data management are digital and based on
microprocessor technology. Indeed, the miniaturization made possible by this
technology is tending to obsolete the air-data computer as a separate entity. New
avionics architectures are incorporating air-data functions into other subsystems
such as inertial/GPS navigation units or are packaging the air-data transducers
into the flight-control computers.
Regardless of how the air-data functions are packaged, they provide flight-
critical information and therefore are implemented with appropriate redundancy
and automated fault detection and isolation. Air-data systems can be found
in every class of air vehicle, from combat fighters and helicopters to manned
spacecraft such as Space Shuttle Orbiter. Their implementation in commercial
jet transports uses ARINC standard specifications that are also used in business
aviation. Each type of aircraft has unique challenges, primarily in regard to the
accuracy of measuring the basic aerodynamic phenomena.

394 AIR-DATA SYSTEMS
8.2 AIR-DATA MEASUREMENTS
8.2.1 Conventional "Intrusive" Probes

All of the air-data parameters that are relevant to flight performance are derived
by sensing the pressures, temperatures, and flow direction surrounding the vehi-
cle. Free-stream pressures and temperatures are required for the computation
of static air temperature, altitude, airspeed, and Mach number. Because air is
moving past the aircraft, the pressure at various places on the aircraft's skin
may be slightly higher or lower than free stream. Figure 8.1 illustrates the
probes typically deployed around the skin of an aircraft. They sample static
pressure (via static ports), total pressure (via the pitot tube), total temperature
(via the temperature probe), and local flow direction (via the angle-of-attack
and sideslip vanes). All of these sensing elements, except for the flush-mounted
static port, are intrusive because they disturb the local airflow. In flight test-
ing of new aircraft, integrated air-data booms are often used to mount combi-
nations of these probes forward of the flow which normally contacts the air-
craft skin. Figure 8.2 illustrates such an instrumentation boom that would nor-
mally be located at the aircraft nose. The angle-of-attack and angle-of-sideslip
vanes are self-aligning, measuring the direction of local flow. Total pressure
must be measured at the front opening on the pitot tube which extends directly
into the air flow, but at an angle with respect to the relative wind. That angle,
defined by sideslip (3 and angle-of-attack a does not usually produce any sig-
nificant inaccuracies as long as O! and (3 are within ±I 0 degrees. In applica-
tions where a and (3 excursions are large, then special booms containing a
gimbaled pitot tube can be used. Such tubes contain wind vanes or may be
servo driven to align with the relative wind. Typical applications of self-aligning
pitot tubes are in developmental testing for experimental aircraft, or for high-
angle-of-attack fighter aircraft. Non-intrusive probes are discussed in Sections
8.5.2 and 8.5.3.
8.2.2 Static Pressure

Static pressure is the absolute pressure of the still air surrounding the aircraft.
To obtain a sample of static air in a moving aircraft, a hole (static port) or
series of holes are drilled in a plate on the side of the fuselage or on the side
of the pitot tube probe which extends into the free airstream. These sensed
static pressures will differ from the free-stream values for reasons noted above.
That difference is referred to as the static defect. The location of static ports
is selected by wind-tunnel tests and by tests at numerous locations on actual
aircraft. The location of a static port on helicopters or on fixed-wing aircraft that
operate at very high angles of attack is especially difficult because of unusual
local flow phenomena. Even with an optimum static source location, a large
static defect usually remains, which is a function of Mach number, angle of
attack, and aircraft configuration (flap deployment, wing stores, etc.). Because
AIR-DATA MEASUREMENTS 395
Total-
temperature
probe Pi tot
Figure 8.1 Air-data system. input probes e~nd vanes (probes courtesy. Rosemount,
Inc.).
Top view \A:,gle-of·sldesllp

~\ne
~-~G-===:::~"-~~~s:==t=3r 'e - --
"'-Stat ic·pressu re Rear view
orifices
Angle-of-attack
(
-c=:::::==::::;:'=v~ane
Figure 8.2 Typical nosc-nmunted air-date~ lHHllll with pressure probes and flow-Lhrce-
tion vanes.
static defect is predictable, it can be corrected in the air-data computations.

Techniques for correcting such errors are covered in Sections 8.3 and 8.4.
8.2.3 Total Pressure

The terms total pressure, stagnation pressure, or pitot pressure refer to the pres-
sure sensed in a tube that is open at the front and closed at the rear. The pitot
tube is illustrated in Figures 8.1 and 8.2. When the static pressure ports and
the pitot tube are combined into a single probe, the instrument is called a pitot-
static tube. Such tubes are electrically heated to prevent ice formation. Pipes in
the aircraft, referred to as the pneumatic plumbing, carry the sensed pressure to
transducers associated with the air-data computations and also to direct-reading
airspeed indicators. Since the 1970s, large aircraft carry direct-reading, pneu-
matic instruments at the crew stations to backup the computer-driven instru-
ments. In subsonic flight, a pitot tube's recovery of total pressure is reason-
ably accurate for typical variations in angle of attack and Mach number; hence,
compensations to correct static defect are generally not required. At supersonic
speeds, the pressure sensed within the tube is ideally the pressure that develops
behind a normal shock wave. Design and calibration of the pitot tube orifice
to achieve the desired shock wave is difficult, so measurement errors in total
pressure are higher at supersonic speeds and must be compensated.
Total pressure is used to compute calibrated airspeed Vc and Mach number
M. Impact pressure qc is measured with a differential pressure transducer:
(8.1)
where p 1 is the total pressure and p is the static pressure. Impact pressure differs
from dynamic pressure q by compressibility factors. Dynamic pressure is often
used in aerodynamic calculations because of its simplicity:
(8.2)
where p is the air density and V is the true airspeed, often referred to as V 1•
There are many forms for the analytical representation of qc. It is usually shown
[4, 24, 30] for subsonic flight as Equation 8.3
q(' = p [ 1 + ( 1_ ~
1) ;P v ]"Y/b- l P
2
1
- (8.3)
and for supersonic flight as Equation 8.4:

TABLE 8.1 Standard atmosphere properties

Atmospheric Constant Metric Units English Units
Standard pressure at sea 760 mm or 1013 29.921 in.

level, po millibars
Standard temperature at sea 59°F, 518.4 Rankines
level, To 15°C, Kelvins
Standard mass density at
sea level, PO 0.12497 Kg-sec 2 jmeter4 0.002378 slugs/ft 3
Standard speed of sound at
sea level 661.4748 knots 661.4748 knots
Standard temperature gradient
below I 0,769 meters
(35,332 ft) 0.0065°Cjmeter 0.003566°F /ft
qc=( l+'Y) pV2 { ()'+1?/'Y[(p/p)Vz] }1/Cy-IJ -p (8.4)

'Y 2 4(pjp)V 2 - 2()'- 1)
where 'Y is the ratio of specific heat of air at constant pressure to specific heat
at constant volume; for air, 'Y = 1.4.
From Equations 8.2 through 8.4, we can obtain the definitions of the various
types of airspeed encountered in aviation practice and theory: Calibrated air-
speed V, is defined from Equations 8.3 and 8.4 as the airspeed V that would
result from the measured value of q, if the aircraft were at standard sea level
conditions (see Table 8.1 ). Indicated airspeed Vi is identical to V n except that
it represents the readings of an instrument that has not been correct for pitot-
static and other errors. Another term often used by aerodynamicists is equivalent
airspeed Ve. This is a theoretical parameter that can be computed if desired:
(8.5)
Equivalent airspeed approaches calibrated airspeed at low Mach numbers.

With some algebraic manipulation, the parts of Equations 8.3 and 8.4 that mul-
tiply p V 2/2 can be shown to be functions of Mach number M [2, 30]. The
departure of q, from q can be observed from Figure 8.3, which plots the ratio
cJ</ q versus Mach number. There are many ways to manipulate the variables
in the above equations to derive airspeeds but a set of standard equations is
usually used (Section 8.3).
........................
. .
.S: 1.5 .......•.....•..............

. .
E
ro
>.
.
... , ..................................... ,. .. .
0 1.4
~
:::J
<J)
lfJ 1.3 ···-:············=······ ............. .
-0..
u
~
c
1.2 ...... ·.....................................
' .·......... ··•·····································
. . .
1.1 ' ................................. ~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....................... .
l~~~L---~------L----~-----L-----L-----L·----~
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Mach number
Figure 8.3 Ratio of impact pressure to dynamic pressure versus Mach free stream.
8.2.4 Air Temperature

Outside air temperature, referred 1:0 as static air temperature T, and sometimes
as OAT, is required for the computation of true airspeed. It is also used in the
computation of air density, which is required for some types of fire-control
aiming solutions. The temperature measured by a thermometer on the exterior
of a moving aircraft is higher than the free-stream air temperature because of
frictional heating and compression of the air impinging on the thermometer
(altered by radiation from the thermometer to the sky and airframe). A typi-
cal temperature probe, illustrated in Figure 8.1, is installed to point along the
local streamline and compresses the impacting air to zero speed, thus causing a
"total," or "stagnation," temperature to exist at the thermometer. To avoid time
lags in the temperature measurement, a leakage hole at the rear of the probe
allows for a rapid air change. Probes may be mounted on the wing tips, vertical
tail, forward fuselage, or other locations where the local Mach number is the
same as the free-stream Mach for all expected flight attitudes and speeds. The
temperature actually measured by the thermometer is Tm [2, 30].
T 111 = T, 'Y -- I YJM-

I+ -- 7]
[ 2
(8.6)
where absolute temperature is in Kelvins or Rankines, M is the local Mach

number, and YJ is the recovery factor of the probe. The recovery factor
accounts for frictional heating, re-radiation, and nonisentropic compression
of the air. YJ is measured empirically, and when independent of Mach num-
ber and angle of attack, it does not contribute to any errors in the com-
putation of static air temperature. Temperature probes are available with YJ
values ranging from about 0.7 to greater than 0.99. For high values of YJ,
special shields reduce radiation heat exchanges. Electrical heaters used for deic-
ing must be isolated from the thermometer element. The thermometer is usu-
ally a small coil of wire whose resistance varies with temperature. The resis-
tance variation is detected in a bridge circuit, whose excitations and signal
processing are located in a signal-conditioning box or the computer. Mois-
ture, water ingestion, and icing are significant error sources that are reduced
by a variety of design techniques, including heaters. Substituting numbers
into Equation 8.6 shows that the 0.2 M 2 term accounts for 12.8% of mea-
sured temperature at M = 0.8. A l.occ error in temperature will result in a
true airspeed error greater than 1.0 knot at typical transport-aircraft flight con-
ditions.
8.2.5 Angle of Attack and Angle of Sideslip

Angle of attack is the angle, in the normally vertical plane of symmetry of the
aircraft, at which the relative wind meets an arbitrary longitudinal datum line
on the fuselage. Usually that datum line is the aircraft's X-axis, the orthogonal
line out the right wing from the center of gravity is the Y-axis, and the Z-axis
is downward to complete a right-hand coordinate frame. The angles of attack a
and sideslip {3 can be defined in terms of air velocity components along these
axes, Vx, Vy, and Vz.
a = arctan ( V z )
Vx
{3 = arctan ( v,)
Vx (8.7)
The pivoted vane, illustrated in Figure 8.1, measures local flow angle and is the
most commonly used method of measuring a or {3. Maximum angle-of-attack
boundaries define the aircraft's low-speed flight envelope. When a sensors are
installed on aircraft, they are usually part of an independent stall warning or
stall control system. Since such systems are .fliRht critical (also called safety
critical), redundant sensors are usually installed. Other methods of measuring
a and {3 are discussed in Section 8.5. Engine inlet controls also use a mea-
surements that tend to be safety-critical in supersonic flight.
Sideslip sensors are usually used only in developmental flight test instrumen-
tation. In normal operation, sideslip is approximated by a body-mounted lateral

accelerometer ( y-axis) and displayed on the pilot's ball bank indicator. Auto-
matic flight control systems compute sideslip from inertial measurements and
include sideslip cqntrol as part of their lateral-directional control loops. Many
yaw dampers use {3 mechanizations based upon the estimated rate of change of
{3 from measurements of lateral acceleration, bank angle, and inertial yaw rate
rather than obtaining the desired information from a sideslip sensor. With fast
computers, a and {3 can be estimated from the aircraft force and moment equa-
tions and the more commonly available inertial and airspeed measurements.
Analytically derived a may supplement a vane sensor for redundancy.
8.2.6 Air-Data Transducers

Measurements of pressures and temperature must be accomplished by trans-
ducers that convert the sensed parameters into mechanical motions or electrical
signals that are compatible with the various user subsystems. Figure 8.4 summa-
rizes the evolution of transducers, starting with the early pneumatic indicators
of altitude and airspeed. In these early instruments, the sensor mechanism and
the computation function were combined. The dial whose displacement was
proportional to altitude or airspeed (Figure 8.4a) included the computation of
altitude or airspeed from the sensing of static pressure and impact pressure.
That computation was accomplished by the use of nonlinear springs inherent
in the pressure capsules or bellows and associated linkage mechanisms. By the
1950s, avionic systems began to require electrical signals proportional to alti-
tude, airspeed and other air-data parameters. At first, attempts were made to
attach electrical transducers such as synchros and potentiometers to these pneu-
matic instruments but technical problems associated with achieving required
sensitivities soon led to servo-driven shafts whose rotation was proportional
to the desired air-data parameters. These shaft-driven devices, illustrated by an
altitude computing instrument in Figure 8.4b and a Mach computing instrument
in Figure 8.4c, combined the sensing and the computation. These illustrations
represent the force-balance sensors which dominated central air-data comput-
ers in the 1960s and early 1970s. More details of the physical mechanization
of such sensors are given in the first edition of this book [27].
Figure 8.4d shows a typical digital computation of altitude using a class of
pressure sensor that is usually referred to as a digital sensor. In reality, it is
an analog sensor whose analog of pressure is frequency rather than displace-
ment or voltage. Frequency can be encoded into a numerical value with greater
precision than voltage. The introduction of digital air-data computers in the
early 1970s produced a major improvement in accuracy, reliability, size, and
weight. Accuracy improved because sensors could store precise calibration data,
which remained with the sensing element in the form of a read-only memory
(ROM) chip. Digital computation of the required functions is considerably more
accurate and repeatable than electromechanical analog computation. Reliabil-
ity increased because of the elimination of the motor-driven parts and their dif-
pressure Null
b = k (P8 , Temp) P8
'-----~~-Indicator
0
--~Altitude
a. Pneumatic instrument indicators
b. Force balance electromechanical
~~=~:~
altitude computation
Vibrating
a~~~b diaphragm
~--Ps
,,,,,m
I Motor
uCh
r-<)f-.E<---.1-
sensor
Oscillator
8=f2\_b_
6 ~
(_a) ={3 (Mach)~ Mach
N\1\
-~
30 MHz clock
c. Typical electromechanical Mach Computation d. Typical digital computation of altitude
.........
0
Figure 8.4 Evolution of air-data instrumentation: (a) Pneumatic instruments; (b) force-bal-
ance electromechanical altitude computation; (c) electromechanical Mach computation;
(d) digital computation of altitude.
ficult test and calibration procedures. Size/weight advantages were a natural

consequence of the elimination of electromechanical hardware, while improve-
ment continues to be realized as computing and input-output chips become more
powerful.
Figure 8.4d is a conceptual view of a vibrating-diaphragm sensor produced
by Sperry Corp. (now Honeywell) for such aircraft as the Boeing 757, 767,
737-300/400, the F-15 and F-16 fighters, and other military, commercial, and
general aviation aircraft. Another class of pressure sensor used in digital air-
data computers is based on silicon piezo-resistive technology. One of the more
difficult problems associated with achieving accuracy has been the temperature
sensitivity of silicon. Designs that will work over very wide temperature ranges
require balancing techniques in the bridge circuitry that detects the voltage
unbalance generated by the silicon transducer. Some solutions use two bridges,
one to measure the output of the pressure sensor plus its temperature drift, and
a second bridge that does not receive a pressure input but only responds to the
temperature changes. Another approach uses the piezo-resistive element as one
arm of the bridge circuit and a second silicon element with "identical" temper-
ature drift characteristics in the balance arm of that bridge. Accuracy of any
precision pressure sensor is determined largely by the quality of the temper-
ature compensation. Most silicon sensors produce electrical outputs that must
be passed through analog-to-digital (A/D) converters. The conversion must be
accurate to at least 16 bits (I part in 65536), which is beyond the capability
of 1996 successive-approximation converters. Because high bandwidth is not a
requirement for air-data parameters, the slower, more precise dual-slope A/D
converters were used.
High performance of all type:; of sensors over a wide temperature range
requires compensation. If the calibration data are stored, then the temperature
behavior of the sensing device must be stable and repeatable. This ultimately
becomes a materials technology issue. Beryllium-copper capsules, used in the
vibrating diaphragm sensor illustrated in Figure 8.5a, must be heat treated and
"aged" before their properties become sufficiently stable for use in a production
sensor. Silicon fabrication processes are the key to meeting cost and perfor-
mance goals. The trend for future applications seems to favor solid-state sen-
sors because they lend themselve~; to automated fabrication processes. The size
advantage of the solid-state/silicon sensor is illustrated in Figure 8.5h, which
shows two sensors produced by rhe same manufacturer to the same accuracy
specifications.
8.3 AIR DATA EQUATIONS
8.3.1 Altitude
To determine altitude from static pressure, international standards have been
established [5, 11, 32, 47, 48]. The standard atmosphere model gives the rela-
AIR DATA EQUATIONS 403
(b)!
Figure 8.5 (a) Vibrating-diaphragm pressure sensor (courtesy, Honeywell, Inc.); (b)
silicon piezo-resistive pressure sensor (courtesy, Honeywell, Inc.).
tionship between a height Z and properties of the atmosphere as the solution to

a differential equation relating the difference in pressure dp between two alti -
tudes, Z and Z + dZ, to the weight of that column of air, where p is the local
air density and g is the acceleration of gravity:
dp = gpdZ (8 .8)
Solutions of this equation are given in 15. II, 32]:

z= Po
-------''----- (8.9)
Pog log 10 (e)
where the temperature T varies as a function of altitude, defined by the stan-

dard altitude model [5, 11, 30]. The standard atmospheric constants are given
in Table 8.1, with pressures defined in terms of the height of a manometer
column or in millibars ( 1.0 mbar = 0.1 kpascal = 0.0145 psi). Substituting the
appropriate constants into equation 8.9, gives
z
log 10 p = 2.880814- .40nT
67
for p in mm, Z in meters, and T in oc. The standard temperature gradient

or lapse rate given in Table 8.1 defines a value of T for each altitude below
10,769 meters (35,332 ft), where the standard temperature becomes -55"C =
218 K = -67°F = 392.4 Rankines. Above this altitude, temperature remains
constant until about 20 km and then begins to increase before decreasing again
as the Earth's atmosphere effectively disappears. These higher-altitude temper-
ature models play a role in hypersonic flight.
When standard temperatures are used for T, the value of Z for each p is
called the pressure altitude. Air-data computers usually compute pressure alti-
tude from look-up tables derived from Equation 8.9 with appropriate constants
incorporated, including the standard function for T versus altitude, or pressure.
A combination of the stored table of pressure and density for values of alti-
tude spaced at 10- to 100-ft intervals will give more than adequate results by
interpolation. Pressure altitude is the standard parameter used for vertical nav-
igation in controlled airspace. However, density altitude is needed to assess an
aircraft's performance margin. By reading or computing static air temperature
and pressure, a corrected air density can be found:
Pcorrccted =Po ( ;
0
) ( il ) (8.10)
The altitude corresponding to that density can be extracted from the look-up
table; it is density altitude. An alternative way of computing density altitude
is to enter the actual value of static air temperature for T in Equation 8.9 and
compute Z using the existing value of static pressure p.
Another type of altitude produced by an air-data system is bam-corrected
altitude, computed from pressure altitude by adding an offset. The offset is
the deviation from standard sea-level pressure as computed from the difference
between the barometric reading at a ground station and the standard barome-
ter at that altitude. Baro correction is entered either in millibars or inches of
AIR DATA EQUATIONS 405
mercury. Throughout the world, aircraft flying below 18,000 ft use a local baro-
metric correction, while those flying above 18,000 ft set their altimeters to 29.92
in. of mercury.
8.3.2 Mach Number

The Mach number M is computed from the corrected pitot and static pressure
=
measurements, P 1 and P,, respectively, where P,. p and p 1 = p, +q,. The equa-
tions that define M can be derived from Equations 8.3 and 8.4 by recognizing
that
(8.11)
where C, is the speed of sound l2, 30]:
C, = ~ ~~
( ) ( ~J (8.12)
Substituting for V 1 into Equations (8.3) and (8.4); with~ = 1.4, gives the expres-
sions for subsonic and supersonic M that are computed by air-data systems. The
subsonic Mach equation is
(8 .13)
which can be rearranged to solve for M explicitly:
2/7 ]1/2
M =
[5(
~', + I) - I (8.14)
The supersonic Mach equation is
( -P,Pr) - ( -+1
q,
P,.
)
(8.15)
[(7M 2 - 1)/6] 2·5
This expression cannot easily be solved explicitly for M, although it can be

solved as a polynomial expansion of qc/P,. Many air-data computers store
Subsonic Characteristic
:2 0 8
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
qJPs
Supersonic Characteristic
6
:2;5
(i;-
114
::J
z3
_c
u
ro
:22
1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
qJPs
Figure 8.6 qc/Ps versus Mach number.
tables of qc/P, versus Mach obtained from Equations 8.13 and 8.15, using inter-
polation routines to extract M from the ratio of corrected pitot and static mea-
surements. Figure 8.6 illustrates the Mach versus pressure-ratio relationships for
both the subsonic and supersonic regimes, noting that at M = 1.0, both equations
give the same result.
8.3.3 Calibrated Airspeed

Calibrated airspeed Vc is defined from Equations 8.3 and 8.4 by letting V = Vc,
p = p 0 , and p = p 0 . This will allow an explicit solution for Vc. Thus, for the
subsonic case,
(8.16)
where Co is the standard day, sea-level speed of sound (Table 8.1).

AIR-DATA SYSTEMS 407
8.3.4 True Airspeed

True airspeed is usually computed from the relationship M = VIC,. The value
of M is computed from Equations 8.13, 8.14, and 8.15. The value of C5 from
the computation of static air temperature was given as Equation 8.12, and T,
lS
Tmeasured
T,=----- (8.17)
1 +0.217M 2
If T is in Kelvin, then C, = 38.96695 vfTs knots.

In low-speed flight of aircraft and helicopters, the Mach number is not an
appropriate flight parameter; hence alternative methods of computing true air-
speed V 1 are needed. The usual method is
(8.18)
where f and f o are compressibility factors containing the same parameters as

in Equation 8.3 [2]. The ratio fIfo will approximate 1.0 at low speeds. Tables
of p versus altitude are stored in the air-data computer.
8.3.5 Altitude Rate

Air-data computers usually provide an output identified as altitude rate. It is
an outgrowth of early pneumatic rate-of-climb indicators, which differentiated
a pressure by feeding it to a constriction in the tubing with an air chamber.
This analog differentiation suffered from undesirable lags, so these instruments
were replaced with "instantaneous vertical speed indicators" that mixed a signal
derived from a Z-axis accelerometer with the constricted pneumatic measure-
ment. With the advent of central air-data computers, altitude-rate signals were
computed from altitude. Since the 1980s, altitude rate has been computed dig-
itally from vertical acceleration and rate of change of pressure altitude (see
Section 7.5 .3 ).
8.4 AIR-DATA SYSTEMS
8.4.1 Accuracy Requirements

The most stringent demands on the accuracy of civil air-data systems come
from the need to estimate pressure altitude with sufficient precision to sup-
port vertical separation in crowded airspace (Table 8.2). The key to accurate
pressure altitude is the calibration of static defect errors. By contrast, calibrated
TABLE 8.2 Typical air-data computer accuracy requirements
Parameter Accuracy Resolution
Altitude. h. Z ±10 to ±15ft. sea level 0.0365 millibars =

±20ft. at 10,000 ft. 1.0 ft sea level
±40 ft. at 30,000 ft.
±80 ft. at 50,000 ft.
>±100ft. at h > 60,000 ft.
Bam-corrected altitude, hu Same as Altitude +0.25 mb Same as altitude
(0.25 mb = 6.8 ft at sea level)
Total pressure, Pi ±0.68 mb = ±0.02 in. Hg 0.01 mb
Impact pressure, Cfc Same as total pressure Same as total pressure
Calibrated airspeed, Vc ±5 knots at 60 knots 0.0625 knot, Vc > I 00
±2 knots at I00 knots
±I knot, V, > 300 knots
Mach number, M ±0.015M at M = 0.2 < 0.000 I M based upon
±0.005M at M = 0.6 computer quantization,
±0.003M to 0.005M at M = 0.6 to not transducer sensitivity
0.95, depending upon altitude
±0.0 I M, or 1.0% above M = 1.0
True airspeed, V ±4 knots, V > I 00 knots <0.1 knot
Total air temperature, T, ±0.5oC 0.25oC
Static air temperature, T.1· ± l.OcC 0.25oC
Angle-of-attack and sideslip ±0.25 deg < 0.05 deg
airspeed, true airspeed, and Mach number are not used for navigation. Their
accuracy is driven by flight performance/stall envelopes in takeoff and landing
conditions. The components of true airspeed are often subtracted from those
of inertially measured ground velocity to calculate instantaneous wind veloc-
ity in cruise conditions, which is useful for the on-board computation of fuel-
optimal trajectories in flight-management computers. Mach number is used for
programming of stabilizer position for speed stability, defining high-speed per-
formance boundaries such as flutter onset, and for defining optimal cruise paths.
Many commercial air-data specifications require outputs for maximum opera-
tional velocity (VMO) and maximum operational Mach (MMO) [3]. Table 8.2
summarizes typical accuracy requirements imposed on civil air-data computers
since the mid-1970s that were unchanged into the 1990s. Accuracies specified
for military air-data systems have, in general, followed the civil specifications,
except for supersonic Mach number and airspeed. Those specifications are tai-
lored to the aircraft mission and to probe calibration technologies. Mach num-
ber accuracy drops off at very high altitudes. In the supersonic flight regimes of
fighters, Mach number accuracies of about 1.0% are typical. The level of perfor-
mance in Table 8.2 implies calibration of the pitot and static sources. For civil
transports, such calibration data are usually available. For military supersonic
aircraft, complete probe calibration data are often lacking, especially for high
acceleration maneuvers, and when aircraft stores (external pods, missiles and
tanks) alter flow characteristics. Extensive flight testing is required to obtain this
type of calibration data, and the high cost of such testing often compromises
accuracy.
8.4.2 Air-Data Computers

A typical central air-data computer (CADC) is a box containing: (1) the pressure
transducers, associated excitation circuitry, and signal-conditioning circuitry, (2)
the computer; and (3) the output drivers that are compatible with interfacing
subsystems (Chapter 15). The box containing these elements includes fittings
that allow the pitot and static pressure lines to connect to the computer's internal
pressure transducers. Figure 8.7 illustrates a generic digital CADC. Its inputs
are the pitot and static pressure tubes, a temperature probe signal (for the bridge
circuit), a barometric setting (either from an analog baro-set potentiometer or
from the aircraft's flight management system), and various aircraft configuration
discretes. These discretes include flap deployment and external stores status for
use in compensating raw pressure and vane readings. They also include "pro-
gram pin" status, designated connector pins that allow a standard CADC to
serve more than one aircraft type. Thus, pin i could recognize that the installa-
tion is in aircraft i, thereby activating its own pitot-static correction algorithm,
or activating a unique signal interface. Input processing usually involves A/D
conversion and packing of discrete signals into logic words, plus implementa-
tion of special serial data interfaces such as an RS 232 interface to an external
software load and test environment. Input processing must also provide for the
circuitry associated with the pressure transducers and vane signal condition-
ers. They include oscillators, clocks, counters, and precision excitation voltages,
plus the interface to the internal computer bus that provides the pathway to the
computer's memory. Output processing includes the port to the system data bus.
In military applications, this has been a Mil-Std. 1553 bus, while commercial
applications have used the ARINC 429 broadcast bus standard (although civil
multiplex buses such as ARINC 629 have also appeared, Chapter 15). Special
outputs such as synchro drivers for electromechanical instruments must also be
accommodated by a CADC that is compatible with many aircraft types. One of
these outputs, shown on Figure 8.7, is for the air-traffic-control transponder's
Mode-C altitude-reply code. This format is needed by early vintage transpon-
ders, some of which remain in service despite the arrival of newer generation
transponders that can receive the required altitude information over standard
avionics busses. The CADC is also commonly used as the source of probe
heater controls.
The air-data equations are solved in the processor subassembly, which con-
tains the CPU, memory for the operational flight program (usually stored in
electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM), data storage
memory (usually static random access memory, RAM), and nonvolatile RAM
-""'
;
Aircraft
Configuration
Discretes ............ .
ps - - ;:-:;_:;:j
Probe
Pt- .. ] Heater
Control
Angle Serial
of Attack Data
Vane
Special
Analog
Temperature Signals
Sensor and
Mode C
Codes,
etc.
Figure 8.7 Functional block diagram of digital air-data computer.

for storage of in-flight maintenance information. Since the computational ele-

ments of a CADC represent a small part of the hardware, new system architec-
tures have eliminated the CADC as a separate subsystem (Section 8.4.3).
The air-data software includes a considerable number of built-in test and
monitoring algorithms for establishing the validity of all sensor inputs and pro-
cessing. Other than this "overhead" software, typical computations performed
by a generic CADC can be summarized with the following simplified sequence:
• Read probe data from transducers (P 1, P8 , a, (3, T 1). Read internal transducer
temperatures Tint and aircraft discretes D.
• Preprocess transducers (e.g., variable-frequency vibrating diaphragm)
Circuitry measures count N in time t
Frequency is N jt = F; Fp = P, frequency, F q = q, frequency
P; is uncompensated static pressure,/ 1(Fp, Tint> R), where R is the stored
calibration curve for the specific transducer
P~is uncompensated impact pressure, fz (F q, Tint, R)
• Correct P~, q~, a 1 where a 1 = measured a
a= a1 +.::la(a 1,D)
P, = p = P: +!J(a,M,D)
q, = P~ + j4(a,M,D)
• Compute air-data parameters; initialize without Mach compensations, and
allow solution to converge after 1 or 2 iterations. If theM compensations
are large, and solution does not converge, compute a raw Mach solution
from uncompensated p and qc and use it in the pressure compensations.
M =fs(q,jp) from Equations 8.13-8.15
Ts =.f6(T1 ,M) from Equation 8.17
Cs =h(T5 ) from Equation 8.12
Vc =fs(qc) from Equations 8.3, 8.4, 8.16
V =j9(C,, M) from Equation 8.11
Pressure altitude is Z = h = f 10 (p) from Equation 8.9
Bam-corrected altitude is h 8 = h +f 11 (baro correction)
Density is p =fn(p, T 5 ) from Equation 8.10
Density altitude is f 13 (p, h) from Equation 8.9
Computer throughput requirements vary with the choice of table look-up or

polynomial equation solutions, iteration rate, and whether multi-rate compu-
tation executives are used. In the 1970s, a 100-KOPS, 16-bit microprocessor
could perform the CADC functions using 10% to 50% of available time. In the
1990s, all CADC computations could execute in less than 1% of available time.
The program and the aircraft-related compensation constants can be stored in
less than 20,000 bytes of memory.
412 AIR-OAT A SYSTEMS
8.4.3 Architecture Trends

As microprocessors became smaller and cheaper, it became possible to pack-
age them with probes and transducers. The result is a distributed air-data system
that replaces the CADC. A key feature is the packaging of signal-processing
functions with or adjacent to the probes. Mechanization of such systems may
be with "smart probes" whose integral electronics provide the probe and trans-
ducer calibrations, plus the digital interface. Figure 8.8 illustrates this concept
with dual-redundant probes and vanes. Such an architecture provides corrected
pressure, temperature, and angle-of-attack data to a flight control computer that
computes altitude, Mach, calibrated, and true airspeed. It can also compute other
standard air-data parameters and transmit them to flight management comput-
ers, mission computers, or other subsystems.
A major advantage of distributed architecture is the elimination of pneumatic
plumbing to the CADC boxes. Reliability and maintenance problems, including
water drains, are eliminated. Electrical wiring weighs less than tubing and the
electrical transmission of pressure information eliminates lags associated with
long lengths of tubing. These lags are negligible with minimum-volume pres-
sure transducers. For example [39], a tube length of 12.70 meters, tube inner
diameter of 9.5 mm, and a transducer volume of I 00 cm 3 (large for contem-
porary designs) will produce a lag time-constant of 0.008 sec at an altitude
of I 0,000 ft (3048 meters), and 0.187 sec at an altitude of 80,000 ft. (24384
meters). Even if the lag were significant, it could be corrected with blended
inertial measurements.
The Boeing 777 has a partly distributed air-data architecture. Miniature air-
data processing modules are located in the vicinity of the probe on the air-
Pilot Static
Figure 8.8 Smart-probe architecture for distributed air-data system.

SPECIALTY DESIGNS 413
craft structure. The modules contain transducers and signal-processing circuitry.

They compensate the transducers, control probe heaters, and interface with
the aircraft's data bus. A module's output transmits to the aircraft's integrated
inertial/air-data unit [36] via an ARINC 629 data bus (Chapter 15).
8.5 SPECIALTY DESIGNS
8.5.1 Helicopter Air-Data Systems

Helicopter air-data systems differ from their fixed-wing counterparts primar-
ily in the implementation of airspeed measurements at low speeds, including
the inference of winds while the aircraft is hovering. Unlike fixed-wing air-
craft, where a knowledge of airspeed is essential for safe flight, a helicopter's
airspeed is not an essential pilotage quantity, except for certain engine fail-
ure conditions where hover capability is lost. Ground velocity from Doppler,
inertial, and/or GPS is often used as an approximation. Military helicopters
require low-airspeed measurements for fire control with ballistic (unguided)
weapons.
The conventional pitot tube and pressure transducer become ineffective as
airspeed drops below about 40 knots. At the lower speeds, impact pressure is
equal to dynamic pressure q, and the sensitivity of this pressure to a change in
airspeed V is obtained by differentiating Equation 8.2.
dq - v
av- P (8.20)
When V is zero, as in ideal hover with zero wind, the sensitivity is zero. For
example, if V = 1.0 knot, the change in force on a 1.0 x 1.0 em pressure trans-
ducer's surface area with a 1.0 knot speed change is
I:::.F = l:::.q(Area) = p V(I:::.V)(I.O cm 2 ) = 3.31 mg (0.007 !b)
Since this transducer must also measure pressures in excess of I 00 lb/ft 2 dur-
ing cruise flight, its dynamic range must be 1.475 * 105 , which is beyond the
capability of conventional airspeed-sensing instruments. Hence, different tech-
nologies are used for low airspeed measurements as explained below.
Static-source errors in helicopters tend to be difficult to compensate because
of rotor downwash that differs significantly in and out of ground effect. Fixed-
wing aircraft do not compensate their static source errors in ground effect (dur-
ing landing and takeoff), and neither do helicopters.
In the mid-1970s, the U.S. Army flight tested many devices that were
designed to measure low airspeed omnidirectionally [1, 14, 15, 16, 17, 45].
Of them, the rotating anemometer, the vortex counter, and the downwash flow
detector are described below. Also, an analytical method that infers the airspeed
vector from the position of the helicopter controls and other on-board measure-
ments of aircraft states is discussed.
Rotating Anemometer This device increases the magnitude of the pressure

change caused by a change in airspeed when the aircraft airspeed is near zero.
Such systems are called low omni range airspeed systems. A variation of this
concept embeds airflow sensors and associated pressure transducers within the
rotor blade. Blade-mounted sensors have been tested experimentally, and they
have been considered for the United States Army's Comanche helicopter and
Russian attack helicopters. Figure 8.9 is a schematic representation of a rotating
anemometer. The dynamic pressure seen at port A of Figure 8.9 is
(8.20)
and at port B, the pressure will be
qs = i p[OR + Vx cos (t/; + 1r)- Vy sin (t/; + 1r)] 2

= ip[OR- Vxcos t/; + Vysin t/Jf (8.21)
where
0 is the rotation rate of sensor in radjsec
R is the radius arm
'IJr is the rotation angle of sensor with respect to reference frame
= Ot
QB
Figure 8.9 Geometric relationships for rotating anemometer sensor.

Vx, Vy are forward and lateral components of airstream velocity with

respect to aircraft
Solving for qA - q 8 yields
qA- qs = 2p0R[Vx cos 0 t- Vy sin 0 t] (8.22)
Thus, the pressure difference, qA - q 8 , is proportional to the port speed OR

of the rotating probe. If Vx = 1.0 ftjsec and Vy = 0, the pressure seen by the
transducer at sea level (p = p 0 ) will be magnified significantly over what would
be seen by a conventional pitot tube. For example, if R = 0.5 ft, 0 = 12 rev /sec
= 2471" radjsec, and V = 1.0 ft/sec, then for the rotating sensor,
2p0R * (1.0 ft/sec) = 0.179 lb/ft2

and for a pitot tube,
1P * (1.0 ftjsec? = 1.188 * 10- 3

lbjft 2
The amplification obtained by rotation is therefore 0.179/0.00119 = 150.

In addition to obtaining improved sensitivity at low speeds, the rotating probe
measures omnidirectional airspeed, including backward velocities. Vx and Vy
are extracted from Equation 8.22, which then permits true airspeed V 1 and
sideslip angle {3, to be obtained using the relationships
Vv
(3 = arctan ~· (8.23)
Vx
The rotation axis is assumed to be near vertical so, at large bank angles, the
Vx and Vy measurements are no longer accurate, and the solution is ignored. In
level flight, Vr and Vy are used to estimate the wind vector which is important
in fire control equations. Figure 8.10 illustrates an internal view of a rotating
anemometer sensor.
Vortex Sensing The sensor measures vortices shed by fluid flow over a
deliberately-inserted obstruction. The frequency of vortices is proportional to
the air speed. This method has been used to measure low airspeed in helicopters
and in ground-vehicle fire-control systems [1, 17, 46]. A version was used on
early models of the AH-64D aircraft.
The theory of the vortex sensor dates back to Von Karman in about 1912
720 rpm
Anti-ice
control
circuitry Differential pressure
transducer board
Outside air
Rotating temperature
arm
--4o4--- Forward I sensor
I
I sensor
Opto electronic
Interrupter ~_j:!~~~=j--..
disk .....
1
I
System
alignment
pin
Figure 8.10 Omnidirectional airspeed sensor, rotating anemometer type (courtesy,

Pacer Systems, Inc.).
[41, 19]. The frequency F of vortex formation from each side of the obstruction
is given by
(8.24)
where S is the Strouhal number, V is the air velocity, and d is the width of
the obstruction. The Strouhal number has been experimentally determined for
a variety of obstruction widths and fluid properties [35]. Theory and experimen-
tal work have shown that the sensitivity threshold for this type of sensor is about
I .0 knot. One method of measuring vortex frequency directs an ultrasonic beam

through the vortex trail. The rotational velocity of the vortices combine vecto-
rially with the sonic ray velocity, causing the sonic rays to be deflected. This
causes an amplitude modulation of the received energy at the vortex frequency.
To measure the horizontal velocity vector, an orthogonal sensor is required. As
in all helicopters, the airspeed sensors should be mounted above the rotor for
minimum downwash effects.
Swiveling Pilot Tube Below Rotor The swiveling pitot tube was developed in
the United Kingdom; it is currently in use on the AH-1 S, AH-640, and other
attack helicopters. It was tested extensively by the United States Army in the
1970s [ 15, 16, 45]. A gimballed pi tot tube contains a vane arrangement that
causes the tube to align with the airflow within the downwash field emanating
from the rotor blades. Changes in the airflow field vector are correlated with
changes in true airspeed. With appropriate angular pick-offs to measure vane
orientation, the true airspeed is estimated using a calibration associated with
each aircraft and its rotor system.
The theory of its operation can be seen in Figure 8.11 for low-speed, forward
flight. The induced flow velocity, V; is normal to the rotor tip path plane. V;
sin i is proportional to the thrust component that overcomes aircraft drag and
causes a forward velocity. The vector diagram is expressed by
V; sin (i) + V H = V cos ex (8.25)
A swiveling probe aligns with the resultant flow velocity V, sensing both its
magnitude and angle, ex and (3. The principle of the probe is that V; sin i is a
\ Tip path plane
Vi= Induced
velocity
r V = Resultant airflow
VH = Horizontal
velocity
Figure 8.11 Flow field vectors for swiveling probe.
repeatable function of horizonal airspeed, irrespective of thrust, weight, vertical

speed, sideslip angle, center of gravity, but varies only with ground proximity.
Hence, a radar altimeter measurement is required to accommodate the ground
effect. The basic sensing equations are
V cos ex =f(V H)
Vx = VH COS (3
Vy = V H sin (3 (8.26)
where (3 is the yaw angle also measured by the swiveling probe. Placing a pitot
tube in the downwash flow field avoids the need to measure the low pressures
existing near hover since the minimum downwash airflow V; will always be
greater than about 15 knots. Also, aligning the pitot tube with the airflow elim-
inates alignment errors in both the pitot and static pressures. Figure 8.12 is a
cutaway view of the swiveling probe.
Analytical Estimation of True Airspeed A predictable airspeed vector results

from each combination of collective and cyclic control trim position, and pitch
and roll attitude. Methods have been developed [6, 31] that estimate a heli-
copter's airspeed vector from measurements of these quantities. Augmenting
these estimates with inertial velocity accommodates dynamic, nontrim condi-
tions. Flight tests have demonstrated accuracies of 4 knots, 2-sigma using this
approach [6].
8.5.2 Optical Air-Data Systems

Laser Velocimetry Nonintrusive optical methods of flow visualization have
been part of wind tunnel test instrumentation [7, 25]. Since the 1970s, opti-
cal techniques have also emerged as viable air-data systems, motivated by the
radar-observability penalty of intrusive probes and by the unsuitability of intru-
sive probes for hypersonic flight. Optical sensors are located within the vehicles
and look out through the local flow into the free stream. Laser velocimeters
that measure the Doppler shift from backscatter of naturally occurring aerosol
particles have been tested on aircraft since the 1970s in experiments related
to the detection of clear air turbulence. Laser radars (Lidars) have also been
used experimentally to detect microbursts and severe wind shears. During the
1980s and early 1990s, several laser velocimeters were marketed to calibrate
intrusive air-data systems; NASA has experimented with them for hypersonic
applications [71.
The basic concept of the laser velocimeter is illustrated in Figure 8.13, a one-
dimensional view of the system geometry. In most applications, three orthog-
onal sensors are used in which the laser beam is split into three component
beams. Each is focused at a standoff distance sufficiently removed from the
aircraft to be in undisturbed flow (typically several meters away). The lens con-
Tail assembly
Pitot-static
head assembly
Air temperature
Figure 8.12 Airspeed and direction sensor, swiveling probe (courtesy, GEC Avionics).
figurations that converge the beams, with optimum polarization and geometric
characteristics for maximizing backscatter response, are generally proprietary
with suppliers of such systems.
The reflected or "backscattered" signal is Doppler shifted from the trans-
mitted frequency by an amount proportional to the relative velocity between
the aircraft and the undisturbed atmosphere. Backscattered signals are mixed
with the transmitted signals using interferometers. Test results show accura-
cies of one knot or better at altitudes where particle (aerosol) density is ade-
quate. Aerosol densities and particle sizes vary with altitude, time, and volcanic
eruptions. Testing has shown that there is adequate aerosol density up to about
10,000 meters. Blending the inertial velocity vector with an optically derived
true airspeed vector allows operation at higher altitudes.
In 1996, laser velocimeters met the civil and military eye-safety standards,
Doppler shifted
backscattered
light
I Transmitted
I signal
Standoff I
frequency
----+--!-distance~
I
Backscattered
·. ·.··· signal
o._
frequency
Atmospheric E
particles
<(
vd = Kf>..f
beam
Velocity measured fu
along this axis Frequency
Figure 8.13 Laser Doppler velocimeter.
although there may be some question regarding the intensity at the focused
region. The trend is toward improved signal processing and lower-power laser
beams.
Particle Time-oj~Flight Method Another laser-based airspeed-measurement

technique estimates the time of flight required for aerosol particles to traverse
the distance between two laser beams , Figure 8.14. Two sheets of laser light.
separated by a distanced of a few centimeters, are transmitted through a win-
dow in the aircraft's skin. The light sheets are in the YZ-plane, so they measure
V,. Airborne particles generate signals in each of the two detectors that can be
timed or correlated: hence true airspeed can be determined.
Light sheet 1 Light sheet 2 V=d!M
d
Particles
Time
Laser
transceiver
Figure 8.14 Particle time-of-flight method of measuring airspeed .

Pressure
port
Nose
of
vehicle
~t
Yvy ~v~
Figure 8.15 Flush-mounted air-data system with distributed pressure ports.
Bogue [7] has reported good performance on an F-1 04 aircraft. In addition

to particle reflections, the detector sees ambient radiation from sky or ground.
Thus, selection of laser wave length, optical filters, and signal-processing are
difficult design issues. A successful product would have to measure particles
penetrating the light sheets at a distance of 5 to 10 meters from the aircraft
skin. Figure 8.15 shows one axis.
Altitude Measurement In conventional air-data systems, altitude and air den-

sity are derived from the static pressure measurement. Optical air-data tech-
niques have not demonstrated any methods that will measure pressure, but there
are approaches to measuring density p and temperature T from which pressure
p can be inferred (Equation 8.1 0). Bogue [7] describes test results with a flu-
orescence and Rayleigh scatter sensor. In 1996, performance was not adequate
for measuring pressure altitude.
8.5.3 Hypersonic Air Data

Air-data measurements in hypersonic flight do not provide primary flight control
parameters. They usually support aerodynamic research to confirm structural
loading and aero-thermal models. In controlling air-breathing engines (scram-
jets) in hypersonic flight, pressure and flow-direction measurements are criti-
cal [20]. From the earliest experiences with hypersonic vehicles, it was recog-
nized that conventional air-data measurements would be inadequate, primarily
because of the thermal loads and shock wave effects on pitot tubes and vanes.
Nonintrusive probes were studied in the early days of space flight [40]. The
X-15 research aircraft, which flew to 350K ft and Mach 6.7, used a servoed
nose ball and conventional pressure transducers l42, 44, 20].
In the X-15, a spherical ball (Q ball) was located in the forward part of the
aircraft's conic nose. The ball was servo controlled with hydraulic actuators to
align with the relative wind by nulling differential pressures derived from pairs
of lateral and vertical pressure ports on the ball. The ball's rotation measured
angles of attack and sideslip. Flush-mounted static pressure ports were located
422 AIR-OAT A SYSTEMS
at the side of the conic nose. Performance of the ball was adequate to monitor
hypersonic and supersonic flight. Nevertheless, the X-15 was augmented with
conventional pitot-static probes for subsonic flight and landing. Mach accuracy
was 5% to 10%, becoming worse at the low total pressures existing at its peak
altitude.
The Space Shuttle Orbiter does not use an air-data system during launch or
reentry. It deploys conventional pitot tubes when it has slowed to about Mach
4.0. A variation of the ball nose sensor is used in the Shuttle Orbiter's shuttle
entry air-data system (SEADS), where an array of flush pressure orifices are
distributed around the nose section [20, 38, 43]. This array includes 14 orifices
on the nose cap and 6 aft of the nose cap. Figure 8.15 illustrates the concept of
locating multiple pressure ports around an aircraft forebody to extract total pres-
sure and flow direction. This type of configuration is also referred to as a flush
air-data system (FADS) and has been used at NASA Dryden in high angle-of-
attack research flights [7]. In general, the differences in pressure between upper
and lower orifices measure angle of attack and the differences between left and
right orifices measure sideslip angle. Algorithms that combine all sensors to
determine total pressure are refined during wind tunnel testing. In-flight deter-
mination of o: and (3 with SEADS has been accurate to about 0.25 degree; P1
has been accurate to 0.5%. However, static pressure remains the largest source
of error which results in a Mach number accuracy of about ±5% [20, 38].
8.6 CALIBRATION AND SYSTEM TEST
8.6.1 Ground Calibration

Typical equipment used to calibrate both the sensors and the central air-data
computers is shown in Figure 8.16. The elements in this figure are usually part
of automatic test equipment (ATE), with the pressure sources packaged in a
separate pneumatic test module. Manometers are the most precise way to mea-
sure the pressures that are applied to sensors, but most test sets use secondary
standards, often a specially calibrated version of the sensor used in the flight
equipment ("unit under test"). Pressure measurements with an accuracy of 0.005
in. of Hg (0.127 mm of Hg = 0.17 mbars) are required.
When calibrating a sensor, the valves shown in Figure 8.16 would respond to
test software that commands the pneumatic test module to produce a sequence
of input pressures. The sensor outputs are fed to a test computer ("monitor
of displays and outputs" on the figure), compared against stored values, and
recorded. At the factory, the sensor is mounted inside a temperature chamber,
and the pressure test sequences an; applied for various temperatures. The result
is a table of errors versus pressure for each test temperature. These tables are
stored in a calibration ROM that is mounted on the transducer or in the com-
puter.
When the unit under test is a complete air-data computer, the ATE applies
CALIBRATION AND SYSTEM TEST 423
Monitor of
displays
and outputs
Stat1c Air-data
pressure computer
(p.)
Pilot pressure (pt)
Simulated angle-
of-attack probe _______,..
Simulated temperature _______,..
probe (resistance) '--------'
Figure 8.16 Typical test and calibration system.
a sequence of pressure inputs corresponding to discrete values of altitude, air-

speed, and Mach. It also sets simulated temperature-probe resistances and angle
of attack to specified values. The output of the computer, usually in the form of
a serial digital word stream, is read by the ATE. A dynamic test is also run in
which a continuously changing pressure sequence is applied corresponding to
a flight profile. The performance capability of the pneumatic test module often
limits the severity of the test dynamics.
8.6.2 Flight Calibration

Flight calibration is often a limit to the attainable system accuracy. To calibrate
for static defect and for local flow corrections to ex vanes, test aircraft are usually
equipped with booms that extend forward of the aircraft's nose (Section 8.2.1 ).
These booms contain specially calibrated pitot static tubes and flow direction
vanes. On-board laser velocimeters have been used to augment this process
(Section 8.5.2). With contemporary inertialjdifferential-GPS systems, precise
aircraft ground velocity is also available.
8.6.3 Built-in Test (BIT)

Digital air-data systems can detect nearly I 00% of their own failures. At start-
up, processor tests and memory tests verify computer operation. Continuous
BIT checks all interfaces, "wraps around" outputs into inputs to check A/D
and D/ A conversions, and verifies that the processors are operating properly.
BIT monitors a sensor's function such as excitation voltages and oscillator or
voltage reasonableness. However, it cannot detect a slow degradation of accu-

racy resulting from a mechanical deterioration of a sensor (e.g., a leak in the
tubing). Since air-data functions are often critical to flight safety, systems are
redundant. Thus, transport aircraft use dual or triplex air-data systems. Combat
aircraft often use single air-data computers but provide pneumatic altimeters
and airspeed indicators as backup.
8.7 FUTURE TRENDS
With the growing popularity of distributed architectures in which redundant

"smart probes" incorporate processors, the CADC is disappearing and flight-
control, navigation and flight-management computers are executing the air-data
computations. Optical air data measurements offer attractive solutions for diffi-
cult applications where intrusive probes are precluded. Micro-machined trans-
ducers are likely to come into widespread use. The size and cost of electronics
are being steadily reduced by new computer and input-output chips.
PROBLEMS
8.1. (a) At an altitude of 20,000 meters (65,617 ft), the static pressure mea-
surement is 41.41 mm of Hg, What is the static temperature?
(b) If Mach number is 4.0 at this altitude, what is the impact pressure qc
in mm of Hg?
(c) Under the above conditions, what is the true airspeed in knots?
Ans.: (a) 235 K; (b) 831 mm Hg; (c) 2388 knots.
8.2. (a) If an aircraft is flying at Mach = 0.8, what is the impact pressure to
static pressure ratio qc/Ps?
(b) If the aircraft has an uncorrected static source error of ±5% and a pi tot
tube error of ±5%, what is the range of computed Mach numbers?
Ans.: (a) qjp, = 0.524; (b) M = 0.766 to 0.835.
8.3. (a) A digital autopilot is to maintain altitude to an accuracy of 0 . 5 meters.

Its spec calls for a resolution of 5.0 em. The aircraft has an altitude
ceiling of 20,000 meters. To meet the specification, how many bits
are required to encode the altitude measurement?
(b) To meet the 5-cm resolution, what pressure measurement sensitivity
will be required for the static pressure transducer?
(c) What is wrong with this specification?
PROBLEMS 425
Ans.: (a) 19 bits; (b) 301.24 * 10- 6 mm Hg = 5.822 * 10- 6 psi; (c) the
dynamic range is marginal for static pressure sensors and the ability
to sense 5.0-cm altitude changes at 20,000 meters is beyond the capa-
bility of the best devices. The altitude-control algorithm should use
blended inertial information to compensate for the limited pressure
resolution.
8.4. At what airspeed will a conventional pitot tube become more sensitive
than a rotating anemometer type of airspeed sensor and at what speed will
the pressure at the pitot tube transducer exceed the pressure measured by
a rotating anemometer?
Ans.: When V > 20R, the pitot tube sensitivity will be greater, while
when V > 40R, the pitot tube pressure will be greater. (For 0 -
12 revjsec and R = 6 in., V = 150.8 ft/sec = 89.3 knots for equal
pressures.)
9 Attitude and Heading
References
9.1 INTRODUCTION
A heading reference is required for steering and navigation. It may be as simple

as a gravity-leveled magnetic compass or as elaborate as an inertial navigator
(Chapter 7). An aircraft also requires some form of attitude reference. In the
simplest case, it may be the visible horizon, but, if the aircraft is to be flown
in poor weather, then an instrument must substitute for the visible horizon.
An automatic pilot (flight-control system) requires measurements of body
rates and attitude. Attitude and rate instruments stabilize other avionic sen-
sors such as Doppler radars (Chapter I 0), navigational radars (Chapter 11 ), and
weapon delivery systems.
In the late 1990s the trend wa:; toward obtaining attitude and heading infor-
mation from inertial navigators including low-cost inertial systems called Atti-
tude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS). Rate measurements (for crew-
display or flight-control computers) were from separate instruments whose
bandwidth was wide enough for flight control (high bandwidth increases the
apparent bias and raises the sensitivity to vibration, so the unit might not also
be suitable for navigation).
Cockpit displays in inexpensive aircraft incorporate self-contained vertical
and directional gyroscopes that are viewed directly by the crew. In complex
aircraft, the cockpit displays of attitude are driven from remotely located sen-
sors and are displayed on "glass" instruments, Figure 9.1. The vertical situation
display, Figure 9.1 a, can emulate a mechanically servoed "8 ball." It is driven
by the level-axis outputs of an inertial navigator or AHRS. The horizontal sit-
uation display can emulate a radio-magnetic compass or, as shown in Figure
9.1b, can combine heading and weather-radar data (military aircraft can super-
impose target data). It is driven by the azimuth output of an inertial navigator
or AHRS and by the magnetic compass. Complex aircraft usually carry at least
one set of self-contained vertical and directional gyroscopes for emergencies
[ 15].

BASIC INSTRUMENTS 427
(a)
Figure 9.1 Electronic displays (a) Vertical Situation Display (VSI), courtesy of Hon-
eywell; (b) Horizontal Situation Display (HSI), courtesy of Smiths Industries Aero-
space.
9.2 BASIC INSTRUMENTS
9.2.1 Gyroscopes
All practical attitude references require gyroscopes. As discussed in Chap-
ter 7.3.4, the mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel (a source of angu-
lar momentum) that will retain its direction in inertial space in the absence of
applied torques. When a torque is applied perpendicular to the spin axis, delib-
erately or accidentally, the gyroscope will precess relative to inertial space. A
gyroscope therefore remembers the direction of a line in space if the disturbing
torques are kept negligibly small. At the same time the reference direction of
the line can be changed through the application of accurately controlled torque.
The product of precession rate in radians per second and angular momentum in
gram-centimeters squared per second is the applied torque in dyne-centimeters;
the precession is about an axis at right angles to that of the applied torque [9].
The gyroscopes used in heading- and attitude-reference systems are similar
428 ATTITUDE AND HEADING REFERENCES
(b)
Figure 9.1 (Colllinued)
to the mechanical gyros once used in inertial systems except that their cost is far
lower and their drirt rates are much larger. Two-degree-of-freedom gyroscopes
(somclimcs called ji·ee gvro.1) and ralc gyros arc widely used. as discussed in
Scclion 7.3.4.
9.2.2 Gravity Sensors

Many devices have been used over the years for the ereclion of gyroscopic verti-
cal references [9]. Experience with reliability. accuracy. and cost has eliminated
mosl of them. As discussed in Section 7.3.1. gravity sensors and accelerome-
ters are synonymous: the former term refers to a low-accuracy instrument for
vcnical references.
Simple pendulums with electromagnetic pickoffs have been satisfaclorily
used. Damping can be provided by immersing the pendulum in a viscous liquid.
and mechanical stops can be used to limit the deflection. Because the viscosity
of liquids decreases wilh tcmpcralure. viscous-liquid clamping requires temper-
VERTICAL REFERENCES 429
ature control. Alternatively, the damping can be set based on good leveling-loop
response at minimum temperature, resulting in increased error due to damping
at maximum temperature.
The simplest gravity sensors in vertical references are electrolytic levels.
The electrolytic level contains a conductive liquid in which three electrodes
are immersed. When level, the bubble covers two of the electrodes equally to
result in equal electrical resistances to the third. A tilt moves the bubble so that
it covers one electrode more and the other less, thus unbalancing the resistances.
The use of conventional ac bridge circuits provides an electrical output that is
nearly proportional to tilt, for small angles.
The sensitivity of the electrolytic level varies with the curvature of the tube;
the linear range, with the length; and the damping, with the viscosity of the liq-
uid. Despite some problems related to consistent manufacture, the electrolytic
level has been a popular gravity sensor for simple heading- and attitude-ref-
erence systems. The electrolytes are chosen with regard to wetting, resisti v-
ity, corrosion, outgassing, freezing, and precipitation of solids. Electrolytic lev-
els are commonly linear within I% to I 0% of full scale over their operating
ranges and have null stability on the order of 1% of the maximum output.
They can have ranges from a few minutes of arc to about 15 degrees. The
higher-range devices are used in acceleration-corrected vertical references. In
many instances, the electrolytic level feeds power directly to a two-phase gyro-
scope torquer, although in others an amplifier is interposed. Their small size and
weight make them suitable for attachment directly to gyroscopes.
The late 1990s may see the introduction of self-contained micro-machined
vertical gyros for direct cockpit diplay. When combined low-cost gyros and
accelerometers become available in the twenty-first century, the cockpit display
may serve as the attitude reference for the entire aircraft.
9.3 VERTICAL REFERENCES
The basic vertical reference in all forms of heading and attitude devices is the
Earth's gravitational field, Section 2.2. The direction of the Earth's gravity vec-
tor can be sensed with great accuracy on a stationary platform by a simple pen-
dulum (plumb line), spirit level, or accelerometer. However, when the platform
moves, all of these devices indicate the vector sum of vehicle acceleration and
local gravity. The angle o between the true and apparent vertical is
tan o= -aH
-- (9.1)
g+av
where aH and av are the horizontal and vertical accelerations of the aircraft and
g is the acceleration due to gravity (I g = 32.2 ftjsec 2 ), Figure 9.2.
In high-performance aircraft, sustained aH can be 5 g; therefore, the direc-
True vertical
I I
/-~
Figure 9.2 Geometry of vertical determination.
tion of the apparent vertical can be arctan 5gj lg = 79 deg away from the true
vertical. Hence, the major problem to be solved in all vertical-reference devices
is the determination, to adequate accuracy, of the direction of the gravity vector
in the presence of horizontal acceleration.
There are three basic approaches, depending on the desired accuracy and
cost:
I. The simplest approach depends on the assumption that, for a minute or

more, the average acceleration will be small; therefore, any technique that
o
permits the filtering out of high-frequency components in the angle will
allow a reasonable determination of the direction of g.
2. The vertical reference can be partially corrected for known maneuvers.
The simplest corrections characterize a vertical gyro. More complete cor-
rections characterize a 1970s-era AHRS, as discussed in Section 7.7.4.
3. The vertical indicating system can be a complete inertial navigator (See
Chapter 7) that indicates the vertical and heading anywhere on Earth, in
the presence of any maneuvers. 1990s-era AHRS can be mechanized as
complete inertial navigators.
The first approach is usable where an accuracy of about one degree of arc
is satisfactory: the second, for applications where an accuracy of a few tenths
of a degree is satisfactory; and the third, where the greatest possible accuracy
is needed. The first two approaches are discussed in the following paragraphs;
the third is discussed in Section 7.7.4.
9.3.1 The Averaging Vertical Reference

As stated in the preceding section, the simplest approach to the determination of
the true vertical is to time-average the direction of the apparent vertical (vector
sum of gravity and vehicle accleration). Conceptually, this could be done with
a gyroscope having a high angular momentum and a small pendulum, heavily
damped to the gyroscope, with the indicated vertical being the direction of the
spin axis.
A gravity sensor (Section 9.2.2) measures the angular deviation between the
spin axis of the gyroscope and the apparent vertical (Figures 9.2 and 9.3). A
torque proportional to the deviation is applied to the gyroscope, precessing it
toward the apparent vertical.
The response of this simple vertical gyroscope in one axis can be written as
(9.2)
where
T1 is the time constant of the leveling loop(T 1 = Hjk, whereH = angular
momentum of the gyroscope, in gram-cm 2 /sec, and k = sensitivity of
the applied torque to tilt, in dyne-cm/rad).
E is the deviation angle between the gyroscope spin axis (indicated
vertical) and the apparent vertical.
e is the rate of rotation in inertial coordinates of the apparent vertical
wD is the drift rate of the gyroscope
Let a be the angle from the gyroscope spin axis to the true vertical. Then,
for small angles,
(9.3)
Thus
(9.4)
This equation shows that error in the indication of local vertical exhibits first-
order response [ 12] to the forcing functions of horiz~mtal acceleration aH, gyro
drift w n, and rotation of the local vertical in space, e. The errors caused by the
forcing functions can be improved by introducing either of two nonlinearities:
I. Erection cutqfl When a large deviation Eo is sensed, the precession of

the gyroscope is interrupted.
2. Precession rate limiting. The precession rate is proportional to E until a

large value E E is reached, after which the precession rate is limited.
This simple approach to determining the direction of the vertical is adequate

for many purposes; however, it has a number of faults that limit the achievable
accuracy:
I. A standoff constant error, a_,,= Tt (w D- iJ), exists. Since the direction of

the local vertical changes as a result of both the rotation of the Earth and
the aircraft's own motion around the Earth, there is a constant error due
to each of these. To keep the error small, the value of Tt must be small
but this leads to poor smoothing of the acceleration errors. Usually the
value of Tt will be on the order of one minute, and the error will be on
the order of 0.5 deg.
2. Asymmetry in the gravity-sensor response (for positive versus negative
tilt) results in rectification errors in the presence of oscillatory inputs.
This can be especially serious if the positive and negative precession-rate
limits are different.
3. If precession-rate limiting is used, the gyroscope will be precessed away
from the true vertical at the limit rate during the entire time of a steady
acceleration. If erection cutoff is used, an error will accumulate--at a rate
equal to gyroscope drift plus the rate of rotation of the local vertical-as
long as the acceleration is large enough to cause erection cutoff.
4. When erection cutoff is used, there is need for a special mode of operation
that provides for initial leveling, because no precession rate would exist
in the presence of a large initial tilt.
In some vertical-reference devices the gravity sensor is simply a switch

(e.g., electrolytic level; Section 9.2.2) that applies a modest positive-, nega-
tive-, or zero-precession torque depending upon the deviation. Such a refer-
ence has a standoff error dependent upon the switch's dead zone and gives
poor acceleration-error averaging. Significant improvement can be obtained in
the averaging vertical reference by using a higher-order leveling loop. One form
of second-order leveling system is obtained by first-order filtering of the gravity-
sensor signal. This is most commonly done by providing mechanical damping
between the gravity sensor and the vertical gyroscope. The response equation
can be written
where Tt is again the time constant of the leveling loop (without gravity-sensor
damping) and T 2 is the response time constant of the damped gravity sensor.
There is no improvement in the standoff error [ass~ T 1(wD- iJ], but the filter-
ing of high-frequency (w > I/~) acceleration errors is improved. Practi-

cally, however, this added filtering would permit the use of a smaller value of
T 1 , with a consequent improvement in standoff error.
A second approach to second-order leveling is to include the integral of the
gravity-sensor error signal. The sensor signal and its time integral are summed
to determine the gyroscope precession torque. The response of this loop can be
written
(9.6)
or
(9.7)
In this case TJ should be large in comparison with T 1 to avoid amplification

near the resonant frequency (wN = 1/~). Error integration eliminat~s the
standoff errors due to the constant rotational rate of the gravity vertical 8 and
constant gyro drift wD· There is no improvement in acceleration-error filter-
ing except that standoff-error elimination allows the use of a larger value of
TI for improved filtering. The time constant cannot be made too long because
maneuvering and turbulence may not permit steady-state error conditions to be
reached.
A third-order leveling system results if both damping of the gravity sensor
and error integration are used. Such a system provides good high-frequency
filtering and eliminates standoff error; it can be particularly useful when the
random drift of the gyroscope is high. It is necessary to provide relatively high
leveling gain in the mid-frequency region.
9.3.2 Rate Compensations

As was shown above, there is a standoff error in the averaging vertical refer-
ence because of rotation of the local vertical, iJ. An alternative to the shap-
ing of the leveling-loop response (to attenuate or eliminate this error) is to
apply a computed torque proportional to iJ (Figure 9.3). This requires a com-
puted precession-rate correction V £/RE around the gyroscope axis normal to
the ground track and 0 E cos around the North-South gyroscope axis.
Horizontal Earth-rate, 0 E cos , can be set manually, based on estimated lat-
itude. Vehicle speed is usually available from air data (Chapter 8) or Doppler
radar (Chapter 10). Thus, a small standoff error will result from inexact knowl-
edge of Earth rate and vehicle speed. The more complex the compensations, the
more closely the vertical references approach an AHRS or inertial navigator.
Figure 9.3 Elementary vertical gyroscope.
9.3.3 Acceleration Corrections

At best the vertical gyroscope, as discussed in Section 9.3.2, exhibits an error
equal to the average horizontal acceleration (over some smoothing time) divided
by the acceleration due to gravity. Even when an aircraft is being flown straight
and level, the small rate of turn will usually give substantial acceleration error.
As an illustration, consider a craft traveling at a velocity V at a constant latitude
if> (due east or west). The resultant error in the vertical as indicated by a simple
averaging reference will be
v2
a =-- tan if> rad (9.8)
gRE
If V = 1000 ft/sec (593 knots) and the latitude is 70 deg, the steady-state error
in the indicated vertical is 0.20 deg.
Much greater errors occur when substantial maneuvers are made, unless they
are always made with sufficient acceleration to cause the leveling to be cut off.
In the latter case, however, the reference system may be almost continuously
in the cutoff condition, and large drift errors may accumulate.
Both of these problems are greatly reduced in a system that provides correc-
tions for known accelerations (Figure 9.4) and that, if relatively long periods
of maneuvering flight are expected, uses wide-range gravity sensors to assure
that leveling will be accomplished during a substantial fraction of the time.
Such a system is a 1970s-era AHRS or, if all corrections are made, an inertial
navigator.
Equation 7.34 shows that when a vehicle moves at a velocity V, relative to
the rotating Earth, the inertial acceleration can be divided into three parts:
1. Acceleration relative to the surface of the Earth, dV / d t.

¥ccos<l>cos1jl
¥<c cos cos 'i' + ~)
Longitudinal
-~
aXIS
v
g
---~
~Cutoff
Figure 9.4 Gyro vertical with speed and Earth-rate corrections. RE is the radius of
the Earth, T3 is the integration time-constant, V is the horizontal speed.
2. Coriolis acceleration caused by rotation of the Earth, 20 xV.Its horizon-

tal component is 20 V sin . Its magnitude is 0.14 ftjsec 2 at 1000 ftjsec
and 70 deg latitude, resulting in a 0.24 deg standoff error in the indicated
vertical.
3. A correction, that depends on the coordinate frame in which the gyroscope
is constrained. In a stabilized local-level frame, this correction is (w -
0) x V, the remainder of the second term in (7.34) when the Coriolis
correction is subtracted.
The objective of correcting a vertical reference for acceleration is to build a

system whose accuracy and cost are intermediate between those of an inertial
navigator and a simple averaging vertical. A cost advantage over the inertial
system comes about primarily from the reduced quality of the sensors required.
Longitudinal acceleration relative to the Earth can be obtained by differen-
tiating either the GPS carrier frequency (Chapter 5), the Doppler-radar-deter-
mined velocity (Chapter 10) or, with less accuracy, the airspeed data (Chapter
8). Lateral acceleration relative to the Earth can be computed as the product of
forward speed and rate of turn, ~ V. GPS, Doppler radar and airspeed are suffi-
ciently accurate to calculate these corrections. The real problems in computing
lateral acceleration lie in determining the rate of turn to adequate accuracy.
An error Ll ~ in knowledge of the rate of turn will result in an error in com-
puted acceleration (Lla = V Ll ~ ); the resultant error in the vertical indication
will be
.1a V.1 ~
a=-=------'---- (9.9)
g g
At 1000 ftjsec, the error would be 0.008 deg per degjhr error in heading rate.
Noninertial-quality rate gyroscopes seldom provide adequate rate of turn data
to lead to a satisfactory correction.
In the absence of accurate heading-rate measurements, the heading angle of
a directional gyroscope can be used to resolve vehicle velocity into compo-
nents in stable coordinates; differentiating them will yield acceleration compo-
nents. Resolution of velocity into components is particularly convenient in an
attitude-reference platform, where the computed acceleration components are
in the same coordinates as the gravity-sensor outputs.
9.3.4 Maneuver Errors

Much of the discussion in Sections 9.3.1, 9.3.2, and 9.3.3 is directed at the
problem of reducing errors in the vertical gyroscope caused by vehicle accel-
erations acting on the gravity sensors. There is a similar source of error in the
leveling of the directional gyroscope (Section 9.4.6) and the remote magnetic
sensor (Section 9.4.4) used in slaving many directional gyroscopes to north.
In addition to the maneuver errors discussed above, there are drift errors
resulting from vehicle accelerations acting on unbalanced gyroscopes and from
the anisoelastic characteristics of the gyroscopes. There is also a gimbal error
(Section 9.4.6) in the directional gyroscope that results from vehicle attitude.
Finally, there are drift errors that come about in both the directional and vertical
gyroscopes when an aircraft-attitude change produces a change in the outer-axis
orientation with respect to the gyroscope. Such a change results in a change in
the torque (both friction and torquer output) on the outer gimbal axis.
9.4 HEADING REFERENCES
The best airborne heading references are inertial navigators. Less expensive,
smaller and less accurate heading references are (1) those that depend on the
Earth's magnetic field ("magnetic compass"), (2) those that depend on the use
of a gyroscope to retain a preset azimuth ("directional gyroscope"), and those
that use subinertial gyroscopes to maintain a three-axis reference (AHRS).
By far the greatest number of stand-alone aircraft heading references depend
on the Earth's magnetic field. Many of these magnetic compasses are coupled to
directional gyroscopes or AHRS to improve performance. Aircraft directional
gyroscopes are sometimes erroneously called "gyrocompasses." True gyrocom-
passes are pendulous two-degree-of-freedom gyros with a horizontal axis, tuned
HEADING REFERENCES 437
for 84- to 100-minute periods. They are used only for marine applications where
vehicle-speeds are small.
9.4.1 Earth's Magnetic Field

Magnetic fields Bare measured in gauss (volt-secjcm 2 = weberjcm 2 ) and tesla
(10 4 gauss). In geomagnetism, units of "gamma" (10- 5 gauss) are used [5]. To
first order, the Earth's magnetic field is produced by a bar magnet (dipole) ori-
ented II degrees away from the spin axis and passing within a few hundred
kilometers of its center. In the Northern Hemisphere, the north magnetic pole
was at 79° N latitude and 105° W longitude and the south magnetic pole was at
65° S and 138° Eat the beginning of 1996 [7]. The field strength varies from 0.3
gauss near the equator to 0.6 gauss near the poles. At any point, the dip angle
is the depression of B from the horizontal (zero dip at the magnetic equator and
90 deg at the poles). The magnetic declination, also called magnetic variation
or magvar, is the angle between the horizontal component of B and true north.
Navigators use the term "magvar" in order not to confuse astronomical decli-
nation with magnetic declination. In the conterminous United States, magnetic
north points I 0 deg west of true north on the East Coast to 20 deg east of true
north on the West Coast.
More exactly, the magnetic potential function of the Earth is described by
a spherical harmonic series [5]. The more fine-grain the detail, the higher the
order of the model. National models are produced by the United States, Canada,
the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. The U.S. Geological Service uses air-
craft and satellite measurements of magnetic field to produce the publicly avail-
able twelfth-order World Magnetic Model (WMM with 168 coefficients) of the
"main field" (caused by the Earth's core) using an algorithm called GEOMAG
[7], all available from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Geomagnetism
Information Center in Boulder, Colorado. The model defines the geomagnetic
potential function in terms of latitude, longitude, and altitude, from which the
three components of B can be calculated. The real field has local anomalies
(e.g., caused by ore bodies, de power lines, and solar flares) that would require
thousands of coefficients and are therefore described in a separate model or
in tables. The World Magnetic Model also contains an eighth-order spherical
harmonic model of the linear rate of change of the field, based on worldwide
(mainly Northern Hemisphere) surface observations and, increasingly, on his-
torical satellite data. The International Association of Geomagnetism and
Aeronomy combines the national models and produces two composite global
models. One of its worldwide models is the Definitive Geomagnetic Reference
Field (DGRF), issued every five years as an archival description of the Earth's
field during the past five years [6]. The other worldwide model is the Inter-
national Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) which predicts the field for the
next five years [6].
Navigators are primarily concerned with magvar, which an airborne com-
puter can add to magnetic heading to calculate the direction of true north. Mag-
var cams were incorporated into the airborne analog computers of the 1950s and
1960s. When airborne digital computers were less powerful, navigation manu-
facturers processed the spherical harmonic equations of WMM or IGRF on the
ground to calculate the magnetic variation in one-degree or two-degree squares
that were stored in tables. In the late 1990s they solved polynomial expansions
in flight in terms of latitude, longitude, and altitude. An airborne model would
be fourth to ninth order (15 to 80 coefficients) and, for 0.5-deg accuracy, would
include rates of change of the larger coefficients. The discrepancy between the
twelfth-order model and the raw data has a standard deviation of less than one
degree. Large local anomalies that exist at an airport may be added from tables
to permit precise initial alignment. Navigators are interested in the dip angle
insofar as it sets a polar-latitude limit to the operation of magnetometers due to
a weak horizontal component (typically unusable for measuring magvar above
75 to 80 deg magnetic latitude).
Magvar has a diurnal change (on the order of ±0.1 deg), a long-term change
due to migration of the magnetic poles (on the order of 0.1 deg/year), and
random changes because of magnetic storms (on the order of ±0.1 deg). The
magnitude of the magnetic field changes about 0.5% per year. The DGRF model
shows the linear rates of change of the coefficients for the past few years, while
the WMM and IGRF models show them for the years of prediction.
9.4.2 Aircraft Magnetic Effects

Aircraft have magnetic fields that add to the Earth's field and are sensed by
the airborne magnetometers. The induced error, called deviation, can be 10 deg
(in a ship or automobile, it can reach 40 deg). The aircraft's magnetic field is
caused by its own structure and machinery.
1. Hard-iron portions of the aircraft's structure behave like permanent mag-
nets and retain their polarity as the aircraft rotates. Hard-iron effects can be
represented by three orthogonal permanent magnets (Chapter 2, Ref. 2, p. 85).
They can either be measured and compensated in the computer or three per-
manent magnets can be placed near the magnetometers to cancel the vehicle's
structural magnetism (as was done before the 1980s). A strapdown magnetome-
ter is compensated by constant bias corrections in body axes. A leveled north-
pointing compass needle is compensated in the form
D.!/; = A sin !/; + B cos !/; (9.10)
where !/; is heading and D.!/; is heading error. In most cases, the compensation
can be restricted to level flight, so no pitch and roll corrections need be made.
The coefficients A and B are measured during "swinging" or by multisensor
navigation systems during flight.
2. Soft-iron portions of the aircraft's structure are made of high-permeability
magnetic material. Soft iron is magnetized by the Earth by induction. As the
aircraft rotates, the soft iron remains polarized so that its north-facing poles
always face the north pole. In a leveled compass, soft iron causes a heading
error (Chapter 2, Ref. 2, p. 87).
111/; = Csin 21/; +Dcos 21/; (9.11)
The error can be compensated by measuring the coefficients C and D during

swinging and correcting the compass analytically. Analytic compensation of a
strapdown compass is difficult, because the induced soft-iron field is hard to pre-
dict at arbitrary angles. Ships, which are made of soft iron, use 9 soft iron rods
to compensate for structural magnetism. Precomputer aircraft contained soft-
iron compensators. Fortunately, aircraft are made of aluminum or nonmagnetic
composites.
3. Electrical equipment-motors and wiring-produce fixed magnetic fields
that rotate with the aircraft and have the same effect as hard iron. The mag-
netic field depends on the power-on status of the airborne electrical equipment.
Hence, full compensation requires a one-time measurement of the field of each
electrical device and the storage, in tables, of the heading errors caused by it and
its wiring. For example, a 20-amp current in a !-meter-diameter loop causes a
30-gauss field at 10-cm distance. This is more than 100 times the Earth's field
and must not be allowed at the magnetometer's location. Close spacing and
twisting of wires reduces their magnetic fields.
Computer programs have been written to model the distortion of the Earth's
field caused by the aircraft's own structure and machinery [3].
Accurate determination of the errors induced by the aircraft is difficult and
involves rotating the aircraft through a series of headings while error measure-
ments are made (this is known as swinging the aircraft; Section 9.4.5). An area
that is sufficiently free of magnetic disturbances is required for this purpose.
Aircraft swinging normally involves parking at a series of headings, measured
by a theodolite, at 45-deg intervals to obtain enough data points to identify the
errors with sufficient accuracy. As a substitute for actual swinging of the air-
craft, electrical swinging techniques have been developed for use with remote
magnetic sensors (Section 9.4.5). Aircraft are rarely swung in roll and pitch to
measure the induced soft-iron errors.
Soft-iron errors are usually negligible (<0.1 deg) in large aircraft using
remote sensors; however, they can be significant in small aircraft. The error
can be considered as characteristic of the design, and a standard correction can
be made for each aircraft model.
9.4.3 The Magnetic Compass Needle

Magnetic compasses (a form of magnetometer) are frequently the only head-
ing references in small aircraft and are carried as standby references in larger
aircraft [15]. The simplest compasses measure the orientation of a nearly free
permanent magnet ("needle") attached to a buoyant body floating in a liquid
(because the liquid is usually alcohoL it was called a whiskey compass). The
float is pendulous to keep the magnet horizontal during unaccelerated flight.
The floating body carries heading marks that are visible through a window.
A nearly level needle has an azimuth error
111/; = (N-S tilt) tan 'Y (9 .12)
In an area where the dip angle )', is 60 deg, the azimuth error is 1.7 times
the compass' tilt around the magndic north-south axis. which can easily be 15
deg. Tilt of the compass around the magnetic east-west axis does not effect the
azimuth indication. The needle is usually tuned to oscillate around magnetic
north with a period of 5 to 30 seconds in order to average out aircraft motions.
The major deficiencies of the needle compass for aircraft use are ( 1) the
damping action of the liquid causes a significant lag during turns, (2) the pen-
dulous magnet is not level during turns and hence tracks the dipped magnetic
field, (3) there is no means of obtaining an electrical output, and (4) the compass
must be located where it can be directly read by the crew.
For many years, the first two deficiencies were overcome by using a combi-
nation of two separate instruments: the magnetic compass and the directional
gyroscope (Section 9.4.6). With this combination, the compass was read for
straight flight; however, before entering a turn, the pilot would manually set
the directional gyroscope to match the magnetic compass ("caging" the gyro-
scope to place its spin axis in the aircraft floor plane). During the turn heading
was read from the directional gyroscope with neither a lag error nor an error due
to turn acceleration. These free directional gyroscopes are satisfactory heading
references for approximately 10 minutes of time after caging.
The most common heading reference is a directional gyroscope that is auto-
matically aligned to the direction of the horizontal magnetic field by a remote
magnetic sensor, Section 9.4.4.
9.4.4 Magnetometers
More complex magnetometers are remotely located where the vehicle's field is
negligible and drive a readout in the cockpit (e.g., a horizontal situation indica-
tor, Figure 9.lb). The earliest remote magnetometer was the flux gate [4], Figure
9.5. Figure 9.6 shows its principle of operation [4]. A wound toroid is excited
at approximately 1 kHz. Two orthogonal sensor coils are read out at the sec-
ond harmonic (2 kHz). They measure the components Bx and By of the Earth's
magnetic field in the plane of the toroid. Flux gates were the most common
airborne magnetometers. even in the 1990s. Two or more orthogonal flux-gates
comprise a 3-axis magnetometer. An array of three orthogonal sensors gives
redundant coverage of each axis and can function after any single failure.
Remote flux-gate compasses, whose output is analog, have three-phase coils,
the flux magnitude in each coil being proportional to the component of the
Earth's magnetic field along the coil axis [4]. The flux in each coil is modu-
Figure 9.5 Magnetic Flux Detector. Col!lfillss /:'11gi11e. courtesy of KVH Industries.
Inc.
lated as a result or an applied ac field from an excitation coil; this applied field
causes saturation of the magnetic core of th e coils at twice the frequency of
the excitation. The three- phase winding is connected to the stator or a synchro
receiver. A typical combination of remote magnetic sensor and receiver synchro
will have errors of both one and two cycles per revolution. each of about 0.2
deg magnitude .
Bv
Toroid
Earth's
magnetic field
y-se nsing
coil
Approximately
1-kHz excitation
Figure 9.6 Principle of flux gate magn etometer.
The two-cycle error in the combined sensor and receiver-together with any
soft-iron error due to the aircraft structure-can be corrected by adding proper
impedances in series with the transmission wires. Such a correction is indepen-
dent of the strength of the Earth's field.
The single-cycle instrument error is usually corrected together with the air-
craft hard-iron error. However, this is not exact because the instrument error
(in angular terms) is independent of the Earth's horizontal field-whereas the
aircraft error is inversely proportional to the Earth's horizontal field (since the
permanent magnet part of the aircraft's field is constant). In the 1990s, the trend
was to do all corrections in the airborne computer.
Strapdown magnetometers came into use during the 1980s. The body-axis
components of the Earth's field are
[ Hrm..ro
Hsrarboard
Hftoor
l =H [~ cos¢
-sin¢
0
sin¢
cos¢
0 ][cod 0
sin ()
0
0
- s~n 0
cos()
l
sin 1/;
~][""q
[ cos •
· - s~n 1/; cos 1/; (9.13)
0 1 sm y
where¢, (), 1/; are the roll, pitch, and azimuth angles of the aircraft, respectively.
These three body-axis components can be measured continuously. To solve for
heading, Equation 9.13 is inversed:
[
cos 1/;
-sin 1/;
0
sin 1/;
cos 1/;
0
l~ [si~ l
0 cos y
y
(9.14a)
= _!__ [co~()
H . ()
sm
0
0
- s~n () l-l [~
cos() 0
0
cos¢
-sin¢
0 ]-
sin ¢
COS¢
1
[ Hrorward
Hsrarboarct
Hftoor
l
Therefore:
cos ;/; cos

- sin.;/; cos y
yl = [BA l (9.14b)
[
sm y C
To solve for 1/; in terms of the three body-axis measurements,
B
tan 1/; = - - (9.15)
A
where A and B are calculated from the measured body-axis components of the
Earth's field. Hard iron is compensated in body-axes by subtracting 3 constants
from the measured field. Soft iron is difficult to compensate, as explained in

Section 9.4.3, so the magnetometer is best located far from structural iron.
For small roll and pitch angles, Equation 9.13 simplifies to
H forward
- - - = COS "( COS ·'·
'I' - eSin. "(
H
H starboard . ,/, .
--H-- = - cos "( Sin 'I' +¢Sin "(
Hfloor ,/, . ,/, .

-H- = ( 8 COS 'I' + ¢ Sin 'I') cos "( + Sin 'Y
= tilt around E-W axis) cos 'Y + sin 'Y (9.16)
In that case, azimuth is computed easily subject to 8 and ¢ errors:
. Hstarboard
tan (measured az1muth) = - ---'-- (9.17)
Hforward
Problem 9.6 shows that the heading error due to the magnetometer being off
vertical is (north-south-axis tilt)* tan (magnetic dip).
In the 1980s, many small solid-state magnetometers became available with
remote readouts for vehicle use [1]. They were based on the Hall, magnetostric-
tive, and Faraday effects. Superconducting laboratory magnetometers have been
too costly and complex for routine aircraft use. The most common heading ref-
erence in the 1990s was a directional gyroscope (or AHRS) that is slaved to
magnetic north by a remote magnetometer.
9.4.5 Electrical Swinging

Swinging is the process of compensating a compass at various headings. Small
aircraft are swung by parking them at a succession of headings in an area free of
construction iron. For large aircraft, electrical-swinging techniques have been
developed that are as good as mechanical swinging.
The electrical-swinging technique depends on the fact that it is possible to
create, at the remote magnetic sensor, a magnetic field of arbitrary magnitude
and direction by passing direct currents through the sensor-output coils. It is
thus possible to create a magnetic field at the sensor with an effect equivalent
to that of rotating the sensor in the Earth's field. This requires good knowledge
of the characteristics of the sensor and the strength of the local Earth's field.
The required information is obtained by a preliminary test of the sensor out of
the aircraft, followed by an electrical swing in the aircraft. Swinging must be
done with electrical equipment "on" and "off" to correct for the magnetic fields
of motors and wiring.
Multisensor navigation systems can perform continuous swinging by recal-

ibrating the magnetometer in level flight at many headings, as measured by
the inertial sensor or a sequence of GPS fixes, for example. Reference [ 16]
describes a Kalman filter for in-flight calibration of a compass. Continuous
recalibration should account for the power-on status of electrical machinery
and for newly installed magnetic materials.
9.4.6 The Directional Gyroscope

The directional gyroscope is a two degree-of-freedom device whose spin axis
is nominally horizontal (Figure 9.7). The gimbal arrangement places the outer
axis normal to the floor plane of the aircraft and the inner axis in the floor plane.
Aircraft heading is read about the outer axis, and there is no data pickoff on
the inner axis. A single electrolytic level is attached to the gyroscope housing
to sense departure of the spin axis from a level condition; its output is applied
to a torque motor on the outer axis. A torque motor is provided on the inner
axis to precess the gyroscope about the outer axis for correction purposes and
to slave the gyroscope to alignment with a remote magnetic sensor (if used).
Figure 9.8 shows the application of magnetic slaving to a directional gyroscope.
Some specific aspects of this design are as follows:
1. Since the inner axis is not used for indication, only drift about the outer
axis is of importance. For this reason, the inner-axis-bearing design and
adjustment are made to favor inner-axis torque (outer-axis drift).
2. Because mass unbalance along the spin axis results in drift about the outer
axis, symmetry of the wheel and motor assembly is important. This is
particularly true of instruments that may have to operate for long times
without magnetic reference ~.laving.
3. Inner-axis gimbal bearings are sometimes designed so that the outer race
Figure 9.7 Elementary directional gyroscope.

Magnetic heading
sensor rYY"'
..----------d Cutoff
switch
rYY"'
Cutoff t>-----"~
switch
True
heading
Magnetic
heading
Figure 9.8 Directional gyroscope slaved to a magnetic sensor.
is kept rotating (either continuously or in an oscillatory manner) to reduce

friction.
4. Because of the limited angle required and the great importance of inner-
axis friction, center-of-rotation contacts are common for electrical con-
nections across the inner axis, although slip rings must be used on the
outer axis.
5. Multiple pancake synchros, one of which may be the receiver for a remote
magnetic sensor, can be used on the outer axis. If several transmitters
are needed, a heading-repeater servo or a single-heading transmitter and
isolation amplifier is used.
Directional gyroscopes that are designed for continuous slaving to a remote

magnetic sensor can have large free drift. For applications requiring extensive
periods of unslaved operation, directional gyroscopes have been designed with
a free drift of 0.25 deg/hr to 0.5 deg/hr over a wide range of temperatures.
When sustained operation without magnetic slaving is required, proper
account must be taken of the vertical component of the Earth's rate and the air-
craft's motion over the Earth. These effects are fully compensated in an inertial
navigator and partially compensated in an AHRS.
In nonlevel flight, the outer-gimbal-axis torque may have a component that
is in the horizontal plane and normal to the gyroscope spin axis. This torque
component will cause drift about the vertical axis. For this reason, it is desirable
to cut off the spin-axis leveling loop during turns. The error is at twice the
frequency of angular vibration with peak magnitude of A. 2 /4, where A. is the
departure, in radians, of the outer-gimbal axis from the vertical. The peak error
is about I o for a tilt of 15 de g. The slaving of a directional gyroscope to a remote
magnetic sensor is accomplished by using acceleration smoothing similar to that
discussed in Section 9.3.1.
9.5 INITIAL ALIGNMENT OF HEADING REFERENCES
Heading references are aligned by the following methods:
I. By reference to the Earth's magnetic field (Sections 9.4.4 and 9.4.6).

2. Use of a transfer gyroscope. This is a portable, low-drift gyroscope that
can be aligned to a surveyed north line and then carried aboard the aircraft
as a heading reference to allow setting the installed directional reference.
Accuracies on the order of 0.1 deg have been attained in this way. Alter-
natively, the transfer gyroscope can itself be fastened into the aircraft for
use in flight.
3. Alignment relative to the known runway heading prior to and during
the takeoff run. Accuracy better than 0.5 deg has been attained by this
method.
4. An astrocompass (Chapter 12) can reset the directional gyro. This tech-
nique was widely used from 1930 to 1970.
5. Heading can be transferred from an inertial navigator to a directional gyro.
9.6 FUTURE TRENDS
Self-contained vertical gyroscopes, directional gyroscopes, and magnetometers

will continue to be used on small aircraft, including target drones and unmanned
aerial vehicles. They will continue to be used on larger aircraft as backup instru-
ments for emergency use. In large commercial and military aircraft, the inertial
navigation system (Chapter 7) will continue to be the source of attitude and
heading information to the electronic displays and flight-management system.
Micro-machined gyros and accelerometers will probably be packaged as self-
contained vertical and heading references, resulting in ultra-compact AHRS
designed to operate with external sensors (Doppler, GPS, magnetometer). With
the growing use of GPS, low-performance inertial navigators will overlap atti-
tude and heading references in civil aircraft and in military aircraft that do
not deliver weapons. In many military helicopters, AHRS will continue to
be the heading and attitude reference for Doppler navigation radars (Chapter
10). Three-axis strapdown magnetometers will increasingly serve as the abso-
PROBLEMS 447
lute heading source for simple AHRS, perhaps backing up GPS' indication
of ground track angle. The search for lower-cost, more reliable 3-axis gyros,
accelerometers, and magnetometers will continue. The growth of data bases will
parallel the expansion of aviation into the Southern Hemisphere.
Higher-order magnetic models, supplemented by tables of local anomalies,
will come into use as more magnetic data are collected worldwide. When
intermittent-fix com-nav satellites come into use in the twenty-first century, they
will motivate the re-introduction of precise inertial navigators.
PROBLEMS
9.1 An aircraft directional gyroscope has an angular momentum of I 0 million

gram-cm 2 /sec, and the wheel weighs 500 grams. What stability of axial
positioning of the wheel is required to obtain an acceleration-sensitive drift
of 0.25 degjhr-g.
Ans.: 2.5 X w-s em.
9.2 An aircraft is maneuvering in such a way that its horizontal acceleration

is 20 ft/sec 2 and its vertical acceleration is -10 ftjsec 2 (downward). What
is the departure of the apparent vertical from the true vertical?
Ans.: 42 deg.
9.3 A vertical gyro is to be constructed using a wheel whose angular momen-

tum is 107 gram-cm 2 /sec, a gravity sensor with a sensitivity of 0.5
volt/deg, and a coil that provides 5 x 103 dyne-em of torque per volt
applied. What voltage gain is required in an amplifier between the gravity
sensor and torquer to yield a 1-min leveling-time constant?
Ans.: 1.12.
9.4 It is desired that the response of a second-order vertical reference to a peak

sinusoidal horizontal acceleration of 2 ftjsec 2 at a period of 15 sec not
exceed 0.05 deg. It is also desired that the leveling be critically damped.
What should the response time constant for the gravity sensor be? What
should the leveling-loop time constant be? (HINT: first determine the ratio
of the time constants for critical damping.)
Ans.: 0.165 min; 0.66 min.
9.5 Under the flight condition of Problem 9.4, it is desired that the directional
gyro slaving error due to the acceleration not exceed 0.1 deg for the worst
heading and at a latitude giving a dip angle of 60 deg. What time constant
is required in a first-order slaving loop?
Ans.: 2.45 min.
9.6 For small roll and pitch, differentiate Equation 9.17 with respect to roll
and pitch to show that:
t:..lj; =(¢cos 1/;- e sin 1/;)tan 'Y

Show that the expression in parentheses is the component of the magne-
tometer's tilt-angle around the north-south axis.
10 Doppler and Altimeter Radars
10.1 DOPPLER RADARS
10.1.1 Functions and Applications

The primary function of a Doppler radar is to continuously determine the veloc-
ity vector of an aircraft with respect to the ground. If the measurement is
made in, or has been converted to, an Earth-referenced coordinate frame and
resolved about north and east, the velocity components can be integrated into
distance traveled from a known point of departure and the aircraft's geodetic
present position and course and distance to destination can be calculated. Thus,
a Doppler radar can be the primary sensor of a dead reckoning navigation sys-
tem or one of the sensors in a multisensor system. The velocity is determined by
measuring the Doppler shift of microwave signals transmitted from the aircraft
in several narrow beams pointed toward the surface at relatively steep angles,
backscattered by the surface and received by the Doppler radar receiver.
A Doppler radar has the following advantages over other methods of velocity
measurement or dead reckoning navigation:
1. Velocity is measured with respect to the Earth's surface. This is in con-

trast to air data systems which measure velocity with respect to the air
mass and to most terrestrial radio navigation systems in which velocity
measurement is based on differencing of successive position measure-
ments.
2. It is self-contained, that is, it requires no ground-based stations or satel-
lite transmitters.
3. The airborne transmitter power requirements are extremely small, which
leads to low weight, size and cost of equipment.
4. Its radar beams are narrow and pointed toward the ground at steep angles,
which leads to extremely low detectability.
5. It is an all-weather systems, except in extreme conditions of rain.
6. It operates over both land terrain and water (except for completely
smooth water surfaces).
7. Its average velocity information is extremely accurate.
450 DOPPLER AND ALTIMETER RADARS
8. It is particularly suitable for the measurement of three-dimensional

velocity and at low velocities, as required for helicopter navigation and
hovering.
9. International agreements are not required, since ground equipment is not
needed.
10. Pre-flight alignment and warm-up are not required.
The disadvantages of a Doppler radar are the following:
1. For autonomous dead reckoning navigation, it requires an external air-

borne source of heading information, such as a gyro-magnetic compass,
an attitude-heading reference system (AHRS), or an inertial platform.
2. It requires either internal or external vertical reference information for
conversion of its velocity information into an earth referenced coordinate
frame; however, this vertical information need not be of high quality.
3. Position information derived from Doppler radar dead reckoning degrades
as the distance traveled increases.
4. The instantaneous or short-term velocity information is not as accurate
as the average or smoothed velocity. This difference is not significant for
general navigation but may be significant for other applications.
5. For over-water operation, accuracy is somewhat degraded due to
backscattering characteristics and water motion.
The techniques of Doppler radar velocity measurement and navigation

evolved from airborne radar development, notably airborne moving target indi-
cation, and from automatic dead reckoning navigation systems using airspeed
meters. The earliest applications of Doppler radar were in military aircraft
for dead reckoning navigation and weapon delivery. These systems have been
installed in thousands of military aircraft of all major nations. Typical examples
in the United States are the B-52, F-Ill, B-1 A, E3A, P2V, P3V, S3A, E2A, and
many thousands of helicopters. In the 1960s, the world's international commer-
cial airlines began using Doppler radar systems for dead-reckoning navigation,
primarily for over-ocean operations. These were interfaced with gyro-magnetic
heading references and course line computers. In 1996, inertial and inertial-
radio systems had replaced Doppler radars for that application.
Doppler radars have been used for the velocity measurement required for the
soft landing of planetary and lunar space vehicles, such as the Surveyor and the
Apollo Lunar Excursion Module (LEM).
In 1996, the most important wide use of Doppler radars was in various types
of military helicopters, for such applications as navigation, hovering, sonar
dropping, target han dover for weapon deli very, and search and rescue. They
have also been used on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones, as well
as on military fixed-wing aircraft. By 1996, about 40,000 Doppler radars had
been produced and deployed on aircraft worldwide.
DOPPLER RADARS 451
In many aircraft, Doppler radars are employed in conjunction with inertial

platforms, wherein the velocity data from the Doppler radar are used for damp-
ing of the inertial navigation system's Schuler oscillations (Sections 7 .6.3 and
3.4). The difference in the characteristics of the velocity data from these two
sensors, such as the small long-term velocity error of the Doppler radar and
the small short-term velocity error of the inertial system, has lead to the desir-
ability of combining the data from these two sensors in some form of optimum
estimation filter (Chapter 3). Similarly, in some configurations Doppler radar
velocity data are mixed with data from a position sensor, such as the Global
Positioning System (GPS) receiver (Sections 10.1.5 and 3.8).
The Doppler radar velocity measurement function has been incorporated
into coherent forward looking search and tracking radars for precision velocity
update of the aircraft's inertial system; in 1996 this approach was used widely
on high performance military aircraft (Section 11.5).
To accomplish dead-reckoning navigation by Doppler radar, a complete
Doppler system needs to contain the functions shown in Figure 10.1. The
Doppler radar measures the aircraft velocity with respect to its antenna frame
coordinates. The heading reference and vertical reference, or a combined atti-
tude and heading reference system (AHRS), or an inertial reference unit (Chap-
ter 7) determines the direction of the aircraft antenna with respect to the horizon-
tal plane and north. The navigation computer then resolves the aircraft velocity
components obtained from the Doppler radar about the vertical and true north
and continuously integrates the horizontal velocity components into distance
traveled from the point of departure. The resulting present position can then
be compared with destination coordinates to provide other desired navigational
quantities, such as bearing and distance to destination, Figure 10.1.
10.1.2 Doppler Radar Principles and Design Approaches

The Doppler Effect Operation of a Doppler radar is based on the Doppler
effect which was predicted in 1842 by the Austrian scientist Christian Doppler
in connection with sound waves and was later found also to be exhibited by
electromagnetic waves. The Doppler effect can be described as the change in
observed frequency when there is relative motion between a transmitter and
a receiver. Furthermore, this change in frequency, called the Doppler shift, is
directly proportional to the relative speed between transmitter and receiver. In
the case of electromagnetic waves (unlike the case of sound waves), it makes
no difference in the proportionality relationship whether the transmitter, the
receiver, or both, are moving. If the relative velocity of the transmitter and
receiver is much smaller than the speed of light (as in the case of aircraft), the
Doppler shift is expressed by
(1 0.1)
Points of departure
and destination
or
desired course
and distance
Present position
Velocity Beanng
Doppler l Ni!vigation Distance
computer
radar r_j~ Track-amtle error
I Cross-course deviation
I I
Pitch
and
roll
~----J
I I
I
I
I
Heading l I
To displays
,-- ---,
I
and to
autopilot
I I
I I I
I Vertical Heading
I L+
I reference I reference
I
L _____
I
__j
Figure 10.1 Doppler navigation system.
where
II is the Doppler shift
f is the frequency of the transmission
is the speed of light
is the relative velocity between transmitter and receiver
is the wavelength of transmission
From Equation I 0.1 it is seen that, if the value of A. is known and 11 is measured,
the relative velocity can be determined.
To measure the aircraft's velocity, a radar transmitter-receiver is mounted on
the aircraft and radiates electromagnetic energy toward the Earth's surface by
means of several beams, one of which is shown in Figure 10.2. Some of the
energy is backscattered by the Earth and is received by the radar receiver on
the aircraft. If the aircraft is moving with a total velocity V, the beam measures
VR:
V R = 2 V cos "( = 2 Vb (10.2)
where 'Y IS the angle between the direction of the velocity vector V and the
DOPPLER RADARS 453
Figure 10.2 Basic Doppler radar beam geometry.
direction of the beam centroid, and b is the unit vector along the beam centroid.
V R is the component of relative aircraft velocity along the beam centroid. The
factor 2 appears in Equation 10.2, since both the transmitter and the receiver
are moving with respect to the Earth, from which the energy is backscattered.
When Equation 10.2 is substituted into Equation I 0.1, the following expression
results:
2Vf 2V
v = -c- cos 'Y =T cos 'Y (1 0.3)
Equation I 0.3 is the fundamental expression for the measurement of velocity

by means of a Doppler radar. It is also the basis for the operation of the syn-
thetic aperture, Doppler beam sharpening, and precision velocity update (PVU)
modes of airborne radars (Chapter II). It states that each Doppler radar beam
measures the component along the beam of the aircraft's velocity with respect
to the Earth. Two faulty arguments have been advanced in the past which ques-
tion whether proper operation of Doppler radar is possible-the smooth Earth
paradox and the mountain paradox. The first paradox argues (falsely) that as an
aircraft moves parallel to flat terrain at constant altitude, the range to the ground
does not change and since there is no rate of closure (range rate) there can be
no Doppler shift and Doppler radar operation is not possible at all. The second
paradox argues (falsely) that if an aircraft is flying horizontally above upsloping
terrain, its range to the ground along the beam continuously decreases and this
range rate, with respect to the surface, gives rise to a significant error in veloc-
ity measurement. Both arguments are incorrect for essentially the same reason:
454 DOPPLER A ND ALTIMETER RADARS
the radar backscattering is produced by the discrete and irregular o bj ects on

the ground (pebbles, leaves, etc.) and there is indeed relati ve motion betwee n
the aircraft and each of these scatterers. If the surface were perfectly smooth,
reflectio n at the surface would be specul a r and no reflected e nergy wou ld reach
the aircraft. Hence, if the scattering medium is suffic ie ntly rough to give ri se
to a signal at the receive r, the signal will exhibit a Doppler shift according
to Equation I 0.3. Also, there is absolute ly no error due to ups loping: terrain
(mountain paradox), since the backscattered signal comes from the individual,
discrete, stationary objects on the gro und and it therefore experiences the cor-
rect Doppler shift ([4 1 r40l [41]).
Since the three orthogonal compo ne nts of veloc ity are of interest, a minimum
of three noncoplanar beams are req uired to measure the three components. A
beam configuration designed to accompli sh this is shown in Figure I0.3. Since
such a beam configuration has both forward- a nd rearward-looking beams, it is
called a Janus config uration after the Ro man god who had the ability to look
backward as well as forward. In a Janus system , the Dopple r shi ft obta ined with,
say, the right-forward beam can be subtracted fro m that obtained w ith the right-
rearward beam in o rde r to determine the heading ve locity component V 11 . S ince
--._,~........~---.--~ Longitudinal
antenna axis
Beam 3
Beam 1 Beam 2
(a)
(b)
(c)
Figure 10.3 Three-beam lambda Doppler radar confi gurat ion.

DOPPLER RADARS 455
the forward-looking beam (beam 2 in Figure I 0.3) gives rise to an increase in

frequency (positive Doppler shift), and the rearward-looking beam (beam 1)
gives rise to a decrease in frequency (negative Doppler shift), the subtraction
process of the two Doppler shifts actually results in an addition process. For a
condition of no drift, roll, or pitch, wherein the forward and rearward Doppler
shifts are equal, the equation for the total Doppler shift from such a forward-
rearward (Janus) pair of beams takes the form v = (4 V /A) cos 'Y. In typical
microwave Doppler radars, the value of this Doppler shift is on the order of 30
Hz per knot of speed.
The configuration shown in Figure I 0.3 has been called a lambda-configu-
ration, since the plan view of the beams has the form of the Greek letter A, as
seen from Figure I 0.3c. The Doppler frequency in each of the beams is propor-
tional to the algebraic sum of the projections of the three orthogonal velocity
components along the beam. The mathematical expressions for the computation
of the three orthogonal velocity components in aircraft coordinates are obtained
from the beam direction cosines between the velocity components and the beam
centroids and the addition or subtraction of the beam Doppler frequencies. For
this particular (lambda-) configuration the beam Doppler frequencies are given
by
2 (- V 'H COS "/ H

V 1 = }: + V D' COS "/ D + V 'V COS "/ V)
v2 = ""'2>: (VHcos
' '
"/H + VDcos '
"/D + Vvcos 'Yv)
2 ( V 'H COS "/ H -

V 3 = }: V 'D COS "/ D + V 'V COS "/ V)
where
COS "/ H = COS ao COS eo

COS "/ D = COS ao sin eo
cos 'Yv =sin ao
From the above expressions the three orthogonal velocity components are
(v2-VJ)A
v~ = (I 0.4)
4 cos ao cos eo
(v2- v3)A
v~ = (I 0.5)
4 cos ao sin eo
(vi+ l'J)f..
V~=---- (1 0.6)
4 sin a 0
where
v~ is the along-heading velocity component, in aircraft
coordinates
V'D is the cross-heading (drift) velocity component, in aircraft
coordinates
v~ is the vertical velocity component, in aircraft coordinates
is the Doppler shift in beam n
is the depression angle of the beam centroids from the plane
of the antenna, assumed equal for the three beams,
1/;o = 90°- ao (Figure 10.3)
Bo is the azimuth angle of the antenna beams, that is, the acute
angle between the projections of the longitudinal axis of
the antenna and the antenna beam centroids on a ground
plane parallel to the plane of the antenna, assumed equal
for the three beams (Figure 10.3); the relationship among
"(o,¢o, and Bois cos 'Yo= sin ¢ocos Bo
are the angles between V~, v;, V~ and the beam centroids;
that is, cos 'Y H, cos 'Y D, cos 'Y, are the direction cosines
Although only three beams are required to provide the three components
of velocity, most modern Doppler radars employ four beams, because planar
array antennas naturally generate four such beams. The Doppler frequency of
the fourth beam (v4) can be combined with v 3 to obtain another estimate of V~
(replace v 2 and v 1 in (10.4) and v:; and v 4 , respectively). The two estimates of
V~ can then be averaged to obtain a more accurate value of this component. The
difference of the two estimates of V~ should be very small; a large difference
indicates that there is an error in the measurement of the Doppler frequency and
hence that the Doppler velocity data are suspect and should not be used until the
cause of this difference is corrected. This technique is used as part of the BITE
(built-in-test equipment) of many Doppler radars. Similarly v 4 can be combined
with v 1 to form another estimate of v; by replacing v 2 and v 3 in Equation I 0.5
with v 1 and v 4 , respectively. Finally, v 4 can be combined with v 2 in Equation
10.6 (replace v 1and v 3 with v 2 and v 4 ) to form a second estimate of V~. In
each case the two estimates are averaged to obtain more accurate values of the
respective velocity component. The fourth beam is thus redundent, since only
three beams are needed to form a complete solution, as shown by Equations
10.4 to 10.6.)
In a fixed-antenna system, after V~, v;, and V~ have been obtained, they
must then be combined with pitch and roll information in order to generate the
aircraft velocity components in Earth coordinates, V H, V D, and Vv (as described
DOPPLER RADARS 457
later in this section). The total velocity vector magnitude V is the resultant of
the three orthogonal components (Figure I 0.3b). Hence, a Doppler radar with
either a three- or four-beam configuration is capable of measuring the three
velocity components and their sense of direciton.
A variety of beam configurations have been used for Doppler radars, includ-
ing Janus (two-way looking) and non-Janus (one-way looking) configurations.
The Janus configuration has a very important advantage over a non-Janus con-
figuration, namely a much lower sensitivity of velocity error to knowledge of
the vertical attitude of the aircraft. Specifically, the expressions for the velocity
error as a function of error in pitch angle for Janus and non-Janus systems, for
a condition of no pitch, no drift, and no vertical velocity are as follows:
Ev =
ov
V =(tan 'Yo)oP (non-Janus) (10.7)
Ev = ~ =
ov 1- cos oP (Janus) (I 0.8)
v
where
Ev is the fractional horizontal velocity error
oV is the absolute horizontal velocity error
oP is the error in pitch angle
Based on the conditions cited above, Equations 10.7 and I 0.8 are equally
applicable to fixed and physically stabilized antenna systems. From Equations
10.7 and 10.8, for a non-Janus system having a 'Y-angle of 70°, which is a
reasonable value, the horizontal velocity error is 4.7% per degree of error in
pitch angle, whereas for a Janus system the horizontal velocity error is only
0.014% per degree of error in pitch angle. Because of these considerations, all
modern dedicated Doppler radar designs use some form of Janus configuration.
However, when Doppler velocity is extracted from forward-looking search and
mapping radars, a non-Janus configuration results (Chapter 11.5).
The choice of 'Yo (nominal angle between antenna longitudinal axis and
central beam direction) for a typical Doppler system represents a compromise
between (1) high sensitivity to velocity (Hertz per knot) and overwater accuracy,
which increases with smaller 'Yo-angles, and (2) high signal return over water,
which increases for larger 'Yo-angles. Most equipments use a 'Yo of somewhere
between 65" and 80°. The choice of ,6 0 -angle depends on the desired sensitivity
to drift (Hertz per degree), which tends to increase with increasing ,6 0 .
There are two different basic types of Doppler radar mechanizations that
can be used for drift angle measurement. These are the fixed-antenna system,
which is used in most modern systems, and the track-stabilized (drift-angle-sta-
bilized) antenna system (Figure 10.4). Zero pitch and roll angles are assumed
for the example in Figure I 0.4. Figure 10.4a depicts a condition of no-drift
458 DOPPLER AND ALTIMETER RAD ARS
Beam 1
(a)
Heading
v
Track
(b)
- Heading
Track
(c)
Figure 10.4 Comparison ol li xcd ( hcadi ng-s tabi Ii;.cd) and trac k-stahi Iiz c d Doppl e r
systems.
an g le(() 0 ) and no-climb angle so 1hat the velocity vector Vis located along
the inlcrscc lion ol" lhc locallwri ;.onlal plane and the local ve rtical plane through
1he longitudinal axi .s ol" the aircral"t. In other words, the aircral"t flight is horizon-
tal and the aircraf(s ground track (or track) is the same as the aircraft heading.
The hyperbolas in Fi gure I 0.4, marked V 0 , P 11 , P, , 11 "'etc. , arc lines of constant
DOPPLER RADARS 459
Doppler shift, the positive subscripts representing positive Doppler shifts and
the negative subscripts representing negative Doppler shifts. These hyperbolas,
called isodops, are generated by the intersections of constant Doppler cones
with an assumed flat Earth. In Figure 10.4a, it is clear that subtraction of the
Doppler shifts from beams 1 and 2 will provide a measure of the along-heading
velocity VH as given by Equation I 0.4. Subtraction of the Doppler shifts from
beams 2 and 3, as in Equation 10.5, will indicate a zero cross-heading-velocity
component VD or a zero drift angle (since vh- vh = 0). Similarly, addition of
the Doppler shifts of beams 2 and 3 will indicate a vertical velocity of zero.
All of the ground intersections of the beams are located on the same equiva-
lent isodops. Under drift conditions, as indicated in Figure 10.4b and I 0.4c, the
aircraft track direction is no longer coincident with the aircraft heading direc-
tion. If the antenna is fixed to the aircraft, a case depicted in Figure 10.4b, the
beams will move with the aircraft, and the ground intersections of beams I,
2, and 3 will be located on different isodops. Thus, subtraction of the Doppler
shifts from beams 3 and 2 will indicate a nonzero cross-heading velocity as
given by Equation 10.5; and subtraction of the Doppler shifts of beams 1 and
2 will determine the along-heading-velocity component, as given by Equation
10.4.
Operation of the track-stabilized antenna system concept, as used in earlier
designs, is depicted in Figure I0.4c. In such a system, the difference between
the Doppler shifts from beam pairs 1-3 and 2-4 is used to drive a servo,
which turns the antenna in azimuth until this difference is nulled. This occurs
when the ground intersections of these beam pairs lie on the same isodop,
thereby placing the antenna axis along the aircraft track. In these systems,
Doppler signals from beam pairs 1-3 and 2-4 are typically obtained on a
sequential basis and compared, thereby allowing the time sharing of receiving
equipment. The drift angle can be read out directly as the angle between the
antenna axis and the aircraft center line (e.g., from a synchro mounted on the
antenna), and the ground speed can be obtained directly by averaging the Janus
Doppler shifts from beam pairs 1-3 and 2-4. Since track angle is defined as
heading angle plus drift angle, this system is also called a drift-angle-stabilized
antenna system.
With regard to horizontal stabilization, two generic design approaches are
possible (Figure I 0.5). One uses an antenna fixed to the vehicle frame (Figure
10.5a) and the other uses a gimballed antenna that is physically stabilized to
the local horizontal (Figure 10.5b ). In 1996, the majority of dedicated Doppler
radars configurations used the fixed-antenna approach. In this configuration, if
the aircraft pitches or rolls, the antenna and hence the Doppler beam cluster
center line will move with the vehicle, as shown by the dashed line in Figure
I O.Sa. To convert the velocity components from airframe coordinates V~, V~,
and V~ to the Earth-referenced coordinates needed for navigation, the former
must be resolved about aircraft pitch angle P and roll angle R obtained from
a vertical reference sensor (vertical gyro, AHRS, or INS). The conversion is
given by
Beam cluster
(a) (b)
Figure 111.5 Doppler radar antenna geometry for fix ed and attitude stabilized antennas.
VH = v;,cos P+ v;Jsin Rsin P+ v;,cos Rsin P ( 10.9)

V0 = v;J cos R - V~~ sin R (I 0.10)
Vv = - v;, sin P+ v;) sin R cos P + V~ cos R cos P (I 0.11)
where the velocity components are those deti ned in Figure I(U.
The second type of Doppler radar is one whose antenna is continuously
slaved to the local horizontal by means of the information from a vertical sensor.
Although only a few Doppler radar designs employed this technique in 1996,
it was used widely in previous years. Having computed V 11 , V 0 • and Vv. from
Equations 10.9- 10.11 , the drift angle can be obtained from the arctan (V 0 / V 11 )
and the ground speed V~ from the magnitude of V~ :
( 10.12)
The Doppler Spectrum Since each Doppler-radar antenna bea m (Figures I0.2
and I 0.3) has a finite beam width in the ')!-direction. the return signal associated
with the beam comes from a spread of ')!-angles. Furthermore, the backscattering
medium (the Earth) is composed of a multitude of randomly situated scatter-
ing centers, and the return signals from each have. in general, different ampli-
tudes and different phases. In view of the frequency spread and randomness of
the amplitude and phase of the scattering centers, the Doppler signal associ-
ated with each beam is in the form of a noiselike frequency spectrum (Figure
10.6). The spectrum is equivalent to band limited noise, the primary Doppler
spectrum being superimposed on a substantially flat (uniform power spectral
density) background noise. The shape of this spectrum is related to the antenna
beam shape and is roughly Gaussian. The amplitude is a function of the radar
DOPPLER RADARS 461
I'
Frequency~
Figure 10.6 Typical Doppl er spectrum.
parameters and the terrain backscattering coefficient in the radar-range equa-

tion discussed in Section I 0.1.3. The amplitude modulation and the frequency
modulation due to the scattering centers in the beam affect the shape and width
of the spectrum. It is shown in the next section that amplitude effects are small,
except at very low altitudes. The frequency characteristics will be considered
furth er in the present discussion. The small spectra on each side of the main
spectrum in Figure I0 .6 represent energy returned by way of antenna side lobes .
In typical systems, their leve l is so low that they are not sensed by the Doppler
acquisition circuits: they are outside the frequency passband during Doppler
tracking and therefore do not affect system performance.
The Doppler frequency of interest. which is proportional to the ve locity com-
pone nt along th e particular beam centroid. is the mean or center of area of the
Doppler frequency spectrum. It is this center of spectral power that defines the
beam centroid for the velocity measurement.
The Doppler spectrum width is obtained. to a first approximation. by differ-
entiation of Equation 10.3 with respect to 'Y and is given by the expression
2V
t.v = T t.'Y sin 'Y ( 10. 13)
where t.v is the half-power Doppler spectrum width and t.'Y is the half-power
two-way beam width of the antenna in the )'-direction. The approximations
involved in the above expression for the spectrum width invo lve ignoring
the differential effect of the inverse square law of the radar-range equation
between the ncar and far regions of the illuminated area and assuming a constant
backscatteri ng coefficient of the target area. The former is a valid approximation
for all practical Doppler radars , those using narrow two-way )'-beam widths,
typically near 4 degrees. The latter is a good approximation for operation over
typical land terrain. However, the scattering properties of water cause a change
in the shape and average frequency of the spectrum, giving rise to an overwater
calibration-shift error (see Section I 0. 1.4).
The relative (fractional) spectrum width is frequently of interest and is found
by dividing Equation 10.13 by Equation 10.3; namely,
LlV
-- = Ll"f tan 'Y (10.14)
v
For typical practical Doppler radars, .::lv / v ranges between I 5% and 25%.
Because of the appreciable spectrum width, the instantaneous central fre-
quency of the Doppler signal is subject to random fluctuations about its mean
value, giving rise to a noise (or fluctuation) error in tracking the centroid and,
hence, in velocity and distance measurement. A certain amount of smoothing
time is therefore required to determine the velocity to a desired accuracy; that
is, the accuracy of measurement mcreases with smoothing time. In general, it
is necessary to select a velocity smoothing time whose value represents a com-
promise between velocity accuracy and the data rate required on the basis of
system dynamics (e.g., the maximum acceleration of the vehicle). If too large a
velocity smoothing time constant is selected, the Doppler radar will follow the
vehicle accelerations with too great a lag. For the navigation problem the effec-
tive smoothing time for the average velocity or distance measurement is the total
time flown. Hence, for the typical Doppler navigation problem, the fluctuation
error due to this noiselike nature of the information is completely overshad-
owed by other errors after only a few miles of flight. (A quantitative discus-
sion of this error is given in Section I 0. I .4.) In multisensor navigation systems,
such as Doppler-inertial systems (Chapter 3), the Doppler-radar information
may be intentionally smoothed further, since the high-frequency information
is supplied by the inertial sensor. It is the function of the frequency tracker
to determine the mean or center of power of the Doppler spectrum, that is,
to determine the single-frequency v that is proportional to the desired velocity
component.
The Doppler correlation timeT, is proportioanl to the reciprocal of the spec-
trum width .::lv(T v "" 2/ .::lv ). This is based on the fact that the power spec-
trum and the autocorrelation function are Fourier transforms of each other. The
Doppler correlation time is the period during which the frequency and phase
of the signal are invariant or predictable. At the end of this period the signal is
nearly uncorrelated. This means that an independent Doppler measurement is
made during each correlation time.
Scanning Noise At very low altitudes, there is a small amount of spectrum

broadening due to amplitude modulation effects, over and above the basic spec-
trum width discussed above. This spectrum broadening has been called scan-
ning noise, and the additional spectrum width is therefore called scanning noise
DOPPLER RADARS 463
spectrum. It will be shown that the effect is quite small in conventional Doppler
radars, even at relatively low altitudes.
The time required for one set of scatterers that is illuminated by the entire
beam intersection to be replaced by a new set is the scanning-noise correlation
time of the signal r.,. Twice the reciprocal of this time is approximately its fre-
quency spectrum width Llvs. From the geometry of Figure 10.2, this correlation
time Ts is given by
L hLl'Y
(10.15)
Ts = V = V sin 2 'Y
where L is the diameter of the beam intersection and h is the altitude. Hence,
the scanning noise spectrum width Llv., is given by
(10.16)
The ratio of the scanning noise spectrum width and the basic spectrum width
R is found to be
R=Llvs='Asin'Y
(I 0.17)
Llv h(Ll'Y) 2
Substitution of practical values for the parameters shows that Llvs is insignif-
icant except at very low altitudes. Because in an actual antenna the beam dia-
meter in the near field (range is less than D 2/'A, where D is antenna diameter)
does not continue to decrease to a "point," the scanning noise spectrum width
does not continue to increase for altitudes below the extent of the near field. On
the basis of conventional near-field antenna considerations, the scanning noise
spectrum width will be just equal to twice the basic spectrum width at the alti-
tude at which the antenna near field begins. This means that, in typical Doppler
radars, R is never larger than 2 and that the total spectrum width is never larger
than VsLlv, even at extremely low altitudes.
Operating Frequency In 1996, Doppler radars transmitted at a center fre-

quency of 13.325 GHz in the internationally authorized band of 13.25 to 13.4
GHz. This frequency represents a good compromise between too low a fre-
quency, resulting in low-velocity sensitivity (Hertz per knot) and large aircraft
antenna sizes and beam widths, and too high a frequency, resulting in exces-
sive absorption and backscattering effects of the atmosphere and precipitation.
(Earlier Doppler radars operated in two somewhat lower frequency bands, i.e.,
centered at 8.8 and 9.8 GHz, respectively, but, in 1996, these bands were no
longer used for stand-alone Doppler radars.)
Polarization The two types of polarization that have been used for Doppler
radars are linear and circular odd (opposite rotation received). The latter has
the advantage of efficient duplexing techniques. While circular even (same rota-
tion received) has well-known rain discrimination characteristics, it suffers from
an appreciable backscattering loss over water. In 1996, linear polarization was
used.
Doppler Radar Functions A typical dedicated Doppler radar contains four

major functions: the antenna, transmitter, receiver, and frequency tracker (Fig-
ure 10. 7). The transmitter generates the signal to be radiated via the antenna
system toward the ground; the signal is backscattered by the ground, intercepted
by the antenna system (either by the same antenna as that which transmitted
the signal or by a separate receiving antenna), and fed to the radar receiver. The
received signal is mixed (heterodyned) with the transmitted signal or a local-
oscillator signal and the resulting Doppler shift difference signal is amplified in
the radar receiver. The latter produces Doppler spectra from the various beams,
of the form discussed previously. These are fed to the frequency tracker, which
determines the mean frequencies of the Doppler spectra and hence the velocity
components represented by them. The data converter converts the frequencies
into the proper form of outputs, such as orthogonal velocity components or
ground speed and drift angle.
Types of Transmission Perhaps the most important design characteristic of a

Doppler radar is the type of transmission or modulation used. The two types
of transmission generally used for modern dedicated Doppler radars are contin-
uous wave (CW) and frequency modulated-continuous wave (FM-CW). Non-
coherent (self-coherent) pulse and coherent pulse modulations were widely used
in earlier designs. The former is no longer used in modern systems because
of its signal inefficiency. The latter is only rarely used. The so-called self-
~-------,
1 Data l
converter
l..---r---'
1 1
Velocity
output
Figure 10.7 Functional diagram of Doppler radar.
DOPPLER RADARS 465
coherent systems represented an innovative solution to the problem of how

to achieve a Doppler frequency measurement with a noncoherent pulse radar
whose transmitter was not phase coherent from pulse to pulse, such as a mag-
netron. This was achieved by directly heterodyning the signals backscattered
in the forward-looking beams with those of the rearward-looking beams, which
originated from the same pulses and were therefore phase coherent with each
other. Hence, a stable Doppler frequency was obtainable from such a nonco-
herent radar. Many thousands of these systems were developed and installed in
aircraft. When coherent pulse transmitters became available, dedicated coher-
ent pulse Doppler radar systems were implemented and are still used in some
Doppler radar designs. Since the modulation used in these systems has very
high duty cycle, they are also called interrupted continuous wave (ICW) sys-
tems. The complexity of these systems is somewhat greater than that of pure
continuous wave (CW) and frequency modulated-continuous wave (FM-CW)
systems described in the remainder of this section.
Continuous Wave Transmission Pure continuous wave transmission is inher-

ently the simplest and most efficient type of transmission. No modulators of
any kind are required, the spectrum-utilization efficiency is essently 100%, and
no altitude holes exist. However, pure continuous wave transmission systems
are faced with the difficulty of transmitter-receiver isolation, as well as an
inherent lack of discrimination against echoes from nearby objects and from
the aircraft structure itself. Lack of isolation can result in large undesirable
carrier and noise leakage signals, which can lower the gain of the receiver
and increase the total effective noise level, thus reducing the signal-to-noise
ratio, particularly at the lower Doppler frequencies, near zero beam veloc-
ity. Pure continuous wave systems may be limited by the signal-to-leakage
ratio, rather than by the signal-to-receiver noise ratio. This is of importance
for operation at higher altitudes, where the backscattered signal is small in
comparison with the leakage signal. Reflection and backscattering from nearby
objects (stationary or vibrating structural members, e.g., the radome), nearby
turbulent air (supersonic shock waves), and precipitation will cause undesir-
able noise power, which may be in the frequency band of interest and whose
level is proportional to that of the transmitted power. To improve the basic
transmitter-receiver isolation, separate antennas for transmission and reception
(space duplexing) are used in pure continuous wave systems. A pure continuous
wave system inherently provides operation down to zero altitude. The block
diagram of a transmitter-receiver of a basic continuous wave (CW) Doppler
radar is shown in Figure 10.8. If it is desired to improve the receiver-noise
figure over and above that of the homodyne (zero}requency intermediate fre-
quency) configuration shown in Figure 10.8, a genuine intermediate-frequency
(IF) receiver configuration can also be used. Also, if it is required to maintain
sense of velocity direction, as in helicopter operation, some form of offset refer-
ence frequency or quadrature detection technique must be incorporated into the
system.
To frequency
tracker
Figure 10.8 Block diagram of transmitter-receiver of CW Doppler radar.
Frequency Modulation-Continuous Wave Systems The frequency modula-

tion-continuous wave (FM-CW) type of transmission combines some of the
advantages of pulse and pure continuous wave systems. Therefore, this tech-
nique is used in the majority of dedicated modern Doppler radars. The problems
of transmitter-receiver isolation and discrimination against nearby echoes are
reduced or eliminated in such a system on a frequency basis, much as they are
eliminated in pulse systems on a time basis. In an FM-CW system, the transmit-
ter is sinusoidally frequency modulated, and the receiver is designed to use only
the Doppler shift of a particular sideband (other than the zero-order side band)
of the beat between the received and transmitted signals. Since the modulation
index of the beat spectrum and hence the amplitude of all but the zero-order
side bands decreases very rapidly with decreasing range and becomes zero at
the receiver mixer terminals, high transmitter-receiver isolation and suppression
of returns from nearby objects are achieved. Since the amplitudes of these side
bands vary as Bessel functions, they are called Bessel side bands. FM-CW sys-
tems require a simple low-power sine-wave modulator/transmitter and hence
their transmitter-receiver approaches pure continuous wave systems in simplic-
ity. Since the power in only one of the side bands is used, the efficiency is not
as great as that of continuous wave systems. It is maximized by the use of the
optimum transmitted modulation index.
A problem with single-antenna FM-CW systems is that the combination of
internal line length and mismatch of practical microwave components (antenna,
switches, radome, etc.) will generate a leakage signal, which limits the achiev-
able signal-to-leakage ratio. To alleviate this, a special leakage elimination fil-
ter is usually used. Another problem of a single-antenna FM-CW system is
the fact that full transmitter-power feedthrough, which is determined by prac-
tical duplexer-isolation characteristics, is continuously applied to the receiver,
regardless of the isolation obtained by the sideband processing. However, in
1996, both of these problems were overcome in FM-CW Doppler radars and
single-antenna configurations were used widely.
DOPPLER RADARS 467
FM-CW Doppler radars, as well as pulse modulated radars, are subject to

altitude hole problems because of the relationship between modulation fre-
quency and echo delay. These altitude holes can be eliminated by continuously
changing the modulation frequency or by using different modulation frequen-
cies over different preset altitude ranges.
The important parameters that affect the performance of FM-CW systems are
(I) the order of the side band, (2) the modulation frequency, and (3) the mod-
ulation index. The order of the sideband (i.e., whether the first, J 1, or a higher-
order Bessel side band is used) determines low-altitude performance, effective
transmitter-receiver isolation (signal-to-leakage ratio), and, to a less extent, the
signal efficiency (signal-to-noise ratio) of the system. The first-order l1 system
inherently permits operation down to zero-feet altitude and exhibits a flat (con-
stant) signal-to-noise ratio versus altitude characteristic for the lower altitude
region of operation [ 16, 37]. However, it has the lowest effective transmitter-
receiver isolation and, hence, the lowest achievable signal-to-leakage ratio. The
second- and third-order h and h systems have a greatly improved transmitter-
receiver isolation performance (in view of the slope of the Bessel functions
near zero) and still permit reasonably good low-altitude performance. In gen-
eral, then, the higher the order of sideband used, the better the isolation but the
worse the low-altitude performance. In 1996, the first-order (JI) Bessel side
band was used in most Doppler radars designed for helicopters to take advan-
tage of its relatively flat SjN characteristic at low altitudes. This approach min-
imizes the occurrences of unwanted returns from vibrating structures near the
Doppler radar antenna while retaining adequate SjN for returns from terrain
below the aircraft.
The choice of modulation frequency affects the location of the first altitude
hole, transmitter-receiver isolation, and low-altitude signal performance. The
use of a very low modulation frequency can cause the first altitude hole to
appear above the maximum altitude of operation, thus avoiding the existence
of any altitude holes over the range of interest. However, unless a low-order
sideband is used at the same time, low-altitude performance is limited. A high-
modulation frequency (the modulation wavelength being much smaller than the
maximum altitude of operation) results in many altitude holes over the altitude
range but in a much higher signal-to-noise ratio at the lower altitudes (though
a somewhat lower signal-to-leakage ratio). In 1996, a relatively low modula-
tion frequency, 25 to 30 kHz, was used in most Doppler radars designed for
helicopters.
A high-modulation frequency, when used in conjunction with a homodyne
(zero-frequency IF) receiver, inherently results in an intermediate frequency of
sufficiently high value from a viewpoint of detector noise temperature. How-
ever, since the received Doppler spectrum is "folded" about zero frequency,
the homodyne approach does not provide information on sense of velocity as
required in helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, unless additional
(e.g., quadrature) circuitry is added (see Figure 10.9).
The choice of transmitted modulation index affects low-altitude performance,
BALANCE~ BALANCED
MIXER J MIXER
QUAD BANDPASS LEAKAGE TO

AND SUM f--___.~ FILTER 1--___.-iELIMINATION FREQUENCY
NETWORK FILTER TRACKER
Figure 10.9 Block diagram of transmitter-receiver of FM-CW Doppler radar for heli-
copters.
transmitter-receiver isolation, and the signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, the mod-

ulation index is generally selected so as to be compatible with the order of
the sideband and the modulation frequency that have been selected, primarily
from the viewpoint of maximizing received power. A mathematical indication
of this behavior can be obtained from the expressions for the received modu-
lation index M and the radar-range equation modulation-efficiency factor E of
an FM-CW Doppler radar. These are
M = 2m Sin 111 c 1/; )

. ( 27rj h sec (10.18)
and
E = J~(M) (10.19)
where
M is the received modulation index (after heterodyning)
m is the transmitted modulation index
f 111 is the modulation frequency
h is altitude
1/; is the central beam looking angle with respect to vertical
DOPPLER RADARS 469
c is the speed of light

J n(M) is a Bessel function of order nand argument M
n is the order of sideband
For high-modulation frequency FM-CW systems, 1t 1s necessary to average

Equation I 0.19 over one-half cycle of the argument in Equation I 0.18. The
maximum efficiency is obtained for the value of m, which makes this average
a maximum. An approximate expression for this optimum value of m for the
nth sideband is [20]:
n+2
m=-- (10.20)
2
The block diagram of a FM-CW Doppler radar for use in helicopters is

shown in Figure I 0.9. A directional coupler diverts a small amount of transmit-
ter power to a power divider whose outputs are two signals in phase quadrature.
These outputs serve as the reference or local oscillator (LO) for the two bal-
anced mixers. The RF energy backscattered from the ground and received by
the single antenna is directed via the duplexer to a power divider that gen-
erates two outputs of opposite phase which are then mixed with the two LO
outputs in the two balanced mixers. The outputs of the two balanced mixers
have now been translated to zero frequency and the Doppler frequency-shifted
spectra of the sidebands below the carrier now appear as images to the true
signals on the sidebands above the carrier. The two mixer outputs, which are
in phase quadrature, are phase shifted an additional 90 degrees relative to each
other and then summed, resulting in phase cancellation of the unwanted image
signals while retaining the wanted signal. This approach preserves the sense
of the Doppler frequency shift, since the latter can change sign during hover
and backward flight of helicopters. The resultant signal contains the desired fre-
quency spectrum above (positive shift) or below (negative shift) of each one
of the modulation (Bessel) sidebands. The desired sideband is selected by fil-
tering out all other sidebands. Single transmit/receive antennas tend to have
high transmitter-to-receiver leakage resulting in a large unshifted signal at base
band and at each of the sidebands. This leakage is removed in a filter that is
centered at the desired sideband frequency. During low speed and hover oper-
ation, however, the true signal spectrum will have a very small frequency shift
and will therefore occur close to the unwanted leakage signal. The filter that
removes the leakage must therefore be very narrow (I to 2 Hz) to avoid affect-
ing the true signal spectrum. The output to the frequency tracker is thus the
Doppler frequency-shifted spectrum offset from zero frequency by a multiple
of the modulation frequency, which is typically the first (J 1).
Frequency Trackers The function of the frequency tracker is to determine the

centroid of power (mean frequency) of the noise like Doppler spectrum obtained
from the ground echo (Figure I 0.6). Practically all modern Doppler radars use
some form of closed loop frequency discriminator as the frequency-tracking
device. The Doppler signal is fed to one or more mixers, which mix it with
a signal from a variable-frequency oscillator (tracking oscillator) and feed the
output to the device that performs the discriminator function. The output from
the latter is fed to an integrator and used to control the frequency of the tracking
oscillator, which, in turn, can then provide the frequency-tracker output signal
(Figure 10.1 0). During acquisition, frequency trackers usually use a sweeping
operation by changing the tracking oscillator frequency linearly over the entire
Doppler band of interest.
Two Doppler frequency-tracker configurations that have been used are shown
in Figure 10.11. The one shown in Figure 1O.lla is called the two-filter tracker.
Actually, a single filter is used, but the Doppler spectrum is mixed with a track-
ing oscillator signal, which is square-wave frequency modulated over the extent
of the spectrum width. The mixer output is fed to a low-pass filter, which there-
fore looks successively at the upper and lower halves of the spectrum. The filter
output is phase detected against the frequency-modulated oscillator signal. The
phase-detector output is then fed to the integrator and, having sense of direc-
tion, will drive the tracking oscillator until its output frequencies just straddle
the center of power of the Dopp:ler spectrum. The average frequency of the
tracking oscillator output is thus the frequency that corresponds to the center
frequency of the spectrum, which, in turn, is proportional to the desired veloc-
Doppler frequency
spectrum Frequency-
(from recetver) measurement
function
t[l
(discriminator)
p
r~
cracking
scillator
I
j
J Integrator _\
I
Pure Doppler frequency

(tQ data converter)
r~
Figure 10.10 Block diagram of basic Doppler frequency tracker.

DOPPLER RADARS 471
Square-wave
..------------1 FM
oscillator
Doppler-
spectrum
input
Frequency
output
(a)
(b)
Figure 10.11 Typical Doppler frequency tracker configurations.
ity. This type of frequency tracker implementation normally does not provide
sense of velocity direction through zero velocity, but it is simpler to mecha-
nize and hence was used in Doppler radars for fixed-wing applications where
negative velocities do not occur.
The frequency tracker shown in Figure l 0.11 b is called the sine-cosine
tracker. Here the input spectrum is mixed simultaneously with the tracking-
oscillator signal and its quadrature signal. The mixer outputs, which are actu-
ally the folded Doppler spectra at zero frequency, are fed through low-pass
filters in two separate channels (sine and cosine) and then again phase shifted
by 90°. The latter 90° phase shift may be obtained by placing a low-pass and a
high-pass filter in the sine and cosine channels, respectively. The signals from
the two channels are then multiplied; the multiplier output is integrated and
drives the tracking oscillator, thus closing the loop. By virtue of the two quadra-
ture channels, sense of direction for the tracking-oscillator drive is maintained.

When the loop is nulled, the tracking oscillator frequency represents the aver-
age frequency of the input Doppler spectrum. Typically, the input spectrum
is offset from an intermediate frequency so that sense of velocity direction is
obtained from the output. The sine-cosine frequency tracker is in widespread
use in modern Doppler radars and particularly in those designed for helicopters
where negative velocities occur.
10.1.3 Signal Characteristics

General Criteria The performance of a Doppler radar is generally expressed
by the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio (SjN) that is available at the input to the
frequency tracker. The lowest S/N generally occurs at maximum altitude, speed
and pitch and roll, and over terrain with the lowest radar backscattering charac-
teristics. The performance of a Doppler radar is also affected by the sensitivity
of the frequency tracker, that is, the minimum S/N at which the tracker will
operate properly.
Doppler Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SjN) The Doppler S/N is a function of the

following variables:
l. The range to the terrain with respect to the beam of interest

2. The velocity with respect to the beam of interest
3. The RF backscattering properties of the terrain
4. The attenuation (absorption) and backscattering properties of the atmo-

sphere
5. Radar parameters such as wavelength, receiver noise figure, transmitted
power, antenna gain, beam-looking angle, transmitter and receiver path
losses, and transmitter-receiver leakage noise
6. The efficiency of the type of transmission (modulation) used
By modifying the basic radar-range equation [I], the Doppler signal-to-noise

ratio per beam (using the same type of antenna for transmission and reception)
for a coherent system in which each beam is demodulated separately is given
by
(10.21)
DOPPLER RADARS 473
where
(SjN)c~ is the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio (the ratio of the total Doppler
signal power to the noise power, in the bandwidth of
interest Be~)
is the average transmitted power
is the one-way maximum antenna gain relative to an isotropic
radiator
'A is the wavelength of transmission
E is an efficiency factor (including the spectral modulation
efficiency in pulse and FM-CW systems, gating
improvements, gating losses, and noise foldover losses)
are losses in the radar transmitter and receiver paths, such as the
wave-guide plumbing, duplexer, radome and other radio-
frequency components
is the attenuation in the atmosphere
is an antenna pattern factor (normally between 0.5 and 0.67)
is a scattering coefficient or backscattering cross section per unit
area of the scattering surface
is the incidence angle of the center of the beam with respect to a
normal to the surface
R is the range to the scattering surface
NF is the noise figure of the receiver
K is the Boltzmann's constant, 1.38 x 10~ 23 joule per Kelvin
B" is the bandwidth of interest, usually the -3-dB bandwidth of
the Doppler spectrum and is proportional to velocity
along the beam
is the effective transmitter-receiver isolation coefficient
is the ratio of transmitter generated noise to the transmitter
power
T is the absolute temperature, normally taken as 290c Kelvin
In most well-designed systems, K; is so small that the term P 1K;(N /5) 1

becomes negligible. Isolation is obtained by different means in different sys-
tems, such as by separate antennas in CW systems, by time separation in pulse
systems, and by frequency separation (and possibly also antenna separation) in
FM-CW systems. If this term is indeed negligible, Equation 10.21 becomes
(10.22)
Because the scattering surface fills the entire radar beam in a Doppler navi-
gation radar, the signal-versus-range dependence in the radar range equation is
the basic inverse-square law (ljR 2 ) as given by Equation 10.22. However, for
certain FM-CW and incoherent-pulse systems, the signal-versus-range depen-
dence can vary considerably from the inverse-square law.
In FM-CW systems, E is a function of 1~(M) [see Equations 10.18-10.20
for the definition of 1~(M)]. In low-rate frequency modulation systems (mod-
ulation wavelength of the same order as the altitude of operation, E '= 1~(M).
In these systems, since M varies with propagation delay (and hence range) and
with modulation frequency and since the Bessel functions of different orders
have greatly different shapes, the signal-versus-altitude dependence in specific
altitude regions can vary markedly from the basic inverse-square law of Equa-
tion 10.22. In contrast, in high-rate frequency modulation systems (modulation
wavelength much smaller than maximum altitude of operation), 1~(M) must be
averaged over one-half cycle of the argument of Equation 10.18 [20]. Typical
values of E for these systems range from -6.4 dB for 1 1 systems to -·11.1 dB
for 1 4 systems. The average signal··versus-altitude dependence of these systems
follows the inverse-square law of Equation 10.22.
Terrain-Scattering Coefficient It is seen from Equation 10.22 that an impor-

tant factor in determining the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio is a 0 , which is the
parameter of nature that determines the amount of power backscattered by the
surface to the Doppler radar receiver. The a 0 factor is defined as the backscatter-
ing cross section per unit area (at the target surface), normal to the direction of
propagation, intercepting that amount of power which, when scattered isotropi-
cally, would produce an echo equal in power to that actually observed per unit
area of the target surface. Figure 10.12 shows curves of a 0 versus 1/; angle for
a radar system operating in the frequency band currently assigned to Doppler
radar, namely 13.250 to 13.400 GHz. Included in Figure 10.12 are curves for
various types of terrain including land and water. It is seen from the curves
in Figure 10.12 that for normal wooded-land terrain a 0 is nearly constant with
beam incidence angle 1/; and that it has a value of -7.5 dB for the incidence
angles 1/; of interest (10° to 30°). However, for water surfaces, a 0 decreases
radically as 1/; increases and assumes different values for different conditions
of sea state or water roughness. The sea-state scale shown in Figure 10.12 was
developed by the United States Army to specify ao for their helicopter Doppler
radar development programs and is typical of curves used by other development
agencies. For the typical Doppler-radar incidence angles 1/; of 10° to 30°, a 0 is
considerably smaller for most sea states than for land and decreases markedly
for the smoother sea states. Therefore, a conservative Doppler-radar design must
be based on a a 0 for the smoothest sea state over which the aircraft is expected
to navigate by means of the Doppler radar. (It is known, however, that very
smooth sea states are relatively rare.) For physically roll-and-pitch-stabilized
antenna systems, the value of 1/; remains essentially constant and equal to the
chosen design value. For fixed-antenna systems, a conservative design must be
based on a 0 and rangeR for the largest !/;-angle that would be expected for the
largest combination of pitch and roll angles of the aircraft.
DOPPLER RADARS 475
10
r-...... ~
5
co
:s
c
0
0
\
\
\ "
\
[\.
\
~
--
0 -5
"
~ \.
ro
I~ ~ ~
Q)
.....
ro
-
~
Q)
u
ro
.....
::J
<f)
c
-10
-15
'~
\ N " """""
~
.............
............. .......__ 1'-, ~
~ ...........
.....
_ Land -
(rough or heav y
vegetation)
Sea (Beaufort 4)
\ ~ ............
~ I
::J
.....
~ ~
r\\
Q)
~
0.
r---...... Land
~
c
0
u
-20
~ -
Snow
(barren
terrain)
"' "'~
Q)
~
<f)
and ice
<f)
<f)
-25
~
0
.....
u
00
c
r-....... r--
·;:::
Q) -30 Sea (Beaufort 3
""~
+-'
+-'
ro
u
<f)
.:::.:.
u
ro -35
co .........
-40
" ~
Sea (Beaufort 1
I I I
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Incidence angle in degrees
Figure 10.12 Radar backscattering coefficient versus incidence angle for different ter-
rains at Ke-band.
Bandwidth, Antenna Gain, and Losses The bandwidth Bd in Equation l 0.22

is the effective bandwidth of the Doppler frequency tracker. In most sys-
tems, this is selected to be the -3-dB Doppler spectrum width. From Equa-
tion 10.13 we have, for a coherent or post-tracker Janus system, Bd = Llv =
(2V/A)Ll'Y sin ')1, where I' is the angle between the velocity vector and the angle
of radiation, and Ll'Y is the -3-dB two-way beam width in the '}'-direction.
(When the antenna beam pattern has a predominantly Gaussian shape in the
region of interest, as is typical for Doppler radar antenna beams in the -y-direc-
tion, the two-way beamwidth is 0.707 of the one-way beamwidth.) Thus, the
Doppler signal-to-noise ratio is inversely proportional to the speed of the vehi-
cle. In view of this, the design of a Doppler radar as regards signal perfor-
mance must be based on the maximum expected vehicle velocity components
along each beam. The product Go)\ 2 in Equation 10.22 is directly proportional
to antenna area A from the basic expression for antenna gain. Specifically, for
an antenna of 55% efficiency, G0 'A. 2 = 7A. Thus, the Doppler signal-to-noise
ratio is proportional to antenna area. (This is strictly true only for a radar using
transmitting and receiving antennas having the same area.)
For the transmission wavelength normally used for Doppler radar (2.2 em)
and considering the relatively short ranges to the ground (when compared to
those of forward looking search radars), the attenuation La due to the atmo-
sphere and to typical rain rates are found to be very small.
From Equation I 0.22, the noise figure of the receiver NF is an important
parameter; it has therefore been an objective in Doppler-radar design to achieve
the lowest possible receiver-noise figure. Similarly, the radio frequency losses
Lr of the microwave circuitry must be kept as low as possible.
Frequency-Tracker Sensitivity In addition to the available signaJ .. to-noise

ratio, the other parameter that determines the signal performance of a Doppler
radar is the sensitivity of the frequency tracker. This is usually expressed by
two quantities, namely, the acquisition sensitivity (i.e., the Doppler signal-to-
noise ratio at which the Doppler signal can be acquired and tracking begins)
and the tracking or dropout sensitivity (i.e., the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio at
which tracking stops, and the system may be placed into a memory mode). The
acquisition sensitivity depends on the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio required to
achieve the specified accuracy and to avoid locking on to extraneous noise sig-
nals such as second harmonic spectra. In typical Doppler radars, the acquisition
sensitivity is set at a Doppler signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 5 dB. A
signal-to-noise detector is normally used to place the radar automatically into
the tracking mode when this Doppler signal-to-noise ratio is present. This circuit
continuously samples the received signal level and the system noise level (or
its equivalent) and measures their ratio so as to determine whether a sufficiently
high signal-to-noise ratio is present for acquisition and tracking. The tracking,
or dropout, sensitivity is the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio level at which the
signal-to-noise detector is set to cause the frequency tracker to stop tracking.
In typical Doppler radars, the frequency-tracker dropout sensitivity is approxi-
mately 3 dB.
Full Doppler radar accuracy (particularly the Doppler fluctuation error) is
frequently not obtained unless the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio is between 7
and 10 dB. Therefore, systems utilizing Doppler velocity data only for critical
or sensitive functions (versus integrated velocity for navigation) should require
minimum Doppler signal-to-noise ratios of near 10 dB.
DOPPLER RADARS 477
10.1.4 Doppler Radar Errors

Classification of Errors Doppler radar velocity errors can be classified as
either random (varying with time) or systematic (independent of time). Random
errors are those errors that vary during a flight or flight leg. Systematic errors
are those that are constant, although perhaps unknown, for the duration of the
flight. Known systematic errors can be calibrated out, either before the start of
a mission, after equipment installation in the aircraft, or even at the factory. All
uncompensated systematic errors must be included in an error analysis. There
are two types of random errors: those with relatively long correlation times
and the Doppler-fluctuation noise that has a correlation time T c (at the output
of the frequency tracker) on the order of 0.1 sec. Both of these are typically
assumed to be exponentially autocorrelated. Since 15 minutes would be the
least desirable correlation time for a velocity error in a Doppler radar used in a
Doppler-inertial system-because of the effects of the Schuler period (Section
7.6.3)-it has been of special interest to keep Doppler velocity errors having
correlation times near 15 minutes as low as possible. Another classification of
errors is that of percentage-of-speed or scale-factor errors, and errors indepen-
dent of speed or speed-offset errors. Most errors are scale-factor types. In this
section, each of these various errors is treated separately, followed by a discus-
sion of the total Doppler radar velocity error and the Doppler-navigation system
errors. The coordinate system that is most suitable for describing the errors of
a Doppler radar with a fixed antenna is (H', D', V'), as described previously
(Equations 10.4 to 10.6).
Doppler-Fluctuation Error The Doppler fluctuation error e1 is due to the

noiselike nature of the Doppler signal spectrum, which, in turn, is caused by the
backscattering properties of terrain. The standard deviation of the basic Doppler
velocity fluctuation error per beam of a coherent system, assuming a perfect
frequency tracker, can be expressed by [3]:
Ef= :v = CJ:,T
I
=--;; (
A
~;
II ) 1/2
~-y"A tan
112
= ( 'Y ) (10.23)
4 VTcos 'Y (VT)l/2
where
Ef is the standard deviation of the fractional velocity fluctuation error
rJ v is the standard deviation of the absolute velocity fluctuation error
T is smoothing time
rJ "· T is the average fluctuation averaged over time T for n independent
measurements, rJ vf(n) 112
is the instantaneous statistical fluctuation of v = fl.v" /2, n = T /Tv

is the Doppler spectrum width, which is twice the !-sigma
half-width
is the equivalent 2-sigma, two-way antenna beamwidth.
If the beam has a Gaussian shape, which is typical for Doppler radar beams in
the region of interest, the 2-sigma two-way beam width is equal to 1/1.18 times
the - 3-dB beamwidth). In Equation 10.23, Tv represents the Doppler correlation
time 2/ fl.v" (at the input to the frequency tracker; in contrast to the correlation
time tc at the output of the frequency tracker, discussed previously). K 1 is a
constant combining the various radar parameters and constants in the expres-
sion.
From the standpoint of navigation between two points (separated by many
antenna lengths and many frequency tracker time constants), T is the total time
flown. It is seen from this equation that V and T occur only as a product and
hence can be replaced by the distance flown D:
E = ( !1"("}.. tan 'Y ) I/2

1 (10.24)
4Dcos 'Y
Equation 10.24 indicates that the basic Doppler velocity fluctuation error
is inversely proportional to the square root of the distance traveled. A physi-
cal explanation of this can be obtained by realizing that it is the total num-
ber of independent scatterers seen by the Doppler radar beam that determines
the amount of smoothing afforded and hence the final velocity fluctuation
error.
Equations I 0.23 and I 0.24 express the Doppler velocity fluctuation error
under ideal or error-free frequency measurement conditions. The performance
of a practical system will differ from an ideal one by some factor N, which has
been called the performance factor:
NK 1
Ef =
(VT)I/2
NK 1
Dl/2
K
(10.25)
Dl/2
where N is a factor that relates measured values to theory. For practical equip-
ment, N has a value somewhere between I and 2. The all-digital frequency
tracking circuits used in I996 resulted in N being nearly equal to I. A typi-
cal Doppler radar operating at 13.3 GHz and with a beamwidth of 6° has a
DOPPLER RADARS 479
fluctuation error of 0.051% after I 0 mi and 0.016% after I 00 mi of travel.

Thus. the fluctuation error is negligible after only a few miles of travel when
compared to other instrumentation errors of the system. Doppler radar veloc-
ity accuracy specifications are usually cited for a condition of "after 10 mi of
flight."
Equations I 0.23 and 10.24 give the fluctuation error per beam, assuming sin-
gle beam tracking. Modern systems measure each of the four beams sequen-
tially and then combine the four beam velocities to arrive at V~, V~) and V~.
Each beam is tracked for 25% of the time. which increases Ef by (4) 112, but
four beams are combined and thus Ef decreases by (4) 112 . Equation 10.24 thus
applies tO E V~. E V~. and E V~ as Well, except that fl"( is replaced by fl"( H,
11
fl'YD· and fl"(v. and 'Y by 'YH· 'YD· and 'Yv:
112
1 ( fl"( H A tan 'YH ) K2
EV H = (10.26)
4Dcos 'YH (D)I/2
112
1 ( tan 'YD
fl"( DA ) K3
EVD = (10.27)
4D cos 'Y D (D)I/2
112
1 ( fl"(vA tan 'YV ) K4
EVv = (10.28)
4D cos 'Yv (D)I/2
When quasi-instantaneous short-term velocity information is considered, the

smoothing time T in Equation I 0.23 represents the integration time constant
of the Doppler radar frequency tracker. Clearly. the longer the time constant.
the lower will be the fluctuation error. However. the shorter the time constant,
the better will be the system response to velocity changes (accelerations). In
typical aircraft systems, this time constant is approximately 0.1 sec.
For certain applications. notably in Doppler-inertial systems. it is frequently
of interest to find the power spectral density per unit of speed of the Doppler-
fluctuation error, called Po. The fluctuation component of the velocity error
at the output of the frequency tracker is assumed to be white noise over the
frequency range of interest in Doppler-inertial system analysis. This is based
on the fact that the Doppler signal received in the frequency tracker has the
properties of band-limited noise and. to a first approximation. this spectrum
has a Gaussian shape with a half-width proportional to speed. This spectrum
width determines the standard deviation of the fluctuation. The result of this is
a velocity error spectrum with power spectral density at zero frequency which
is proportional to speed: that is. the power density is equal to Po V. This noise
is then filtered by the frequency tracker and the radar velocity readout circuitry,
which act as low-pass filters. The relationship of Po to the standard deviation
of the relative Doppler fluctuation error EJ is expressed by
1/2 1/2 K2
~
1 )
EJ = = ( ;; ) = ( P;7r or Po=-
7f
(10.29)
where Po is the velocity error angular spectral density per knot of speed (the
statistical "power" value of the error source has the dimension of knots 2 and Po
is in units of knots 2 per (radianjsecond) per knot, which is in units of distance,
namely, knot-seconds. Typical values of Po for operational systems in 1996
were between 0.003 and 0.005 knots 2 per (radian/second) per knot for V~ and
V~ and approximately 2.5 times smaller for V~.
Errors in Beam Direction As seen from Equations 10.4 to 10.6, the nominal
beam angle 'Yo must be accurately known and maintained in order to permit
accurate measurement of velocity. The basic fractional velocity error Eh for an
error in beam direction O)' is
(I 0.30)
An error in beam direction of one minue of arc and a nominal )'a-angle of 70°
yields an error of 0.08% of ground .~peed. (When four beams are used for veloc-
ity determination, the total effect of the random error in direction in each of the
four beams is reduced by the square root of four.) Beam direction errors result-
ing from radome refraction effects, and temperature effects in certain antennas
(notably linear and planar waveguide arrays) will contribute to Eh. This scale-
factor error is primarily systematic and, in most cases, can be largely removed
by some form of ground or flight calibration procedure. Because of the smaller
effective )'-angle, the equivalent error in vertical velocity is an order of mag-
nitude smaller than that in ground speed.
The temperature error in slotted array antennas is proportional to the devi-
ation from the calibration temperature and the linear coefficient of expansion
of the antenna material. In typical systems, this error is less than 0.05% for
the horizontal velocity component and approximately one-tenth of this for the
vertical velocity component.
Error in Transmission Frequency As seen from Equation I 0.4 to 10.6, the

knowledge and maintenance of the transmission frequency f (or wavelength
f..) directly affects the value of the measured Doppler frequency and hence the
measured velocity accuracy. The long-term frequency stability of modern solid-
state microwave sources is typically in the range of w- 4 to 10- 6 , resulting
in a negligible error. Moreover, linear and planar slotted array antennas for
Janus systems can be designed so as to make the Doppler calibration constant
completely independent of transmis:sion frequency, that is, dependent only upon
slot spacing.
DOPPLER RADARS 481
Error in Frequency Measurement (Frequency Tracker Bias) This error is

a function of frequency tracker design and is usually caused by unbalance in
the frequency tracker discriminator. Also, a nonuniform noise power density
in the frequency tracker bandwidth will cause a bias error in the frequency
measurement whose value is generally a function of Doppler signal-to-noise
ratio. In 1996, frequency trackers use digital signal processing techniques for
which this error is typically less than 0.05 knots at 6 dB or higher SjN.
Altitude-Hole Error Certain pulse and FM-CW systems exhibit a residual

error due to spectrum-weighting effects in the altitude-hole regions due to the
effect of the modulation periods, even if some form of modulation wobbling
is used. Typical values for the residual altitude hole error using modulation
wobbling are less than 0.02%.
Land-Terrain Error Over land terrain a small error results from (1) range-
difference effects over the beam width, (2) the nonlinear function of converting
ray angles within the beam width to Doppler frequencies (see Equation I 0.3),
and (3) the small change in scattering coefficient with looking angle over the
beam width (Figure 10.12). The first two effects are very small and may be
eliminated by flight calibration. The third effect is exactly the same type as the
overwater calibration shift error described in the next paragraph. Because of the
very small change in scattering coefficient over the beam width for typical land
terrain (Figure I 0.12), this error is normally quite small, unless a very small
antenna with a large beamwidth is used. A 6 x 12 in. antenna would have an
error of about 0.1 %.
Overwater Errors The three different types of overwater errors of Doppler

radars are (1) the calibration-shift error, (2) the sea-current error, and (3) the
surface wind induced water-motion error.
The overwater calibration-shift error (or sea bias) results from the change in
the scattering coefficient lJo versus incidence angle 1/; over the antenna beam
width, as it relates to the direction of changing Doppler frequencies, that is,
normal to the isodops. The phenomenon is evident from Figure 10.12 which
shows a plot of lJo versus 1/; for various sea states. A Doppler radar with a
nominal !/;-angle of 20° and a beam width of 5°, covering a !/;-angle range of
17.5' to 22.5°, has a significant change in scattering coefficient lJo over water.
The slope m in the lJo curve will cause the Doppler spectrum to be weighted
in the direction of lower Doppler frequencies and will therefore cause the fre-
quency tracker to read out too low a velocity. This is illustrated in Figure I 0.13,
which shows plots of typical (artificially smoothed) Doppler power spectra over
land and water. The mean of the Doppler spectrum obtained over land (i.e., fre-
quency l' 1), represents the correct frequency for the speed of the vehicle. The
lower power spectrum is the Doppler spectrum over water for the same vehi-
cle speed, having a mean frequency ~'w· The difference between l'f and l'w is
the overwater calibration sh(ft error or sea bias. For an antenna pattern having a
__J k--Overwater calibration
I I shift error
I I
I I
I
I Land
spectrum
I
I
V[
Frequency, v -
Figure 10.13 Doppler spectra (smoothed) over land and water.
Gaussian shape and for a linear function of the logarithm of a 0 (in decibels)
versus 1/; within the beamwidth, which is a good approximation, as seen from
Figure 10.12, the resultant overwater spectrum has a Gaussian shape like the
overland spectrum but with its centroid of power shifted by v 1 - Vw (Figure
10.13). Figure 10.13 shows that at any nominal 1/; 0 the slope of a 0 versus 1/;
changes for different sea states, and, since the overwater calibration shift error
is a function of this slope, the error has different values for different sea states.
An exact determination of the calibration shift error is obtained by integration
of the elemental powers returned by the antenna beams as a function of Doppler
frequency (along the isodops) and as a function of the scattering coefficient
and incidence angles for different terrains and sea states (Figure 10.12). For
typical Doppler systems (for level flight), an excellent approximation of the
uncompensated calibration shift enor in percent is given by
-0.0728 sin 2 'Yo

Ew = (10.31)
:.;in 21/; 0 (!::..')1') 2 m
where
1/lo is the nominal (central) beam incidence angle (Figure 10.4)
!::..')1' is the 3-dB one-way ')1-beam width, in degrees
m is the slope of the 'Yo versus 1/; curve at the 1/Jo angle, in decibels
per degree
'Yo is the angle between the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and the
beam centroid (Figure 10.3)
For typical Doppler radar parameters, the uncompensated error given by

Equation 10.31 is approximately
DOPPLER RADARS 483
Ew = O.l(Ll')l'im (I 0.32)
Equations I 0.31 and 10.32 are also valid over land terrain but are typically
negligible because m is generally small. Over water, however, if no compensa-
tion techniques were used, Ew could take on peak values anywhere between 1%
and 5% over an extreme spread of sea states, depending on the radar parameters
used. Note also the strong dependence upon Ll'Y' and thus on antenna size.
Several techniques have been developed to compensate for the overwater
calibration shift or sea bias error. Early Doppler radars often employed a man-
ual land-sea switch operated by the flight crew. When the switch is in the
sea position, an overwater calibration shift correction is added to the Doppler
radar velocity output corresponding to the most frequently occurring sea state
expected on the missions flown. The residual error is the difference between the
actual sea state and the one used for calibration. Based on a Gaussian distribu-
tion of the probability of sea-state occurrence and a properly chosen land-sea
switch setting, the residual overwater calibration-shift error for this land-sea
switch technique is near 0.3% to 0.6% (!-sigma).
A fully automatic technique for sea bias compensation used in early Doppler
radars was lobe switching [ 19]. In this technique, each antenna beam is oscil-
lated periodically by a small amount in the ')!-direction at a low rate (e.g.,
20 Hz). If the oscillations are square wave, the return signal consists of two
Doppler spectra existing alternately in time at the switching rate. The frequency
tracker (which bears some similarity to the two-filter tracker discussed in Sec-
tion 10.1.2) effectively places a narrow filter at the point where the two spectra
have equal power or crossover and reads out the corresponding frequency as
the aircraft's velocity. The crossover point at a particular aircraft speed is the
same for both land and water, since the returned energy for the two spectra were
derived from the same group of scatterers and at the same incidence angle. A
similar technique using simultaneous lohing by means of a "monopulse" type
antenna achieves essentially the same effect [34].
The lobe-switching and simultaneous lobing techniques achieve a large
reduction in the overwater (and overland) calibration-shift errors but can cause
a significant increase in cost and complexity. For these reasons they are being
replaced by newer techniques, such as beam shaping, wherein the calibration
shift is reduced by the use of a special beam geometry. In this approach the
beam geometry is shaped to cause the centroid of the beam to remain at the
same ')!-angle even when the slope m of <To has changed. In 1996, antenna design
and fabrication techniques provided considerable flexibility in shaping the beam
to the desired geometry. In one technique, the beam is generated as the product
of a function of ')!-angle, f( 'Y ), and a function of 1/;-angle,.f( 1/; ). The received
signal is the product of.f(')l),f(lj;), and rr 0 (1/;). For small variations in 1/;, rr 0 can
be replaced by (m x 1/; ). A change in m causes [f( 1/;) x m x 1/;] to change but not
/(')!).Thus, the resultant spectrum shape is that of{(')!), since [f(J/;) x m x 1/;]
multiplies all elements off('Y) equally. The overwater calibration shift in the
forward or H' direction is reduced to the extent that the beam shape approxi-
mates [f('y) xf(l/;)]. The calibration shifts in the D' and V' directions are not
compensated by this technique but are generally small, since v~ and v~ are
small compared to V~. In 1996, a residual overwater shift bias of 0.1% to 0.2%
was achieved with this technique. As an aircraft flies over areas of changing
sea state, the residual error will appear as a slowly varying random error of
0.05% to 0.1 %.
Sea-current and tidal effects result in errors, because the Doppler radar mea-
sures velocity relative to the moving sea surface, giving rise to a navigation
error relative to the Earth. Fortunately, the speed of sea currents is gener-
ally very low. According to available information, general random sea cur-
rents rarely exceed a speed of 0.4 knots. Also, since these random currents
have random directions, their effects tend to average out for flights of any
appreciable distance. Major currents such as the Gulf Stream have a maxi-
mum surface speed of less than 3 knots. Where necessary, manual compensation
for flight over major sea currents can be made in the navigation computer in
flight or before the start of a flight. The sea-current error is a bias, speed-offset
error.
In some special applications, such as the dropping of sonobuoys in antisub-
marine warfare, the velocity of the aircraft with respect to the sea is actually
the desired quantity, and no sea-current correction need be made.
The surface-wind water-motion error is caused by wind-blown water parti-
cles at and above the surface of the sea. Since these surface water droplets are a
portion of the scattering surface se,cn by the Doppler radar beams, their motion
results in an error in the velocity measurement. Theoretical analysis and actual
measurement of this error have revealed that the error is [24]
Esw = 1.28W l/3 (W > 2 knots) (10.33)
where esw is the surface-wind, water-motion error in knots and W is the surface-
wind speed.
It has been found experimentally [23] that this effect is not observable at
wind speeds of less than 2 knots. Experiments have also shown that the angu-
lar difference between the mean spray direction and the wind direction is gen-
erally below 30° [23]. For automatic correction of this error by means of
surface-wind data, it is reasonable to assume that the direction of the error is
in the direction of the wind. The surface-wind water-motion error is a bias
speed-offset error. Since the direction of surface winds varies over any appre-
ciable area, the surface-wind, water-motion error will be reduced by aver-
aging. It is of interest to note that the water's wave motion as such does
not produce any Doppler radar error, since the water particles are not actu-
ally moved forward in the wave action but undergo a periodic up and down
movement.
DOPPLER RADARS 485
Maneuver-Induced Errors Aircraft maneuvers, such as acceleration and

turns, cause the components of velocity along the beams to change. The fre-
quency trackers must follow these changing frequencies. To reduce short-term
fluctuation noise, a smoothing time of about 0.1 sec is usually incorporated into
the frequency tracker. As a result, a velocity lag exists in the presence of accel-
eration. If the tracker dynamics are first order, this velocity error is approx-
imately equal to half the acceleration times the smoothing time. Fortunately,
such errors are transient and can be further reduced by appropriate frequency-
tracker instrumentation, such as the use of a double integrator in the tracker
loop. In fixed-antenna systems, aircraft pitch and roll rates can give rise to
changes of Doppler frequency like those produced by aircraft acceleration and
will cause equivalent lag errors if the tracker dynamics are not capable of fol-
lowing them. Therefore, fixed-antenna systems are more demanding on tracker
dynamics than physically pitch-and-roll-stabilized antenna systems (Section
10.1.2).
Error of Attitude Stabilization or Conversion from Vehicle to Ground Coordi-

nates The basic Doppler velocity information is obtained in antenna coordi-
nates, which, in the case of fixed antennas, are the same as aircraft coordinates.
Velocity is required in ground coordinates for purposes of navigation and is
therefore transformed through the pitch and roll of the vehicle in a stabilization
computer, which receives the pitch-and-roll information from the vertical ref-
erence (Chapter 9). The resulting error then depends on the error in the vertical
reference and the stabilization computer, as well as on the values of pitch, roll,
and drift and on beam geometry. The error due to roll is relatively small as
long as the drift angle is small. Furthermore, roll angles tend to average out
over reasonable flight lengths; pitch angles generally do not, because of angle-
of-attack changes due to aerodynamic loading and prolonged periods of climb
and descent.
Using partial differentiation techniques in connection with Equations
10.9-10.11, which inherently assumes that the errors in pitch and roll are small,
the following expressions can be derived for the errors in the three orthogonal
velocity components in ground coordinates resulting from errors in pitch and
roll in either a pitch-and-roll-stabilized system or a fixed-antenna system that
is compensated for pitch and roll:
oVH = (-V;1 sinP+ v;cos Psin R+ V~cos Pcos R)oP

+ (V; sin P cos R- V~ sin P sin R)oR (10.34)
o v n = (- v; sin R - v~ cos R)oR (10.35)
o V v = (- v;
1 cos P- v; sin R sin P- V~ sin P cos R)oP
+ (v; cos R cos P- v~ cos P sin R)oR (10.36)
where
oVH,oVD, and oVv are absolute errors in the along-heading, cross-
heading, and vertical-velocity components in Earth
coordinates
V~, V~, and V~ are along heading, cross-heading, and vertical-velocity
components in aircraft coordinates
oP is the pitch-angle error
oR is the roll-angle error
Equations 10.34 through I 0.36 can be further simplified by expressing the errors
as a function of ground velocity components (VH, VD, Vv), namely,
oVH = VD(~;in P)OR + VvoP (10.37)

0 v D = oR(- v H sin p ~ v v cos P) (1 0.38)
oVv = ~VHdP+ VD(cos P)oR (10.39)
For a pitch-and-roll-compensated system, the approximate errors ~Vg in

ground speed and ~o in drift angle are o
~VIi= Vv(oP cos d- oR sin o cos P) (10.40)
A t _
L1U- ~uR
t ( ,
Sin
v-
p+- V COS p COS 0 )
-----
oPVv sino
(I 0.41)
Vg Vg
Calibration Error In 1996, the primary errors in the calibration constants of

Doppler radars result from errors in the central antenna beam looking angles.
The effect of errors in these angles on the velocity output can be obtained by
differentiating Equations 10.4, 10.5, and I 0.6 with respect to a 0 and 00 . The
departure of each beam angle from its nominal value can be measured by flight
test or on an antenna range. Values below 0.05% are typical for this error.
Installation Error When installed in the aircraft, the antenna must be accu-
rately aligned with either the longitudinal axis of the aircraft or the reference
axis of the heading reference. In fixed-antenna systems, an azimuthal error in
antenna installation will contribute to both of the horizontal-velocity compo-
nent scale-factor errors of the system. In track-stabilized systems, an azimuthal
antenna misalignment results directly in a bias error in drift angle. Antenna-
installation errors about the pitch-and-roll axis have the same effect as the
attitude errors discussed previously. Generally, pitch-and-roll installation errors
have a significant impact only on vertical velocity accuracy.
Error in Data Conversion and Readout In 1996, electronic frequency-to-dig-

ital conversion devices exhibit errors between 0.0 I% and 0.05%. For use with
digital navigation computers, Doppler frequency velocity data are converted
DOPPLER RADARS 487
into binary digital form with very small errors. In such a digital system, the
error is a function of the time-base inaccuracy and of the number of binary
bits used. Since these digital quantization errors are uniformly distributed, the
standard deviation of the error is obtained by dividing the quantization error by
Vil.
Doppler Radar Velocity Errors There are three types of errors:
l. Bias, speed-offset errors E7, (expressed in knots), which cause position

errors= E/,T, where T is the time since the last fix. Unknown offset bias
errors can be calibrated for the mean bias expected on an ensemble of
flights; E/, is the deviation of the offset bias from the calibrated value.
2. Bias scale-factor errors E/, (expressed in percent), which cause velocity
errors = Ef,.1 times Vi, where Vi is the velocity component V~, V~, or
V~, and E/, is the corresponding scale-factor error. The scale factors are
calibrated lor the mean value expected in flight; E/,l is the deviation from
the calibrated value.
3. Random velocity errors. These are generally errors assumed to have zero
mean; that is, the mean is included in errors I or 2 above. If the ran-
dom velocity errors have a mean square a; and are assumed to be expo-
nentially autocorrelated with a correlation time Tr, which is much less
than the flight timeT, the distance error ED= (2rrTa;) 112 • These random
errors generally consist of two types; those with relatively long correla-
tion times, and the Doppler-fluctuation error, having a correlation time of
0.1 sec. These errors are frequently expressed as a fraction of distance
traveled (or a fractional speed error) after a total smoothing distance D,
such that Ev/D = Ev/V = (2rra;/DV) 112 . Hence, they cause a position
error that is proportional to the inverse square root of D.
Since the individual error sources are statistically independent, the total
velocity component errors are obtained by taking the square root of the sum of
the squares (rss) of the individual errors. This rss combination of errors should
then represent the average performance of many systems on many flights. The
Doppler radar velocity error is normally expressed in terms of the three orthog-
onal velocity components avH' av/)' and avv· Since each of these component
errors is assumed to have a normal probability distribution, the standard devi-
ation error a is the 68% probability error (Section 2.7).
In 1996, typical lightweight small-size Doppler radars, operating over land
and after I 0 nmi of travel, have standard deviation velocity errors of less than
0.25% plus 0.1 kn.
The above errors describe the Doppler velocity error for overland opera-
tion. For overwater operation, errors due to water motion and the calibration
shift error (due to the larger slope of the radar backscattering coefficient versus
incidence angle) must be included. In 1996, Doppler radars typically employ
TABLE 10.1 High-performance Doppler radar velocity errors (over land)

Error Value (!-sigma)
Doppler fluctuation (after I 0 nmi of flight 0.073%
Altitude hole (residual after modulation wobbling) 0.02%
Readout (data conversion) 0.02%
Beam direction (antenna boresight and radome) 0.065%
Installation (affects primarily V~) 0.03%
Frequency tracker bias 0.05 knot
Typical total overland orthogonal velocity 0.10% + 0.05 kn (!-sigma)
component error
beam shaping to automatically compensate for the overwater calibration shift,

resulting in a residual error of 0.1% to 0.2%. The residual water-motion error
after compensation for the known water motion effects in the operating area is
typically 0.5 knots. The resultant velocity error due to overwater operation is
(0.15% + 0.5) knots !-sigma, which must be added to the overland errors to
obtain the total overwater error.
High-performance Doppler radars have been designed that have total stan-
dard deviation errors less than half of those cited above. Most of the Doppler
radars of that type included either the lobe switching [ 19] or simultaneous lob-
ing [34] overwater calibration-shift compensation technique. These high-per-
formance Doppler radars exhibited overland V~ and V~ velocity component
errors as shown in Table I 0.1.
For overwater operation, the residual water motion error of 0.5 kn plus the
residual overwater calibration shift error of 0.035% must be added to the values
in Table 10.1, resulting in a total overwater error of (0.11% + 0.5 kn) (!-sigma).
The V~ component velocity error is generally two to three times smaller than
the v~ and v~ components.
Doppler-Navigation System Errors Doppler velocity information is measured

in aircraft coordinates and must be transformed through aircraft heading, pitch
and roll in order to generate the desired navigation information. The effects
of pitch-and-roll errors on horizontal navigation are small and can generally
be ignored. Heading errors affect horizontal velocity, and hence navigation
directly. Quantitatively, a I o error in heading represents a 1.75% cross-track
position error, as given by the expression arh(%) = 1.75ah(deg) where arh is
the percent standard deviation of the cross-track distance error due to heading
error, and a h is the standard deviation of the heading error in degrees. Heading
error can thus have a major effect on Doppler-navigation system accuracy. In
1996, navigation computers are digital and contribute a negligible error.
The total position error of a Doppler-navigation system is thus determined by
the errors of the two major components of the system, namely, the Doppler radar
and the heading reference. The position error may be determined on the basis
DOPPLER RADARS 489
of these errors and statistical considerations of the problem as a two-dimen-

sional error problem (Section 2.7). The two dimensions usually chosen are the
along-track and cross-track directions, frequently called range and transverse
directions, respectively. This assumes, as is generally justified for Doppler-nav-
igation systems, that the covariance matrix of the errors is diagonalized along
these directions, so these errors may be considered independent. The range error
a R consists of the error in Doppler along-heading velocity a H, and a very small
second-order contribution of heading error. The latter is so small that it can
safely be neglected. Thus, a R can be taken as equal to a H. The cross-track
(transverse) error ar consists of the error in Doppler cross-heading velocity
component aD and the error due to the heading reference aTh. In this dimen-
sion, the heading error is first order and generally is the dominant error. Based
on measured results, the range and transverse errors exhibit roughly normal
probability distributions. The resulting position error therefore exhibits a two-
dimensional normal or elliptical probability distribution (Section 2.7), the two
dimensions being a Rand ar. The standard deviation of aT is given by the root
sum square of the two individual cross-track errors: ar = (aJ, + a}11 ) 112. Mea-
sured results [8, 26] have shown that a R and aT, and hence the percent position
error, of Doppler-navigation systems are inversely proportional to the square
root of the distance traveled. This behavior may be attributed to the effects of
the smoothing of certain slowly varying errors.
Flight test results of complete Doppler-navigation systems have shown 68%
probability position errors of near I% of distance traveled. The results of an
extensive flight test program on a military system [24] showed !-sigma range
(along-track) errors near 0.25% and transverse (cross-track) errors near 0.5%
for I 000-mi flight lengths, which amounts to a 68% probability position error of
0.63%. These systems used gyromagnetic heading references and analog com-
puters of that period and had no automatic overwater calibration shift compen-
sation techniques incorporated into them. In 1996, the performance improve-
ment of heading references (Section 9.4) and digital navigation computers made
it possible to capitalize on the inherent accuracy capability of Doppler radars.
Also, the various automatic overwater calibration shift compensation techniques
have greatly reduced the previously largest error of the Doppler radar itself,
namely, the overwater bias error. The effect of these performance improvements
was verified during a flight test in a fixed-wing aircraft of a fixed-antenna FM-
CW Doppler radar with beam shaping (for overwater bias correction) and an
inertial quality heading reference. This test exhibited an along-track error of
0.14% (!-sigma) and a cross-track error of 0.15% (!-sigma) [7]. The flight test
consisted of 207 legs over land for a total distance of over 6000 nm.
In 1996, large quantities of military helicopters were outfitted with Doppler-
navigation systems. In most cases, these systems used a magnetic heading ref-
erence, and their flight profiles consisted of short legs (I 0 to 20 nmi) between
waypoints. Typical total position errors exhibited in flight tests were along-track
error of 0.25% (!-sigma) and cross-track error of I% (!-sigma) of distance
traveled. The cross-track error is strongly dependent upon the accuracy with
which the magnetic compass is calibrated or "swung." In some applications

the compass "swing" is performed in flight by flying over known checkpoints
and measuring the position error on that leg and on that course. The cross-track
component of the position error, converted into degrees, is then inserted into
the navigation computer and used to correct subsequent flights at that course
angle. The process can also be performed using electrical swinging (see Section
9.4.6).
10.1.5 Equipment Configurations

One of the first Doppler radar equipments developed, the AN/ APN-81, which
became operational in approximately 1956, weighed approximately 290 lb, radi-
ated 50 w of average power, and consumed 1700 w. When the navigation com-
puter was added, the total weight of the Doppler navigation system was 700 lb.
Doppler systems performing the equivalent function in 1996, weighed 12 lb.
including the antenna, all electronics, and a MIL-STD-1553 data bus interface
(Section 15.2); they radiate 20 mw of average power and consume 20 w.
Figure I 0.14 shows the AN-ASN-157 Doppler-navigation system for heli-
copters. The antenna is at the bottom of the unit. It uses a single four-beam
fixed antenna, a Gunn diode transmitter, and an integrated receiver/antenna
beam-switching module. The modulation is FM-CW, with a modulation fre-
quency of 30 kHz. Its weight is 12 lb. Variations of that type of system use
multiple modulation frequencies to overcome altitude hole effects above 15,000
ft. Another single-unit FM-CW Doppler radar is the CMC-20 12, designed for
helicopter operation. It has a MIL-STD-1553 data bus interface. Its horizontal
velocity range is -50 to +350 knots, and this particular radar has demonstrated
a three-axis hover accuracy of 0.72m/min. In 1996, Doppler-navigation sys-
tems weighing 9 lb were operational in drones providing navigation and alti-
tude above terrain. The latter systems usually employ the FM-CW technique
described in Section I 0.2.4.
Considerable effort was underway in 1996 on combining Doppler radars with
GPS (Section 5.5) by embedding a GPS receiver module into the Doppler radar
unit and using the data from both :;ensors [9]. This approach combines the high
accuracy of GPS (Section 5.5.1 0) and the continuous dead-reckoning operation
of Doppler navigation. Use of the GPS data solves the initialization problem of
dead-reckoning navigation systems. For low altitude operation, such as in heli-
copters, the Doppler radar provides continuity of navigation when GPS signals
are not available or loss of tracking occurs, due to terrain, foliage masking,
severe maneuvers, or jamming. Also, the Doppler radar can provide accurate
velocity for aiding the GPS-tracking loops during acquisition in GPS State-3
operation. Use of the GPS data overcomes the Doppler-navigation system lim-
itation of increasing position error with distance traveled due to heading ref-
erence and Doppler velocity errors and water motion errors. In 1995, such a
Doppler/GPS navigation set was successfully flight tested by the U.S. Army
[30]: and by 1996 production of it was in progress.
RADAR ALTIMETERS 491
Figure 10.14 AN/ ASN- 157 Doppler radar (courtesy. GEC-Ma rco ni Company) .
10.2 RADAR ALTIMETERS
10.2.1 Functions and Applications

The basic function of the radar altimeter is to provide terrain clearance or alti -
tude with respect to the ground level dirccll y beneath the aircarft. The altime-
te r may also provide vertical rate or climb or descent and selectabl e low alti-
tude wa rnin g~. In ll)<)(i, radar altimeters typicall y weighed 4 to 10 lb. exh ibited
a 1.5 ft or 2'/r· altitude accuracy and transmitled 5-w peak pulse or 500- mw
average CW power for a 5000- ft altitude capability. Altimeters built during
the early Jl)60s we ig hed 15 lh or more and transmitted I 00 w o r peak pulse
power. Performance characteristics are desi gned to match partic ul ar applica-
tion s. High-performance low- ll ying military aircraft and cruise mi ss ile systems
req uire accurate altitude trading at ve rtical rates or over :2000 ft j sec while
maintain ing a hi g h degree of covertness and jam immunity. Altimeters des igned
for terra in corre lati on fo r navi gational purposes (Chapter 2) mu st process an
extreme ly small grou nd illum ination spot si ze at high altitudes to provide the
required altitude reso lution. Altitude marking radars are generall y low a ltitude
altimeters designed specifically to provide mark signals at specific altitudes for

initiation of an automatic operation such as fuze triggering on submunitions
or chute opening on lunar-landing systems. Radar altimeters for civil aviation
are designed to support automatic landing, flare and touchdown computations
(Chapter 13).

Altimeters perform the basic function of any range measuring radar. A modu-
lated signal is transmitted toward the ground. The modulation provides a time
reference to which the reflected return signal can be referenced, thereby provid-
ing radar-range or time delay and therefore altitude. The ground represents an
extended target, as opposed to a point target, resulting in the delay path extend-
ing from a point directly beneath the aircraft out to the edge of the antenna
beam. Furthermore, the beam width of a dedicated radar altimeter antenna must
be wide enough to accommodate normal roll-and-pitch angles of the aircraft,
resulting in a significant variation in return delay. For example, a typical 50°
beam-width antenna, at 5000-ft altitude, provides an altitude delay of 5000 to
5500 ft over flat terrain. The resulting altitude error becomes even greater, and
potentially dangerous, when flying low over mountainous peaks with the wide
antenna beam illuminating adjacent valleys. To provide range to the nearest
return within the bounds of the antenna beam, many modern radar altimeters
incorporate a leading edge range tracker servo loop. The tracker functions to
position the gate in a pulse modulated radar or a filter in a frequency-modulated
radar over the leading edge of the return.
Frequency Band The frequency band of 4.2 to 4.4 GHz is assigned to radar
altimeters. This frequency band is high enough to result in reasonably small
sized antennas to produce a 40° to 50° beam but is sufficiently low so that rain
attenuation and backscatter from rain have no significant range limiting effects.
Antenna Requirements Typical installations include a pair of small micros trip

antennas for the transmit and receive functions. The antennas typically provide
10-dBi gain with a 50 x 60 degree beam. A 30-in. spacing between transmit
and receive antenna provides about 85-dB isolation. The antennas are spaced to
provide isolation loss greater than the maximum expected ground return loss at
low altitudes. At low altitude, the radar loop sensitivity is limited, as a function
of altitude through a sensitivity range control (SRC) mechanization, to allow
the altimeter to detect the ground return without detecting antenna leakage.
10.2.3 Pulsed Radar Altimeters

The basic pulsed radar altimeters of the early 1960s typically operated with 100-
w cavity-tuned tube oscillators to provide performance to 5000 ft. These early
radars evolved to 5-w solid state transmitters incorporating receiver pre-ampli-
tiers in the 1970s and provided a high degree of reliability, low probability of
intercept (LPI), small size, and high accuracy. During the 1980s, the discrete
transmit/receive RF circuits were replaced with GaAs MMIC's (Microwave
Monolithic Integrated Circuits). In 1996, receive/transmit functions were being
accomplished with RF hybrid packages incorporating the GaAs MMIC func-
tions. Advances in digital integration technology allowed replacement of the
analog leading edge altitude tracker loops with digital altitude tracker loops.
Although the basic radar altimeter functions have not changed significantly,
incorporation of these technology advances resulted in vastly improved perfor-
mance and reliability at a fraction of the cost and size of earlier systems.
The functional diagram of Figure I 0.15 illustrates the basic operation of
pulsed altimeters. The PRF generator provides the modulation wave form for
the transmitter and a to time mark for the tracker loop. The transmit signal is
derived from a stabilized oscillator, modulated, and amplified to the desired
power level. The receiver low-noise amplifier (LNA) typically has a 2- to 3-dB
noise figure, resulting in a sensitivity level that allows relatively low transmit
power (I to 5 w). A separate stabilized local oscillator (LO) provides down con-
version to the IF for band limiting, amplification, and envelope detection. The
track loop positions the range gate at the leading edge of the signal return to
provide "gate overlap" energy corresponding to the leading edge threshold ref-
erence. The Class-2 servo loop, consisting of range rate-and-range integration,
is designed to provide the track rate required to follow terrain elevation change
rates at the velocity limits of the particular aircraft. This typically results in a
closed loop bandwidth of I 00 Hz to provide a 2000-ft/sec range rate capability.
The integrated gate position error is added to the altitude register that repositions
the gate through the altitude to time delay converter. The time delay converter
is typically a high-speed counter or analog ramp generator referenced to the
transmit to time mark. Additional functions not shown in Figure I 0.15 include
noise AGC to control IF gain, closed loop transmit power management control
(PMC) to maintain minimum transmit power for (LPI), sensitivity range control
on the receiver to provide necessary low-altitude desensitization for assurance
against false lock onto antenna leakage or aircraft appendages, and altitude out-
put conditioning, altitude rate derivation, and aircraft data bus interfaces. Figure
I 0.16 shows the APN-194 pulsed radar altimeter with antennas and indicator.
This system, a standard for all U.S. Navy fixed-wing aircraft, provides 5000-ft
altitude capability in a 6-lb package.
10.2.4 FM-CW Radar Altimeters

Figure I 0.17 is the block diagram of a typical FM-CW radar altimeter. A lin-
ear frequency modulation is applied to the transmitter. Range delay is deter-
mined by measuring the frequency difference of the return signal with respect
to the transmitter through the receive mixing function. To provide a nonzero
IF (intermediate frequency), the transmit frequency is mixed with an IF offset
local oscillator (LO) and filtered to provide the lower sideband (.f1 - f w) for
..
\&:)
RATE RANGE
INTEGRATOR INTEGRATOR
LEADING EDGE
TRACK REFERENCE GATE
POSiTION
ERROR
PRF ALnTUDETO
ALnTUDE
GENERATOR DELAYnME
REGISTER
CONVERTER
AMP
'to
ALnTUDE OUTPUT
Figure 10.15 Pulsed radar altimeter block diagram.

Figure 111.16 APN-194 pulsed radar altimeter (courtesy. Honeywell. Inc.).
converting the radar return to an IF offw. The balanced detector converts the
return to base band. Altitude can then be determined with a frequency counter.
To reduce errors due to Doppler shift of the return, a triangular wave form
is commonly used to modulate the transmitter. Thus. a positive Doppler shift
will produce a negative frequency error on the rising modulation slope and a
positive error on the falling slope. By averaging the frequency count. the error
due to Doppler shift is minimized.
The IF and low-frequency amplitiers must maintain a bandwidth sufticiently
high to accommodate the frequency shift at maxi mu Ill altitude. The track loop is
commonly closed on the LO to provide a tixed return frequency shirt resulting
in narrow processing band width and high sensitivity. Altitude is then deter-
mined by counting the LO frequency required to hold the return within the
narrow band width. At low altitudes (i.e .. belmv a few hundred feet) the LO
frequency is tixed. and altitude is determined by counting the relatively low
return shirt directly. Accuracy is a direct function of transmit modulation lin-
earity. As linearity worsens. the return spectrum widens resulting in allitude
error. Closed control loops are normally incorporated as part of the modula-
tion scheme tn provide linearity. 'T'ransmit frequency is sampled and compared
against a linear slope reference to provide the feedback error signal necessary
to control the modulator. Typically 500 mw to I w transmit power and accu -
racies of 1.5 ft belmv I()() feet and 2r1r a hove I 00 feet are realized. Disadvan
tagcs of the I·M-CW altimeter include tilL' step error U~h c/4~F) where r
is the speed of light and ~F is the total frequency deviation. The step-error
c(leCtS can j)L' reduced by WObbling the lllOdUJation rreqUL'llCY llr the phase o('
the transmitiL-r output. Standard FM -CW altimeters also have the tendency to
lod; -<lll to airfr~1111e appendages and strong targets on the surface. Recent tech -
""'0'1
\C
MODULATOR
SIDEBAND
FILTER
IF
AMPLIFIER
BALANCED
DETECTOR
I .. I LOW
FREQUENCY
AMPLIFIER
I .. I
AVERAGE
FREQUENCY I
COUNTER
.. ALTITUDE
LNA
Figure 10.17 FM-CW radar altimeter block diagram.

RADAR ALTIM ETERS 497
Figure 10.18 ALA-52A FM -CW radar all imeter (courtesy. Allied Signal).
nology advances have resu lted in incorporati on of GaAs MMIC RF func ti ons.
FFT processors to provide frequency tracking and digital signal processing and
control. Figure I0. 18 shows the ALA-52A radio altimeter, which is designed
for civil aviation, primarily for autoland applications.
Another FM-CW altimeter technique. which has been implemented for spe-
cial ized applicat ions uses a sinusoida ll y modulated FM-CW wave form . A par-
ticu lar sideband (Bessel sideband) is selected. and the re lati ve phase difference
between the transmi tted and the returned signal modulation freque ncy is a mea-
sure of altitude [ 16 J. In 1996, this approach was used on unmanned airborne
vehi cles. Previously. it was impl emented in a combined Dopple r velocity and
altitude measuri ng radar.
10.2.5 Phase-Coded Pulsed Radar Altimeters

Pulse compression is typically achieved in pul sed radars through biphase modu-
lation of the transmit pulse. Incorporat ion of coherent phase modulation w ithin
the transmit pulse allows the use of a wide pulse while maintaining a small
ground spot size, high-range resolution, and the wide transmitted spectral
width of a narrow pulse altimeter. The widened pulse provides higher radiated
energy with a low peak power and high duty cycle. Additionally, coherency
allows incorporation of a narrow-band predetection filter providing a substan-
tial improvement in receiver sensitivity. While a noncoherent pulsed altime-
ter with a I% duty cycle require> about 5 w of peak transmit power at 5000
ft-altitude, a coherent pulsed altimeter with a 25% duty cycle requires only
I 00 mw of peak transmit power at 5000 ft. The functional block diagram of
a typical phase coded pulse radar altimeter is shown in Figure I 0.19. Modern
radar altimeters of this type typically incorporate GaAs MMIC technology in
the transmitter/receiver RF circuits and control loops. Radar return processing
is implemented digitally in software by a microprocessor, and high-speed code
generation is provided by gate array technology. This technology leads to a ten-
fold increase in altitude capability at one-fifth the peak transmit power, within
the same package size of pulsed altimeters developed in the 1970s. The micro-
processor operation provides additional functional capability and versatility not
possible with earlier systems. Control loop band widths, transmit pulse widths,
and transmit power can be adaptively controlled to optimize performance at all
altitudes. Built-in-test, jam detect, closed-loop power management control, fre-
quency hopping, PRF jitter, automatic self-calibration are additional functions
possible in radar altimeters of this type. An example of this type of altimeter
is the HG9550 shown in Figure 10.20. This phase coded pulsed radar altime-
ter is designed for 50,000 ft altitude capability with a 1-w transmitter, and it
incorporates "down look" altimetry at 4.3 GHz and "look-ahead" capability at
35 GHz.
10.3 FUTURE TRENDS
Based on the early work in 1995, extensive future development is expected

on integrating dedicated Doppler radars with embedded GPS receivers (Sec-
tion 5.5). This integration promises to provide a high-accuracy, cost-effective
design that combines the high-positioning accuracy of GPS with the dead-
reckoning operation of a Doppler radar. The continuing development of small,
low-cost and lightweight GPS receivers and RF components for the Doppler
radar will result in total Doppler/GPS navigation systems weighing well below
10 lb. These systems, using differential GPS technology (Section 5.5.9), will
include a tactical (military) nonprecision landing capability that will gradually
be upgraded to include Category I capability as well (Chapter 13).
In 1996, most operational Doppler navigation systems in helicopters accepted
heading information from conventional magnetic compasses (Section 9.4). In
the future, units will be developed that use a triad of strapdown magnetic sen-
sors whose outputs can be combined with pitch-and-roll data to compute head-
ing information that is largely free from vehicle maneuver-induced, transient
GATE& RATE RANGE
CORRELATION INTEGRATOR INTEGRATOR
LNA
LEADING EDGE
TRACK REFERENCE
GATE
IF OFFSET POSITION
XTALOSC ERROR
ALIDUDETO TARGET
PHASE/PULSE PRF DELAY TIME ALTITUDE I I
MODULATOR GENERATOR CONVERTER REGISTER
POWER
AMP
to
At.TITUDE
Figure 10.19 Phase-coded pulsed radar altimeter block diagram.
""-=-=
500 DOPPLER 1\ND 1\LTIM ETI::: R RADARS
I
I
I
Figure 10.20 HG9550 phase-coded pulsed radar altime te r (courtesy. Ho neywell . Inc. ).
errors. Such sensors will increase Dopple r-navi gati o n accuracy w hen GPS data
are not ava ilable . Also, low-cost ine rtial sensors will be used as heading refer-
e nces for Doppler/ GPS systems.
The use of the phase shift of the frequency modulation side bands of the
Doppler radar signal to measure altitude w ill continue and w ill probably be
combined with some fo rm o f carrier phase mod ulatio n to obtain greater accu-
racy. Combined Dopple r velocity a nd radar a ltitude sensors w ith embedded GPS
receivers are like ly to be deve loped in the fu ture.
In the area of radar altimetry, millimeter wave, narrow beam, forward-look-
ing, steered-antenna sensors, combined with down ward-poi nting w ide-beam
altimete r antennas, w ill make it poss ible for radar altimeters to provide a "look-
ahead" capability for dete rminatio n of altitude ahead of the a ircraft.
PROBLEMS
10.1. Derive the fundamental Janus pitch-error expressio n (I 0.8), assuming a

.Janus system w ith its two beams located in a vertical plane containing
the aircraft center line and making equal a ng les w ith the aircraft ce nter
line. Assume the ground-velocity vector to be a long the aircraft center
line and zero pitch, c limb, a nd roll ang les.
10.2. Calc ulate the Doppler signal-to-noise ratio per be am for a continuous-
PROBLEMS 501
wave Doppler radar, using single side-band detection, transmitting I w at

13.325 GHz from an antenna having a gain of 30 dB, a two-way beam
width of 3.68°, and an antenna-pattern factor of 0.5. The beam is in a
vertical plane containing the aircraft center line and makes an angle of
75° with it. The terrain has a cross section per unit area a 0 of -14 dB.
The receiver-noise figure is 9 dB. The aircraft is operating at an alti-
tude of 50,000 ft and at a ground speed of 500 knots. Assume the pitch,
roll, drift, and climb angles to be zero. Assume the sum of RF losses
and atmospheric losses to be -3 dB. Assume infinite isolation between
the transmitting and receiving antennas, and assume the transmitting and
receiving antennas to have equal gain and beam width.
Ans.: 35 dB.
10.3. What is the efficiency factor, to be used in the radar-range equation, for
an FM-CW Doppler radar using the h side band, operating at an altitude
of I 0,000 ft, with a beam incidence angle of !5°, a modulation frequency
of 20 kHz, and a transmitted modulation index of 1.5?
Ans.: 0.144.
10.4. (a) What is the single-beam percent !-sigma Doppler velocity-fluctua-

tion error after I 0 nmi of flight for a Doppler radar having the fol-
lowing characteristics: a wavelength of 0.074 ft, a two-way 3-dB
beam width in the )'-direction of 3.5°, and an angle between the
aircraft center line and the beam centroid of 75°. Assume that the
antenna-beam has a Gaussian shape in the region of interest. As-
sume a constant speed; straight and level flight; and pitch, roll, drift,
and climb angles of zero. Assume a frequency-tracker performance
factor of 1.25.
Ans.: 0.059%.
(b) What is the single-beam percent Doppler velocity-fluctuation error
for this radar after one second of smoothing at a ground speed of
500 knots?
Ans.: 0.51%
10.5. What are the absolute errors in the along-heading, cross-heading, and
vertical-velocity components of a pitch-and-roll-compensated Doppler
radar, when the pitch-and-roll-angle errors are each 0.1 o, the pitch angle
is I oo, the ground speed is 500 knots, the drift angle is 5°, and the vertical
velocity is 500 ftjmin?
Ans.: 0.022 knot, 0.16 knot, 80 ftjmin.
10.6. (a) Derive the expression for the side bands of a continuous-wave
Doppler radar that is frequency modulated with a low-frequency
sine wave (I 0.18).
(b) Show that the resultant Bessel side bands of the first order each con-
tain a Doppler frequency shift proportional to speed.
(c) Show that the amplitude of the first or 1 1 side band is essentially
independent of distance to the backscattering surface for short dis-
tances.
10.7. Referring to the processing in the block diagram of Figure 10.9, show, by
deriving the appropriate equations, that the sense of direction of the veloc-
ity component's Doppler shifts are preserved in the transmitter/receiver's
output, as required for helicopter operation during hover and backward
flight.
11 Mapping and Multimode
Radars
11.1 INTRODUCTION
Airborne ground-mapping radars were originally developed in World War II

as a means of bombing through clouds and weather-and at night, when the
bombing-aircraft operator could not see his target visually. These radars per-
formed two navigation functions. First, they permitted the aircraft to find its
way over enemy terrain, without ground navigation aids or sight of the ground,
to the threshold of the bombing run. Second, the radar then provided precise
navigation during the bombing run by use of cursors set on the target point in
a display. Later, a "beacon" mode was added to enable the radar to make fixes
on beacon transponders placed at known ground positions in friendly territory
and coded to establish their identity. This permitted much easier and more pre-
cise navigation by radar during the early phases of the inbound leg to the target
and, more important, on return. It was also found that the radar could be used
to see intense storms and navigate around them during times of darkness or
flight through clouds.
These early radars illustrate the major themes that have concerned naviga-
tion radar designers ever since, namely, general navigation; precision navigation
for landing, weapon delivery, air drop of personnel and material; and beacon
navigation.
Radar-navigation economics also remain much the same. First, a ground-
mapping radar is heavier, more expensive, and complex compared to naviga-
tion equipment aided by either ground-based systems, such as VOR, Loran, and
Omega, or spaced-based equipment, such as GPS. Second, it is uneconomical in
comparison with specialized self-contained navigation equipment, such as ded-
icated Doppler-navigation radars and inertial sensors. However, in regions like
the Arctic and Antarctic, where there are few ground aids, wilderness areas, and
hostile terrain in combat zones, radars may be the only source of accurate nav-
igation data. Radar navigation became economically attractive with the advent
of high-speed, programmable signal and data processors. Then a single radar
could perform a multitude of functions solely through additions to software.
For example, weather avoidance or weather penetration modes, which are direct
descendants of the storm-detection functions of the World War II radars, can
be performed by the multimode radar. Other navigation modes implemented

504 MAPPING AND MULTIMODE RADARS
through software in multimode radars are terrain avoidance (TA) and terrain
following (TF) for low-level flight by military aircraft operation in hostile ter-
ritory, determination of altitude (AGR), and determination of speed and drift
(PVU) for improved dead reckoning.
A less obvious economic factor that is at work in favor of multimode radars is
the steady increase in the size and expense of transport aircraft. The great cost of
these aircraft and the large number of people they carry makes it imperative that
very great safety of operation be obtained. This may make it attractive to add
navigation landing-aid modes to the pure weather radars used by commercial
airlines.
Another factor at work is the rapid improvement in the reliability and main-
tainability of current radars. The techniques for producing high reliability by
proper design and manufacturing methods have become highly developed in
recent years. Radar mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) has risen from tens to
hundreds of hours over a very short time span. In addition, analog and digital
circuit miniaturization has allowed fault detection and isolation technology to
be incorporated down to the most critical complex component. Circuits cards
perform self-tests as a background task and report the results to the system's
built-in-test (BIT) function when requested. Thus, when the radar does fail, iso-
lation to and identification of the failed complex component is instantaneous.
The repair philosophy is to replace the failed module with a spare module.
A remote repair facility utilizes the stored BIT codes to select a failed com-
plex component for replacement. Thus, on-site repair work is reduced to a task
requiring little skill, and the necessity of keeping highly skilled radar techni-
cians at every airport along each route-an economic impossibility-is elimi-
nated.
11.2 RADAR PILOTAGE
The most common method of position fixing by radar navigation is completely

analogous to aircraft pilotage by visual reference. The pilot corrects his heading
by observing the terrain around him as a maplike image on the radar display.
However, the scale of usable reference points in radar is different. Visually,
roads, lakes, parks, railroads, and rivers are most useful for reference when they
are within I 0 mi of the aircraft. Since radars have narrow antenna beam widths,
typically, 3 to 6 deg, they do not have the eye's field of view and cannot find
as many reference points instantaneously. Thus, a sequence of radar modes is
employed. Figure 11.1 illustrates the progressive magnification of terrain. First,
the radar utilizes the real beam ground map (RBGM) modes to scan a large
angular and range sector from a great distance with coarse resolution to find
suitable large reference points for initial acquisition. Second, the radar employs
the Doppler beam sharpening (DBS) mode to decrease its field of view about
the selected ground point, magnify the radar image with moderate resolution,
and refine the acquisition. Third, a fine resolution image with narrow field of
RADAR PILOTAGE 505
Figure 11.1 RBGM. DBS. SAR coverage shown on RBGM display.
view is generated using the synthetic array radar (SAR) mode and utilized for
final designation ancl position update. The initial acquisition scan has resolution
such that towns, cities, lakes, and rivers can be recognized at distances as great
as 160 nmi from the aircraft. Subsequent, liner resolution radar images have
resolution such that individual streets within a city or specific terrain features,
such as road intersections, can be recognized at ranges as large as 50 nmi. Radar
resolution required to identify terrain and cultural features is summarized in
Table 11.1.
In the usc of references points, radar has an advantage because in visual
pilotage the distance to an object and its angular position with respect to the
aircraft must be estimated. This can be done with adequate accuracy at low
T AHLE 11.1 Radar image resolution requirements
Square Resolution
Feature or Cell Size
~---------------------------
Coastline. outline of cities, detection of large discrete 500 ft

scattercrs, outline of mountains
Detection of major highways (some fading). variations XO to 100ft
in fields. large airfields
City street structure. reliable detection of highways. 30 to )() n
large building shapes. small airlields. "Roadmap"
type imagery
Rcliahlc detection of vehicles, shapes of houses, buildings ) to 20 ft
altitudes; however, at high altitudes, distances are very difficult to judge with
visual pilotage, even in clear weather. With radar pilotage, accurate range and
angle measurements can be made by superimposing range and azimuth markers
on the radar image feature selected for the update point and instructing the radar
to compute the aircraft position vector relative to the update point.
The radar display format used for initial acquisition is the plan-position-indi-
cator (PPI) format. A large azimuth angular region, typically 120 deg, about
the aircraft velocity vector is scanned, and the radar collects a few pulses of
noncoherent radar return over a large range interval, 20 to 160 nmi dependent
upon the range scale chosen, at each antenna beam position. RBGM images are
formed in the radar signal processor and stored digitally in its memory as an
amplitude, range bin, azimuth angle matrix. To display these data to the pilot in
a geometrically correct format, the range bin amplitudes for each antenna beam
position, or range trace, are read sequentially from the processor memory and
"painted" on the display along a radial sweep with azimuth angle corresponding
to the antenna's position relative to a display reference angle, typically North
up or aircraft velocity vector up, at the time of data collection. The range trace
starts at a range slightly larger than the range corresponding to the width of the
transmitted pulse, or "main bang," and proceeds to a range corresponding to
the maximum number of range bins that are processed.
Typically, radars collect 256 to 512 range samples of data from each radar
pulse and vary the range bin width to provide range scales from 20 to 160 nmi.
Once the first range trace of data is displayed, the radar retrieves the second
range trace of data and "paints" it on the display along a radial corresponding to
the azimuth angle of the antenna when that data were collected. This retrieval
and display "painting" process continues until all data collected during the scan
are displayed. Then, the next scan of data is retrieved and displayed. To the
pilot, this process has the appearance of a display "painting" the raw radar
returns on the display in synchroni:;m with the scan of the antenna as it sweeps
back and forth across the aircraft's velocity vector.
Radars form images in angle and range coordinates, rather than azimuth
and elevation angle coordinates, as in a visual image. Despite this, the radar
image bears a direct resemblance to the topographical features of the terrain it
represents-perhaps because it resembles a visual image of the terrain as seen
from a great height above the terrain. The correlation between the radar image
and the actual terrain varies with the characteristics of the radar, type of terrain,
aircraft altitude, and viewing direction. The interpretation of the presentation is
easy in most cases; in other cases, it requires experience and knowledge of
how radar reflections build an image. Just as in visual pilotage, operators must
be trained to read and interpret the radar presentation by study and practice,
including prebriefing the pilot about the appearance of the radar images along
his route.
The most striking and most easilly identified RBGM terrain feature is a land-
water boundary. The smooth surface of the water reflects most of the inci-
dent energy away from the radar, whereas the rougher land causes energy to
RADAR PILOTAGE 507
be scattered in all directions, including the direction from which it originated

(backscatter). As a consequence, a larger portion of the energy incident on land
gets back to the radar antenna than that which returns from water, and land areas
appear much brighter in the radar image than water areas.
Since radar returns from very short range and very long range must be pro-
cessed each antenna beam position, a large amplitude dynamic range must be
accommodated even for terrain with uniform reflectivity. When urban areas and
cities are prominent features of RBGM images, amplitude dynamic range man-
agement can be difficult and result in problems of image interpretation. Signal
processing was effectively performed "manually" on the display of World War
II era radars. The pilot managed signal levels by adjusting the display gain. As
a result, amplitude adjustments for land-water contrast saturated all land-area
signals, and individual land features would appear to be of uniform brightness
even though urban areas have much more radar reflectivity than the surrounding
countryside. A skilled pilot surmounted this difficulty by adjusting display gain
up and down to bring out differentiation of terrain features at widely different
intensity levels. Modern radars are designed to accommodate the large ampli-
tude dynamic range of the radar ground return and form a quality RBGM image.
First, the antenna elevation pattern is designed proportional to csc 2 E, where E is
the elevation angle. This allows the radar to illuminate the large RBGM range
interval, or swath, with an energy profile that partially compensates for radar
return variation with range. Second, sensitivity time control (STC), which is a
preset variation in radar receiver gain with time delay, is used to reduce fur-
ther the more intense short-range returns' amplitude. After STC has reduced
the amplitude dynamic range of all range bins in the swath to a nearly constant
level, assuming uniform terrain reflectivity, automatic gain control (AGC), mea-
sures the average intensity across all range bins and azimuth angles to compute
a gain setting for the radar's receiver. Typically, receiver gain is adjusted such
that the average intensity is 12 dB below a full-scale analog-to-digital converter
(ADC). This gain setting will minimize radar-processing distortions. Prior tc
display, radar images are compensated for the display's amplitude nonlineari-
ties.
Moderate resolution radar images are formed using a Doppler beam-sharp-
ening (DBS) mode and fine resolution radar images are formed using a syn-
thetic aperture radar (SAR) mode. Since radar display resolution and processor
memory are limited, radar coverage must be sacrificed for improved resolution.
Airborne radar displays have approximately 5 X 5 in of viewing area. Approxi-
mately 256 azimuth by 256 range cells of radar data can be displayed in a geo-
metrically correct format in the data area of this display. Modern airborne radar
processors contain approximately one million words of data memory. When the
radar's memory is utilized to store the total radar image prior to display, only
one complete radar image and one partial radar image (the one currently being
generated) can be accommodated. Thus, each time the pilot selects a finer res-
olution radar imaging mode, the displayed data will be an image with greater
magnification, but smaller coverage.
A DBS image is formed by generating resolution cells with constant azimuth

angular resolution and constant range linear resolution. DBS offers from 4: l to
about 70: I azimuth angular resolution improvement when compared to RBGM.
Azimuth coverage is typically between 12 and 40 deg with range coverage
matched to the azimuth linear extent at the DBS map center. For example, if a
DBS map was formed with 12-deg azimuth angular coverage and 50-nmi map
center range, the range coverage would be chosen equal to I 0 nmi. Coherent
processing is utilized to form several DBS range traces simultaneously. The
DBS image is displayed in correct geometric format, a truncated PPI scan, cen-
tered about the RGBM designation point and with proper azimuth orientation
relative to the display reference.
Synthetic aperture radar images are formed about the DBS designation point
to magnify further the acquisition area for final designation and position update.
A SAR image is formed by generating resolution cells with equal range and
cross-range (azimuth) resolution. For example, a SAR resolution cell might
have 20 x 20-ft dimensions. SAR radars are designed to provide resolution that
is independent of the map center range. Thus, SAR offers an azimuth angular
resolution improvement ratio relative to RBGM that is range variable. Since
SAR images provide the finest resolution possible, designation error will be
minimum. SAR images appear geometrically correct as squares on the pilot's
display but rotated in azimuth to the proper aspect between display reference
and mapping angle.
The physics of radar reflectivity causes radar images to have anomalies when
compared to visual images. Urban areas are very effective in redirecting radar
energy back toward its source and are brighter than rural areas. Towns become
steadily more reflective than open country as range increases, because radar
energy strikes the ground close to the grazing angle at long ranges and lit-
tle energy from open country is scattered back. Conversely, the vertical sides
of buildings become more effective backscatterers, because radar energy hits
them at normal incidence at great ranges. As a result, cities are brighter than
surrounding terrain at short ranges and stand out alone at long ranges. The dif-
ference between the brightness of urban and rural areas is most pronounced
when the city is approached on the compass points, because most buildings are
oriented to face the compass points and make better reflectors when their walls
are viewed square on.
Mountainous terrain imagery is heavily impacted by radar shadowing. In
SAR images mountains appear to be illuminated by a brilliant light originating
from the aircraft position. Dark shadow areas appear behind hill crests, so far
slopes, not illuminated by the radar, are dark. The near slopes are more brilli-
ant than level ground due to more normal incidence of radar energy. Shadow
orientation and length change with aircraft altitude and position relative to the
mountains being illuminated, making position fixing from the image sometimes
difficult, although any isolated peaks may be quite usable references.
The strong directional reflectivity of man-made ground features, motion of
terrain shadows, and target scintillation due to the vectorial addition of the
SEMIAUTOMATIC POSITION FIXING 509
returns from the many scatterers within each resolution cell, make the tech-
nique of identifying SAR checkpoints somewhat different from that used in
visual identification. In visual identification, a single, well-defined terrain fea-
ture is typically utilized for an update point. When the point is not visible, there
is a good possibility that one is lost and is forcing terrain features to coincide
with the chart terrain features when, in fact, they do not. Conversely, only a
small number of terrain features need be checked against the chart in order to
ensure reliable identification. With radar, the failure to find quite a few terrain
features at any moment is almost certain, due to radar reflectivity variability.
Several features within the scene must be checked against the chart to ascer-
tain position. Fortunately, this is more easily done with radar than in the visual
case, because, due to the maplike nature of the image, the navigation chart can
be electrically superimposed directly on the radar image by any one of various
alignment correlation algorithms within the processor and the fit between digital
navigation data base and radar image at many points can be easily measured.
11.3 SEMIAUTOMATIC POSITION FIXING
Semiautomatic navigational position updating is performed on most aircraft

today. Here, the pilot identifies the reference point in the radar image. Predicted
aircraft range and azimuth angle to a predetermined ground identification point
are generated and the radar is commanded to form a SAR image centered on
the identification point (IP). An in-video cursor is displayed at the map center
along with the radar image. If accumulated navigation errors result in a differ-
ence between predicted and actual identification point range and azimuth angle
so that the identification point is not at the center of the radar image, the pilot
can slew the cursor over the actual identification point, and command a position
update. Then the radar processor computes the range and cross-range difference
between the predicted and actual identification points locations. This position
error vector is added to the original aircraft-to-IP position vector to determine
the aircraft's actual position relative to the IP. A block diagram of this naviga-
tional update mechanization is given in Figure 11.2.
In general, a complete SAR image cannot be formed during a single coherent
processing interval due to illumination limitations of the real airborne antenna.
Typically the 3-dB beam width of airborne antennas ranges from 3 to 6 deg.
Furthermore, a SAR radar processes less than the 3-dB beam width of the
antenna each coherent processing interval to minimize amplitude modulation of
the radar return by the real antenna pattern, the so-called SAR scalloping phe-
nomenon. Thus, a radar might be commanded to form only 2-deg-wide SAR
segments, called SAR patches, each coherent processing interval. If a 40-deg-
wide map is commanded, the SAR radar would form 20 sequential SAR patches
to generate the entire image.
The antenna scan sequence for a SAR image is ground stabilized so that air-
craft maneuvers will not cause map distortion. Scan sequence construction is
IP DESIGNATION
IP GEOGRAPHIC
BY PILOT
COORDINATES
,,
INERTIAL
NAVIGATION
•
MISSION
MAPPING -
COMMANDS
1
RADAR .. 0
SYSTEM POSITION, -
VELOCITY,
ACCELERATION
COMPUTER
-- POSITION
UPDATE
RADAR
IMAGE DISPLAY
VECTORS
RANGE, CROSS RANGE+MAPPING ERRORS
Figure 11.2 Semiautomatic position fixing by radar.
illustrated in Figure 11.3. The initial vector from the aircraft to the map center
P cCto) is chosen as the difference between current aircraft position and com-
manded position (IP latitude and longitude) for the SAR map scan center. Then
the SAR map apex is constructed to be on the current aircraft flight path and
at a distance D from the current aircraft position equal to one-half the product
of estimated scan time and aircraft velocity. The vector from SAR map apex to
SAR map center Rc is generated, and an arc normal to Rc is constructed. SAR
patch centers separated by the desired fractional antenna beam width are laid
out along the arc to determine ground coordinates for each SAR coherent array.
For each coherent array a vector D(j) from map enter to the corresponding jth
patch center is computed and stored in processor memory.
During SAR image generation, the vector Pc(tj) from present aircraft posi-
tion to the fixed map center is computed, for each processor computation cycle
ARRAYIIJ
PROJECTED FLIGHT PATH

AIRCRAFT AT AT TIME OF MAP
TIME OF MAPPING CONSTRUCTION
ARRAYIIJ SUBSEQUENT AIRCRAFT
FLIGHT PATH \..,..----- AT TIME OF MAP
'Ji- CONSTRUCTION
Figure 11.3 SAR map being ground stabilized.

SEMIAUTOMATIC POSITION FIXING WITH SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADARS 511
using inertial navigation system (INS) velocity data that have been compen-
sated for the relative motion between antenna and INS locations. (Ideally, the
INS would be located coincident with the antenna phase center.) Motion com-
pensation during a coherent array time is based on the antenna-to-patch center
vector, PAs, which equals the summation to Pc(t1) and D(j).
The radar processor stores all PAs, D(j), and velocity vectors used to gener-
ate the SAR image. Therefore, when a particular range/Doppler cell is desig-
nated to perform a navigation update, the radar processor can construct the exact
position vector from the aircraft's present position to the designated ground
point. Some radars also provide monopulse measurement data to ground points
each patch. In that case, the real antenna azimuth and elevation monopulse gra-
dient vectors are stored for each patch for later retrieval to compute the mono-
pulse angles to any designated SAR image cell. Thus, the radar can construct
very accurate position, Doppler, and angle measurements to designated ground
points. Even areas of low reflectivity, such as road intersections, can be utilized
as IP's for navigation Kalman filter update.
The operating RF wavelength that best balances the conflicting requirements
of resolution and weather-penetration ability is probability shorter than that used
in radars searching for airborne targets. For one thing, resolution is more impor-
tant in the ground-mapping case than in air-to-air detection. No matter how
great the radar resolution becomes, there are always more terrain features of
interest that could be seen if more resolution were available. It is rare that point
targets, such as aircraft or missiles, are so closely spaced that distinction of the
targets as separate objects becomes the overriding consideration in design.
Also, the radar-range equation is more favorable for mapping than for point
target acquisition and tracking. In the basic point target radar-range equation,
target return decreases inversely as the fourth power of the range to the tar-
get. In ground mapping, the resolvable element of terrain increases in width
directly with range, because the element width is R() HP, where R is the range
and eHP is the azimuthal beam width. This effect causes the terrain-return sig-
nal to decrease as l/R 3 , rather than l/R4 , as in the point-target case. This, cou-
pled with the fact that the terrain element usually has a greater radar cross
section than interesting point targets have, results in less emphasis on power in
the design of ground-mapping radar than in the design of search/track radars.
Details of the calculation of radar range in both the search and mapping cases,
as well as the effects of weather, are treated in many texts on radar [5, 6].
11.4 SEMIAUTOMATIC POSITION FIXING WITH SYNTHETIC

APERTURE RADARS
Since general descriptions of the operation of synthetic aperture radars are given
in various references [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], a detailed description of SAR theory
will not be given here. However, the fundamental principles of synthetic aper-
ture radars will be discussed in order to treat their unique properties as navi-
gational radars. Synthetic aperture radar image formation can be explained uti-
lizing either antenna theory or Doppler-filtering theory. Antenna theory will be
employed to disclose the basic principle of synthetic aperture radar image for-
mation.
In forming a SAR image, the real antenna on the aircraft serves only as a
single radiation element in a long linear synthetic array, as shown in Figure 11.4.
The synthetic array itself is generated by motion of the aircraft as it tlies by
the ground area being imaged. As the aircraft moves forward, the radar antenna
is pointed at the ground area, radar transmission pulses are scheduled for the
time interval required to achieve the desired azimuth resolution , and radar return
range samples for the total range swath are collected and stored, still correctly
resolved in range. Image formation is accomplished only after all the data are
collected.
At the end of each data collection time. called the SAR arrav ti111e, the radar
return samples from each resolvable element in range are retrieved from pro-
cessor memory and analyzed together. In order that these returns may contain
a record of the pulse-to-pulse change in phase of the echoes from that range
element, the radar must be coherent. A coherent radar " remembers'' the phase
and frequency or each transmission by means of an internal oscillator phased to
the carrier of the pulse. The radar return signals are heterodyned with this refer-
ence signal in a synchronous demodulator. The detector output, called coherent
video, has an amplitude proportional to the product of the echo amplitude and
the cosine of the echo-carrier phase angle with respect to the reference signal.
The coherent addition of the pulse returns from a given range, accumulated
during the SAR array time, forms the synthetic array beam for each range bin.
This process is completely analogous to the addition of radar returns collected
by the individual radiation elements of a real phased array occupying the space
defined by the aircraft Aight path.
Real Antenna
' )<~'
,l--'.1\.zimuth Range
----
Synthetic
Beam Width
Figure 11.4 SAR image formation explained using antenna theory.

Synthetic array azimuth resolution is twice that of a real array with the same
aperture length. A real array has both a one-way and a two-way radiation pat-
tern. The one-way pattern is formed upon transmission as a result of the pro-
gressive difference in the distances from successive array elements to any point
off the boresight line. This pattern has a sin xjx shape when amplitude weight-
ing is not utilized. The two-way pattern is formed upon reception, through the
same mechanism. Since the phase shifts are the same for both transmission and
reception, the two-way pattern is essentially a compounding of the one-way pat-
tern and therefore has a (sin xjx) 2 shape. A synthetic array, on the other hand,
has only a two-way pattern because the array is synthesized out of the returns
received by the real antenna, which sequentially assumes the role of succes-
sive array elements. Since each element receives only the returns from its own
transmissions, the element-to-element phase shifts in the returns received from a
given point off the boresight line correspond to the differences in the round-trip
distances from the individual elements to the point and back. This is equivalent
to saying that the two-way pattern of the synthetic array has the same shape
as the one-way pattern of the real array of twice the length, sin 2xj2x. Since
antenna beam width is inversely proportional to array length, the synthetic array
azimuth resolution is twice that of the real array.
In practice, SAR azimuth linear resolution dA, is very often limited by fluc-
tuations in aircraft velocity. These fluctuations cause errors in the placement
of the radiator at its successive positions where radar transmission occurs as
the array is generated synthetically. These errors constitute a deterioration of
the synthetic antenna pattern; that is, they introduce random phase errors in the
array gradient. This is exactly analogous to phase errors in real arrays due to
errors in location of the array elements or the phases of the signals fed to them.
Just as with a real array, the larger the synthetic aperture, the larger the phase-
gradient errors-and the more difficult they are to control. Another practical
limitation is the stability of the atmosphere between the array and the targets.
Turbulence in the atmosphere introduces optical path difference fluctuations
between the target and the aircraft antenna at its successive array positions; this
produces errors in the phase gradient of the array. Again, these errors increase
in a random-walk manner with increasing aperture length, and impose a limit
on the maximum useful aperture length.
Aside from these practical limits to synthetic aperture length, there are theo-
retical limits to the azimuth resolution that can be obtained. Doppler frequency-
filtering theory is useful in explaining unfocused SAR and focused SAR res-
olutions. First, observe that if the SAR radar is carried on an aircraft that has
constant velocity, radar return from each angular direction, on each side of the
velocity vector, will have a unique Doppler frequency shift. If a narrow band-
pass filter is used to process the ground return, only reflections from scatterers
within a narrow angular increment in azimuth will contribute to the output.
Thus, the SAR radar acts as if it had a very narrow beam-width antenna point-
ing in a direction corresponding to targets with Doppler shift equal to the fre-
quency of the band center of the bandpass filter. Second, by moving the filter
band center frequency from zero Doppler frequency shift to maximum positive
and negative Doppler shifts, the synthetic antenna beam can be scanned over a
180° arc on one side of the ground track. (See also Doppler theory in Chapter
10.) By repeating the process on the other side of the ground track, it is possible
to look in all azimuth directions. Third, by using a bank of narrow-bandpass
filters, one can get the equivalent of a simultaneous array of contiguous azimuth
antenna beams that create a complete high-resolution image of a ground range
bin without scanning. Forming simultaneous Doppler filter banks for several
contiguous range bins creates the complete SAR image.
Synthetic aperture radars are characterized as either focused or unfocused
systems. If the SAR Doppler filter banks are not tuned to the Doppler filter
frequency of the desired imaging ground area continuously throughout the SAR
array time, the system is said to be unfocused. When the SAR Doppler filter
banks are continuously tuned, the system is focused. The process of tuning is
called SAR motion compensation.
11.4.1 Unfocused Systems

The azimuth and range resolutions of an unfocused system are determined by
the length of time a ground point's radar return remains in a range/Doppler
resolution cell. Consider azimuth resolution first. If a strong ground target's
radar return drifts from one Doppler filter to another due to its changing Doppler
frequency during the SAR array time, part of its energy will be processed in one
Doppler filter and part in another. Thus, the SAR image will show a bright spot
in two contiguous Doppler filters and SAR azimuth resolution will be degraded.
Thus, unfocused SAR azimuth resolution is defined by the change in Doppler
frequency to the desired ground point during the SAR array time.
As an aircraft moves, the Doppler frequency shift of a given ground point
Pr is not constant since its azimuth angle changes. During a time period t:...TA,
the azimuth angle to ground point Pr will change by t:...e due to the aircraft
motion. The time required for the azimuth angle to a ground point at range R
to change by t:...e degrees is
Rt:...e
t:...TA = ---=- (11.1)
V sin 8
e
where V is the aircraft velocity and is the azimuth angle between the aircraft
velocity vector and the line-of-sight vector to the ground point Pr.
The corresponding Doppler-frequency change is
(11.2)
where 'A is the radar transmission wavelength.

The SAR Doppler filter bank passbands must have !::.fd Hz width if the
ground point's return is to stay in their passband during coherent integration.
The SAR array time TA is the reciprocal of the Doppler filter passband !::..fJ.
Therefore, the array time is
(11.3)
To a first order, a good radar image will be formed as long as the ground
return stays in a single Doppler filter during the coherent integration time. Thus,
!::.TA must equal TA. Equating 11.1 and 11.3 and solving for !::.8 obtains
!::.8 unfocused = ~ (11.4)
for the azimuth angular resolution. The linear azimuth resolution is obtained by
multiplying !::.8 by R. This yields
ldAiunfocuscd = 2 v(R}: (11.5)
for the linear azimuth resolution.

So far, our definition of azimuth resolution has been coarse. A refined defini-
tion of azimuth resolution is the linear extent of the SAR Doppler filter's 3-dB
frequency width when the coherent integration time is chosen to maximize the
radar return energy in a resolution cell. This optimal SAR array time is
1.2 v'ifi:
TA= - - - -
v
and the resolution corresponding to this array length is approximately
( 11.6)
Now, consider range resolution of an unfocused SAR radar. Unless compen-

sated, aircraft motion toward the imaged ground point P 7 will cause the radar
return to move from one range cell to another. The time !::.T, required for a
ground element to move one SAR range bin of width dr is
dr
!J.Tr = ----,- (II. 7)
Vcos()
This restricts the maximum length of the synthetic array to
dr
(DsAR)max = V !J.Tr = - - (11.8)
COS()
and the minimum synthetic array beam width to
A A cote
(!J.() )min = . (11. 9)
2(DMR)max Sin() 2dr
Modern SAR radars compensate for this range-walk phenomenon. One

implementation progressively delays the start of analog-to-digital converter
(ADC) range sampling from pulse to pulse by a time delay amount equal to
the product of line-of-sight velocity divided by PRF.
Early SAR systems were employed to generate synthetic aperture strip maps
for the reconnaissance mission. The radar antenna beam was pointed orthogonal
to the flight path as shown in Figure 11.4, and the aircraft was required to
fly straight and level during data collection. Radar returns were stored in a
tape recorder and processed on the ground by an optical correlator to create an
unfocused SAR strip map image [ 1]. Range walk was not compensated.
11.4.2 Focused Systems

If the center frequency of a Doppler filter is shifted to track the changing
Doppler frequency of a ground point PT, a focused SAR image is created. SAR
array time is limited only by the time the target is in the antenna beam of the
physical antenna carried by the aircraft. The maximum length of the synthetic
aperture DsAR is then
RA esc()
(DsAR)max = R() HP esc () = ---- (11.1 0)
D
where Dis the physical (real) length of the aircraft antenna and() HP is its physi-
cal (real) beam width. Then the azimuth angular resolution of the focused radar
IS
A D
I !J.() Ifocused = 2d esc () = 2R (11.11)
and the linear azimuthal resolution at range R is

D
!dA!focusect=2 (11.12)
This result asserts that the linear azimuthal resolution of a focused synthetic
aperture radar is not a function of operating wavelength, range to the identifi-
cation point, or the angle to the identification point with respect to the velocity
vector. Furthermore, in order to increase resolution, the aircraft antenna must be
made smaller. Of course, in practice, there are limitations imposed by the prob-
lems of keeping the synthetic antenna "straight" and by atmospheric "seeing"
conditions.
Another limitation is the motion of the target element out of its original range
bin, just as in an unfocused system. This occurs when
R'A esc(} d,-

(dA )max = ~--- > -- (11.13)
D cos(}
or
R'A cot(}
d,-< - - - - (11.14)
D
When this occurs, one reverts to Equation 11.8 to find t:.(J:
'A cot(}
(Ll(J)min = ~~- (11.15)
2d,-
Again, modern SAR radars compensate for this range-walk phenomenon.

The limiting resolutions set by Equations 11.12 and 11.15 are much more
likely to be reached in a focused system than in an unfocused one, because d,-
must be made quite small to equal the linear azimuthal resolution developed in
the first case. Relative to antenna theory, the operation of focusing is equivalent
to physically bending the synthetic array aperture so that its focal length is equal
to the range to the identification point-hence the name. The theory of focused
antennas is well developed [8].
The azimuth resolutions realized by a real beam (RBGM) radar, an unfocused
SAR radar, and a focused SAR radar are compared in Figure 11.5. Each radar
is assumed to transmit a 0.1-ft wavelength (X-band) pulse train through a lO-ft
long real antenna aperture. Note that the azimuth resolutions of the RBGM and
unfocused SAR radars are range variable, while the focused SAR resolution
is constant. This very desirable resolution property is achieved through motion
compensation.
1000
500 d=0.76RA.ID
200
-=z 100
0 50
i=
:::l
-I
0
(f) d = 0.6./"FU
w 20
a:
10
FOCUSED SYNTHETIC ARRAY
5
d= D/2
2 5 10 20 50 100
RANGE, nautical miles

Figure 11.5 Real beam, unfocused SAR, and focused SAR azimuth resolution com-
parison.
11.4.3 Motion Compensation

Modern synthetic array radars employ motion compensation techniques to cre-
ate focused radar images during times of aircraft maneuver. SAR beams are
focused relative to fixed ground points illuminated by the real antenna beam
by subtracting the phase shift due to antenna phase center spatial motion with
respect to the fixed ground point from each complex-valued sample of radar
return. Each range/Doppler cell has a different Doppler frequency history since
the line-of-sight angles to each cell are unique. Thus, the optimum motion com-
pensation approach is to compute and apply a unique phase correction history
for each resolution cell. However, this mechanization would be prohibitive to
implement from a required processor throughput point of view. Fortunately,
several cells, termed the depth of focus, can use a common phase correction
history.
Two signal-processing formats have been created to generate SAR images:
rectangular and polar. The rectangular format is based upon the assumption
that the loci of points of constant range on the ground are orthogonal to the
loci of points of constant Doppler frequency on the ground. In this case, geo-
metric distortion caused by SAR image creation in the range/Doppler domain
is minimal.
The polar format is based upon the assumption that radar returns are actu-
ally collected at equally spaced angle increments from a constant range. First,
stored radar returns must be resampled to convert from polar format to rectan-
gular format. Then two-dimensional fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) are formed
to generate the SAR image. Due to its added complexity, polar format is uti-
lized only for very fine resolution SAR image applications where geometric
distortion in rectangular format is severe. For the remainder of this chapter, the
rectangular format will be assumed.
Two methods of motion compensation have also been developed. Originally,
motion compensation was performed entirely based on on-board inertial sensors
that measured the antenna's spatial motion during the SAR coherent processing
interval. The radar data processor utilized INS acceleration and attitude vector
measurements to compute the line-of-sight phase history for SAR motion com-
pensation. Then, the stored raw radar return was retrieved and the phase history
subtracted from the radar return on a pulse-to-pulse basis. Finally, range bin and
Doppler filter FFT's were formed sequentially to generate the SAR image.
In the early 1980s, INS technology could not provide the velocity and angular
accuracies needed for motion compensation of very fine resolution SAR images.
Therefore, the idea of utilizing the actual radar return to compute motion com-
pensation phase histories was explored. This adaptive process has been termed
autofocus. Algorithms to focus fine resolution SAR images both with promi-
nent discrete radar returns and with only diffuse terrain have now been success-
fully developed. Autofocus is based on a three step logic: First, the radar forms
one or more coarse resolution SAR images utilizing motion compensation data
generated from the aircraft's master INS, which may be very remote from the
antenna phase center. During this step, the original unprocessed radar returns
are not destroyed but are stored in radar processor memory for the final pro-
cessing step. Extra processor memory is required to store the results of the first
step. Second, the coarse image(s) are analyzed to either select a prominent point
target, whose stored phase history will be utilized to compute a motion compen-
sation vernier, or to compute the Doppler frequency drift of a visible geometric
formation from image to image. Third, the raw radar return data are retrieved,
a refined motion compensation correction is applied, and the final SAR image
is formed. A generic autofocus functional diagram is given in Figure 11.6.
Since most multimode radars utilized rectangular format to create SAR
images, SAR signal-processing will be illustrated for this format. Synthesis
of a signal-processing architecture for generating minimum-time SAR images
during aircraft maneuvers involves a division of the radar ground return into
range/Doppler cells that can be focused by a single-point motion compensation
correction. For the range dimension, it is convenient to divide the range swath
into zones, whose widths are fixed at a value less than the smallest expected
range depth of focus. Signal-processing time will not be adversely affected by
a conservative choice for range zone width, say, 16 range bins. The cross-range
swath illuminated by the antenna is divided into zones whose widths are less
than the computed azimuth depth of focus. Since signal-processing time will
=:] INITIAL
MOTION
COMPENSATION
,'
FORM SAR
FORM
FINE IMAGE
PROCESSOR COARSE COMPUTE _..
~
MEMORY ~
RESOLUTION ~
AUTOFOCUS ~
RESOLUTION
SAR ~
UNPROCESSED SAR IMAGE(S) FINAL
IMAGE
RADAR MOTION
t
RETURN COMPENSATION
I
Figure 11.6 Autofocus mo1tion compensation utilizing radar return.
increase in direct proportion to the number of azimuth zones, azimuth depth of

focus will be computed each array to select the minimum number of required
azimuth zones.
The signal-processing steps required to form a SAR image are shown in
Figure 11.7. The signal processor compensates the phase of the nth radar return
pulse, kth range zone after the Nth INS measurement by a correction ¢(n, k)
that is the sum of the patch center correction, and a range-dependent vernier
correction.
The patch center correction is computed using a second-order Taylor series
approximation of the patch center phase history. Line-of-sight velocity and
acceleration values derived from [NS data form the Taylor series coefficients.
The range-dependent vernier correction is computed using a first-order gradient
vector of Doppler frequency with respect to slant range vector.
After range-dependent phase correction, the radar return is processed through
an azimuth prefilter and range compressed. Processing is performed in real time
up to this stage. Range-compressed data are stored in processor memory until
all the pulses required to form the SAR azimuth resolution cell have been col-
lected. During the data collection period, an azimuth-dependent vernier cor-
rection is computed using a second-order Taylor series approximation of patch
center phase history. Line-of-sight velocity and acceleration values derived from
INS data are used as the Taylor series coefficients. Motion compensation data
are stored in processor memory.
When all the radar pulses have been collected, the azimuth depth-of-focus is
computed, and the number of azimuth zones with a constant motion compensa-
tion correction NAzare determined. Then the azimuth-dependent phase correc-
tion, azimuth compression, and subpatch selection functions are exercised NAz
times. During the jth iteration, an azimuth-dependent phase correction qA (j)
will be applied to the range compressed data. The azimuth cells that are focused
by qA (j) will be selected after azimuth compression and magnitude detection
RANGE-VARIABLE AZIMUTH-VARIABLE
PHASE ADJUSTMENT PREFILTER PHASE ADJUSTMENT
PARAMETERS RATIO PCR PRAMETERS
s .s
l Q
~I
RANGE
DEPENDENT
PHASE
CORRECTION
H AZIMUTH
PREFILTER
~~RANGE
COMPRESSION
(FFr)
AZIMUTH
COMPRESSION
H SUB PATCH
SELECTION
HMAGNITUDE
DETECTION
~IMAGE
~~ ~~cRmAv ~TO
DISPLAY
(FFf) n.rrcrn ATJAlro.T
FFT ORDER AZIMUTH NL

DEPTH-OF-FOCUS
Figure 11.7 Signal-processing functional diagram.
Ul
N
.....
TABLE 11.2 Motion compensation error budget
Phase
Error.
Parameter Value Sensitivity Wavelengths
I. Velocity error. d V 0.3 M/S 2Vd V T 2 / 4 ) 0.13

f..R ( A
2. Accelerometer bias, ah 200 p,g (ab/'A)(Tl/4) 0.06
3. Accelerometer Scale factor 300 PPM 0.3 S~g (Tl/4) 0.08

error, SF
4. Attitude error. E 0.3 MRAD Eg (Tl/4) 0.1
"A
RSS total 0.21
will be performed. Then multilook image integration and the formatting for the
display are accomplished.
The ability of this motion compensation scheme to form focused SAR images
is directly dependent on the quality and timeliness of INS data. Typically, the
motion compensation design criterion is less than 90 deg (0.25 wavelengths)
of quadratic phase error during a SAR array time. This criterion results in less
than 10% broadening of the Doppler filter width (azimuth resolution degrada-
tion). Table 11.2 is a motion compensation error budget example. Phase error
is computed for a 1.8 sec SAR anay time (TA).
11.5 PRECISION VELOCITY UPDATE
Determination of ownship velocity is obviously an important concern in the

navigation of any airborne vehicle. For military aircraft, especially those
employing radar air-to-ground modes, precise determination of ownship veloc-
ity often makes the difference between mission success and failure. For exam-
ple, SAR images of the ground are often de-focused by ownship velocity error,
and shifted in a way that can destroy their utility as targeting tools; Doppler-
based techniques to estimate the velocity of ground-moving vehicles are ren-
dered futile if the error in knowledge of the radar velocity vector is comparable
to the speeds of the vehicles being tracked; miss-distances of ballistic muni-
tions are enlarged by velocity error at the time of weapon release. Fortunately,
air-to-ground radars, using the precision velocity update (PVU) mode, can mea-
sure the error in the vehicle's estimate of its own velocity and, thus, enhance
their own performance. Typically, radar-derived corrections to the velocity vec-
tor, supplied by the inertial navigation system, are fed back to the integrators
within that device. If velocity error feedback to the INS is not an option, a feed-
PRECISION VELOCITY UPDATE 523
forward mechanization, in which the radar accumulates velocity vector correc-

tions over time, may be used.
Radar measurements of aircraft velocity exploit the Doppler principle to
obtain projections of the velocity vector on chosen lines of sight (See Chapter
10, section 10.1.2). Using boresight directions that span 3-dimensional space
and intersect the ground, one can solve for the components of the velocity vec-
tor in some reference axis set, e.g., a local-level North-East-Down frame. Since
the Doppler frequency shift on an electromagnetic pulse that is sent and received
by an emitter, and reflected from a stationary reflector, is (2/'A) times the radial
velocity of the emitter in the direction of the reflection point, the relationship
of aircraft velocity to Doppler measurements can be written:
fD=(~)V·L (11.16)
The vector V is the unknown aircraft velocity vector, the vector L is an arbi-
trarily chosen unit line of sight (LOS) intersecting the ground, and the scalar
f D is the ground clutter Doppler measurement. If three independent lines of
sight are chosen and the measurements are made so rapidly that the velocity
vector is effectively constant during that time, then it is possible to solve for
the three components of the velocity vector by inverting the matrix equation
(11.17)
in which f is a triplet (f 1 , /2, h) of ground clutter Doppler measurements

and the 3 x 3 matrix A has as its jth row (j = 1, 2, 3) the unit boresight line
of sight (referred to the same axis set as V) associated with the jth Doppler
measurement. Given the independence of the rows of A, the components of V
are obtained by inverting A:
(11.18)
11.5.1 PVU Mechanization

Unlike the dedicated Doppler radars described in Chapter 10, where a bottom-
mounted antenna is used to provide the measurement of the Doppler shifts,
along three or four forward- and rearward-looking (Janus) and typically fixed
beams, a multimode radar, either nose- or side-mounted, can be commanded to
generate beams along almost any desired directions. In nose-mounted radars,
these beams will, of course, be pointed only in the forward direction (non-
Janus). The Janus and non-Janus effects on Doppler velocity accuracy are dis-
cussed in Section I 0.1.2.
In the PVU mode of a multimode radar, the quantity measured is the differ-
ence between the Doppler shift predicted by use of the velocity vector supplied
by the on-board INS and that associated with the true aircraft velocity. This
difference, together with the line-of-sight information, is then sent to a navi-
gation Kalman filter, usually residing in the INS, for estimation of the error in
the velocity vector supplied by the INS. Instead of processing a triplet of mea-
surements at a time, updates are performed, in turn, for each commanded line
of sight. This approach obviates the need for rapidity in making the sequence
of measurements along three lines of sight; V can change appreciably between
measurements. The technique is based on the usually well-founded assumption
that the velocity error vector is slowly varying. Figure 11.8 shows the func-
tional mechanization of a typical PVU mode of a multimode radar.
The mechanization commits to hardware the task of referencing the radar
returns to a frequency equal to the sum of the carrier frequency and a Doppler
shift that is consistent with the current aircraft velocity and a commanded
antenna LOS. The radar's variable frequency oscillator (VFO) is set to the fre-
quency value given by 2//\ times the projection of the INS velocity estimate on
the commanded antenna LOS. Radar processing is such that, if the INS velocity
is exact, and the commanded LOS is achieved exactly by the antenna boresight,
then the radar return from the groundpoint where the boresight intersects the
ground will have been shifted to zero Hz. Any departure from this value is
evidence of error in the INS velocity, the achieved antenna beam boresight, or
both.
An essential feature of PVU radar data processing is that it determines the
range/Doppler cell corresponding to the antenna beam boresight direction that
was actually achieved (as opposed to the one commanded). Typically, this is
I ~~~!;mode I INS
j
,,
I At INS
signal
processor
I
I
f(meas)
!(predicted)
ll
- Kalman
filter
Navigation
v
-
Navigation ..,. corrections
2/'AV•l..r--
I inertial
L - _j sensors Calibration
- - - - - - -- corrections
.!..
Figure 11.8 Block diagram of PVU mode.
done in a sequential manner. First, using main/guard sum channel data, a coarse
estimate of beam boresight range is obtained by a sliding-window technique that
finds the contiguous region containing the strongest returns; this estimate is then
refined by averaging the values of elevation null returned by monopulse dis-
criminants in a set of range-bins surrounding the coarse range estimate. Then,
in a narrow swath surrounding the range associated with the newly found ele-
vation boresight, the achieved azimuth is determined by averaging the values
of azimuth null delivered by azimuth monopulse discriminants; the PVU mea-
surement is taken to be the Doppler value associated with that cell. Discrimi-
nant techniques based on difference-to-sum ratios have the virtue that they are
relatively immune to reflectivity differences in the area illuminated by the beam.
Since the Doppler observations are inevitably noisy, a method of filtering is
needed. Typically, at each beam position, the Doppler measurement is taken to
be the average of N, approximately 6, independent measurements taken in quick
succession. In the absence of information regarding the slope and non uniformity
of the terrain, the clutter return is regarded as coming from the intersection
of the radar beam and a horizontal surface. The shape of the clutter spectrum
(intensity versus Doppler) is a function of the illumination pattern delivered by
the radar beam.
11.5.2 PVU Measurement Errors

The quantity measured by the radar in the PYU mode is the difference llf
between anticipated and measured Doppler frequency along a commanded
antenna line of sight:
llf =ftrue -fvFO (11.19)
where ftrue is the actual Doppler frequency of the radar return along the antenna
beam boresight, andf VFO is the Doppler value set in the VFO. Those quantities
are related to velocity and line of sight through
ftruc = ( ~) Vtrue · Lachievcd (11.20)
f VFO = ( ~) V/Ns · Lcommanded (11.21)
The difference between the anticipated Doppler value (f vFO) and the Doppler
actually measured Cftrue) is related to the following system error vectors: (l)
the current error (llV) in the INS velocity vector and (2) the error (IlL) in the
achieved line of sight (i.e., the difference between the commanded LOS, whose
calculation was based on estimates of heading, pitch, and roll supplied by the
INS, and the LOS actually achieved by the antenna boresight):
2
!::.f = ( -A. ) (!::.V · Lcommanctect- VJNs · !::.L) +noise ( 11.22)
where
!::.V = VrNS- Vrrue (11.23)

!::.L = Lcommanded - Lachieved (11.24)
Equation 11.22 shows that the measured Doppler difference contains not only
the desired projection of the current velocity error on a chosen line of sight but
also contains a term given by the projection of the full INS velocity vector on
the boresight pointing error.
Failure to take explicit account of the last term (V rNs · !::.L) in equation
11.22 leads to a biased estimate of the actual velocity error; as an example, for
an aircraft traveling at 300 meters/sec, every milliradian of boresight point-
ing error contributes an unmodeled velocity error of 0.3 meter/sec. Military
aircraft often rely on velocity estimation accuracy of 0.2 meterjsec or better.
Boresight pointing errors arise from several sources, including (1) INS attitude,
(2) knowledge of the relative orientation of the INS case and the radar antenna
base, (3) antenna gimbal readout errors affecting the antenna control algorithm,
(4) electrical boresight, and (5) compensation for radome refraction. The domi-
nant errors can usually be modeled as biases in some coordinate frame, and are
thus well-suited to Kalman filter estimation. PVU-derived velocity estimation
accuracy better than 0.25 meterjsec (1-sigma) is typical for some tactical air-
craft equipped with medium-accuracy navigators whose unaided performance
is 0.8 meterjsec (1-sigma), approximately. Achieving this at speeds approach-
ing Mach 1 calls for antenna pointing error calibration accuracy considerably
better than 1 mrad.
Equation 11.22 can be rewritten to show explicitly the dependence of the
PVU measurement on the contributors to antenna beam-pointing errors listed
above. The error !::.L can be written in the form of a vector cross product:
!::.L = !::.8 x Lc (11.25)
where !::.8 is some triplet of small angle errors, and for brevity Lc is used to
denote Lcommandcd· Equation 11.22 can then be made to read
2
!::.f = ( -A. ) [!::.V · L,- VrNs · (!::.0 X Lc)] (11.26)
or
~f = ( ~2 ) (~V · L, + VINs x Lc · M)) (11.27)
The vector quantity ~() can be written as a sum of angle errors resident in
different frames; for example,
(11.28)
where ~¢INs is the vector of small errors (referred to the navigation frame) in
the INS estimate of its own attitude; ~<!> 8 is the triplet of small-angle errors
(referred to the aircraft body frame) describing the uncompensated misalign-
ment of the antenna base with respect to the INS case; ~<!>A denotes the three
small errors in the antenna gimbal readouts (roll, elevation, azimuth, in some
sequence).
CNB and CBA are 3 x 3 orthogonal matrices; CNB transforms vectors defined
in the aircraft body frame into their representations in the navigation (INS)
frame, while CBA transforms ~A elements to the aircraft body frame. CNB
appears in the output message of the INS or can be constructed from the head-
ing, pitch and roll angles in that message. The matrix CBA is constructed from
the antenna roll, elevation, and azimuth angles that are commanded in order
to achieve the two conditions: (I) alignment of the antenna face normal with
the commanded line of sight and (2) having the elevation monopulse axis hor-
izontal (the azimuth axis then lies in the vertical plane containing the line of
sight).
11.5.3 PVU Kalman Filter

The inner products appearing in Equations 11.26 and 11.27 allow immediate
writing of the Kalman filter measurement equation; it is
~f = Hx +Noise ( 11.29)
where the scalar ~f is the measured Doppler difference described above, x is

the state vector in the INS Kalman filter, and H is the single-row measure-
ment matrix. It is standard practice in INS software to use a formulation of the
Kalman filter that has the vector of estimation errors (estimated whole value
minus true) as the state vector. If the elements of x are ordered so that INS
velocity errors ~V, INS attitude errors ~ IN.)• antenna-to-body misalignments
~<!> 8 , and antenna gimbal angle errors ~A occupy the first 12 locations as
follows:
( 11.30)
where superscript T denotes transpose, then measurement sensitivities to the

errors in x are given by the row-matrix H, where
T T T T
H = -[(Lc) , (VINs XL,) , (CNs(VINs X Lc)) , (CNsCsA(VINs X Lc)) , 0, ... ]
(11.31)
with zeros in the locations beyond 12. Each of the items separated by commas
in the preceding two equations is a three-element row vector.
The evolution of the estimation errors appearing in Equation 11.30 is defined
through the transition matrix definition. ~V and ~ INS are propagated via stan-
dard navigation error differential equations. ~<1> 8 is treated as a random bias,
namely, as an unknown vector that is constant in the body frame. In the formu-
lation described above, ~<!>A is also treated as a random bias, a constant vec-
tor in the antenna face frame. Thus, only constant errors (readout errors that
are independent of the actual value of the commanded angles) can be treated
with this approach. Other antenna-resident errors can be pursued (e.g., angle-
proportional or scale-factor errors) but only at the cost of introducing further
complexity.
The noise term in Equation 11.29 can be regarded as being equivalent to a
random angle jitter. Thus,
Noise= V x L, · ~e R (11.32)
where ~eR is a random vector that includes the contributions of any and all
noise sources in the data collection and processing; it would include I/ Q cal-
ibration errors, numerical round-off errors, residual postcompensation radome
correction errors, and many others. It is worth noting that the magnitude of
the measurement noise varies with aircraft speed IV 1. In practice, it would be
modeled as a zero-mean process with standard deviation given by
amcas = IV I a jitter (11.33)
where a jitter is a value (measured or assumed) for the standard deviation of the
effective jitter.
When the antenna is electronically scanned, the mounting error ~<1> 8 remains
in the measurement equation; the gimbal readout errors disappear, of course.
Electrical pointing errors specific to an ESA are so small that they can be
ignored. The PVU measurement model is simpler. However, beam broaden-
ing, especially for large angles off the antenna face normal, often leads to
reduced measurement accuracy, which can affect the rate of estimation conver-
gence. Otherwise, the operation of the mode is the same as for the mechanically
scanned antenna.
TERRAIN FOLLOWING AND AVOIDANCE 529
11.5.4 PVU Mode Observability Concerns

The PVU measurement model (Equations 11.26 and 11.27) assumes the Doppler
difference measurement is a weighted sum of velocity and angle errors. The
weights are functions of antenna line of sight, aircraft velocity vector, aircraft
body attitude, and antenna face attitude with respect to aircraft body. To estimate
and calibrate the individual errors, PVU measurements should be collected in
such a way that those weights do not appear in fixed ratios; this avoids the
condition in which certain errors appear in fixed combinations with others, with
the result that isolation of individual errors becomes impossible. For example, if
straight and level flying conditions are maintained during a sequence of PVU
measurements, then the INS attitude error Ll<!> 1Ns and the antenna mounting
error Ll<!>s appear through their sum; that is the ratio of their weightings is I: I,
regardless of the chosen line of sight. Thus, some departures from level flight
must be made in the course of forming measurements along various lines of
sight. These maneuvers need not be severe; changes of I oo to 20° in pitch and
roll are adequate. Similarly, in order to distinguish velocity error from angle
errors, the relative values of the weights arising from inner products with Lc
(velocity error) and V x Lc (angle errors) must be made to change during the
PVU measurement sequence. This can be done, for instance, by changing V,
either through acceleration along track or by maneuvering. Similar concerns
apply to ensuring observability of the antenna-resident errors Ll<!> A'
From a practical standpoint the decision to augment the state-vector of an
INS Kalman filter with radar-specific states (e.g., Ll<!>s and Llei>A above) is often
problematic. The INS software design may not allow for easy insertion of new
states or for the extra processing demands entailed. There is operational conso-
lation in the fact that, if estimation of antenna-pointing errors is to work at all,
it will converge in the first few minutes of the mission (over land) if the radar
is dedicated to PVU operation during that time. The newly estimated antenna
calibration corrections can then be stored for use in the antenna control func-
tion during the rest of the mission, and the angle-error states in the INS Kalman
filter can be ignored.
11.6 TERRAIN FOLLOWING AND AVOIDANCE
The term terrain following refers to an aircraft maintaining a fixed height rela-
tive to the terrain immediately beneath it. Terrain avoidance and terrain clear-
ance are related techniques, wherein terrain avoidance is performed for turn
rates exceeding those normally performed during terrain following.
Figure 11.9 illustrates the geometry of the terrain-following process. The
terrain-following system, comprised of airframe, flight control system, radar
forward-looking sensor, radar altimeter, and pilot fail-safe monitoring, main-
tains the aircraft at the desired terrain following height, h 0 . The forward-look-
ing sensor measures the rangeR and angle {3 to the terrain. Angle {3 is measured
530 MAPPING AND MUUJMODE RADARS
Antenna boresight
Figure 11.9 Terrain -following geometry.
relative to the radar antenna boresight, which in turn points at an angle a relative
to horizontal during a terrain measurement interval. The terrain range and angle
are then used to compute pitch (r. as defined in the figure) inputs to the flight
control system that modify the aircraft trajectory to clear terrain at the desired
clearance height ho.
The motivation for terrain following (TF) is based on terrain masking, reduc-
ing aircraft exposure to ground-based and airborne air defense systems. The
degree of exposure reduction is a function of achieved terrain following height
terrain roughness, and system lookdown capability. Early applications of terrain
following started in the 1960s with the U.S. Air Force F-Ill and Navy A-6.
Both the U.S. B-1 A and B-1 B aircraft support TF, with the latter being accom-
plished with a multimode radar interleaving other radar modes in between TF
profile measurem e nt intervals.
Figure 11.10 is a functional block diagram of a modern terrain following
system. Starting from the left, terrain is sensed by the forward-looking radar,
with enough range and angle coverage to clear the highest expected terrain at
the desired clearance height. The radar processor generates a terrain profile con-
sisting of elevation versus range, which forms the input to the pitch-command
processor. The flight control system (FCS) accepts pitch commands and mod-
ifies the control surface position.s. The system loop is closed when th e radar
collects a new terrain profile. which then generates a new set of pitch com-
mands, different from the previous commands, since the aircraft is at a different
position relative to the terrain. The altimeter acts as a check by comparing the
distance of the terrain beneath the aircraft with the corresponding radar mea-
surements. The forward looking infrared (FUR) sensor provides backup data
on the presence of wires, with the radar providing height information designed
to fty over the tops of towers, thus avoiding the wires. The pilot's interface
consists of the display, flight controls, and TF vertical acceleration switch for
choosing smooth , medium , or hard ride quality. Pilot work load is intensive,
with the requirement to perform a positive-pitch "pull-up" maneuver the instant
an unsafe flight condition occurs.
Flight Control
Profile Surface Airframe
Command Deflection Posi tion/Orientation
r---
L '
Ove r Terrain
-... Array ~ RCVR &

Xmitter
~
Radar
Controller
Flight
Control
. Airframe 1--
f4- System
....__
~
Terrain Throttle
Commands
. FUR* I
Sensor I Core ProcessorI
Mission Computer - INS --
~ Altimeter ---- ,
I
r--,
I I
I I
Displays
I __ _I
Pilot
Terrain Profile, A/C State I I
*Forward-looking Infrared
Ul
~
Figure 11.10 Terrain-following functional block diagram.
......
Flight safety is the primary system design parameter being maximized, while
minimizing radar on-time and power level. The latter is important for a low-
observable aircraft. Flight safety requires embedding fail-safe features into sys-
tem hardware, software, and interfaces such that the probability of an unsafe
failure going undetected in an hour of TF flight is very small, I o-s being a
typical specification requirement.
11.6.1 Radar Mode and Scan Pattern Implementation

A TF sensor encounters a wide range of terrain backscatter values during routine
operation. A flight profile over snow, desert, and military installations can easily
encounter a dynamic range of 30 dB, as indicated in Chapter 10. In addition,
discretes targets as large as I 04 meters 2 cross section may exist due to man-
made structures acting as corner reflectors, or high radar-cross-section reflectors
deployed as a countermeasure.
A terrain-following radar supports safe flight by scanning a volume con-
taining the projection of the aircraft velocity vector onto the horizontal plane,
defined as the ground track vector. Figure 11.11 depicts a nominal scan vol-
ume for level flight, with scan coverage equally split between the left and right
sides of the ground track vector. The required extent of the scan volume in the
horizontal dimension increases with uncertainty in either the velocity of the air
mass or the aircraft with respect to an inertial navigation reference. The upper
scan limit is a function of the expected highest terrain elevation, and the dis-
tance that elevation must be sensed for safe clearance, as indicated in Equation
11.34.
Pencil Beam
3 dB Contour
r---:::o-~-,.-~..,..........,.___, t ,r:r-....,.......,-.,..........,....___,_~ I;cal Scan

Ground
Track
(Into Page)
J Coverage
-4------- Horizontal Scan

Coverage
Figure 11.11 Terrain-following level flight scan coverage.
Bu =tan -] ( -~z- ) (11.34)

VHTw
is the elevation scan uplook

is the terrain clearance height above current altitude
is the horizontal component of aircraft velocity
is the minimum time required to safely clear maximum terrain height
The aircraft flight time from the instant of sensing to the time the aircraft passes
over the highest terrain point is defined as the warning time, Tw. As described
later, during terrain-following operation, the aircraft flight control law is based
on maintaining a constant horizontal velocity, and either a positive or negative
vertical acceleration causing consecutive pull-up or push-over parabolic trajec-
tories. Safe flight requires that pull-up and push-over trajectories intersect at no
more than one point in space, where the slopes of the two parabolas are equal.
Combining the equality of slopes with the definition of warning time results in
a relationship between maximum terrain elevation ~Z, warning time Tw, and
the two vertical accelerations, as shown in Equation 11.35.
(11.35)
where
Ap is the positive vertical acceleration
AN is the negative vertical acceleration
Substituting this result for ~Z in Equation 11.34 leads to a requirement for the
upper elevation scan limit, 8 u.
A terrain-following radar performs terrain data collection over the scan vol-
ume appropriate for either level or turning flight. Scan implementation is a
function of antenna beam width. For the case of a pencil beam, scanning is
performed in vertical bars such that consecutive beam pointing angles within
a bar have overlapping 3-dB contours, as indicated in Figure 11.11. This over-
lapping provides smoothed estimates of terrain SNR and height as a function
of beam position. The beam selection logic then uses these data to select which
beam positions to use within a range cell for final height estimates. This beam
selection logic ensures safely measuring the tops of towers, and reduces upward
biasing of rain, as indicated in Figures 11.12 and 11.13.
Tower Top at the

Bottom of 3 dB Beam
0
Tower Top on~
Boresight \Jl)
Discrete Scatterer
Tower Top above
Boresight
Figure 11.12 Beam selection logic for towers.
11.6.2 Terrain Measurement

Figure 11.14 depicts radar height estimate formation for a single-beam-pointing
angle. The radar's video sampling interval and system bandwidth define the
range cell.
The term centroid defines the angle, as observed from the radar and measured
in a vertical plane, from the antenna boresight to the center of the range cell. The
extent defines the angular width of the terrain within the range cell, measured in
a vertical plane from the radar. If the extent were a fraction of a mi II iraclian, then
the terrain return clue to a coherent radar pulse can be treated as being from a
Rain Only
in 3 dB Beam
Terrain on
Bore sight
Terrain Enters o
the Beam
NoiseOnly
in Beam
o
Figure 11.13 Beam se lection logic for terrain to avoid bias due to rain.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I Range Cell
I
I
Elevation Extent
''
''
''
''
Antenna
oresight
I ', '
Figure 11.14 Terrain height measurement based on centroid and extent.
point target, and mutual interference from multiple scattering sources within the
range cell, described by the term scintillation, would have negligible effect on
centroid measurement. This point target assumption is invalid for most terrain
conditions and practical range sampling intervals. Assuming an aircraft height
of 200 ft, and 150-ft range cells, results in flat-terrain extents of 7.0 mr at 2000-
ft slant range. In the worst case, scintillation could eliminate the effective radar
cross section of all but the near-range scatterers within the range cell, causing an
unsafe underestimation of terrain elevation by several milliradians. The effect
is more pronounced (and unsafe) for terrain features with great vertical height,
such as cliffs and towers. To obtain maximum radar illumination across the
full elevation extent, the radar transmits over a wide bandwidth, either with
sequential pulses at different frequencies or a single wideband pulse, whose
returns are filtered independently using a digital or analog filter bank. Centroid
and extent estimates are then made from these wideband radar returns.
Elevation centroid and extent processing has been successfully applied in
several terrain-following systems. The radar return from each range cell is pro-
cessed using in-phase (I) and quadrature-phase (Q) samples from both sum and
difference monopulse channels. Equation 11.36 shows the processing of sum
and difference video signals to form a centroid discriminant, Cmsc, and Equa-
tion 11.37 shows the corresponding processing to form the extent discriminant,
Emsc.
(11.36)
where
\S\ is the magnitude of complex-valued sum channel video
signal for ith frequency
\D\ is the magnitude of complex-valued difference channel video
signal for ith frequency
asD is the phase angle between complex-valued sum and difference
signals for ith frequency
N, is the sum channel noise power estimate
is the transmitted frequency channel number
(11.37)
where N D is the difference channel noise power estimate.

These discriminants (Cmsc and Emsc) are based on maximum-likelihood
estimation, assuming a Swirling II fluctuation [ 18] model for terrain returns,
and a Gaussian radar receiver noise model. As shown in Figure 11.15, the
centroid and extent discriminants are coupled, deterministic functions of the
ideal centroid and extent, due to the effective integration of sum and dif-
ference patterns across the terrain extent and the location of the terrain cen-
troid relative to the difference channel null. A look-up table indexed on cen-
troid and extent discriminant inputs performs the required inverse mapping.
The final terrain elevation is formed by summing the centroid and half of the
extent.
11.6.3 Aircraft Control

The terrain-following height control algorithm meets three basic requirements.
First, the aircraft should clear terrain with negligible vertical velocity. Second,
the autopilot should issue either a constant positive or constant negative ver-
tical acceleration, relative to lg, depending on terrain measurements. Third,
the horizontal velocity should remain constant. As indicated in Figure 11.16,
Extent
1/Centroid
r;:,_,
0
[0 Difference Channel Gain

"'C
.!0:-
rn
(.!)
rn
c
c
Cl)
+-'
c
<t:
>.
rn
~
di
6 ~~--~~--~~~--
-2.5 -1.25 0 1.25 2.5
Degrees of Elevation From Boresight
Figure 11.15 Terrain projected onto sum and difference gain patterns.
the combination of these requirements leads to the aircraft executing either a

pull-up parabolic trajectory (corresponding to a positive vertical acceleration
implemented by pitch-plane control surfaces) or a push-over parabolic trajec-
tory (corresponding to a negative vertical acceleration).
For a final step in terrain height measurement, the processing places push-
over parabolas over each of the terrain profile range and elevation pairs. When-
ever the aircraft is higher than the desired terrain following height, the control
law continues to command a push-over maneuver, until the pull-up parabola is
Push-over
Parabola With --._
Pull-up C.li~b & Dive ~ Terrain
Parabola With Ltnuts • Following
Climb & Dive /""" Height
Limits Terrain Data Point
/
Terrain
Figure 11.16 TF aircraft height control based on terrain heights.
tangent to one of these push-over parabolas. Note that both pull-up and push-
over parabolas are augmented by airframe-dependent climb and dive limits.
11.7 MULTIMODE RADARS
Multimode radars perform a variety of functions using common hardware.

The most prevalent examples are for military applications. Life-cycle cost eco-
nomics has forced the military services to abandon their traditional approach of
developing single mission aircraft, such as the F-14 and A-6, and concentrate
instead on multimission aircraft, such as the F / A-18. A multi mission aircraft
radar's mode suite includes range-while-search, track-while-scan, single-target
track, weapon support, weather avoidance, RBGM, SAR, fixed-target track,
ground-moving target track, and terrain-following modes. In the multimission
application, the radar is designed to provide the best balanced performance for
all missions.
Traditionally, air-to-ground radar designers prefer high RF frequencies (Ku-
band) that provide finer antenna azimuth resolution, given a fixed length aper-
ture, and shorter SAR integration periods, given fixed range, speed, azimuth
angle, and azimuth resolution. Low PRF wave forms are employed to yield
range-unambiguous measurement of ground target location. In contrast, air-to-
air radar designers select lower RF frequencies (X-band) to minimize atmo-
spheric losses. High PRF wave forms are utilized to maximize average radi-
ated energy and to provide velocity-unambiguous coverage. Ground return and
approaching airborne targets, which are the most threatening, are separated in
Doppler frequency when this wave form is employed. Medium PRF is also
utilized to acquire and track airborne targets in a look-down engagement. Mul-
timode radar designers must balance these two design preferences.
Multimode radars comprise an antenna, transmitter, receiver/exciter, and
processor units. Power supply modules may be distributed among the functional
units or packaged in their own unit. Antenna, transmitter, and exciter RF fre-
quency choice is a compromise between the air-to-air and air-to-ground perfor-
mance benefits gained at different extremes of the RF spectrum. Typically, a RF
frequency band in the X-band regime is chosen. However, RF hardware tech-
nology advancements are focused on increasing RF bandwidth. In the twenty-
first century multimode radars may possess RF bandwidths covering suitable
portions of the X-band and Ku-band spectrums.
Air-to-air radar antennas are designed to yield maximum antenna gain, min-
imum beam width, and negligible sidelobe level. A "pencil" beam width is
desired. Colocated guard horns are sometimes utilized for RFI elimination and
ECCM purposes. Air-to-ground radar antennas are designed to provide uniform
illumination of large ground swath over a range of depression angles. Typi-
cally, a large cosecant-squared elevation beam is employed. Sidelobe level is
not as critical a design parameter. Monopulse or interferometer techniques are
used to obtain azimuth target location information. A multimode radar antenna
SIGNAL PROCESSING 539
must possess all the properties of both designs. Basically, the multimode radar
antenna is designed for the more stringent air-to-air application and has provi-
sions to spoil its elevation beam when required for air-to-ground applications.
Antenna elevation beam width has two values selectable by the radar processor.
Multimode radar transmitters and exciters must provide a large range of
RF frequencies, pulse widths, and PRFs. Transition from one set of operat-
ing parameters to another must be rapid. The radiated RF wave form must be
completely "programmable" by the radar processor. Power management of the
transmitted energy is also desirable.
The receiver function must be "programmable" as well. A narrow band-
width, large dynamic range receiver is required to support air-to-air modes,
while a wide bandwidth, low dynamic range receiver is needed to support air-
to-ground modes. The receiver must provide matched filtering for a variety of
signal pulsewidths and PRF's. The analog-to-digital covnerter's precision and
number of range samples taken each pulse repetition interval (PRI) must be
selectable.
A multimode radar processor performs four functions, specifically, sig-
nal processing, data processing, radar units control, and system input/output
management. All functions are completely defined and managed by software.
A typical multimode radar software program comprises I 00,000 to 200,000
instructions. Higher-order languages, such as JOVIAL and Ada, are employed
for data processing, radar units control, and system input/output. Signal pro-
cessing is accomplished through a structured software language. The hard-
ware architecture comprises a cluster of signal-processing elements acting on
radar return data in parallel, a cluster of data-processing elements partitioned to
accomplish data processing, radar unit control, or system input/output, a large
radar return data memory, and a large program memory. The number of pro-
cessor modules depends on application.
11.8 SIGNAL PROCESSING
High-speed, software programmable signal processors are key to the imple-

mentation of multimode radars. Radar weight would be prohibitive, and air-
craft power and cooling services could not support radar functioning if most
radar signal conditioning and processing were not performed in a compact,
lightweight special-purpose computer. SAR signal processing, which is illus-
trated in Figure 11.7, extracts radar imagery from the radar ground return. PVU
signal processing, which is described in Section 11.5, extracts velocity vector
error estimates from ground return. Terrain-following signal processing, which
is defined in Equations 11.28 and 11.29, produces a terrain elevation angle pro-
file versus range and isolates elevated point targets. Moving-target signal pro-
cessing, which is discussed here, extracts target location information from the
radar target return. These four signal-processing algorithms examine different
portions of the radar Doppler frequency spectrum to perform their tasks.
Figure 11.17 is a generic functional block diagram for airborne or ground-

moving target detection and location signal processing. This entire sequence of
functions is implemented in software that is executed by parallel, "pipeline"
processors. The execution of software modules is divided into three time-criti-
cal levels, namely, those computations that must be performed during a pulse
repetition interval (PRI), those computations that must be performed during a
coherent processing interval (CPI), and those computations that must be per-
formed during an antenna dwell.
During a PRI, signal processing must compensate the range samples of
azimuth difference channel and sum channel radar return for RF front-end
imbalances, such as sum/difference phase/gain imbalance, and perform pulse
compression. Each PRI pulse compressed range sample is stored in memory
for later processing.
During a CPI, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) is utilized to form a Doppler
filter bank spanning the PRF interval for each range bin and each radar channel
of data. The resulting sum channel data grid is scanned to detect moving tar-
gets. A constant false alarm rate detector (CFAR) adapted to a noise probability
density function (PDF) estimate is utilized to detect moving targets. Preliminary
estimates of target range, Doppler frequency, and azimuth angle are formed for
each potential detection and stored in processor memory.
If the radar wave forms are range and Doppler ambiguous, each potential
target's range/Doppler measurement from each CPI must be expanded into the
set of all possible unambiguous range/Doppler coordinates for the target on
each CPl. The sets from all CPI's are compared during an antenna dwell to
determine an unambiguous range/Doppler measurement.
11.9 AIRBORNE WEATHER RADAR
Any enterprise involving travel or navigation has to take account of the poten-
tially catastrophic impact of adverse weather. Airborne radar is in some senses
unique in its ability not only to make measurements (of ownship position, veloc-
ity and heading, etc.) that aid the navigation function but also to detect the pres-
ence and the features of weather formations. The radar observations involved
in a weather mode are (1) magnitude detection of reflections from clouds and
precipitation and (2) Doppler measurements of the motion of particles within a
weather formation. Magnitude detection, accompanied by use of sophisticated
reflectivity models, allows determination of particle type (rain, snow, hail, etc.)
and precipitation rate. Doppler measurements, usually achieved by pulse-pair
processing, can be made to yield estimates of turbulence intensity and wind
speed. Reliable determination by airborne radar, of the presence and severity
of the phenomenon known as wind shear, has been an important area of study
in recent years.
Dedicated weather radars and multimode radars with a weather mode are
usually nose mounted, and they include a weather display. Avoidance of haz-
Calibration
Constants Code
~
1 arget
Radar Constant Range, Measure-
Compensate Doppler
Return
for
System
Imbalances
f-.
Pulse
Compression r-----
Frequency
Spectrum
Estimate
1--
False
Alarm
Rate
Detector
f-+
Ambiguity
Resolver f-+
Doppler,
Angle
Discriminate
Formation
ments
-
I_ ~ ~ J J
t
Noise
PDF
Estimator J
Figure 11.17 Generic moving target detection signal processing.
Ut
....
""
ardous weather conditions is the intent; however, in tactical aircraft the output
of the weather mode is often used to adjust radiated power levels and processing
thresholds for the presence of precipitation in the region between the radar and
the target or area of interest. Typically, a real-beam map mode is employed,
using a single value for elevation angle and scanning in azimuth. Radar returns
are range gated and indexed by beam boresight angles. Processing is similar to
that in which ground maps are formed but no attenuation is applied to the radar
return, because of the relatively low reflectivity of clouds. The resulting display
often shows weather formations in range (out to 100 km, approximately) and
angle with respect to the aircraft nose, with indications of precipitation and
hazard levels.
11.9.1 Radar Reflectivity of Weather Formations

The radar reflectivity of weather formations depends strongly on the precip-
itation type (rain, snow, hail, etc.), on the precipitation rate, and on the car-
rier wavelength. The radar cross section (RCS) of an individual droplet is well
approximated by [ 19]
5
a;=~
7r
IKI 2 d;6
(m 2 - l)
K=--::--- (11.38)
(m2 + 2)
where d; is the diameter of the droplet and m is the complex index of refraction.
For microwave radar wavelengths, IKI 2 has the value 0.93 for raindrops and
0.2 for ice crystals and snow [19]. Summation of the a; over a unit volume of
the cloud gives the RCS (per unit volume) for the precipitation:
(11.39)
Knowing the distribution of particle sizes for a given precipitation type and rate
allows calculation of reflectivity after determining the value Z of the summation
in Equation 11.39. Z has been determined experimentally for many conditions;
Figure 11.18 shows a log-log plot of RCS (m 2 per cubic meter) versus pre-
cipitation rate (mm per hour), for rain and snow, with carrier wavelength as
parameter. Most airborne weather radars operate in either C- or X-band. The
'A - 4 dependence of reflectivity on carrier wavelength favors X-band radars for
this task.
log, base 10,

of reflectivity
0.32 rain
-8 -r----r----=::::::::~~*==--,o.32 snow
3.2 rain
3.2 snow
-10~------+-----~~-----+-----~
-12~--~--+---~~~~---+---r--~
-1 0 1 2 3
log, base 10, of precipitation rate
Figure 11.18 Log-log plot of reflectivity (me te r2 / mete r·1 ) versus precipitatio n rate
(mm/ hn.
11.9.2 Weather Radar Processing

Fig ure 11.19 depicts the processing stages in volved in using radar data to detect
weather for mations a nd to measure precipitation rates and air-movement con-
d iti o ns. Frequency agility is used to min imi ze range ambig uities. T he sequence
(upper path in the fi g ure) by which the presence of a g iven weather state is
inferred from the magnitude of the radar return is ( I) use the radar range eq ua-
tio n to solve for the RCS YJ, afte r accounting fo r range a nd for parameters spe-
c ific to the radar set (transmit power, antenna gain , e tc.), (2) choose a value
for IKI 2 that is consistent w ith some prec ipitation type (e.g., snow ) and solve
for Z. (3) knowing Z, use a look-up tab le or formula to infer the prec ipita-
tio n rate, (4) repeat (2) and (3) fo r any other prec ipitation types that may be
present.
Determinatio n of w ind speeds within a weathe r formatio n has considerable
safety value . Doppler-based processing can detect the presence of turbule nce
and provide a warning to the pil ot if a pre-set safety level for wind speeds is
e xceeded. Even c lear-air turbule nce can be detected, despite the absence of a
large mass of water molecules, if the sensi ti vity and transmit powe r are suf"ti -
Precipitation estimation path
Turbulence estimation path
Figure 11.19 Weather mode radar processing for each range bin.
cient to deal with the low reflectivity levels provided by dust at low levels and
sparsely distributed ice crystals at high altitude.
The lower path in Figure 11.19 shows the processing associated with mea-
surement of air motion within a given volume. The pulse repetition frequency
(PRF) is higher than that used in the upper path, in order to span the spec-
tral width needed to represent faithfully the Doppler shifts of the radar returns.
The spread of radial velocities within the air mass of interest is then calculated
from the measured spectral width. Comparison with pre-stored values allows
calculation of a safety index; for example, 5 meters/sec is often regarded as a
threshold beyond which a turbulent air mass is regarded as posing a hazard for
navigation. The mean velocity of mass within a given range-angle cell cannot
easily be calculated without a moving target indicator (MTI) mode and accurate
ownship velocity.
11.9.3 Radar Detection of Microburst and Wind Shear

Detection of microburst-induced wind shear has been a very active area of
study in recent years. This phenomenon, involving strong downdrafts and high-
velocity, horizontal airflow at low altitudes, is extremely hazardous to aircraft
during landing and takeoff. Microbursts usually contain rain. The rapid transi-
tions in lift conditions (see Figure 11.20) can confront the pilot with a life-or-
death situation without enough reaction time to prevent disaster. As the aircraft
approaches the center of the microburst, the outflow acts as a headwind. The
pilot, after responding to an apparent condition of excessive lift, may suddenly
find that there is not enough time or altitude in which to avert disaster in the
reduced-lift conditions that rapidly occur, for the microburst outflow becomes
a tailwind once the aircraft has passed through the center. There are plans to
install radar wind-shear detection capability on all commercial airliners in the
next few years.
Methods for radar detection of microbursts are based on recognition of air
movement through Doppler processing. Some approaches attempt to detect the
low-altitude, radial, horizontal airflow that accompanies them. Others key on
detection of the fast downward movement of the vertical column of air and
FUTURE TRENDS 545
Tailwind Headwind
·••If·················
Figure 11.20 Microburst-induced wind shear which poses a hazard to aircraft at land-
ing and takeoff by creating adjacent regions of opposite wind directions.
precipitation that characterizes a microburst. All have the objective of detect-

ing those dangerous conditions at a range that allows enough time for evasive
action.
Devising a radar mode for wind-shear detection presents the designer with
numerous trade-offs. For example, a high-carrier frequency is desirable in order
to maximize radar reflectivity, which is proportional to A- 4 ; however, this choice
(e.g., Ku-band) may reduce the performance of the long-range weather mode
through increased atmopsheric attenuation. Another example relates to wave-
form selection. While medium PRF is best suited to detection of motion with
velocities found in microbursts, range ambiguities with this wave form allow
reflections from ground-moving vehicles (GMVs) to appear in the range bins of
interest; this complicates the task of estimating air-mass velocities. Selection of
a low PRF, such as 2 kHz, gives rejection of GMV returns through removal of
range ambiguity but requires careful beam management in order to ensure that
ground returns do not appear in the range interval of interest. Pulse compression
selection poses another design decision-improved signal-to-noise ratio versus
unwanted sidelobes.
11.10 FUTURE TRENDS
The first fifty years of radar history have witnessed dramatic technology
advancements. Yet, greater advances are forecast for the future. The trend is
toward a truly digital radar. Figure 11.21 illustrates the radar's progression from
analog to digital technology. In the 1960s, radars employed analog technology
almost exclusively. Analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) took place at the out-
put of an analog crystal filter bank (after Doppler signal processing and target
detection). Only elementary mode control logic, target tracking, and display
formating were performed digitally. In the early 1980s, digital, programmable
signal processors were introduced. The ADC function took place after receiver
down conversion to an intermediate frequency, and all signal and data process-
ing was performed digitally. The focus of the 1990s and in later years will be
large-scale application of electronic scanned arrays, which will enable further
progress toward a digital radar.
11.10.1 Electronic Scanned Arrays

A fundamental limitation in military radars is situation awareness. Mechani-
cally scanned arrays are limited by inertia and cannot collect radar returns over
several separated, spatial volumes quickly enough to provide current, accu-
rate information to the pilot. This limitation is overcome by electronic scanned
arrays (ESA's). In these, the antenna's beam is moved electronically by setting
the phase angles of phase shifters located at each radiating element to pro-
vide a linear phase taper across the array surface. The slope of the phase taper
determines the direction in which the antenna's beam will be pointed. Since the
antenna's phase shifter settings can be changed in a few microseconds, an ESA's
beam can be repositioned almost instantaneously. In addition, antenna reliabil-
ity is dramatically improved, since ESA's have no mechanically moving parts,
such as antenna gimbals, potentiometers, rotary joints, or hydraulic/electronic
motors.
Two ESA technologies are being pursued. Active ESA :~ contain active com-
ponents, such as transmission amplifiers, while passive ESA 's do not. Active
ESA's will be populated with radiation elements that contain individual trans-
mitters and first stage receivers in addition to phase shifters. Gallium arsenide
circuit technology will be utilized. The traditional single transmitter and a sin-
gle mechanically scanned antenna unit will be replaced by a single active array
antenna populated with thousands of small transmitjrecei ve (T jR) modules. A
typical airborne active array antenna could contain 1000 to 2000 T jR mod-
ules, each capable of transmitting 5 to 20 watts of power. Obviously, an active
array radar will solve many of the reliability and maintainability problems
experienced in conventional single transmitter radars due to TWT and power
supply failures. 4 to 6% of the T j R modules could fail without noticeable
degradation in antenna performance. Also, a new radar system control vari-
able is introduced. Since the gain of each T j R module is controllable, active
array radars will adaptively alter their transmit and/or receive antenna pat-
terns to maximize system performance. No longer will a mechanical switch
be required to provide a cosecant "fan" beam for air-to-ground operation. In
the future, any number of antenna beam patterns will be generated and altered
instantaneously. Active ESA's will inherently provide the radar with a digital
front-end.
FUTURE TRENDS 547
(n)
ANALOG ANALOG DIGITAL
(2)
SUPER (2) DOPPLER DATA
1----1~ H~~~g~~~E 1---t~ PROCESSOR : PROCESSOR
•
(a)
---------------
'
T/R MODULE
T/R MODULE
ANALOG PROGRAMMABLE
T/R MODULE ANALOG
SUPER SIGNAL
TO
• HETRODYNE
RECEIVER
DIGITAL
CONVERSION
AND
DATA
PROCESSORS
T/RMODULE
T/R MODULE
ACTIVE ANTENNA
(b)
HIGH
SPEED
PROGRAMMABLE
SIGNAL
AND
DATA
PROCESSORS
• ACTIVE ANTENNA
~---------------------'
(c)
Figure 11.21 (a) 1960s radar functional diagram; (h) 1990s radar functional diagram;
(c) 2000s digital radar functional diagram.
11.10.2 Radar Processing

In the early 1980s, high-speed, programmable processors with architectures
optimized for the complex-valued signal processing required by radars were
introduced. Airborne radars possessed 128 to 256 thousand words of memory,
performed signal processing with 2 to 6 million complex operations per sec-
ond throughput, and accomplished data processing with 300 to 600 thousand
instructions per second throughput. As a result, a full spectrum of air-to-air and
548 MAPPING AND MlJLTIMODE RADARS
air-to-ground radar modes employed in multimode operation could be imple-

mented cost-effectively in a single radar through software. Dramatic improve-
ments in the packaging density, throughput, and memory of radar processors
was achieved between 1985 and 1995. In 1996, it was not uncommon for pro-
duction radars to possess 4 to 16 million words of memory, perform signal pro-
cessing with 40 to 60 million complex operations per second (MCOPS) through-
put, and accomplish data processing with 2 to 16 million instructions per second
(MIPS) throughput. Sixteen-bit processor precision was standard. While com-
puter capacity has been increasing, circuit packaging advances, such as multi-
chip modules (MCM's), have allowed the processor's physical size to decrease.
By the year 2000, processor memory capacity, signal processing throughput,
and data processing throughput will increase by a factor of ten. Gallium arsenide
circuit technology may be utilized to achieve throughput goals. Thirty two-bit or
higher processor precision will become the industry standard. Fiber-optic inter-
connects among circuit packages on a module will offer a promising solution
to the pin fanout problem attendant with advances in circuit dense packaging.
With the great computation power and memory capacity of future radars,
adaptive signal- and data-processing algorithms will be implemented. For exam-
ple, current airborne radars cancel ground return by computing its expected
Doppler spread and range extent using INS and antenna pointing information,
and blanking the appropriate range/Doppler cells. Each filter in a Doppler fil-
ter bank has the same frequency domain transfer function, which is selected
a priori as the best balanced design for all missions. In the future, radars will
have the capability to select adaptively, based on the radar return, the frequency
domain transfer function of each Doppler filter to optimize performance relative
to its position in the range/Doppler grid at the current instant in time. Thus,
Doppler filters close to main-lobe clutter will have asymmetric transfer func-
tions adaptively chosen to minimize clutter feedthrough, while Doppler filters
in the "clear" region will have symmetric transfer functions adaptively chosen
to minimize thermal noise feedthrough.
11.10.3 Radar Receiver/Exciter Function

In the next century, analog receiver and exciter functions will be replaced with
digital equivalents to achieve a totally digital radar. With the rapid evolution
toward very fast ADCs, it is possible that by that time, ADCs will be fast enough
to sample RF signals above the Nyquist rate, though with low precision. Then it
will be possible to incorporate ADCs in each active array T/R module, or sub-
groupings of T /R modules. Thus, the radar system will reduce to two units: a
"digital" active array antenna and a very high speed digital computer. The digi-
tal active array antenna will transmit the selected radar wave form in the desired
spatial direction. Each T /R module will amplify the radar return it receives and
convert the result into a digital format. The very high speed digital computer
will receive the digital outputs from the T /R modules and synthesize digital
antenna patterns, such as the classical sum channel, azimuth difference chan-
PROBLEMS 549
nel, elevation difference channel, and guard channel, each stabilized for aircraft
motion. RF and IF signal shaping and filtering will be accomplished digitally.
Finally, the very high speed digital computer will generate the transmission
wave form and antenna pointing commands, detect targets and determine their
locations, track targets, generate synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, format
them for display, perform navigation functions, and execute periodic built-in
test (BIT).
One advantage of the digital implementation is that segments of the active
array aperture can be controlled independently. Thus, a digital radar will be
able to search several separate volumes of space with different RF wave forms
simultaneously, though with less overall transmitted power and larger antenna
beam width, since the subaperture sizes are smaller. Air-to-ground and air-to-air
radar modes will run simultaneously.
11.10.4 Interfaces and Packaging

In the future, fiber optics will be a basic ingredient of the digital radar. High-
speed, large bandwidth busses will be required to connect the very high speed
computer with the digital radar's active array antenna (see also Chapter 15).
Noise immunity (as well as weight) will be critical. Fiber optics appears to
offer the best solution to this problem. An active array with a fiber-optics feed
network will provide true time delay signal collection so that high-performance
SAR resolution will not be degraded at large azimuth angles.
Smart skins is a future radar packaging concept that envisions radar compo-
nents being a component of the aircraft structure. In the future, the conventional
physical design using SEM-E modules housed in individual units will give way
to conformal sheets of electronics that are "wall papered" to the back side of
the aircraft's skin or onto a bulkhead.
11.10.5 Displays
Radar information will be displayed on color flat-panel displays in the future.
Liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology is expected to dominate this applica-
tion. Nevertheless, electroluminescent, plasma, and field-emitter display tech-
nologies are being pursued for possible future use.
PROBLEMS
11.1. Calculate the width of the Doppler spectrum of the coherent terrain return
detected by a radar with a beamwidth of 0.05 rad, a beam direction of
30 deg with respect to the velocity vector, having a carrier frequency of
I 0 GHz, and moving 90 meter/sec parallel to the terrain.
Ans.: 150 Hz.
11.2. An airplane traveling at 100 meters/sec velocity parallel to the Earth

commands its radar to form a SAR image of terrain at 100-km slant range
and 60-deg azimuth angle relative to the velocity vector. The radar has
10-GHz carrier frequency and a 1-meter diameter antenna. What is the
smallest unfocused azimuth resolution that can be achieved? If motion
compensation is applied, what azimuth resolution will be realized?
Ans.: 60 meters, unfocused
0.5 meter, focused.
11.3. How long will aX-band radar traveling at 100 meter/sec velocity parallel
to the Earth collect radar ground returns to form a 10-meter resolution
SAR image of the terrain at 100-km slant range and 45-deg azimuth angle
relative to the velocity vector?
Ans.: 7 sec.
11.4. Find the angular protusion of a hill through the clearance plane of a ter-
rain avoidance radar when the linear protrusion of the hill through the
clearance plane is 600 ft, the slant range to the hill is 3000 ft, and the
radar measures an angle of 30 deg between the antenna boresight axis
and the hill.
Ans.: 13 deg.
11.5. What is the aircraft clearance in Problem 11.4? Assume that the antenna
boresight axis is horizontal.
Ans.: 2100 ft.
11.6. How much error will result if the slant range to a navigation fix point of
10 nmi is used as the ground range when the aircraft altitude is 30,400
ft?
Ans.: -1.8 nmi.
12 Celestial Navigation
12.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses the principles of celestial navigation, and in particular,

high-precision stellar-inertial navigation. Since the time of the ancient mariners,
stars have been used as a means of navigating on the Earth's surface using night-
time manual celestial fixes. Until the 1970s, manual celestial fixes were used on
transoceanic commercial aircraft. Since the 1960s, high-precision stellar-inertial
navigation systems have been developed with automatic daylight and night-time
star-tracking capability. These stellar-inertial navigators are highly useful for
military aircraft in that they provide accurate position and attitude information,
are autonomous, nonradiating, and invulnerable to jamming. They have been
used on such aircraft as the SR-71 and U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and the B-2
and B-58 bombers. The development of these high-precision daylight stellar-
inertial navigators has been brought about by (l) improved star-light detection
devices, (2) techniques for improving star signal to sky background noise ratios,
(3) advances in the throughput and memory of airborne digital processors, and
(4) the development of algorithms for optimally combining the star observation
with the inertial navigator output.
12.1.1 Evolution of Celestial Navigation

The nearly fixed positions of the stars in space, and the predictable motion of
the Earth, make stars an obvious measurement source for navigation. The North
Star (Polaris) can be used to estimate latitude in the Northern Hemisphere using
the horizon as a local-level reference at the observer's position; this is a tech-
nique that was used by the ancient mariners. Estimation of both latitude and
longitude requires, in addition to a local-level reference, an accurate measure
of time (year, month, day of month, and time of day) along with a star cata-
log that defines star locations. Navigators on early transoceanic aircraft flights
used bubble-level sextants to manually measure star angles relative to the local
vertical. Using these lines of sight from two or more stars, along with a star
catalog and an accurate time reference, the navigator deduced his position in
Earth latitude and longitude; this was known as a celestial fix or a star fix.
The advent of inertial navigation resulted in the stabilized local-level plat-
form on which gyros and accelerometers were mounted; these instruments were
used to stabilize the platform to the local horizontal and to provide linear
552 CELESTIAL NAVIGATION
acceleration for computing vehicle position and velocity (Section 7.4). Since
the position error growth of these free inertial navigation systems was exces-
sive on long flights, it was natural to periodically update their position-out-
puts with position-updates derived from manual star fixes. It then became
possible to implement completely automatic star fixing by physically inte-
grating the sextant with the stabilized local-level platform which inherently
provided the necessary local-level reference. The telescope, with a star-light
detector, was mounted on the stabilized platform through a gimbal struc-
ture. Real-time, automatic star-pointing and star-tracking commands were gen-
erated by the on-board navigation system computer from which position
errors were deduced. These automatic star fixes were used to update (cor-
rect) the inertial navigation system position-outputs and to correct the stabi-
lized local-level platform in azimmh; in some cases instrument errors were also
corrected.
The augmentation of inertial navigation with periodic stellar updates pro-
vided an ideal application for optimal filtering techniques (e.g., Kalman filter-
ing) which combines multiple sensor inputs into "best-estimate" navigation out-
puts (Chapter 3). The implementation of an optimal filter (estimator) requires
the use of accurate mathematical models for the propagation of the system error
dynamics and for the measurement process.
The star measurement (observation) is the angular difference between the
measured and computed lines of sight to a star. While this angular difference,
measured in a local-level frame of reference, was used to deduce position error
measurements, more precisely it is only a measure of the inertial attitude error
of the reference system involved (whether or not the latter is local level). This
error angle is known as the 1/; (psi) angle. Consequently, star observations can
no longer be treated as position error measurements when used in conjunction
with accurate stellar-inertial navigation systems; rather they must be treated
as 1/; measurements. The implications of this have a significant impact on the
design and performance of the stellar-inertial navigation system. This impact is
discussed in Section 12.3.
12.1.2 General System Description

Operational stellar-inertial navigation systems have the star sensor physically
mounted on the stabilized local-level platform through a gimbal structure pro-
viding two degrees of freedom in azimuth and elevation. The star sensors have a
narrow field of view and maintain a centered star image through gimbal drive
commands and are called star-trackers. They have a day and night tracking
capability, given reasonable cloud cover conditions. A window is provided on
the top side of the aircraft for star viewing by the star sensor. The integrated
star sensor/inertial platform package is mounted directly below the window.
Window location and size are important system considerations.
A star catalog defining star locations and magnitudes is stored in the nav-
igation system computer along with star sensor calibration coefficients. Using
STAR OBSERVATION GEOMETRY 553
an accurate time source, star-pointing commands (including line-of-sight cor-

rections) are computed and the differences between computed and measured
lines of sight are determined. These angular differences are processed as iner-
tial attitude reference errors by the navigation filter. The filter outputs are used
to update the navigation system outputs as well as update instrument calibra-
tion coefficients. The navigation outputs of position, velocity, and attitude (in
the required coordinates) are distributed to other systems, subsystems and dis-
plays on-board the aircraft (Chapter 15).
To reduce cost and size and to improve reliability, an advanced configura-
tion, not yet operational in 1996, utilizes a stellar sensor rigidly mounted on a
strapdown inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU is gimballed with at least
two degrees of freedom for coarse telescope pointing and for instrument cali-
brations. The star sensor typically utilizes a focal plane array (Sections 12.4.4
and 12.4.5). The inertial attitude error is calculated by computing the angles to
the off-centered star image. This configuration has become viable through tech-
nology advances such as the ring laser gyro, the charge coupled device (CCD)
array, and powerful airborne computers. A variation of this configuration, which
had undergone limited testing by 1996, is to rigidly mount the strapdown IMU
and the telescope to the airframe (Section 12.5.4 ).
12.2 STAR OBSERVATION GEOMETRY
The geometry and mathematics of star observations and celestial fixes are
described in this section. The discussion applies to both the navigational
approach used by the ancient mariners and the mathematics required to auto-
matically point the telescope and to integrate the star measurement into a stellar-
inertial navigator. For the latter, vector-matrix techniques are used. (For a devel-
opment utilizing spherical trigonometry, see [ll)
Suppose that we know a star's coordinates in an inertial coordinate frame.
It may be assumed that the star's position is fixed in this inertial frame (see
Section 12.6 for a more detailed discussion of a star's position). Let the Z 1 -
axis of the inertial frame lie along the Earth's rotation vector, the X 1 , Y 1 axes
lie in the Earth's equatorial plane with the X 1-axis pointing in the direction
of the First Point of Aries, T (the intersection of the equatorial and ecliptic
planes where the sun crosses the equator from south to north). Star catalogs
and astronomical almanacs tabulate a star's position in this inertial coordinate
o
frame in terms of its right ascension a and its declination as shown in Figure
12.1. In terms of a and o, a unit vector in the inertial frame pointing to the star
is given by
u
1
=[
cos a
sin a.
coso
coso
l
Sin 0
Figure 12.1 A star's right ascension and declination measured from an inertial coor-
dinate frame.
The Earth is rotating with respect to the inertial frame with a rate n £, about
the inertial Z 1-axis (QE is the Earth's sidereal rotation rate of 15.04°/hr). An
Earth-fixed coordinate frame is defined such that Z E = Z 1, and X E, Y E lie in
the equatorial plane with xE passing through the Greenwich meridian (i.e., lon-
gitude = 0). At any instant of time, t, theE frame is displaced from the I frame,
by a rotation about the Z 1-axis given by GHAT (the Greenwich Hour Angle
of Aries). The latter is available from astronomical almanacs as a function of
t or can be computed (see Section 12.6). The transformation from the I frame
to the E frame is
~]
cos(GHA'T) sin(GHA'T)
Cj [
= - sin(~HA'T) cos (GHAT)
0
and a unit star position vector in the E frame is
(12.1)
Consider an abserver at a fixed location on the Earth given by a latitude 

and a longitude f. (Figure 12.2). Define a local-level coordinate frame L located
at the observer, where XL is along the local East, Y L is local North, and Z L is
the local vertical. The transformation from the E frame to the L frame is
STAR OBSERVATION GEOMETRY 555
Figure 12.2 Local-level geometry for a star observation.
cos A
co~
-sin A
C~ =[ - sin <P cos A -sin <P sin A <P]
cos <P cos A cos <P sin A sin <P
and a star unit position vector in the L frame is
( 12.2)
It is seen from Figure 12.2 that not only has a rotation occurred in going from
the E frame to the L frame, but a translation of the origin of the frames has
also occurred. The local-level geometry is redrawn in Figure 12.3 in the plane
containing the center of the Earth, the observer, and the star. From Figure 12.3
it is observed that the light from the star to the center of the Earth is nearly
parallel to the light from the star to the observer on the surface of the Earth.
For the star Sirius, which at 8.7 light years is one of the closest stars to Earth,
the angular separation (parallax) due to the Earth's radius is less than 20 micro-
arcsec.
Because of this, any star measurement made relative to inertial space will
yield no information with regard to position of an observer on Earth. Hence,
o
the stars have the same orientation angles, a and (Figure 12.1 ), in inertial
space regardless of the observer's position on the Earth's surface.
Star measurements made with respect to an Earth-fixed frame provide no
information about the observer's position along the local vertical axis, zL.
/ Light from star
Figure 12.3 Star geometry in the plane of the center of the Earth, the observer, and
the star.
However, it is possible to determine information about the observer's horizon-

tal position by making measurements of the star's angular position relative to
an Earth-fixed frame. The star's azimuth, Az, measured positive East of North
about zL, and elevation, El, measured positive above the local horizontal and
about the rotated X L-axis provide Information about the observer's latitude and
longitude. (Astronomers refer to the angle above the horizontal as altitude; how-
ever, the term "elevation" will be used here to avoid confusion with the linear
vertical distance above a reference.) In terms of Az and El, the star unit position
vector in L coordinates is
UL =
[
sin(Az)cos(£/)
cos (Az) cos(£/)
l ( 12.3)
sin(£/)
Equations 12.2 and 12.3 provide the relationships for Az and El as a function
of a, o, GHAT, <P, and A. Given uL, elevation and azimuth are obtained from
( 12.4)
Therefore, given an observer's location, a star catalog (almanac), and the time,
the azimuth and elevation of a selected star can be computed from Equation
12.4, and a telescope can be pointed toward that star. Suppose that one only
knows the observer's location approximately but sufficiently close to unam-
biguously identify a selected star through computation of its expected azimuth
and elevation. The actual azimuth and elevation of the star can be measured.
From these Earth-fixed measurements, one can determine the correct observer
latitude and longitude.
THEORY OF STELLAR-INERTIAL NAVIGATION 557
From Equations 12.2 and 12.3 one obtains the following relationships:
cos(Az) cos(£ l) cos + sin(£ l) sin = sin o ( 12.5)

cos cos(c:x- GHAT- f..) coso+ sin sino= sin(El) ( 12.6)
These equations can be solved for and A, and ambiguities in the solution can
be resolved by approximate knowledge of the observer's position.
While the previous equations allow for the computation of latitude and longi-
tude given measurements of azimuth, elevation, and time, they were difficult to
implement manually due to the lack of precise instruments to measure azimuth.
Celestial navigation was done with sextants and bubble-level devices that mea-
sure the angle between a star and the horizontal.
A single measurement of elevation of a star is not sufficient to locate an
observer's position; it places the observer on a cone with the star at the vertex.
The intersection of this cone with the Earth yields a circle (approximately) as
a line of position (LOP) for the observer. This LOP can be determined from
Equation 12.6. If only a single elevation measurement is available, then the
intersection of the LOP with the line connecting the observer's estimated posi-
tion and the projection of the star onto the Earth serves as an updated estimate
of position.
The measurement of the elevation of a second star yields a second circu-
lar LOP. If the observer is stationary, then the intersection of the two LOP's
yield two possible positions for the observer. The ambiguity in position can be
resolved either with a priori approximate knowledge of position or by a third
star elevation measurement.
If the observer is moving with respect to the Earth, the following is required
to determine position: (I) a sequence of star elevation measurements and (2)
the time and approximate location of the observer for each measurement. If
the integral of the observer velocity error over the star measurement interval is
small relative to the error in the approximate position, then the position error
over the measurement interval can be treated as a constant and the sequence of
star elevation measurements can be used to estimate the position error.
With multiple measurements (at least two), a nonlinear least squares solution
for the assumed constant position error can be obtained. The position accuracy
is a function of the separation of the star measurements and is highest when at
least two of the measurements are from stars whose separation is near 90°.
12.3 THEORY OF STELLAR-INERTIAL NAVIGATION
Since the 1970s, navigation systems have used Kalman filtering techniques
(Chapter 3) to integrate all sensed navigation data to obtain the best-estimate
navigation solution. This use of the Kalman filter to integrate stellar mea-
surements requires that the star observations and errors be correctly modeled
mathematically. As a result, high-accuracy stellar-inertial navigation systems do

not explicitly implement "position fixes" using star sightings; rather they use
star angle measurements as observations. This section describes what the star
observation actually measures for a Kalman filter implementation and gives a
linearized error formulation that is particularly well suited for the application
of Kalman filtering to stellar-inertial navigation. It then provides a basis for
analyzing and determining the effectiveness of stellar observations through the
use of "observability" and "information" concepts.
12.3.1 Modeling and Kalman F'iltering

The application of Kalman filter theory to the stellar-inertial navigation problem
begins with a precise mathematical definition of the star observation (measure-
ment). The inertial line of sight (LOS) to any given star is precisely known
from the star catalog. Therefore the angular error which is measured by a star
sensor is the angular difference between the computed (error corrected) LOS
to the star and the physical star sensor LOS.
The error angle vector which rotates the computational (or computed) coor-
dinate frame into the physical (or platform) coordinate frame is called the $-
angle vector [2, 6]. The following error angle symbols and definitions are used:
o6 ~ vector angle defined from the true coordinate frame to the computed
frame
<1> ~ vector angle defined from the true coordinate frame to the platform
frame
t!J ~vector angle defined from the computed coordinate frame to the platform
frame
For terrestrial navigation, the SO error is a direct consequence of latitude and

longitude position errors, and the <!:• error is a direct consequence of platform tilt
and azimuth (or heading) errors. These definitions apply equally to stabilized
or strapdown navigators and are illustrated in Figure 12.4. In the figure, R is
the actual position of the vehicle, / is the true local level at the actual position,
lp is the actual physical or platform reference at the actual position, R is the
computed position of the vehicle, and !, is the computed level reference at the
computed position (see also Figure 3.4 of Chapter 3).
Since the star sensor is physically mounted on or referenced to the plat-
form and since the star LOS is computed based upon a level reference at the
computed position, the angular error measured by the star sensor is clearly a
function of both <j> and o6. From these definitions, t!J is given by
(12.7)
Since these angles are small, they are treated as vectors and can be resolved
Computed
position
Figure 12.4 lfi,

~~
c:J>, and SO definitions.
into any coordinate frame. From Equation 12.7 it is clear that star sensor mea-
surements are not equivalent to position measurements. In fact, a large position
error SO could be canceled out by an equal platform tilt error c:J> caused by an
accelerometer bias (see Problem 12.1).
Most inertial navigation error equations are formulated using the c:!> and SO
error variables. This results in coupling between position, velocity, and attitude
errors. If instead the variables position, velocity, and lfJ are used, then only
position and velocity are coupled. An independent differential equation can be
written for the lfJ equation. This becomes important for stellar augmented sys-
tems. since it is the angle lfJ that the sensor measures. In the c:J>, SO mechaniza-
tion, by Equation 12.7, the star observation is a measure of the angle lfJ = c:!>- SO.
If approximations are made in the defining linearized differential equations for
c:J> and SO, which are valid individually but not completely consistent with each
other, the difference between the propagated c:!> and SO angle vectors may not
be precisely equal to the angle vector lfi, resulting in the stellar measurements
being used incorrectly to estimate error parameters.
To implement the Kalman filter, we define a dynamic error model that is
consistent with the position, velocity, and lfJ formulation [2].
Dynamic Error Model
oR= F(fiEc)oR + oV (12.8a)

oV = G(R)oR + F(fiEc + 2fi1c)oV + F(a)lfi + oa (12.8b)
tjJ = -F(fiic)lfi +ow (12.8c)
In Equation 12.8, all errors are expressed in computational coordinates; o indi-

cates an error of a variable, R is the vehicle position vector, a is the specific

force vector, F(-) is a skew symmetric matrix equal to the negative of the cross-
product matrix, G(R)results from perturbing the gravity term about the best esti-
mate of R. Errors in the n terms are zero, since the Earth rate niE is known
precisely, a_s is the rate of the computational frame relative to the Earth's frame
nEe; the tV equation is forced by the gyro drift rate ow. The super dot on
the left-hand side of the equation indicates a time derivative relative to inertial
space.
These results yield the linearized system error model used to formulate the
extended Kalman filter (Chapter 3) [4, 5, 7, 8]:
System Dynamics or Process Model
oR. F(nEe) I 0 0 0 0 oR UR
F(a) 'c
ov G(R) F(nT) CA 0 0 ov Uv
F(n1e) 'e
tV 0 0 0 CG 0 tV + ut!J
oa 0 0 0 Ka 0 0 oa Ua
ow 0 0 0 0 KG 0 ow Uw
ob 0 0 0 0 0 Kn Db ub
( 12.9a)
Stellar Measurement or Observation Model
(12.9b)
In Equation 12.9, oa, ow, and Db represent the dynamics of the random
accelerometer errors, gyro errors, and stellar subsystem boresight errors, respec-
tively; the U and V vectors represent "white" process and stellar observation
· · · 'c 'c
nOise, respectiVely; nT ~ nEe+ 2n/E; the matnces C A, C G' and C'es are used
to denote best estimates of the transformations (including nonorthogonalities)
from the accelerometer triad, gyro triad and stellar sensor to the computational
frame, respectively. The sensor input axis misalignments (including nonorthog-
onalities) are included in the dynamic sensor models.
From Equation 12.9a it is clear that accelerometer errors oa integrate directly
into vehicle position and velocity errors, as expected. It is also clear that vehicle
position and velocity errors do not couple back into the tJ1 error. Consequently,
star sensor measurements cannot be used to estimate or correct for those posi-
tion errors that occur due to dynamic accelerometer errors or errors caused by
gravity uncertainties (not included in Equation 12.9 for simplicity). Further,
since the gyro induced drift errors ow are the only error variables that drive
the tjJ equation, it is these gyro errors that the stellar updates are effective
in estimating and compensating for, as well as the position and velocity errors
that occur due to the F(a)t!J acceleration error term caused by tJ1 (see Equa-
tions 12.8b and 12.9a). Note that the \fl error does not oscillate at the Schuler
frequency as do the position and velocity errors.
In general, the star measurements are effective in estimating parameters that
contribute to the initial \fl(O) error, the position and velocity errors that prop-
agate as a result of this initial \fl(O) error, and in-flight gyro induced position
and velocity errors. As time progresses, the navigation solution propagated by
a Kalman filter tends to become independent of the initial state. Consequently,
star measurements must be used early in the mission if they are to be effec-
tive in estimating initial position errors, accelerometer bias errors, and the posi-
tion and velocity errors generated by these accelerometer biases. It should be
pointed out that care must be taken in establishing initial error variances and
their respective cross-correlations, which are used to estimate \fl(O) effects, and
which are functions of the method and/or technique used in establishing the
initial alignment.
An example of position error propagation is shown in Figure 12.5, using an
error analysis program, for a 14-hour flight. After takeoff, the aircraft climbs to
a cruise altitude where it executes numerous turns. The first star measurement
is made at the end of the pre-flight alignment for one case and ten minutes
after the alignment for the second case. Three star observations per minute are
made thereafter each with an observation error of 1.5 arcsec standard deviation.
The circular error probable (CEP) time histories display the familiar 84-minute
Schuler oscillation in position error and the 24-hour Earth rate loop oscillations
(Chapter 7).
800~----------~----~----~----------~-----.
700 ...... First star 10 minutes ................ .. .... :................. :............... .
:~ : . • ·- '?~~~~"-I :!-_·······-••-:\
•oo- l ,\(-f\\rJA~~~
L, l
r· · · - ~ :.j.
- ~·
u ::: -----~L: :i11~1~~~~:t;~~:~L
'J i ~ ! l after alignment
ml
: : . : : :
100 .............. j""'"""'""'j"'""""'"'"~""""""'"":""""""""'l""'"''""""l""'"""""''
: ~ ~ : ~
o~-L~~~~~~~~~LJ_L~LJ~~~~~~
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time (hr)
Figure 12.5 Stellar-inertial navigation performance.
Since the star observation measures the star inertial line of sight and is not a
direct measure of position, the position error is not bounded. This is seen by the
small position error growth on which the Schuler oscillation is superimposed.
The effect of the time of the first star observation can also be seen in Fig-
ure 12.5. The earlier start of star observations has reduced the position CEP
by over l 00 ft over the duration of the flight. The explanation for this is as
follows: At the end of alignment, the two horizontal components of the \jl error
are the result of accelerometer bias errors. The correlations that exist in the
filter covariance matrix between ~~ and the accelerometer errors make these
accelerometer errors observable. When a star observation is made, reductions
in the accelerometer errors are achieved producing slower position error growth
and correcting for accumulated position and velocity error growth due to these
accelerometer errors. When the star observation is delayed by ten minutes (as
may be the case where there is cloud cover and it takes the vehicle ten min-
utes to clear this cover), then the various process noise terms feed into the \jl
and accelerometer errors and the correlations between \jl and the accelerometer
errors are reduced. When the first star observation is obtained, it has less effect
on the estimated position, velocity, and accelerometer errors. As time passes,
correlations with accelerometer errors disappear, and the star observations are
no longer useful in estimating accelerometer bias errors, or the position errors
that stem from them.
If a filter is to be implemented using the <!>, 89 formulation rather than the
\jl-angle vector formulation described above, a number of special simulation
tests should be conducted to verify proper implementation and operation; for
example, the propagated and ~)9 solutions must be such that the Schuler
magnitude and phase of these angle vectors exactly cancel when differenced,
since \jl = - 89 does not have a Schuler oscillation. Simulation tests should
start with all zero initial filter covariance conditions and dynamic accelerome-
ter error process noise. The effect of the process noise is to generate "in-flight"
accelerometer errors which integrate into position and velocity errors. As pre-
viously discussed, star observations should have no effect on reducing these
in-flight induced position and velocity errors. Two runs, one with star obser-
vations and one without, should yield the same results. Such tests can verify
correct filter design and performance for the <!>, 89 formulation.
12.3.2 Information and Observability

In defining an optimally integrated system, there are two problems that must
be addressed. The first problem is how to make optimal use of each measure-
ment in a given sequence of measurements; this problem is solved by Kalman
filtering each measurement. The second problem deals with the determination
of the optimal sequence of measurements to be taken, restricted to the sen-
sors available; this is the problem of maximizing observability. There is no
known general solution to the second problem. The use of information and
observability concepts is quite useful. These concepts can be used to understand
the basic observability problems encountered in Kalman filtering applications

and to show analytically how to obtain a sequence of measurements that will
provide performance superior to that of another measurement sequence. For
example, observability problems associated with the Kalman filter are greatly
intensified in a stellar-inertial navigation system if the telescope is rigidly
mounted to the IMU even though the IMU is gimballed to provide star point-
ing. Simulations show very significant performance degradations going from
the gimballed to the nongimballed telescope configuration. Though not intu-
itively obvious, an observability analysis shows that components of the $ error
may become near unity correlated with the telescope boresight errors, resulting
in an inability to observe or estimate either error. This analysis provides the
insight necessary to understand and solve the observability problem associated
with the strapdown telescope. (Problem 12.2 addresses the essence of this prob-
lem using information and observability concepts and is discussed later in this
section.)
The terms observability and information are usually used qualitatively when
describing system characteristics. There are, however, precise mathematical def-
initions for these functions that become very useful in the understanding and
design of stellar-inertial navigators. One form of the observability matrix [4 J is
given by
N
](N) = L A-T(i)HT(i)H(i)A- (i),
1
(12.10)
;~I
where
A is the system transition matrix
H is the system measurement matrix
N is the number of measurements to process
In Equation 12.1 0, if the matrix ](N) is positive definite then the system is
observable, and the filter will be able to estimate all errors in the state vector.
The information matrix, in discrete form, is given by [4, 9]
N
L(N) = L A-T(i)HT(i)W- (i)H(i)A- (i)
1 1
i= I
+A -T(N, O)P I (O)A -I (N, 0) (12.11)
where
P(O) is the initial (a priori) estimation error covariance matrix
w is the measurment error covariance matrix
If a linear system has zero process noise, and if a Kalman filter is used to
optimally estimate the state of the system, then the state error covariance matrix
P is equal to the inverse of the information matrix L:
(12.12)
In comparing the information matrix L(N) with the observability matrix ](N),
it is clear that a measure of the new information brought into the system via
observations or measurements is directly proportional to the observability mea-
sure of the system and inversely proportional to the measurement uncertainty.
This also provides analytical closed form performance predictions for postulated
observation sequences processed by the Kalman filter.
For an application of this theory to the design of stellar-inertial navigators,
see Problem 12.2 which is a simplified version of the strapdown telescope
problem. From part e of this problem, it is clear that the \fl errors and the
stellar boresight errors e become unity correlated and inseparable without a
capability to rotate the e errors relative to the \fl errors; after a few measure-
ments, the variances no longer decrease. From parts c and e it is clear that
system observability is established by this rotation and that, using Equation
12.12, the estimation error variances become proportional to the measurement
noise variance and inversely proportional to the number of stellar measure-
ments taken, thereby approaching zero. While the same star and star sensor
were used to obtain the N measurements described in parts a and c of Problem
12.2, the sequence described in part a provided little information following the
first measurement, while the sequence described in part c drives the errors to
zero.
Hence, in the application of estimation theory, there is the problem of opti-
mally processing the measurements for a given measurement sequence (which
is the Kalman filter) and the selection of the optimum measurement sequence,
for which the general solution is not known but for which the notions of infor-
mation and observability provide good insights [9].
12.4 STELLAR SENSOR DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS
12.4.1 Telescope Parameters

The telescope gathers energy for a light detector and defines the line of sight
(LOS) to a star by a physical arrangement of optical elements. Telescopes can
be categorized into three major classifications: (I) refractive, which uses lenses
as the primary focusing element [ 11], (2) reflective, which uses a curved mir-
ror for focusing, and (3) catadioptric, which mix lens and mirror systems. With
the advent of diffractive optical elements, such as binary optics and holographic
optical elements, there are many types of optical systems available for star sen-
sor use; some of these mix several different types of optics in the same tele-
scope. Regardless of the type of optics in the telescope, each design is char-
STELLAR SENSOR DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS 565
acterized by an optical aperture, an effective focal length, and a field of view

(Figure !Via) 11 2, 13] . The optical aperture h is the physical di ameter of the
first optical element in the telescope. The effective focal le ng th F of a system
is give n by F = (h/ 2)/ tan(/3/2), where/) is the angu lar size of the image seen
from the focal plane. For small ang les /), F is app rox imated by h/ /3 as shown
in Figure 12.6/J.
The image of a star at the focal plane of a telescope with perfect, unob-
structed optics is a bright spot surrounded by a series of concentric dark and
lig ht rings. This image is called a diffi·actiun -/imited image. The angul ar size of
the image is determined by the diamete r of the o ptical system, the wave le ng th
of the incoming li g ht, and the numbe r of rings included in the image:
nf...
sine = - (12.13)
h
where
e is the a ng le from the center of the image to a dark or li g ht ring
defi ned by n
11 is a constant for each ring in the image
'A is the wavelength of the incoming li ght
h is the diamete r of the aperture
Field of view a .
Optical
axis
-- --
1+--- - -- F ~
Focal length
(a)
Primary
mirror
Focal
Optical
aperture
plane
Effective focal length = J

(b)
Figure 12.6 (a) A simple optical syste m; (h) a Casscg rai n telescope.
TABLE 12.1 Values of n and the percent of energy in

each ring of circular aperture telescopes
Percent of Energy
Ring n in Each Ring
Central 0 86.4
First dark 1.22
Second bright 1.635 7.3
Second dark 2.233
Third bright 2.679 2.8
Third dark 3.238
Fourth bright 3.699 1.5
The values of n for a circular aperture telescope are given in Table 12.1.
The second column in Table 12.1 is the percentage of the energy in each ring
relative to the total star energy [ 14]. For example, the second bright ring of a
star image for a telescope with a 3-in. aperture and 0.5-micron light (0.5 X I o- 4
em) has an angular diameter of 3 seconds-of-arc and contains 93.7% of the total
star energy.
The physical size of the star image depends on the angular size of the image
and the effective focal length of the telescope:
2nf..F
d=2F8 = -- (12.14)
b
where d is the physical diameter of the rings in the diffraction image.

The ratio of focal length to aperture is called the f /number; for example, an
f/1 0 telescope may have a 30-in. focal length and a 3-in. aperture. By using a
combination of mirrors and lenses, it is possible to fold the optical path, thus
reducing the length of the telescope to dimensions only slightly larger than those
of the aperture and still retain a reasonable f /number [II].
Figure 12.6a shows a simple optical system of focal length F and aperture
b. For a telescope, the angular field of view is given by a, where
a= djFrad (12.15)
Due to aberrations [12, 13], the symmetry and sharpness of the image
degrade when it is not in the center of the telescope field of view. The tele-
scope must be designed in such a way that the off-axis image has sufficient
quality for detection and star image location processing; this is particularly true
for area- or array-type detectors and for fully strapdown applications. The size
of the photosensor and the focal length of the telescope determine the field of
view over which a quality image must be maintained.
12.4.2 Star-Signal Power

The signal power of a star P5 , as seen by a light detector at the focal plane of
the telescope, is the effective area of the telescope entrance times the irradiance
of the star:
Ps=HA (12.16)
where
H is the usable irradiance from a star found from the spectral distribu-
tion of the star radiation H", the photosensor spectral response
(a()\), and the star magnitude (units are watts per
square centimeter [15])
A is the effective light-gathering area of the entrance aperture of the
telescope, including obstructions and allowances for optical trans-
mission losses (units are square centimeters)
Optical transmission losses also reduce the star-signal power at the focal
plane of the telescope. Mirrors and lenses do not transmit or reflect light per-
fectly. For antireflection-coated optics, the light loss may be I% or 2% at each
air-to-glass or glass-to-air optical surface within the telescope, including win-
dows and sensor covers or surfaces. For uncoated optics, the loss per surface
is about 4% or 5%.
Star-signal power depends on the spectral irradiance of the stellar light, the
spectral response of the light detector, and the brightness of the star. Figure
12.7 shows the spectral response of a B8-type blue star and two types of light
detectors; for example, the B8 type, or blue-colored, star (which emits most
of its energy at blue wavelengths) appears much brighter to a light detector
that is sensitive to blue light than to a light detector that is sensitive to red
light. This is shown in Figure 12.7 by the area common to both star and light-
detector spectral-response curves. For this reason, the irradiance term H must
be given in terms of the light-detector spectral response. A consistent method
of calculating star irradiance based on blackbody standards is given below [16,
17]. The irradiance equation is
(12.17)
where
m is the bolometric magnitude of the star
te is the effective star temperature, in degrees
Kelvin
1.0
08
:):
c
0
~0.6
-~
Wavelength (I')
~ lrradiance of a 88-type star for a S4 detector
m lrradiance of a 88 -type star for a silicon detector
Figure 12.7 Spectral sensitivity to detector material types.
H is irradiance, in watts/square centimeter, for a

point source
J; (H)o../H)o..maxkC'A)dA is the integral product of the normalized spectrum
(H)-.. / H)-.. max ) and the detector-normalized
spectral response a(A)
Equation 12.17 is used in conjunction with Table 12.2 to solve for star irradi-
ance. Table 12.2 gives the value of the integral term for 5 different types of light
detectors and 17 effective star temperatures. For example, the integral value of
a +1.22 bolometric-magnitude star of type B8 Ue = 11, 700 K) is 0.0663 when
a silicon light detector is used and 0.1170 when a photomultiplier with an S-4
photocathode [17] is used. Substituting into Equation 12.17, the irradiance is
found to be 1.31 X 10- 13 W j cm 2 for the silicon light detector and 2.30 X 10- 13
w j cm 2 for the S-4 detector. The irradiance from the star found by Equation
12.17 applies at the top of the atmosphere. For values at sea level, it is nec-
essary to correct for the transmission loss caused by the atmosphere which is
10% to 20%, depending on the wavelength of light [17].
The irradiance of ten typical target stars for various light detectors is given
in Table 12.3.
12.4.3 Sky Background Power

The power from the sky background at the focal plane of a telescope depends
on the background radiance, the effective entrance area, and the field of view
of the telescope:
TABLE 12.2 Normalized stellar-light detector integrals

Type of Detector"
te,
Kelvin Star Type Silicon Visual S-4 S-11 S-20
20,000 Bl 0.0126 0.0094 0.0337 0.0303 0.0344
14.000 B5 0.0382 0.0264 0.0819 0.0755 0.0858
11.700 B8 0.0663 0.0421 0.1170 0.1097 0.1254
10,700 AO 0.0843 0.0519 0.1362 0.1291 0.1477
10,400 AI 0.0908 0.0549 0.1422 0.1351 0.1547
9,900 A2 0.1024 0.0608 0.1513 0.1448 0.1663
9,400 A3 0.1163 0.0669 0.1611 0.1551 0.1785
8,100 A7 0.1645 0.0865 0.1838 0.1810 0.2108
7.400 FO 0.1980 0.0984 0.1932 0.1932 0.2270
6.500 F5 0.2488 0.1117 0.1935 0.1982 0.2372
5.800 G1 0.2960 0.1202 0.1836 0.1928 0.2360
5,700 G2 0.3030 0.1211 0.1838 0.1930 0.2368
5,000 G9 0.3485 0.1201 0.1587 0.1713 0.2181
4,900 KO 0.2551 0.1194 0.1506 0.1644 0.2112
4,200 H5 0.3908 0.1096 0.1131 0.1292 0.1754
3.500 M1 0.3816 0.0758 0.0630 0.0748 0.1150
3.400 M2 0.3747 0.0702 0.0560 0.0671 0.1056
Sky light 0.1737 0.0915 0.1198 0.1352 0.1579
aNormalized stellar-light detector integrals
Pb = NAcx. 2 (12.18)
where
N is the effective background radiance, found from background bright-
ness and the spectral characteristics of the source and light
sensor, in wattsjcm 2 -deg 2 . Unlike H (for a point source), N
describes the power radiated by an extended source
A is the effective area of the entrance aperture of the telescope, in
square centimeters
cx. 2 is the angular area of the telescope field of view, in degrees squared.
As compared to (12.16), the background radiance in (12.18) has an added

dimension, namely, that of degrees squared because the light is gathered from
an extended source rather than a point source.
Normally, the night-sky background radiance is so low that its effect may be
ignored in comparison with star power. The daylight sky, however, is extremely
bright in comparison with a star [ 17, 18, 19, 20]. Typically, the sea-level sky
radiance, 45o from the sun on a clear day is about 2000 ft-lamberts. The back-
ground radiance of the daylight sky is given by
OJ
--.1
0
TABLE 12.3 Irradiance table for 10 bright stars

Star Year 1900
Type of Detector"
Common Bayer Hour Bolometric Visual
Name Name Angle Declination Type Magnitude Magnitude Silicon S-20 S-4 S-11
Alpheratz ex And oh3.2m 28°32' B8 1.22 2.12 1.31 2.46 2.30 2.15
Polaris ex UMi lh22.6m 88°46' F8 2.06 2.10 1.295 1.14 1.02 0.932
Hamal ex Ari 2hl.5m 22°59' K2 1.64 2.04 1.96 1.04 0.719 0.806
Betelgeuse ex Ori 5h49.8m 7°23' M2 -0.70 +0.7 12.50 3.53 1.87 2.24
Can opus ex Car 6h4o.8m -52°38' FO -0.77 --0.77 15.42 17.65 15.05 15.05
Sirius ex CMa 7h34.1m -16°35' AI -1.94 ··1.43 29.20 49.80 45.70 43.50
Procyon ex CMi 10h3.om 5°29' F5 0.35 0.35 6.08 5.80 4.74 4.84
Regulus ex Leo 22h52.1 m !2°27' 88 0.41 1.31 2.76 5.21 4.86 4.56
Fomalhaut ex PsA 16h23.3m - 30°9' A3 0.87 1.19 2.55 3.92 3.54 3.41
Antares ex Sco -25°13' Ml 0.13 0.98 6.18 1.85 1.02 1.21
aEffective irradiance, 10- 13 w/cm2 .

(12.19)
where
J;(N1../NA max)a(A.) dA. is the integral product of the normalized sky
spectrum and the normalized spectral
response of the detectora(A.)
Bs is the daylight sky brightness for a standard
observer (human eye), in lumens per steradian
per square foot (7r ft-lamberts = I candle
per square foot = I lumen per steradian per
square foot)
The value of the normalized integral for various light detectors and a daylight
sky of 1000 ft-lamberts is given in the last row of Table 12.2 under the heading
"sky light." Based on this table and Equation 12.19, a 1000 ft-lambert sky gives
a background radiance of 2.8 X 10- 7 w jcm 2 -deg 2 for a silicon detector. By
comparison, outside the Earth's atmosphere, a silicon detector sees about 2.2 x
10-lS w jcm 2 -deg 2 of sky background.
Another important property of the daylight sky is its radiance gradient, which
can be shown to range from 1.7x 10- 9 to 3.4x 10 9 wjcm 2 -deg 2 /deg [17, 18,
19, 20].
Example 12.4.1
To appreciate the significance of the daylight star sensor problem, calculate
(a) the sky background power and (b) the star-light power for the following
conditions: a 7-cm effective telescope aperture with a 1.5 arcmin field of view, a
1000 ft-lambert sea-level sky radiance, a I 00% efficient silicon detector located
at the focal plane, and the viewing star, Alpheratz.
Part a From Equations 12.18 and 12.19 and from Table 12.2,
8 1000 ) 2 2 ] ( 497!'
- cm 2 )
Ph=
[ (0.511 x 10 )
( -7!'- (0.1737 wjcm -deg -
4
2
1.5 ) 9
( 60 deg = 6. 8 x 10 w
Part b From Equation 12.16 and Table 12.3,
P, = (1.31 x 10- 13 wjcm 2 ) [ : (49) cm 2 ] = 5 x 10- 12 w
Note that the sky background noise power is approximately three orders of
magnitude larger than the star-light power. An essential feature in any daylight
star sensor is the method used to increase the star signal-to-sky background
noise ratio, see Problem 12.3.
12.4.4 Star-light Detection

The radiation sensed by the detector in a star sensor arrives as photons of light,
each of which has a quantity of energy determined by Planck's constant and the
wavelength of light. For a radiation power of P (in watts), and a wavelength,
A (in micrometers), the number of photons of light, p (in photons per second),
arriving at the sensor is given by [14]
(12.20)
Only a certain number of these photons arriving at the detector are converted
to signal-generating electrons. The quantum efficiency of the detector is defined
as the ratio of the photons converted to signal-generating electrons to the total
number of photons arriving.
Radiation detectors used in star sensors may be classified by the way in
which photons of light are converted to signal-generating electrons, for exam-
ple, photovoltaic, photoconductive, and photoemissive. Of particular interest
are the photovoltaic or photoconductive detectors that are packaged as charge-
coupled devices (CCD) [21]. These can produce an array of small cells or
pixels. In its simplest form, the CCD is a closely spaced monolithic array of
metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitors. By the application of a proper
sequence of vertical and horizontal clock voltage pulses, the charge packets
accumulated in each capacitor (or pixel) can be sequentially shifted through
the array of capacitors. Large arrays of CCD detectors can be implemented
without the maze of wires and bonding required if individual elements were
used to construct the array.
The most important class of MIS capacitors is the metal-oxide semiconductor
(MOS) made from silicon and silicon dioxide. By 1995, CCD arrays were avail-
able for the visible to mid-infrared wavelength (0.4 to 20 ~-tm), with array sizes
ranging from 128 x 128 to I 024 x I 024, with clock voltage pulse frequencies
greater than 15 MHz, and with full well (pixel) capacities in the neighborhood
of I x 10 6 electrons. The use of CCD arrays allows a small instantaneous field
of view for sky background, for improved signal-to-noise ratio, while maintain-
ing a large telescope field of view.
Reference [22] provides an excellent treatise on radiation detectors, includ-
ing a chapter devoted to the CCD array. It contains a comprehensive discussion

of, and the noise sources for, photovoltaic detectors, photoconductive detectors,
and photoemissive detectors. For a general discussion on the advantages and
disadvantages associated with imaging tubes, such as the vidicon, and the pho-
tomultiplier tube, see (1].
12.4.5 Focal Plane Array Processing

In some star sensors, the star signal is modulated to distinguish it from the
constant sky background level. One technique for doing this is by rotating an
optical wedge, which is placed a short distance from the focal plane, and syn-
chronously demodulating the signal. Another is to scan the star area with a very
narrow field-of-view telescope.
Another technique to remove the sky background noise when using a CCD
array is by direct subtraction. The telescope is pointed, say one degree, away
from the star (to a region where there are no bright stars), and a frame of data
is gathered and stored. The telescope is then pointed at the star, and another
frame is gathered and stored. These two data frames are then differenced, pixel
by pixel [23]. The difference frame contains the star without the sky background
noise. Further, the effects of differences between individual pixel responsivities
are minimized. Another implementation of the noise subtraction technique is to
calibrate the individual pixel responsivities and then subtract a computed sky
background mean from each pixel; the sky background mean is computed by
averaging over a large number of pixel elements. This technique has the
advantage of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), by .J2.
The frame time, associated with the CCD, is the time over which the signal
and noise can be integrated before the pixels reach their full well capacities.
Example 12.4.2
Suppose that the star Alpheratz is being viewed in a 2000 ft-lambert sky back-
ground with the telescope of Example 12.4.1 and the focal plane array of Prob-
lem 12.3. What is the maximum frame averaging time given that 90% of full
well capacity is not to be exceeded? Assume a full well pixel capacity of 1x 106
electrons with a quantum efficiency of 50%, that 93.7% of the star energy is
contained within a one pixel diameter, and that there is a 20% loss of star power
due to the atmosphere.
From Example 12.4.1, the star power arriving at a single pixel is
Ps=(5x 10- 12 w)(0.937)(0.80)=3.75x 10- 12 w
and from Problem 12.3, for 2000 ft-lambert sky background, the mean noise
power per pixel is
From Equation 12.20 the total photons arriving at the detectors, assuming an
average wavelength of 0.8 J-tm, is given by
p = (5.04 X 10 18 )[(15 + 3.75) X 10- 12 ](0.8) = 76 X I 06 photons/sec
If the quantum efficiency in converting photons to electrons is 50%, then the

time required to reach 90% of full well capacity, or frame time tF, is given by
0.9 x 10 6 electrons
tF = = 24 msec
(0.5 electronsjphoton)(76 x 106 photons/sec)
To further improve the star SjN, a number of difference frames are aver-
aged. Given the average difference frame, star detection is evaluated using a
likelihood ratio (threshold) test [I 0]. The threshold level is a function of the star
brightness and noise variance and is performed on subsums of pixels of a size to
contain the star image. For example, if the star image, or spot size, is 2 pixels in
diameter, then all 2 x 2 pixel sums are tested against the threshold. Other func-
tional tests can be implemented in conjunction with the star detection threshold
test. Once the star is detected its position is known to within a small group of
pixels. The precise location of the star (subpixel accuracy) is determined using
a centroiding technique [24] which is analogous to a "center-of-gravity" com-
putation. This involves constructing weighted averages in both directions using
a group of pixels that includes the group, found by detection, to contain the
star. Other techniques include the "polynomial least-squares fit" described in
[24], a "matched-filter" approach described in [25], and a template-matching
approach based upon knowledge of the star signal point spread function.
Once the precise location of the star has been determined within the array,
it can be passed on to the Kalman filter as a measurement (observation) of the
star LOS. Alternatively, in a "star tracker" implementation, the results of the
centroiding can be used as inputs to the azimuth and elevation gimbal servo-
loops to center the image on the array [23]. The gimbal angle resolver readouts
then provide the line-of-sight observation to the Kalman filter.
Factors that affect centroiding accuracy include SjN, image spot size, and
fill factor (dead space between pixels). The optimum image spot size for pre-
cise centroiding has a diameter between one and two pixels [24, 26] and the
centroiding performance degrades rapidly for fill factors less than 60% [24l
Nonuniform responsivity of pixels and non symmetrical star imaging can be cal-
ibrated and compensated for, if required. The centroiding accuracy as a function
of SjN is described in Figure 12.8 for pixel fill factors near 100%, for image
spot diameters in the neighborhood of 2 pixels, and for on-axis imaging. The
band between the upper and lower curves in the figure accounts for the effects
of the random variation of image center to pixel center.
CELESTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM DESIGN 575
1.0
0.9
Q)
.~ 0.8
c.
.c 0.7
:::l
~
0.6
0
....
.... 0.5
<l.l
00
c 0.4
"0
-e
c
<l.l
u
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Signal-to-noise ratio (SIN)
Figure 12.8 Centroiding accuracy.
12.5 CELESTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM DESIGN
Star observations provide no information with respect to altitude, and since the
vertical channel of an inertial navigator is unstable, vertical damping must be
provided by some other information source. Typically, a barometric altimeter or
radar altimeter is used to provide altitude measurements. These altitude mea-
surements can be processed in the Kalman filter in a fashion similar to the
star measurements to provide altitude corrections to be fed back to the navi-
gator.
12.5.1 Time Reference

All stellar-inertial systems require an accurate measure of time in order to ini-
tialize and maintain the transformation from inertial coordinates to Earth-fixed
coordinates. Also, the location of the stars in inertial coordinates at the instant
of a star measurement requires time in order to apply corrections to the star's
location (Section 12.6.4).
Time is initialized with a chronometer. The chronometer may be a ground-
based portable device that is interfaced to the stellar-inertial system before take
off or it may be airborne equipment. Chronometers are accurate time-keep-
ing devices that have previously received a time initialization. One method of
time initialization is the receipt of a radio signal from WWV (Fort Collins,
Colorado) or WWV-H (Hawaii), which are maintained by the U.S. National
Bureau of Standards [27]. These radio signals provide universal time (UT), or
Greenwich mean time which is based on the rotation of the Earth. For high-
accuracy systems, UT needs to be corrected to UTI to account for irregularities

in earth rotation (less than 0.9 sec). In the future, a GPS receiver (Section 5.5)
could be used to provide accurate time. Given UT, GHAr (Figure 12.2) can
be computed [28] and the initial transformation between the inertial frame and
the Earth-fixed frame obtained.
Since the Earth's rotation is generally slowing down (which occurs with
unpredictable irregularities), UT is not a uniform time. For very accurate astro-
nomical calculations, a uniform time scale is necessary. In 1984, dynamical time
(TD), as defined by atomic clocks, was adopted as the standard for astronomical
ephemerides and published in the Astronomical Almanac. Star correction calcu-
lations use TD [28]. However, the difference between UT and TD is insignifi-
cant for navigational purposes. Therefore, as long as GHAr is computed using
UT, the remaining differences between UT and TD may be ignored.
After time has been initialized, the stellar-inertial system clock is used to
maintain time, and the known Earth's rotation rate is used to update the trans-
formation from inertial to Earth-fixed coordinates.
12.5.2 Star Observation and Pointing Errors

The azimuth and elevation angles to a selected star are computed using Equa-
tion 12.4. These angles, compensated by estimates of mechanical and optical
deviations and deflections of the line of sight (LOS), are functions of the right
ascension and declination of the star, the Greenwich Hour Angle of Aires for
the given time, an estimate of the vehicle position in latitude and longitude,
and an estimate of the platform attitude at this location. The measurements of
the star LOS are functions of the actual location of the vehicle; the actual atti-
tude of the physical platform upon which the star sensor is mounted; and all
actual mechanical and optical deviations and deflections in the line of sight. The
angular difference between the computed LOS and the measured LOS, oY, pro-
vides the Kalman filter star observation, as described in Section 12.3.1. From
Equation 12.9b, this filter observation oY is given by
oY = \fl + ob + v
where \fl is the inertial angular error, Ob denotes the total vector of mechanical
and optical LOS error compensation residuals, and v is the independent random
observation error.
The errors \fl and ob are included in the state vector of the dynamic error
model used to propagate the navigation system errors (see Equation !2.9a).
They are described in more detail in what follows for the stabilized platforms
and strapdown IMU configurations. The optical line-of-sight deflection errors
are independent of the configuration and are described later.
Stabilized, Local-Level Implementation Errors For the stabilized, local-level

platform with gimballed telescope mounted on the stabilized element, the point-
ing error includes platform tilt and heading errors <j>, computed position errors
oO, telescope gimbal angle resolver errors, telescope/stellar sensor boresight
errors, detector image location errors, and optical LOS deflection errors. The
effects of the <1> and oO error uncertainties are modeled mathematically by
t1J = <1>- oo.
With a detached star sensor, the errors of the gimbal angle resolver of the sta-
ble platform and the mechanical and flexure alignment uncertainties between the
two housings must be modeled. Because of the mechanical and flexure align-
ment uncertainties the detached implementation is not used in high-accuracy
applications.
Strapdown Implementation Errors The pointing error uncertainties for the

strapdown configuration include t1J error ( <1>- oO), stellar sensor boresight error,
star image location error and optical LOS deflection error. No gimbal resolver
errors are involved since the telescope/star sensor is hard-mounted to the iner-
tial instrument cluster. If gimbals are used to point the IMU-telescope structure,
the entire cluster is rotated; the relationship between the telescope LOS and the
inertial instrument axes remain fixed, and the orientation of the instrument clus-
ter is determined using the inertial instruments, not the gimbals.
For the fully strapdown (ungimballed) configuration, a wide field of view is
required by the telescope. Consequently, there is a requirement to locate star
images for large off-axis star measurements. This introduces a source of error
in image location due to coma which must be accounted for in the error mod-
eling. Star sensor boresight error observability is a significant problem for this
configuration, as well as star location accuracies, given the large star catalog
required (Section 12.6.2).
Implementation-Independent Errors Deflections of the LOS arise from non-

parallelism of top and bottom window surfaces [ 12, 13, 29, 30]. Nonparallel
viewing-window surfaces act as prisms and deflect the incoming light ray from
the original path. If Snell's law of refraction is applied to a light ray impinging
on a window at an incident angle of 50 deg, a 5 arcsecond window wedge will
cause a 10 arc second change in the angle at which the ray emerges and hence
in the LOS to a star.
A 1-atm pressure difference between the window surfaces will cause sag in
the area cut by the aperture of the telescope [29, 30]. A 12-in. diameter fused
silica-window with a thickness of 0.8 to I in. has negligible sag-and-distortion
effect, but the 1-atm of pressure difference creates a refraction effect at the
window interface [12, 13]. The magnitude of the effect is sensitive to both the
pressure and the temperature of the inside and outside air. For a 15-psi pressure
differential, inside air at 130°F, and a viewing angle of 50 deg with respect to
the window, the deflection of the line of sight is about 60 arcseconds.
Factors that cause light gradients or uncontrolled reflections include bubbles
within the glass as well as dust and oil on the window. The presence of bub-
bles and dust (if not thick) is not a serious problem, because the telescope,
being focused at infinity, looks through them. An oil film, however, can act
as an interference coat of the wrong wavelength and cause light reflections
and/or severe transmission losses [29, 30]. Surface flatness over the view-
ing aperture of the telescope [29, 30] also affects image quality, with values
ranging from 0.1 to 2 wavelengths, depending on the desired quality of the
image.
Studies have shown that the magnitude of atmospheric refraction requires
compensation [ 17, 31]. At sea level, refraction varies from 0 arcseconds at 0-deg
co-elevation angles to 70 arcseconds at 50-deg co-elevation angles. The deflec-
tion due to atmospheric refraction increases with increasing air mass between
the star and the observer and varies slightly with air temperature and water-
vapor content.
Depending upon its nature, turbulence has both good and bad effects on
star viewing. Slow-moving and stagnant air full of temperature discontinu-
ities degrades viewing. Local turbulence causes shimmer-a motion of the star
image within the telescope [32]. This motion may approach 30 arcseconds at
frequencies as high as 100 Hz for telescope apertures under 4 in. [ 17]. There
may be rapid or highly turbulent air along the outer window or skin of the air-
craft. Studies [30, 33] of boundary layers and turbulence in aircraft up to Mach
2.5 show shimmer disks of up to 12 to 15 sec of arc with frequencies of up
to 1000 Hz. The effect of this shimmer is to spread the star irradiance over
a greater area at the focal plane of the telescope. To compensate, the detector
must be large enough to encompass the image, or sensitive enough to detect
the portion of the light energy intercepted by the small detector.
Atmospheric turbulence far from the telescope does not cause shimmer;
instead, it produces scintillation-a varying change in the brightness of the star
image ("twinkle" to the human eye) [32, 34]. Scintillation, which is due to
atmospheric diffraction, is inversely proportional to telescope aperture and can
change the brightness of a star as much as 35% for a telescope aperture of less
than 5 in. Its amplitude is proportional to the secant of the co-altitude pointing
angle, that is, to the mass of air the light must penetrate.
During supersonic flight, the line of sight to a star is refracted through a
shock wave, which is a boundary layer of air separating less dense air from
the more dense air behind the wave. Although precise data are lacking, the
amplitude of shock-wave refraction is under 2 arcseconds for angles of up to
±45 deg to the wave created by a 2.85-Mach aircraft at 45,000 ft [30, 35]. The
line-of-sight deviation increases at more oblique angles to the shock wave.
12.5.3 Stabilized Platform Configuration

In the stabilized design, the inertial measurement unit (IMU) provides a sta-
bilized platform upon which a two-gimbal star sensor is mounted. The IMU
contains accelerometer and gyro triads (Chapter 7). The stabilized design is
depicted in Figure 12.9.
The accelerometers determine the local-level reference with respect to the
<(----:...
'{t {! ....... ~
Scan~~
pattern '-
' ' . ~ Celestial
• '- "'<"" sphere
Vertical axis 1<.. '\
Telescope___.,. 1
..r I
I '
'\. {t
'\
..}
rotation I \.- _ -
Gyros and accelerometers
Stable inertial
platform
Gimballed to
aircraft structure
Figure 12.9 Three-gimballed platform with two-gimballed star sensor.
Earth and the gyro torquing current is used to track the orientation of the sta-
ble platform relative to an inertially fixed frame in which the stars are located.
Along with time, this provides the information required to generate the azimuth
and elevation angles to point the telescope at a selected star. Therefore, the star
observations are effective in calibrating gyro bias drifts. The telescope gim-
bal angle resolver errors cause line-of-sight measurement errors, but the stable
platform gimbal angle resolver errors do not.
A typical platform and star tracker gimbal structure is shown in Figure
12.1 0, and a simplified block diagram of the stabilized stellar-inertial naviga-
tor is shown in Figure 12.11. The latter shows the functions and the flow of
data.
To integrate a stellar observation into the navigation process, the vehicle
position (latitude and longitude) and attitude of the platform with respect to the
Earth are computed from the inertial navigation equations (Chapter 7). This
information, along with time and the on-board stored star catalog, is used to
select the star to be observed. The telescope pointing commands (AZ, EL) are
computed and the telescope slewed to the proper location. A preprogrammed
search pattern is conducted around this location until the star is detected. The
location of the detected star can be determined by centering the image and mea-
suring the azimuth and elevation angles of the telescope gimbal angle resolvers.
The difference between the computed azimuth and elevation angles and the
measured azimuth and elevation angles is the Kalman filter observable oY. The
components of oY, in telescope coordinates, are orthogonal to the telescope line
of sight and defined in telescope coordinates:
580 CELESTIAL NAVI GATION
Roll
gimbal
Telescope
Yaw
gimbal
(platform)
Tracker
gimbal
(azimuth)
Figure 12.10 Ty pical pl a tfo rm/ tracke r gi mba I stru c ture (courtesy. Northrop Grumman
Elec tronic s S yste m and Integ ration Di visi o n).
Stellar - inertial navigator Positro n

Inertial navigation velocity
equation solution
A
- - -
6R , 6V, lJ! , &r , 6w attitude
• Position
• Velocity
• Attitude Kalman frlter
• Recursive equation
t Gyro propagati on
Acceleration torque • Gain (KF) comput'!ti on
I • Error estimation (ex= KF6Y)
IMU Stellar Boresight ~ Star
• Accelerometers error estimate (cb) observation
• Gyros (6Y)
:
1 Physical
Position Stellar computation s
attitude • Star selection
I reference • Pointing: AZ , EL
I
... • Detection
St ellar sensor • Observation (6Y)
• Star-tracking
Loops AZ , EL command s Chronometer
• Electronic
processing
AZ, EL measurements
Figure 12.11 Simplifi ed block di ag ra m of s tabili zed ste llar- ine rtial nav igator.
I
oY' = [ oYl] = [ ELMEAS- ELcoMP ] (12.21)

oY2 cos(EL)[AZMEAS- AZcoMP]
and in computational coordinates,
where oY is as defined in Equation 12.9b.

A high performance, terrestrial stellar-inertial navigator is shown in Figure
12.12. This navigator utilizes a three-degree-of-freedom locally level stabilized
platform with a two-gimbal star tracker mounted on it.
Typically, two to three stars per minute are tracked for high-performance
applications with rms star location accuracies of several seconds of arc or bet-
ter. To benefit from this level of stellar performance, gravity deflections of the
vertical must be compensated to the level of several arcseconds or less.
The viewing window for the stellar-inertial navigator should be as small as
possible both from airframe considerations and for stellar performance (large
windows bend and so must be thick). While the size of the window is a func-
tion of the field of regard and the size of the telescope aperture, it is also a
function of the telescope gimbal arrangement. Figure 12.13 shows an offset-
gimbal configuration that reduces the requirements for viewing-window size.
This offset gimbal arrangement is implemented in the daylight stellar-inertial
navigator pictured in Figure 12.12.
12.5.4 Strapdown IMU Configurations

Since the 1980s IMUs have been strapdown to reduce cost and size, and
increase reliability (Section 7.4 ). Since the 1990s, the development of stellar-
inertial navigators were therefore directed toward the use of the combination of
strapdown IMUs and focal plane array star sensors hard-mounted to the IMU
(Sections 12.4.4. and 12.4.5). A strapdown IMU configuration is depicted in
Figure 12.14. In this configuration, the inertial cluster is mounted in a two-axis
gimbal structure with the telescope hard-mounted. The gimbals are used for
approximate pointing of the telescope, and for pre-flight and in-flight instru-
ment calibration and system alignment (Section 12.7). In one mechanization of
the configuration of Figure 12.14, the inertial cluster is periodically rotated 180
deg in azimuth (a 180-deg-rotation about both pitch and roll axes effectively
rotates 180 deg in azimuth). This has the effect of making the star sensor bore-
sight error observable so that system performance is relatively independent of
this error (Problem 12.2, Parts c and e). Typically, azimuth rotations every 5
minutes maintain good observability and the rotations take less than 30 seconds
to perform.
The gimbal structure can be removed producing a fully strapdown stellar-
Figure 12.12 A high-performance stellar-inertial navigator (navigation system fm the

B-2 Bomber: Courtesy. Northrop Grumman Corp.).
inertial system. A major design difference between stabilized and strapdown

IMU configurations is that for the laller. the image is not stabilized on the focal
plane: rather. it is computationally stabilized. The fully strapdown configuration
requires the use of a very wide field-of-vi ew telescope with a signiticant and
accurat e oil-axis imaging capability. The site of the focal plane array must be
consistent with the FOY requirements. Star sensor boresight stability becomes
a critical issue. and the contents of the on-board catalog are increased from
50 to 80 stars to the order of 10.000 (Section 12.6.2). the location of many of
which arc not known with a high degree of accuracy.
The block diagram of Figure 12.11 also provides a functional description of
the computations involved for the strapdown stellar-inertial navigator configu-
rations. except for the "stellar sensor" block . For the strapdown configurations.
star tracking is not implemented. The Kalman filter observation oY is deter-
mined by computing the angular difference between where the center of the
STAR CATALOG CHARACTERISTICS 583
Figure 12.13 Offset tracker gimbal arrangement.
star image is expected to fall on the focal plane array and where the computed
star image centroid actually falls on the focal plane array. This is the case for
both the gimballed and nongimballed strapdown IMU configurations; gimbal
angle measurements are not involved in either case. The angular orientation of
the telescope is determined by the IMU through a direction cosine or quaternion
computation using the inertial cluster gyro inputs.
12.6 STAR CATALOG CHARACTERISTICS
A necessary part of any stellar-inertial navigation system is a star catalog that

provides data on star locations and star magnitudes. The star location data are
required to point the telescope and determine the expected angular position of
the star in the star sensor field of view. The star magnitude is required to deter-
mine the star integration time and detection threshold in order to achieve the
desired probabilities of detection and false alarm.
Accelerometer Telescope Star sensor

triad line of sight (hard-mounted to
inertial cluster)
Outer
gimbal
axis
Rotation~·., /
freedom . Rotation freedom
b:: ~
Torque Inertial \rt~
Roll
motor cluster aXIS
Figure 12.14 Strapdown stellar configuration with gimbal pointing.

12.6.1 Star Catalog Contents

A star catalog is a stored data file of stars designated by name or ID contain-
ing data fields describing the star, the critical data for stellar-inertial navigation
being star position and magnitude. Star position, as discussed in Section 12.2,
is referenced to the vernal equinox and the celestial equator. However, the ver-
nal equinox and the celestial equator are not fixed in inertial space, primarily
due to gravitational effects of the sun, moon, and planets. Therefore, it is nec-
essary for a star catalog to define star position for a particular instant of time
or epoch. The current standard epoch is 2000 January I at 12 hours dynamical
time (TD). This epoch is designated 12000. The unit of time is the Julian year
or Julian century. To locate a star at any other instant of time, it is necessary
to account for both the star's motion and the Earth's motion from 12000 to
the current instant of time. Reference [28] describes how to determine the time
period from the time of interest to 12000. Corrections for motion are described
later in this section.
In addition to star position and proper motion data referenced to a particu-
lar epoch, a star catalog contains star magnitude data. The magnitude data are
usually specified for more than one frequency band including the visual band.
For stellar-inertial applications, the magnitude of interest is the magnitude in
the band of the star sensor. Frequently, this band does not match identically
with the magnitude data provided by a star catalog. Therefore, some additional
computations may be required to convert the magnitude data given in a star
catalog to the magnitude data applicable to the system star sensor detector.
12.6.2 Star Catalog Size

A subset of all the stars in a large star catalog needs to be selected to form
the on-board star catalog for a stellar-inertial navigator. The number of stars
required for the on-board star catalog is a function of the system implemen-
tation. For the stabilized design (Section 12.5.3) or the strapdown design with
two gimbals (Section 12.5.4), both of which have the ability to point the sen-
sor telescope, a very small subset of a star catalog is required. Typically, 50
to 80 of the brightest stars in the sky can be selected to provide worldwide,
year-around coverage that always provides at least three stars available for the
system to select. The fully strapdown design (no gimbal structure) (Section
12.5.4) requires a much larger on-board star catalog because the system must
select from the stars that happen to be in the field of view. The number of stars
depends on the size of the star sensor field of view and the frequency at which
star measurement updates are required. A fully strapdown celestial navigator
may have to acquire stars down to magnitude 6.0 and require an on-board star
catalog of about I 0,000 stars.
Variable Stars Variable stars are those whose magnitudes are not constant. A
large number of stars vary in their brilliance, some in a regular manner, others
less regularly, and some are completely unpredictable and irregular in their light
variation [37]. Some representative variable stars are given in Table I 2.4.
Magnitude variations cause a problem for determining the integration time
and detection threshold. If the magnitude used in the star catalog is brighter
than the actual star magnitude at the time of star acquisition, the integration
time will be too short, the detection threshold too high, and the star will likely
not be detected. If the magnitude used in the star catalog is dimmer than the
actual star magnitude at the time of star acquisition, then the star may not be
selected as the best available star; if the star is selected, the signal-to-noise ratio
will be higher than expected and the uncertainty assigned to the star location
measurement will not be as small as it should be.
For some variable stars it is possible to model the magnitude variation and
compute the star magnitude at the time of the star acquisition. For a star like
Betelgeuse, whose magnitude varies slowly (Table 12.4), the magnitude can be
updated at time intervals that are long relative to the flight time. Except for
bright, slowly varying stars it is probably best to exclude variable stars from
the on-board star catalog.
Double Stars Double stars are two stars that appear very close to one another.
Some representative double stars are given in Table 12.5 [38].
Double stars present two problems for a stellar-inertial navigation system.
A double star like Mizar with a separation of only 14.4 arcsec will likely be
beyond the resolving capability of the star sensor. Consequently, a centroid com-
puted on Mizar would yield a location that is a weighted composite of the two
stars. Unless a weighted composite location is stored in the star catalog, the
star location error will not be modeled properly.
A double star like a Capricornus presents a different problem. The two stars
are sufficiently far apart, so they do not present a star centroiding problem.
However, a Capricornus presents an initial acquisition problem because at the
end of alignment there exists a relatively large heading error. Depending upon
the time of the first star measurement (which might be delayed due to cloud
cover), the attitude uncertainty may grow larger. The attitude uncertainty may
cause difficulty in distinguishing between the two stars of a Capricornus. One
TABLE 12.4 Variable stars

Name Magnitude Variation Period
Betelgeuse 0.4-1.3 5.7 years with variations
Mira 1.0-10.2 320-370 days
o Cephei 3.28-4.63 5.37 days
Algol 2.20-3.47 2 days,
20 hours,
49 minutes
TABLE 12.5 Double stars

Name Magnitudes Separation
a Capricornus 3.5, 4.0 376 arcsec

Mizar 2.4, 4.0 14.4 arcsec
Mizar-( Ursa Major 2.4, 4.0 11.8 arcmin
Alcor-80 Ursa Major
way to deal with double stars in the star catalog is to use a flag that excludes the
double star for acquisition if the system attitude uncertainty is above a threshold
comparable to the double star separation.
12.6.3 Planet and Moon Avoidance

Planets do not represent good candidates for angular measurements for a stellar-
inertial navigation system because of the following: (1) dimness of the planet or
its proximity to the sun (only Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are viable candi-
dates for measurement), (2) planets are not point sources of light like stars and
hence, they spread over a larger portion of the detector than a star necessitating
different centroiding techniques, and (3) because of the size of the planets, the
location measurement is less accurate than that of a star.
Planets also represent a problem in that they wander across the stars and, at
any particular instant in time, can be confused with a star. One way to handle
the planet problem is to precompute the orbits of the planets and determine the
time periods when a planet is in close proximity to a star. The star catalog can
include data fields that indicate when the star is unavailable for acquisition due
to possible confounding with a planet.
A similar situation exists with the moon. It does not represent a candidate for
a measurement but does obscure stars that are candidates. Approaches to solving
the moon interference problem include (1) precomputing the time periods when
the moon interferes with a star and storing the data in the star catalog and (2)
implementing an on-board computation of the orbit of the moon and excluding
those stars that are obscured.
12.6.4 Star Position Corrections

Star position corrections are those that must be applied to the star in order to
account for changes in position occurring between the epoch of the star cata-
log and the time of the desired star acquisition. Causes for star corrections in-
clude
1. Proper motion. The motion of the star in inertial space.

2. Precession. Long-term, regular motion of the celestial pole about the pole
of the ecliptic.
3. Nutation. Short-term, periodic motion of the celestial pole about the mean
position defined by the precessional motion.
4. Annual aberration. Apparent change in star position due to the Earth's
orbital velocity.
5. Diurnal aberration. Apparent change in star position due to the Earth's
rotational velocity.
6. Parallax. Change in position of the star due to displacement of the Earth
in its orbit and the finite distance to the star.
The first four items require corrections for high-accuracy stellar-inertial nav-
igation systems and are discussed below. The last two, diurnal aberration and
parallax, are sufficiently small so that they can be ignored.
Proper Motion Proper motion is the simplest of the star corrections to apply
in that the star catalog will contain each star's rate of change of right ascension
and declination. If Tis the time since the epoch of the star catalog (if the epoch
is 12000, then T will be negative for all times prior to 12000), then the star
position corrected for proper motion is
o= oo + oT
where tXrh o0 and their rates of change are the star catalog entries for the standard
epoch.
Precession The direction of the rotational axis of the Earth and the plane of
the Earth's orbit are not fixed in space. Therefore, a star's coordinates change,
not because the star moves on the celestial sphere, but because the inertial coor-
dinate frame defined by the equator and the ecliptic moves on the celestial
sphere. These changes are called precession and nutation. Long-term changes
are called precession (providing the mean position), and the short-term periodic
displacement of the celestial pole about its mean position is called nutation [39].
Due to precession, the celestial pole slowly turns around the pole of the eclip-
tic, with a period of about 26,000 years; as a consequence, the vernal equinox
regresses by about 50 arcsec per year along the ecliptic. Moreover, the plane
of the ecliptic itself is not fixed in space. Due to the gravitational attraction of
the planets on the Earth, it slowly rotates, the speed of this rotation presently
being 47 arcsec per century.
Three precessional angles, t, z, and e, are computed as power series expan-
sions in the time interval T [28]:
s= T * (2306".2181 + T * (0".30188 + T * 0".017988))

z = T * (2306".2181 + T * (1".09468 + T * 0".018203))
() = T * (2004" .3109- T * (0".42665 + T * 0" .041833))
where T is the time in Julian centuries before or after J2000 and the angles are
in arcseconds (").
These precessional angles are small angles defining three rotations of the
inertial axes from J2000 to the time defined by T. The transformation matrix
for precessional motion is given by
cos(z) cos(()) cos(S) - cos(z) cos(()) sin(S) - cos(z) sin(())
P=[
- sin(z) sin(S)
sin(z) cos(()) cos(S)
+ cos(z) sin(S)
sin(()) cos(())
- sin(z) cos(S)
- sin(z) cos(()) sin(S)
+ cos(z) cos(S)
-sin(()) sin(S)
- sin(z) sin(())
cos(())
]
If u is a star unit position vector corrected for proper motion and given by
u=
[
cos ex cos
s!n ex cos
l
o
o
Sin 0
then the star position vector Up corrected for precession is
uP= Pu
For a 10-hour flight, the precession angles r,

Z, and () change by less than
0.03 arcsec; therefore the precession rotation matrix P needs to be computed
only once at initialization for the duration of the flight, and star position vec-
tors can be corrected for precession by multiplication by the computed rotation
matrix P.
Nutation Nutation is a periodic oscillation of the rotational axis of the Earth

around its mean position, which advances by precession around the pole of the
ecliptic. The effect of nutation is small, never exceeding 15 arcsec. Nutation
is due principally to the action of the moon and can be described by a sum
of periodic terms [28]. Nutation is partitioned into two components, one par-
allel to the ecliptic denoted by 111/; (called the nutation in longitude, A) and
a component perpendicular to the ecliptic denoted by 11E (called the nutation
in obliquity). The symbol 111/; is used for the nutation in longitude to remain
consistent with astronomer's notation and should not be confused with the lfl
error angle (Section 12.3.1).
The theory of nutation provides series expansions for !::.:/; and f:.E in terms
of (I) the time interval from the current time to the star catalog standard epoch,
(2) the mean elongation of the moon from the sun, (3) the mean anomaly of the
Earth, (4) the mean anomaly of the moon, (5) the moon's argument of latitude,
and (6) the longitude of the ascending node of the moon's mean orbit on the
ecliptic. Algorithms are given in [28].
In addition to the nutation terms, the obliquity of the ecliptic is required.
The obliquity of the ecliptic is the angle between the equatorial pole and the
ecliptic pole. An expression for the mean obliquity of the ecliptic Eo is given
in [28]. The true (instantaneous) obliquity of the ecliptic E is given by
E =Eo +f:.E
The position of the star on the celestial sphere does not change; rather, the
true equator changes from the mean equator moving the true equinox with it.
The celestial longitude has increased from A to A+!::.:/;, which means that the
equinox has moved through a rotation of -!::.:/; about the ecliptic pole. Fur-
thermore, the obliquity has increased by an amount f:.E, which means that the
equator has moved through a rotation of -f:.E about the equinox.
Given Eo, !::.:/;, and f:.E, a transformation matrix N can be computed that
rotates a star position vector from the mean equator and equinox of date to
the true equator and equinox of date. The expression for N is
A star unit position vector""" that has been corrected for nutation can be deter-
mined from a star unit position vector"" that has been corrected for precession
and proper motion by
""" = Nu" = NPu

Nutation in longitude changes by less than 0.08 arcsec for a 10-hour period and
the nutation in obliquity by less than 0.015 arcsec. Therefore, for flights of less
than ten hours, the error will be less than 0.1 arcsec if the nutation matrix N is
computed at initialization and treated as a constant thereafter.
Annual Aberration Annual aberration is the apparent change in the star posi-
tion clue to the velocity of the Earth in its orbit about the sun. The maximum
correction due to annual aberration occurs when the star direction is along the
ecliptic pole. The maximum correction is the ratio of the Earth's orbital speed
to the speed of light and is approximately 20.5 arcsec.
The velocity vector for light coming from a star is V 1ight = -cu11p where c =
the speed of light. Let Vearth be the velocity vector for the Earth in its orbit. The
Earth moves in an elliptical orbit with eccentricity e with the sun at one focus.
The velocity Vearth lies in the plane of the ecliptic and has two components,
a transverse component V 0 perpendicular to the radius vector from the sun to
the Earth and a component eV 0 along the semiminor axis of the orbit [39]. To
compute the two components of Vearth in inertial coordinates, it is necessary to
compute for the current time the following: (l) the eccentricity of the Earth's
orbit, (2) the longitude of perihelion of the Earth's orbit, and (3) the longitude
of the sun. Algorithms are found in [28].
The apparent direction of the star light on the moving Earth is Vapp = Vlight-
Vearth. The star position vector must be corrected to the apparent direction. The
orbital velocity of the Earth is changing slowly enough so that for flights of ten
hours or less, it can be precomputed during system initialization and treated as
a constant during the flight.
12.7 SYSTEM CALIBRATION AND ALIGNMENT
12.7.1 Factory Calibration

Three aspects of factory calibration of stellar-inertial navigation systems are
discussed in this section: ( l) calibration of accelerometer errors, gyro errors, and
star-tracker boresight errors, (2) star-tracker optical calibration, and (3) focal
plane array calibration.
Calibration of Accelerometer, Gyro, and Star- Tracker Boresight Errors The

desirable way to calibrate a stellar-inertial navigation system for accelerometer
errors, gyro errors, and star-tracker boresighting errors is to utilize a Kalman
filter similar to the real-time software. In the calibration filter, the error state
vector is usually larger than that of the real-time navigation filter to include
error sources whose effects would be excessive if left uncalibrated. However,
those variations about the calibrated values are small enough so that they are
dropped from the real-time software for throughput and observability consider-
ations. A system can be calibrated by having real-time data acquisition software
record the outputs of the instruments which can be read by the calibration filter.
This aids the calibration of early systems when not all of the error mechanisms
are understood by allowing repeated playback of the same recorded data with
modifications to the error modeling until a satisfactory model is obtained.
The stellar-inertial navigation system is calibrated with a fixture that provides
at least one simulated star as well as the rotational capability to (1) point the star
sensor at the simulated star(s) and (2) orient the accelerometers and gyros to
sense varying amounts of the Earth's gravity vector and angular rotation vector.
Figure 12.15 shows such a fixture and a stellar-inertial navigation system under
test. It contains two precision gimbals to rotate the navigation system and a sin-
gle simulated star mounted above the unit on a yoke whose gimbal position can
SYSTEM CALIBRATION AND ALIGNMENT 591
Figure 12.15 Stellar-inertial factory calibration fixture (courtesy of Northrop Grum-

man Electronics Systems and Integration Division).
also be precisely controlled. The three gimbals can be moved in 0.5-deg incre-
ments and are accurate to 0.5 arcsec. The gimbal positions are under computer
control so that a predetermined gimbal trajectory can be executed while the unit
under test records the instrument outputs. The gimbal trajectory is designed to
provide system error observability as defined in Section 12.3.2.
The calibration values are downloaded for use by the real-time software to cor-
rect the instrument outputs during flight. Error states are included in the real-
time filter to estimate time variations in some or the factory calibrated values.
Star- Tracker Optical Calibration The above described procedure provides

the calibration of the star tracker boresight errors. It assumes that the posi-
tion error of the star-tracker is independent of the location of the star within
the field or view: however, with wide-angle telescopes, this is not the case. The
position error of the star location varies with the star location within the field
or view. For example, the star signal distribution across the detector element
varies with star position, and this signal distribution variation influences the star
peak location estimate, producing an error that is a function of star location. A
calibration fixture of the type shown in Figure 12.15 has the ability to accu-
rately place a star across the field of view, and it allows a grid of star locations
to be generated. The grid of star placements allows for the location dependent
errors to be calibrated relative to an offset or boresight error. This calibration
can be performed on the star tracker prior to the combined calibration of the
inertial sensors and the boresight errors.
Focal Plane Array Calibration Focal plane arrays contain individual defec-
tive pixels and entire lines of defective pixels. These defective pixels can be
determined by exposing the star sensor to a light source that is nearly uniform
across the focal plane array and examining the focal plane array response. A
defective pixel table can then be generated. It becomes another calibration table
for use by the real-time software, which disregards those exposures where por-
tions of the star signal are lost. The nondefective pixels possess input amplitude-
to-output amplitude transfer functions that vary from pixel to pixel. This pixel
variation looks like noise on both the sky background and the star signal and
can have considerable effect on lowering the signal-to-noise ratio.
If the sky background is removed by pixel averaging (Section 12.4.5), pixel-
to-pixel variations may be calibrated. The focal plane array is exposed to a
uniform light source for varying exposure times so that its output varies from
low level to near saturation. Enough data are gathered at each exposure time
to average out the random noise effects. A curve is fit to the measured transfer
function of each pixel. The coefficients from this curve form a set of amplitude
calibration coefficients to be applied by the real-time software. The pixel-to-
pixel variations can then be removed from the sky background and from the
star signal. By computing the mean sky background from a neighborhood of
the focal plane array not containing the star, the need for frame differencing
disappears. Disadvantages to this approach are ( 1) the need for a uniform light
source, (2) a lengthy calibration procedure, (3) the volume of data stored for
the calibration coefficients, (4) the throughput required to apply the corrections,
and (5) the need to recalibrate if the pixel-to-pixel variations change with time.
However, for a fully strapdown stellar-inertial navigation system, use of this
technique may be required.
12.7.2 Pre-flight and In-flight Calibration and Alignment

Navigation systems employ pre-flight and/or in-flight calibration and alignment
(C&A) processes. These processes use Kalman filter techniques and, in general,
pre-flight C&A, in-flight C&A, and in-flight navigation use essentially the same
Kalman filter software algorithms.
Pre-flight C&A To perform a pre-flight C&A, the stationary system is placed

in the navigate mode. Utilizing the fact that the vehicle is stationary relative
to the Earth, constant position and zero velocity observations are integrated
into the navigation process through the filter. The result is that estimates of
SYSTEM CALIBRATION AND ALIGNMENT 593
heading and level alignment are provided along with estimates of instrument
calibration errors. For the fully strapdown cluster, and for small initial position
errors, the heading error and the level errors will rapidly become nearly unity
correlated with the component of gyro drift in the east direction, and the level
component of accelerometer bias error, respectively. The repeatabilities of the
long-term instrument errors determine the pre-flight alignment accuracy for the
nongimballed strapdown system.
Example 12.7.1 What is the initial 3-sigma search area for the nongimballed
strapdown stellar-inertial navigator given that the system is pre-flight aligned
at a 45-deg latitude location and that the selected star has zero-degree eleva-
tion. Assume that the factory calibration for the gyros and accelerometers are
repeatable to 0.0 I deg/hr (!-sigma) and 75 p.g (!-sigma), respectively.
The azimuth search dimension is given by
(2)(3)(0.0 I" /hr) .

AZ= : : : 20 arcmm (3-sigma)
(cos )QE
The elevation search dimension is given by:
EL = (2)(3)(75p.g)/g == 1.5 arcmin (3-sigma)
Therefore, for the zero-elevation star, the initial 3-sigma search area is 20 x 1.5
(arcmin) 2 •
For the case of the stabilized stellar-inertial navigator, a 180-deg rotation
about azimuth provides observability of the east gyro drift and t/; AZ alignment
error. The azimuth (or heading) alignment error following rotation is reduced
by a factor of 5 or I 0. The level tilt errors remain essentially the same.
For the two-gimbal strapdown stellar-inertial system, ± 180-deg rotations
about both the pitch and roll axes provides a relatively complete inertial cluster
calibration and a relatively precise alignment including both heading and level.
The alignments are in the neighborhood of arc seconds, for the conditions spec-
ified in Example 12.7.1.
In-flight C&A For many military applications, the use of a pre-flight C&A is
not considered feasible because of rapid takeoff requirements. This is especially
true for the stabilized local level configurations which may require warm-up in
excess of thirty minutes. Therefore, the procedure is to do system warm-up dur-
ing the taxi and climb out period. The in-flight C&A begins at altitude, again
with the stellar-inertial navigator in the navigate mode. The Kalman observa-
tions for velocity must be generated by other avionics equipment such as a
Doppler radar (Chapter I 0) or GPS (Chapter 5) and heading and attitude from
an AHRS (Section 7.7 .5). The alignment accuracy determines the size of the
initial search pattern for the selected star.
12.6 FUTURE TRENDS
In the near term, the trend in celestial navigation is to eliminate all rotating
devices. For example, the solid state focal plane array has eliminated the need to
mechanically scan. Some form of spatial and temporal sharing of the focal plane
array, such as electronically scanned discrete optics, will probably be required
to replace mechanical gimbals for high-performance daylight applications; this
would be accompanied by a design technique that maintains an extremely stable
star sensor boresight over long time periods.
In the long term, celestial navigation will largely be replaced by satellite
navigation systems such as GPS. Specialized military aircraft will continue to
use stellar-inertial systems where jamming of satellite navigation receivers is
a credible threat and/or where second-of-arc pointing accuracy is required, for
example, for on-board laser systems. These stellar-inertial systems will tend
toward fully strapdown configurations.
PROBLEMS
12.1. Suppose that the computed vehicle position is in error by 1000 ft in lati-
tude, o, and a zenith star measurement is made. What is the accelerom-
eter bias error in the North direction o(3N that yields a zero star sensor
observation? Assume a perfect star sensor and an Earth radius IRI of
4000 statue miles.
For \jJ = 0, from Equation 12.7, oO = $. From the geometry in Figure
12.4:
o 1ooo
o()E=-= =47.3 J-trad
IRI (4000)(5280)
where o() E is the east component of o() (small rotation about East axis),
and from inertial reference considerations,
where g is Earth's gravity, and ¢£ is the East component of <f>.

Ans.: The accelerometer bias error is
0(3N = gr:/JE =go()£= g(47.3 J-trad) = 47.3 J-(g
12.2. A star sensor is used to estimate the physical reference errors in level,
1/; 1 and 1/; 2 , using a star located at the zenith of the observer's posi-
tion. Suppose that the star sensor has boresight errors E 1 and E2 with
PROBLEMS 595
equal variances, a;,

which are collinear with 1/; 1, and 1/; 2 with equal vari-
ances, a~. Further, suppose that the errors 1/!i and Ei are random vari-
ables, E {1/; d = E {Ed = 0, and are uncorrelated at time zero. The system
is described by
P(O) = [ atl2 a~l2] A(i) =[ ~ ~]

H(i) = [l2:l2l W = a~h Q =0
where 12 is a 2 X 2 identity matrix.
(a) Define the information matrix following N measurements.
Ans.: From the system description, and Equation 12.11, the information
matrix is given by
(b) Is this system configuration observable? Hint: Show that J(N) is sin-
gular.
(c) Suppose that N /2 measurements are made. Then the star sensor is
rotated 180 deg about the azimuth, and another N /2 measurements
are made. Define the information matrix following the total N mea-
surements. Hint: For the first N /2 measurements, H 1 = [1 2 :12 ], and
for the second N/2 measurements, H2 = [! 2 : - 12 ].
(d) Is this system configuration observable?
(e) Show that the Kalman filter error variances following the processing
of N star observations for part (a) is given by
and for part (c) is given by

a}(O)a~
a.,.2 (N) = -~-----,-
"'1·2 Na~(O) +a~
a;(O)a~
a;l,2(N) = 2 2
Na,(O) + aw
Hint: P(N) = L(N)- 1

Note that for part (a), as N becomes large, the 1/; and E variances both
approach the same lower limit of a}(O)a;(O)/(a}(O)+a;(O)). For part (c),
as N becomes large, both error variances approach a~jN; this lower limit
approaches zero for increasing values of N. Further, for the case where the
initialization errors a tf; (0) and a, (0) are much larger than the star sensor
noise, a w, these lower limits are approached after one measurement.
12.3. Suppose that in Example 12.4.1 a focal plane array (FPA) is used;
let a 30 x 30 CCD silicon array be placed at the focal plane of the
telescope. What is the ratio of the sky background power to the star
signal power, given that the star power is focused on a single pixel,
and each pixel covers an "area" of approximately (3 arc sec )2 ? Hint:
P, = 7.5 X 10- 12 W.
Ans.: 1.5
12.4. What is the physical size of a pixel for the telescope of Problem 12.3
given that the star light has a wavelength, 'A= 1x 10- 6 meters, that 93.7%
of the star light energy is to be contained within a one-pixel diameter, and
that the telescope f/number = f/4.
Ans.: 18 t-tm x 18 t-tm.
13 Landing Systems
13.1 INTRODUCTION
Every successful flight culminates in a landing. Although the majority of land-

ings are conducted solely with visual cues, aircraft must frequently land in
weather that requires electronic assistance to the pilot or to the autopilot. This
chapter describes the landing maneuver and the electronic systems that provide
lateral and vertical guidance to the aircraft relative to the runway chosen for
landing. The emphasis is on current systems proposed or in use; historical notes
are added when needed for proper perspective.
On a normal flight, an aircraft takes off, climbs to cruising altitude, and
flies to the vicinity of its destination. There it begins its descent and inter-
cepts the projected runway center line, then makes a final approach and landing
with position errors of a few feet in each axis at touchdown (Section 1.5). The
approach and landing are the riskiest phases of flight; approximately one-half of
the catastrophic accidents occur during these flight phases of which two-thirds
are attributed to errors made by the flight crew (Table 13.1 ). Considering the
"exposure times" in the approach and landing phases, the catastrophic-accident
probability for any one operation is on the order of 10- 8 [I].
13.2 LOW-VISIBILITY OPERATIONS
Considerable interference to civil and military operations results due to reduced

visibility in terminal areas. For example, Figure 13.1 shows that the visibility
at London's Gatwick Airport requires Category II operational capabilities for
115 hours per year and Category III capabilities for 73 hours per year during
primary operating hours [2]. Although these hours represent only a few percent
on an annual basis, the cost of diverting to an alternate landing site is large. In
their 1992-93 fiscal year, KLM estimated savings of $10.3 million (U.S. $) by
being able to land 500 flights at the Amsterdam (Schiphol) airport in Category
III conditions. During the period 1996 to 2009, KLM estimates costs of $53
million (U.S. $)just for passage if Category III capabilities were not available at
Schiphol [3]. While the successful landing of aircraft depends on many factors
other than ceiling and visibility, such as crosswinds and storm activity, the term
all-weather operations often refers only to operations in condition of reduced
visibility [4c ].
598 LANDING SYSTEMS
Table 13.1. Hull-loss accidents by flight phase for the world-wide

commercial jet fleet, 1959 to 1990
Primary Takeoff Descent and Final Approch Load
Causal Total and Initial and and
Factor Hulls Climb Cruise Approch Landing Taxi
('k in phase) Lost a ( ISJ" (60) (21) (4) (NA)
All causes 440 145 (33)' 20 (5) Sf\ (20) 17f\ (40) l) (2)
Flightcrcw 276 68 (25) 5 (2) 68 (25) 133 (47) 2 (I)
Unknown 72 29 (40) 5(7) 10 (14) 26 (36) 2 (3)
Airplane 40 26 (64) 3 (8) 3 (8) 6 (15) 2 (5)
11These totals exclu(k sabotage and military action.

hFiight-pha-;e duration as percentage of average 1.5-hr Hight.
I Numbers ill pan::nthcscs are percentages or the row total.
lnstrumelll meteorological conditions (IMC) are those in which visibility is

restricted to various degrees defined by law in certain countries. Aircraft oper-
ating in IMC are supposed to tly under Instrument Flight Rules also defined by
law. During a landing, the decision height (DH) is the height above the runway
at which the landing must be aborted if the runway is not in sight. Usually. the
better the electronic aids, the lower is the DH. The International Civil Avia-
tion Organization (ICAO) defines three categories of visibility for landing civil
aircraft with the aid of an instrument-landing system [4c]:
HOURS PER YEAR BELOW CAT I AND CAT II

( 0700 - 2300 HRS )
250
200 IIIIIIBELOWCATI
~ BELOWCATII
l
Vl 150 -------------------------
~
::::>
0
I
100
50
0
Manchester Heathrow Aberdeen Stansted
Glasgow Edinburgh Gatwick
Figure 13.1 Periods of low visibility at major airports in the United Kingdom, 1972
to !982.
LOW-VISIBILITY OPERATIONS 599
Category I. Decision height not lower than 200 ft; visibility not less than
2600 ft, or Runway Visual Range (RVR) not less than 1800 ft with appro-
priate runway lighting. The pilot must have visual reference to the runway
at the 200-ft DH above the runway or abort the landing. Aircraft require
ILS and marker-beacon receivers beyond other requirements for flights
under IFR. Category I approaches are performed routinely by pilots with
instrument ratings.
Category II. DH not lower than I 00 ft and RVR not less than 1200 ft
(350 m). The pilot must see the runway above the DH or abort the landing.
Additional equipment that aircraft must carry include dual ILS receivers,
either a radar altimeter (Section I 0.2) or an inner-marker receiver (Sec-
tion 13.5.5) to measure the decision height, an autopilot coupler or dual
flight directors, two pilots, rain-removal equipment (wipers or chemicals),
and missed-approach attitude guidance. An auto-throttle system also may
be required.
Category III. This category is subdivided into [5b]
• IliA. DH lower than I 00 ft and RVR not less than 700 ft
(200 m)-sometimes called see to land; it requires a fail-passive autopi-
lot or a head-up display.
• 1/IB. DH lower than 50 ft and RVR not less than 150 ft (50 m)-
sometimes called see to taxi; it requires a fail-operational autopilot and
an automatic rollout to taxing speed.
• 1/IC. Zero visibility. No DH or RVR limits. Category IIIC had not been
approved anywhere in the world in 1996.
Aircraft are certified for decision heights, as are crews. When a crew lands an
aircraft at an airport, the highest of the three decision heights applies. An abort
at the decision height is based on visibility. Another abort criterion is equipment
failure; alert height is the altitude below which landing may continue in case
of equipment failure. To meet alert height restrictions, either the avionics must
be fault-tolerant or the crew must be able to take over manually. A typical alert
height is I 00 ft.
Additional aircraft equipment may include automatic systems for landing,
rollout, and braking. Automatic landing systems must demonstrate satisfactory
touchdown dispersion limits in stringent environmental conditions including
headwinds to 25 knots, tailwinds to I 0 knots, crosswinds to 15 knots, mod-
erate turbulence, and wind shears of 8 knots per 100 ft of height from 200 ft
to touchdown. Accidents have resulted when much higher shears (e.g., micro-
bursts) have been encountered.
Ceilometers and transmissometers are used at airports to measure terminal-
area visual conditions. One version of the latter instrument consists of a light
source and a paired photocell, placed 250 or 500 ft apart near the runway. Its
indication of visibility is the RVR. As landing minimums are reduced, the mea-
surement of ceiling is less important than slant-range visibility and RVR. Air-
600 LANDING SYSTEMS
ports at which Category III landings are permitted must be equipped with the
standard lighting pattern in Figure 13.2; three transmissometers; outer, middle,
and inner marker beacons; and a suitably calibrated instrument-landing system
with redundant transmitters. ICAO describes the conditions for permitting Cat-
egory I, II, and III landings worldwide [4c]. The aircraft and airport equipment
required, crew training and means of compliance are published also in FAA
advisory circulars [5] and by national aviation authorities in major countries.
13.3 THE MECHANICS OF THE LANDING
13.3.1 The Approach

Day and night landings are permitted under visual flight rules (VFR) when the
ceiling exceeds 1000 ft and the horizontal visibility exceeds 3 mi, as judged
by the airport control tower. In deteriorated weather, operations must be con-
ducted under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) [5e]. An IFR approach procedure
is either nonprecision (lateral guidance only) or precision (both lateral and ver-
tical guidance signals). Category I, II, and III operations are precision-approach
procedures.
An aircraft landing under IFR must transition from cruising flight to the
final approach along the extended runway center line by using the standard
approach procedures published for each airport [6]. Approach altitudes are mea-
sured barometrically, and the transition flight path is defined by initial and final
approach fixes (IAF and FAF) using VOR, VOR/DME, Tacan (Chapter 4), and
marker beacons (Section 13.5.5). In addition radar vectors may be given to the
crew by approach control (Chapter 14 ).
From approximately 1500 ft above the runway, a precision approach is
guided by radio beams generated by the ILS. Large aircraft maintain a speed of
100 to 150 knots during descent along the glide path beginning at the FAF (outer
marker). The glide-path angle is set by obstacle-clearance and noise-abatement
considerations with 3 deg as the international civil standard. The sink rate is 6
to 16 ft/sec, depending on the aircraft's speed and on headwinds. The ICAO
standards [4a] specify that the glide path will cross the runway threshold at
a height between 50 and 60 ft. Thus, the projected glide path intercepts the
runway surface about 1000 ft from the threshold, as shown in Figure 13.3 [7].
When the aircraft reaches the authorized decision height, the law requires that
the crew abort the landing unless it sees the runway or its lights. Note that a DH
is not defined for Category IIIC. Figure 13.2 shows the ICAO standard Category
II and III lighting pattern for civil airports [4b]. The light bars provide azimuth,
roll-and-pitch cues to the pilot. Center line and edge lights provide rollout cues.
The typical runway commissioned for precision approaches is 150 ft wide by
8,000 to 12,000 ft long.
For a nonprecision approach, a minimum descent altitude (MDA, 250 to
1000 ft above the runway) is defined below which the aircraft may not descend
Plane of localizer
Green White and red

threshold lights light bars
Touchdown-zan~~~hite decision
. ->e c;,\O'Ve
o\~'"'
lights 1""'"1 ~~ghts <?\-o."'e
j\pproximatel OM (Outer
~ 1000 ft marker)
4 to 7 mi
""""
<il
Transmissometers (3)
Glide-slope
array
Figure 13.2 Category Ill runway configuration.

0\
0
.....
<='~
0
N
Idealized
2o to 3° wheel path
/Glide path (no visual
contact)
Flare decision
~ ·-........ Flare begins
h "' 75 ft - ~~ .......... _ h = 30 ft
t = l 0 sec 1 "-' ~ t = ~ sec
Flare command-- ~ ~ ·-........ I
h =so tt 1 ""- L -. -........_ 1 Decrab
=
t 7 sec i '""- ~ h = 20ft
I I "-.. '1'....._
I I !" ~ Main-gear Nosewheel
touchdown touchdown
: I Actual """'\.
wheel~' t= 0 I
1 1
h=O I
1
I path "-' ,
h= -2ft/sec I
D= -500ft ""-
'I- - ----
Runway [)=600ft D::::: 2000 ft D:::::2600 ft
threshold antenna
D=O location
D = 1000
Figure 13.3 Wheel path for instrument landing of a jet aircraft.

THE MECHANICS OF THE LANDING 603
without visual contact with the runway. The choice of an MDA depends on
local obstructions, aircraft type, available navigational aids, and runway light-
ing [Sd].
13.3.2 The Flare Maneuver

Land-based aircraft are not designed to touch down routinely at the 6 to
16 ft/sec sink rate that exists along the glide path. Thus, a flare maneuver must
be executed to reduce the descent rate to less than 3 ft/sec at touchdown.
During approach, the angle of attack is maintained at a value that causes a
lift force equal to the aircraft's weight, and the speed is adjusted for a specified
stall margin, typically 1.3 times the stall speed plus a margin based on reported
wind speed and shear. The flare requires an elevator deflection to increase the
angle of attack Lla in order to produce an upward acceleration
where
CLcx is the derivative of the lift coefficient with respect to
angle of attack
is dynamic pressure (Chapter 8)
is the wing area
m is the aircraft's mass
The upward acceleration causes the descent velocity to decrease.

The speed reduction of a typical jet aircraft during flare is 5% to 10% [7].
Reference l7] shows that the flare begins at a wheel height of 30 ft for jet
aircraft, requiring that the pilot or autopilot apply the control command 2 sec
earlier (because of the lag due to pitch-axis inertia) and that the flare decision
point be I or 2 sec still earlier. Thus, from the time of visual cue, the flare
is prolonged over a 2500-ft horizontal and 75-ft vertical distance, as shown in
Figure 13.3.
13.3.3 The Decrab Maneuver and Touchdown

In a crosswind Vcw' an aircraft will approach with a crab angle b such that
its ground-speed vector lies along the runway's center line. At an approach
airspeed Va and a headwind Vhw, sin b = Vcw/CVa- Vhw); b is usually less
than 5 deg and is always less than 15 deg. Near touchdown, the aircraft can
decrab, slip, or execute a combined decrab-slip maneuver, as explained in Sec-
tion 13.4.3. After the decrab, the wind causes the aircraft to begin drifting across
the runway. For large aircraft, decrab typically occurs 2 to 3 sec prior to touch-
604 LANDING SYSTEMS
Table 13.2 Acceptable range of variables at touchdown for jet transport aircraft
Variable Limits (95%) Reason for Limits
Longitudinal position from 800-2300 Touchdown on runway with adequate braking

threshold (ft) distance
Airspeed (kts) 110-145 Lower limit to maintain control; upper to
limit braking effort
Lateral position from runway's ±27 Touchdown with main gear more than 5 ft
center line (ft) from runway edge
Lateral velocity (ft/sec) ±8 Limit risk of leaving runway after touchdown
Sink rate (ft/sec) 0-5 Limit landing gear/tire damage
Pitch attitude (degrees) 0-5 Limit risk of a noise-wheel landing or tail drag
Roll attitude (degrees) ±5 Limit risk of damage to wing tips or engine
nacelles
down. It must occur late enough for the yaw rates and adverse roll to be nulled,
but not so late as to result in appreciable lateral-drift speed or displacement.
The slip consists of (I) lowering the upwind wing to compensate for drift and
(2) holding enough opposite rudder to prevent the aircraft from turning and to
keep it flying at the same heading as the runway; slip is initiated 200 to 400
ft above the runway. Reference [8] reports simulations showing that pilots will
tolerate roll angles as large as 3 degrees below I 00-ft altitude if the visibility
is less than 700 ft, and up to 5 degrees if the visibility is greater than 1200 ft.
Many large transports cannot roll more than 10 deg without striking a wingtip
or engine on the runway. Reference [8a] discusses the aerodynamics of decrab
in detail. Sections 13.4.2 and 13.4.3 discuss autopilot-coupled flare and decrab
just prior to touchdown. The constraints to be satisfied for an acceptable landing
are shown in Table 13.2 [9].
13.3.4 Rollout and Taxi

Approximately 600ft after main-gear touchdown [7], a large jet aircraft lowers
its nose wheel and subsequently behaves like a ground vehicle. It must com-
plete its rollout within the boundaries of the runway, locate an exit, and follow
the taxiway to the apron. As operational visibility decreases, the ground move-
ment requirements become more severe. Some methods for guiding aircraft on
taxiways include the following:
1. Runway stopping-distance can be measured with distance-measuring

equipment (DME, Chapter 4) located with the localizer.
2. Systems that modulate taxiway lights to guide an aircraft along a spe-
cific taxi route. Lighted signs are located at intersections; reprogrammable
signs could be installed.
3. Surface movement radars (Airport Surface Detection Radar in the United
States) that aid in avoiding taxiway and runway-incursion accidents. Iden-
AUTOMATIC LANDING SYSTEMS 605
tifying aircraft and vehicles is a problem, because these radars have no

transponder mode.
4. Transponder-based systems that derive positions on the airport from the
aircraft's transponder replies to interrogators located with taxiway lights.
The surveillance data are relayed to controllers.
5. Radio broadcast of on-board derived position and velocity (e.g., from
GPS). If all vehicles were so equipped, the ground controller could more
effectively prevent runway incursions and collisions on the ground.
6. Milliwatt marker-beacon transmitters placed at all runway thresholds
would give a visual and audible alarm on the flight deck of any aircraft
that taxied onto an active runway. This would reduce the likelihood of a
lost pilot causing a catastrophic collision.
It is mandatory that fire and rescue vehicles be able to locate disabled air-
craft on the field in low visibility. Aircraft must be moved to ramps, hangars,
maintenance areas, and fueling areas during periods of low-visibility landing.
Except in military operations, a visibility limit exists below which aircraft oper-
ations are no longer practical because of the inability to move passengers and
cargo from the airfield. The need for Category III (especially IIIC) landing by
civil air carriers is tied to these supporting capabilities.
13.4 AUTOMATIC LANDING SYSTEMS
Air carrier aircraft that are authorized for precision-approach below Category
II must have an automatic landing (auto-land) system. Extended-vision devices
such as head-up displays improve the pilot's ability to monitor the approach and
can substitute for autoland, at least to Category IliA. In the 1990s many air-car-
rier aircraft such as MD-80, MD-11, A-300 Series, Boeing 757,767,777 were
equipped with auto-land systems that were certified to Category IliA or IIIB
[5b]. Below the DH, neither a manual nor an automatic go-around is permitted
because of the risk of ground contact; the landing must continue.
In 1967, the first fully automatic landings were made in airline passenger
service [I 0]. The Blind Landing Experimental Unit (BLEU) of the Ministry of
Defence in the United Kingdom had been very active during and after World
War II. The economic incentives of expanding commercial air operations after
the war provided the motivation for auto-land system development. Even with
the certification of air carrier aircraft for automatic landings, DHs were not low-
ered below I 00 ft until the reliability and failure-detection capability (integrity)
of the aircraft (e.g., propulsion, flight control, auto-land) and ground guidance
had been proven and standards agreed.
In the early 1970s the British Trident and the U.S. L-1011 aircraft (including
their auto-land systems) were certified for Category Ilia operations in revenue
service using guidance information from the ILS and from other on-board sen-
606 LANDING SYSTEMS
sors [11]. Many airliners were certified thereafter. In 1996, Category III oper-
ations were "automatic-to-touchdown," based on the use of auto-land systems
that do not require pilot intervention [Sb ]. These Categories have been devel-
oped, defined, and agreed internationally in a generic manner to allow innova-
tion in meeting the requirements.
13.4.1 Guidance and Control Requirements

The FAA regulations for Category II approval [Sa] require that the coupled
autopilot or crew hold the aircraft within the larger of ±12 ft or ±35 ~-tamps
(measured by the ILS glide slope) of the glide path from 700 ft down to the
I 00-ft DH. This corresponds to a vertical error of ±38 ft (2-sigma) at the 700-
ft height and ±12ft (2-sigma) at the 100-ft height on a 3-deg glide path. For
Category III certification, the allowable touchdown dispersions also are spec-
ified. The demonstrated touchdown dispersions should be limited to 1500 ft
longitudinally and ±27ft laterally on a 2-sigma basis [Sc].
Paralleling the improvement in accuracy was the development of systematic
methodologies for conducting hazard analyses. Thus, in addition to the opera-
tional concepts, an acceptable level of risk needs to be specified as the starting
point for a hazard analysis of the aircraft and ground navigation systems. At its
simplest, the probability of a catastrophic event during a Category III landing
should not be greater than it is for a visual approach and landing [12]. Histori-
cal accident rates and the characteristics of modern turbojet aircraft suggest that
less than one fatal accident should occur in 107 flight-hours, due to all systems,
a number generally agreed upon by the designers of civil transports. Thus the
probability of a catastrophic event due to an individual subsystem (e.g., auto-
land) is closer to one event in I09 flight-hours, a time interval that is likely to
exceed the cumulative fleet life of any transport model.
Airport equipment in Category II, IliA, and IIIB, differ only in the extent of
failure detection and automatic reconfiguration following failure.
13.4.2 Flare Guidance

During the final approach the glide-slope gain in the auto-land system is reduced
in a programmed fashion (called gain scheduling). Supplementary sensors must
supply the vertical guidance below I 00 ft.
In the 1990s, automatic landing systems used height and height-rate data
from redundant radar altimeters (Section I 0.2), frequently complemented with
inertial sensor data, to accomplish this flare maneuver. Low-range radar altime-
ters have a nominal accuracy of 1.5 ft (2 sigma) below 100ft altitude and 2%
of full scale at higher altitude (Section I 0.2.4). They have a low-noise output
that allows the derivation of vertical rate information. The ILS cannot develop
similar information, since the glide-slope receiver provides deviations from the
AUTOMATIC LANDING SYSTEMS 607
zero-DDM glide path which is not at a constant height across the width of
the localizer course/runway (Section 13.5). Therefore, accurate calculation of
aircraft height using the glide-path deviations and distance information from a
stop-end DME (Section 4.4.6) is not practical.
The flare command is initiated at a wheel height of about 75 ft, well before
the runway threshold. However, the radar altimeter may not be usable prior to
threshold due to uneven terrain or tidal variations. Typically, auto-land systems
cover the gap between flare initiation and the beginning of altimeter coverage
over the paved runway (50-ft height) with data from on-board inertial-naviga-
tion systems (Chapter 7).
The flare is an exponential path tangent to a horizontal plane several feet
below the runway, which ensures positive touchdown. The desired height-rate
at touchdown is included in the calculation of steering signals, so that the touch-
down point and vertical veloc~ty at touchdown are repeata~le. A typical verti-
cal rate command is (h/T + h + 2 ftjsec), where h and h are the measured
instantaneous altitude and altitude rate [8b].
13.4.3 Lateral Guidance

In 1996, ILS localizers met Category-III performance requirements for landing
and rollout guidance at many locations. Tracking of the localizer is aided by
heading (or integral-of-roll), roll, or roll-rate signals supplied to the autopilot
(Section 2.7.3) and by rate and acceleration data from on-board inertial systems.
During most of the approach in a crosswind, the wings are level and the aircraft
points into the wind (crabbed) so that its velocity vector tracks the localizer.
The localizer gain must be scheduled to decrease as the runway is approached
because the surfaces of constant DDM (Section 13.5) converge to make the
error signal more and more sensitive to distance displacement.
The aircraft should touch down with its axis along the runway's center line to
avoid side forces on the landing gear. To do this in Category I and II conditions,
the crew can slip or decrab manually before touchdown. In lower visibility,
when landing operations may be automatic to touchdown, the slip and crab are
mechanized by feeding the appropriate elevator and rudder commands to the
autopilot approximately 200 ft above the runway. This establishes as much slip
as needed, but not more than about 5 deg roll for a typical commercial airliner,
thus reducing the crab angle that was established on approach. If the crosswind
is so high (above about 10 knots) that the roll angle exceeds about 5 deg, a
decrab maneuver is inserted about 15 ft above the runway to point the aircraft
axis along the runway. The velocity vector must be within 3 deg of the runway
axis at touchdown to keep the aircraft on the runway. For example, a 40-ft lateral
touchdown error (FAA 3-sigma requirement) and a 3 degree lateral flight-path
error could cause an aircraft with a 20-ft landing-gear spread to leave a 150-ft
wide runway in about 2.5 sec.
608 LANDING SYSTEMS
13.5 THE INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM
The instrument landing system (ILS) is a collection of radio transmitting sta-

tions used to guide aircraft to a specific airport runway, especially during times
of limited visibility. High-density airports may be equipped on more than one
runway-Chicago's O'Hare airport had an ILS installed on 12 runways in
1996.
First commercially used in 1939, ILS has been in civil use for the equivalent
of Category I landings since 1947 [ 13] and had been certified for Category II
( 1960s) and Category III ( 1970s) operations at many major airports. About 1500
ILSs are in use at airports throughout the world with U.S. airports, accounting
for more than 1000 of these. In 1996, nearly 100 airports worldwide had at
least one runway certified to Category III. There were approximately 117,000
aircraft worldwide with one or more ILS receivers.
The ILS development worldwide was aided by the publication of signal stan-
dards by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, created in 1944).
The ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) [4a] for the ILS,
subscribed to by the 180 member states, standardize the signal in space of the
ILS ground transmitting equipment, no matter where they are manufactured,
to ensure compatibility on international flights. The FAA and RTCA publish
manuals for ILS equipment in the U.S. national airspace system that ensure
conformance to ICAO standards [18]. In Europe, the Joint Aviation Authority
(JAA) and EUROCAE do the same [31]. U.S. receivers are standardized by
Aeronautical Radio, Inc. [32].
Typically, an ILS includes
• the localizer antenna is centered on the runway beyond the stop end to
provide lateral guidance
• the glide slope, located beside the runway near the threshold to provide
vertical guidance
• marker beacons located at discrete positions along the approach path; to
alert pilots of their progress along the glide-path
• radiation monitors that, in case of ILS failure alarm the control tower, may
shut-down a Category I or II ILS, or switch a Category III ILS to backup
transmitters (Figure 13.2).
Increasingly, distance measuring equipment (DME) (Chapter 4) is located with

the ILS, and distance readouts in the cockpit are used instead of marker
beacons.
13.5.1 ILS Guidance Signals

The localizer, glide slope, and marker beacons radiate continuous wave, hori-
zontally polarized, radio frequency energy. The frequency bands of operation
THE INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEM 609
are: localizer, 40 channels from l 08-112 MHz; glide slope, 40 channels from
329-335 MHz; and marker beacons, all on a single frequency of 75 MHz.
An audible Morse-code identification signal is transmitted on the localizer fre-
quency; a voice channel from the control tower also may be provided. The
localizer, glide slope, and DME frequencies are paired such that, for example,
an ILS with a localizer frequency of 109.5 MHz has a glide slope frequency
of 332.6 MHz and has channel 32x for the DME, if installed. This hard pair-
ing reduces the pilot's work load, since only the localizer frequency need be
entered to tune the ILS and associated DME.
The localizer establishes a radiation pattern in space that provides a devia-
tion signal in the aircraft when the aircraft is displaced laterally from the
vertical plane containing the runway center line [ 18d]. This deviation signal
drives the left-right needle of the pilot's cross-pointer display (or flight direc-
tor) and may be wired to the autopilot/flight-control system for "coupled"
approaches.
To form the localizer course, an RF carrier is generated in the transmitter
and amplitude modulated with discrete 90-Hz and 150-Hz tones to create equal-
amplitude sidebands placed 90 Hz and 150 Hz above and below the carrier fre-
quency. This "carrier-with-sidebands" (CSB) signal is radiated from the local-
izer array in a broadside "sum" pattern that provides general coverage of the
approach course area. Simultaneously, some of the sideband energy is separated
from the carrier and shifted in phase to provide a "sidebands-only" (SBO) sig-
nal. The SBO signal is radiated from the same array in a "difference" pattern,
and the sharp null, characteristic of the difference pattern, is aligned with the
runway center line. The lobes of the difference pattern (and thus the 90-Hz and
150-Hz sidebands) are opposite in phase on either side of the center line null
(Figure 13 .4).
The net result is that, on centerline where the SBO signal is nulled, only the
equal-amplitude sidebands of the CSB signal are detected and the receiver pro-
vides an "on-course" output. Either side of center line, the SBO signal amplitude
increases rapidly and unbalances the CSB sidebands such that a 90-Hz sideband
will dominate to the left of course and a 150-Hz sideband to the right. The total
signal modulation M is defined as M = (A+ B)/ C, where A and B are the ampli-
tudes of the 150- and 90-Hz signals respectively, and Cis the amplitude of the
carrier [14]. The difference in depth of modulation (DDM) is (A- B)/C. The
ILS receiver measures the magnitude of this DDM and outputs a "deviation-
from-course" signal. Thus, the cross-pointer course-deviation (CDI) needle or
flight director shows "fly right" when the 90-Hz tone dominates and "fly left"
when the 150-Hz tone dominates.
The deviation signal is proportional to azimuth angle usually out to 5 deg
or more either side of the center line. The ICAO standards [4a] require that a
DDM of ±0.155 cause a full-scale needle deflection and that this DDM value
occur at 350 ft on either side of the center line at the approach threshold. Thus,
with different runway lengths, the angular course width from the localizer will
be 3 deg to 6 deg, as set by adjusting the radiated sideband power.
610 LANDING SYSTEMS
Approach direction
100
NOTE: The phase angles
t Sum pattern: fc ± 90 Hz (ref)
90
( L180°) are relative to ~ fc ±150Hz (ref)
80 the CSB signals
(!)
"0 70
..e
Q_ 60
Difference pattern Difference pattern
(right): (left):
E
C1:l 50 fc ± 90 L180° Hz~ fc ± 90 L0° Hz
(!)
> fc ± 150 LOo Hz fc ± 150 L180° Hz
·~ 40
Qi 30 Clearance
a:
patterns
20
10
0 .·b--
-40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20
Azimuth angle (degrees)
- - CRS CSB ············ CRS SBO

------ CLR CSB - - CLR SBO
Figure 13.4 Sum and difference radiation patterns for the course (CRS) and clearance
(CLR) signals of a directional localizer array.
The ICAO standard is that full-scale deviation signals be provided to 35 deg

either side of center line to aid acquisition of the zero-DDM course. If the local-
izer CSB pattern is narrow (e.g., 5 deg to 10 deg), to reduce reflections from
buildings and other aircraft, the system requires the addition of "clearance" sig-
nals to provide the ±35 deg coverage. These clearance signals are added by pro-
viding a second set of CSB and SBO signals radiated from a shorter array with
a broad-coverage pattern. A two-frequency "capture-principle" method may be
used to reduce the interference effects on the course signal due to clearance
signal reflections from, for example, large hangars at the wide angles.
The frequencies of the two RF carriers are spaced a nominal 8 kHz and
are offset symmetrically about the channel center frequency. The two sets of
signals (course CSB and SBO and clearance CSB and SBO) are within the 25-
kHz passband of the receiver and are detected. A basic characteristic of the
linear AM detector is that, with two modulated carriers present, the demod-
ulated course information greatly favors (captures) the even slightly stronger
carrier signal. The airborne receiver, when near the center line, receives two
carrier frequencies each with 90- and 150-Hz modulations. The weaker clear-
ance signals reflected into the course region are received along with the stronger
course signal and thus have less influence on the detector output. Because this
"capture principle" can reduce the course roughness due to clearance-signal

reflections by a factor of 3 to 10, two-frequency systems are needed at most
airports where higher-category landing minimums are desired. For Category
IIIB and IIIC operations, the localizer signal is used along the runway for rollout
guidance. ILS ground equipment being procured by the FAA in the mid 1990s
are two-frequency designs that can support Category II and III operations. The
localizer accuracy required to support the three ILS performance categories is
shown in Table 13.3 [4a].
With regard to the vertical guidance signals, the glide slope in most respects
can be considered as a localizer on its side. The minimum coverage extends
approximately 10 nmi from threshold, to 8 deg on either side of center
line, and up to 5000 ft for the nominal 3 deg path angle. Given a nominal
Table 13.3. ILS guidance errors allowed by ICAO standards (ft)

Category I Category II Category III
Point Along
Approach ILS Bias Bends Bias Bends Bias Bends
Center line Element (Max)a (95%) (Max) (95%) (Max) (95%)
Outer GS 122 77 121 77 65 77

Marker
(5 nmi) Loc. 136 249 93 249 41 249
Middle GS 15 10 15 6 8 6
Marker
(3000 ft) Loc. 48 43 33 14 15 14
Inner GS 8 5 8 3 4 3
Marker
( 1000 ft) Loc. 42 37 29 12 13 12
GS NS' NS 4 2 2 2
Threshold"
(0) Loc. NS NS 26 II 12 II
Main-Gear GS NS NS NS NS NS NS
Touchdown"
Loc. NS NS NS NS 10 10
Note: The listed values include all significant tolerances for the signal-in-space and for the airborne
receiver, which apply on the center line course and on the 3-deg glide path. The localizer-to-
threshold distance is taken as 12,000 ft. All values are rounded to the nearest integer.
0
ln typical ILS operations, the bias is maintain,~d at a small value.
h Accuracies are specified at threshold for measurement convenience but have no operational mean-
ing.
'NS =' no standard.
d Assumes touchdown 2000 ft beyond threshold.
612 LANDING SYSTEMS
angle and height at runway threshold, the linear glide path extension inter-
cepts the runway surface approximately I 000 ft inside the threshold (Figure
13.2) [18e].
The sideband arrangement is for the 90-Hz signal to predominate above
the glide path and the 150-Hz signal to dominate below (Figure 13.5) [16].
The relative signal amplitudes are such that full-scale needle deflection and a
DDM = ±0.175 exist at ±8/4 (±0.75 deg for 8 = 3 deg glide path) [4a]. The
Lower antenna and image

sum pattern : fc ± 90 Hz(ref)
fc ± 150 Hz(ref)
90Hz Signal
amplitude (total)
\
\
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
/
I
/~ fc ± 90 .LOa Hz
/ fc±150.L180°Hz
/
co 8 ~~-'----------------------------------------~~----
,, Glide/smooth
-~ '',, Upper antenna and image disconstinvities
&] ',,, difference pattern : path
' ' , , , / fc ± 90.L180° Hz
,\\?OLO'H,
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
150 Hz Signal
amplitude (total)
0 -=--------------------------------------~---------
0 100
Relative field strength (percent)
Figure 13.5 Vertical beam patterns of the null-reference glide-slope array.
vertical deviation indicator (VDI) needle reads full-scale "fly up" for all down-
ward departures exceeding 8/4 and full-scale "fly down" for upward departures
exceeding 8/4 to as high as 38. The glide-slope accuracies required to support
the three ILS performance categories are shown in Table 13.3 [4a].
13.5.2 The Localizer

The typical localizer is an array of antennas usually located 600 to I 000 ft
beyond the stop end of the runway. The array axis is perpendicular to the run-
way center line, and the localizer zero-DDM course is aligned with the runway
center line extended (Figure 13.2). Localizer arrays range from 40 to 130 ft in
length on which are mounted from 6 to more than 20 antennas. Some local-
izers are bi-directional and provide lateral steering signals for both the normal
front-course approach and for a hack-course approach in the opposite direction
(at which the steering signals are reversed).
Although there are three different types of antenna elements in use, all mod-
ern arrays and new procurements by the U.S. FAA use the log-periodic-dipole
(LPD) antenna which provides uni-directional radiation (Figure 13.6). It is 9ft
long, can be installed without guy cables, and has good broad-band characteris-
tics. Each dipole is driven by a balanced transmission line within the horizontal
supporting structure which, in turn, is fed from a matching network at the for-
ward end [5g]. Also within this structure, a parallel transmission line samples
signals from the seven dipole arms for the integral monitor. Plans exist to mod-
ify this antenna in order to make it bi-directional for use where a back course
is desired.
Figure 13.6 Log-periodic dipole antenna used in many localizer arrays.

614 LANDING SYSTEMS
Figure 13.7 Category !JIB localizer (courtesy, Wilcox Corporation).
Clearance signals, where required (Section 13.5.2), may be provided by a

separate array or, in some designs. both course and clearance signa ls are radi-
ated fro m several e lements of a single array. A Category Ill locali zer with LPD
e lements is shown in Fig ure 13.7.
13.5.3 The Glide Slope

There are five different types of gl ide-slope arrays in common use; three are
image syste ms a nd two are not. I mage a rrays depend o n reflections from level
grou nd in the direction of approaching airc raft to form the radiati o n pattern. The
three image syste ms are the nu/1-re/erence system, with two antennas supported
on a vertical mast 14 and 28 ft above the ground plane; the sidehand-reft' t-ence
syste m. with two antennas 7 and 22 ft above the ground plane; a nd the coplure-
e.//'ec! system. with 3 antennas 14, 28 , and 42 ft above the ground plane.
The operating princip les of each image array are similar. A two-e le me nt array
is formed by the CSB ante nna and its image be low the g round plane . T he he ig ht
of the CSB antenna is c hosen so that the d irect sig na l a nd the image sig nal w ill
add and form a "sum" radiation patte rn . S im ilarl y, the SBO ante nna is placed
on the mast so that the array formed w ith its image provides a "d iffe re nce"
radiation pattern with the null at the des ired g lide-path angle.
Because eac h ante nna and its image fo rm a two-e le ment inte rfe romete r. mul-
tiple lobes arc produced in the broad-side (vertical) radiation patte rns. Thus.
false null s ex ist at 28. 38, 48, etc .. but the steering errors show "fly down"'
o n both sides of 28, " fty away" at 38, and " ft y up" on bo th sides of 48. T he
first stable null is at 58, where the steeri ng signa ls are again correct. The sleep-
THE JNSTRUMENT LANDJNG SYSTEM 615
ness of that stable false glide path ( 15 deg for a 3 deg glide slope) makes it
easy to distinguish from the true glide path.
The most capable of the image glide slopes, the capture-eff'ect array (Figure
13.R), is designed to cancel the CSB signal below about 1.5 deg in order to
reduce the energy refkctcd from rising terrain under the approach course. To
provide a strong t1y-up signal, a 150-Hz clearance signal is radiated below the
glide path on a separate carrier, offset in frequency, and use is made of the
"capture principle" (Section 13.5.2) to reduce the interference due to reflections
of the clearance signal from the terrain.
As shown in Figure 13.9, the zero-DDM surface for image arrays is the
hyperboloid of revolution whose axis of symmetry is approximately the glide
slope mast II 7]. Note that, clue to the use of the antenna images, this zero-DDM
surface docs not extend to ground leveL although the origin of its asymptotic
cone is near the bottom of the mast. The half-angle of the asymptotic cone is 87
Figure 13.8 Category IIIB capture-effect glidcslopc and Tasker transmissometer

(courtesy. Wilcox Corporation).
616 LANDING SYSTEMS
Strong Hyperbolic contour Weak back-course

front-course of zero DDM signal
signal
Glide path
Glide-path
~I
asymptote
1 to 3 ft across
150-ft runway
Localizer
array
Figure 13.9 Glide-slope pattern near the runway [ 17]. DDM contours are symmetrical
around the vertical. but signal strength drops rapidly off course.
deg for a 3 deg glide path. A vertical plane containing the runway center line
intersects the zero-DDM hyperboloid in a hyperbola whose asymptote is the
ideal (linear) glide path. Because the glide-slope array is offset from center
line, the zero-DDM contour is I to 3 ft above the (straight-line) asymptotic
glide path at the inner marker, 2 to 6 ft above at the threshold of a 150-ft-wide
runway, and 15 to 23 ft above the runway opposite the glide-slope mast (for
an array mounted 400-ft from center line).
The performance of the image glide slopes depends on the characteristics of
the terrain in front of the array. A minimum ground plane extending 1000 ft in
front of the array and varying not more than 12 in. from level C!wavelength)
is required. To accommodate sites where this ground plane cannot be provided,
two non-image systems have been developed:
1. The wave-guide glide slope is a broadside array of slotted-wave-guide

radiators with a vertical aperture of some 70 ft. There were a small num-
ber in service in the United States in 1996; one was installed on Runway
23 at Buffalo International Airport, New York. By tilting the array out of
the vertical by the amount of the glide-path angle, the zero-DDM surface
may be planar rather than hyperbolic.
2. The end-fire glide slope (EFGS) became available for installation at diffi-
cult sites late in the 1970s. This system uses two horizontal coaxial cables,
each with 96 radiating slots, to form an array of 96 antennas. The cables
are laid almost perpendicular to the runway's center line and separated
such that the radiation from one slot in the front cable and the corre-
sponding slot in the rear cable are in phase and form a conical radiation
pattern which contains the glide path (Figure 13.10). The 450 ft spac-
ing of the front and rear cables creates a zero-DDM surface, which is
a cone with a 6-deg vertex angle in the far-field. The pattern created by
any single end-fire pair would not be satisfactory for glide-path guidance,
because the cone would intersect the ground at 3 deg on either side of the
localizer course. However, 96 of them merge to form a broad glide-path.
Two additional slotted cables and the two-frequency "capture principle"
provide strong fly-up commands on either side of the localizer course
area.
The cable radiators of the end-fire array are installed on stands 40 in. high and
are sited alongside the runway near the desired touchdown point (Figure 13.11 ).
In 1996, 15 such systems were in operation worldwide with approximately 3
systems added each year.
The closest portion of the end-fire antennas is only 25 ft from the edge of
the runway. The sideband reference mast is usually about 185 ft from the edge,
and the null-reference and capture-effect antenna masts are 275 to 325 ft from
the edge. The tall wave-guide array is laterally offset from the runway by about
1,000 ft.
Approach direction -
RUNIJAY POINT
Of INTERCEPT
75' CTYP!CAU
RUNIJAY EDGE
~18 PEDESTAL PHASE CENTER

1M3
• OF EFGS ~ 103' ~18 PE~ESTAL
I M2 ~~~t1~~S FRONT
FRONT
CLEARANCE '-..
;;- REAR
CLEARANCE
•
.~
IM1 ANTENNA
I 31'7' 30'7' , REAR •
3
ANTENNA.:
'
#1 PEDESTAL \ CLEARANCE
MONITOR ~1 PEDESTAL
NOT TO SCALE
Figure 13.10 Standard end-fire glide-slope system layout.

618 LANDING SYSTEMS
~-- Approach direction
Figure 13.11 Front slotted-cable radiator of an end-fire glide slope (courtesy, Watts
Antenna Company).
13.5.4 ILS Marker Beacons

Marker beacons provide pilot alerts along the approach path. Each beacon radi-
ates a fan-shaped vertical beam that is approximately ±40" wide along the glide
path by ±85' wide perpendicular to the path (half-power points). The outer
marker (OM) is placed under the approach course near the point of glide-path
intercept (distance varies from 4 to 7 nmi from the threshold). [t is modulated
with two 400-Hz Morse-code dashes per second. The middle marker (MM) is
placed ncar the point where a missed-approach decision would need to be made
for a Category I approach procedure (nominally 3000 ft from the threshold).
The middle marker is modulated with one 1300-Hz dash-dot pair each second .
The inner marker (IM) may he required at runways certified for Category II and
Ill operations and is placed near the point where the glide path is I 00 ft above
the runway (nominally 1000 Ct before threshold). The inner marker has six dots
per second at 3000 Hz. Typically. marker-beacon transmitters are mounted off
airport property on masts 2 to I 0 ft high and are unattended.
The use of marker beacons is decreasing . Real estate for installation is a
major problem. The increased use of DME in conjunction with the ILS has
diminished the pilot's dependence on the markers, as will the increasing avail-
ability of Loran-C and GNSS for IFR navigation.
13.5.5 Receivers
The typical aircraft ITCeivcr is a double-conversion. superheterodyne design
with an AM detector. Filters after the detector separate the 90- and 150-Hz.
tones which. in the most basic circuit, arc rectified and fed to a de microam-
mcter. The meter needle deflects in a direction corresponding to the stronger
of the two tones . A DDM of 0.175 , with a larger 90-Hz modulation (left of
course). produces 150 p.. of current and deflects the course needle to the full-
scale limit on the right ("steer right"). On the right side of the course, the 150-Hz
modulation dominates with a corresponding needle deflection to the left. The
arrangement for the glide path vertical needle is similar. Glass displays emu-
late needles. When approaching in the opposite direction on the back course,
the course needle deflections are reversed (a right deflection means "steer left").
No glide-path signals are present in the back course.
The marker-beacon receiver is a dedicated crystal controlled receiver, fixed-
tuned to 75 MHz. Most have audio filters that control colored lights in a cockpit
indicator. Thus, in addition to the audible tones, the outer marker lights a purple
lamp on the instrument panel; the middle marker, an amber lamp; and the inner
marker, a white lamp.
Closely harmonized airborne equipment standards and specifications are pro-
duced by RTCA [18] and ARINC in the United States [32b] and by EUROCAE
[31] in Europe.
13.5.6 ILS Limitations

The major limitation of ILS is its sensitivity to the environment. At the ILS
operating frequencies, the very narrow beam widths, necessary to avoid signif-
icant illumination of the environment surrounding the approach course, require
array structures which are too large to be practical. Accuracy degradations
(beam bends) due to reflections from buildings, terrain, airborne aircraft, taxiing
aircraft, and ground vehicles are the result. The problem is particularly stressful
for the glide-slope array, where the shallow elevation angle of the glide path
requires large apertures in order to reduce ground reflections sufficiently to meet
the stringent vertical error limits close to runway threshold. These reflected
(multipath) signals mix with the direct signal at the aircraft and cause bends
in the glide path (the received signal is the instantaneous sum of all energy
arriving at the aircraft's antenna, including reflections, Figure 13.12). The use
of image arrays helps to reduce the glide slope's physical size but requires an
extensive area of terrain along the direction of the approach to be flat within
±wavelength (about 1 ft). To achieve Category II and III operations, the glide
path must be free of sharp bends (though not necessarily straight) down to a
height of 50 ft (threshold), where the allowed 95% error of ±4 ft is evenly
divided between bias and bend components (Table 13.3).
The small vertical aperture of typical localizer antenna elements creates an
omni-directional vertical pattern. Reflections from aircraft taking off (or exe-
cuting a missed approach) can cause bends of ±20 JLamp (±0.3 deg = ±60 ft
laterally 2 nmi from the localizer) that persist for as long as 10 sec [13]. Such
bends combined with the localizer error estimate of ±22ft at the threshold of
a long runway (Table 13.3) could move the course outside the runway edges.
The overflight errors are controlled during instrument operations by increasing
the spacing between aircraft approaching and departing.
Aircraft and vehicles on the airport surface, especially on taxiways near the
antennas, can reflect ILS signals and cause significant errors along the approach
620 LANDING SYSTEMS
90Hz
predominates /
~z
\,oe 9
~\.'fl~ predominates
·~~' q;
~0~
~
Direct
signal
Figure 13.12 Formation of bends in the glide path.
path. Experience has shown that reflection errors can be eliminated only by pro-
hibiting traffic in sensitive regions of the airport during periods of low-visibility
operations. Activation of these "critical and sensitive areas" reduces the airport
capacity [Sg].
The localizer is subject to interference from strong FM stations. This is a
particular problem in congested Northern Europe. The ICAO has issued stan-
dards for ILS receivers with improved FM rejection characteristics, effective in
1998.
13.6 THE MICROWAVE-LANDING SYSTEM
During the late 1960s, the requirements of civil aviation were forecast to exceed
the capabilities of the ILS. The U.S. military services, for more than a decade,
had been developing microwave approach guidance systems to support tactical
deployments and aircraft-carrier operations (Section 13.8). In 1974, the ICAO
solicited proposals from member states for a new guidance system to replace
the ILS as the international standard for civil aviation [4d].
Designs were sought that retained the desirable features of the ILS while
mitigating its weaknesses. The runway-resident architecture of ILS was carried
forward to MLS, because, as the landing aircraft approaches the runway, linear
offsets (due to errors in the angular guidance) continually decrease, while the
signal-to-noise ratio generally increases. Thus, in the most demanding phase of
flight close to the ground, the positional accuracy is constantly improving and
the noise content is generally decreasing.
The main weakness of the ILS, its sensitivity to the environment (Section
13.5.6), would be essentially eliminated by narrow beam-width antennas that
THE MICROWAVE-LANDING SYSTEM 621
are physically small at microwave frequencies. As a result, a single-accuracy

standard, equivalent to Category III ILS, was chosen for MLS. Also, at micro-
wave frequencies, the lack of available channels, which limits multiple ILS
deployments in metropolitan areas, would no longer be a problem.
In 1978, ICAO recommended the Time-Reference Scanning Beam MLS pro-
posed by Australia and the United States. In 1985, ICAO adopted the MLS
standard and endorsed a transition from the ILS to the MLS beginning in 1998.
However, in the spring of 1995, recognizing satellite navigation applications to
precision landing, ICAO recommended that standards for both ILS and MLS
should stand for the next 15 to 20 years, along with anticipated standards for
satellite-based landing systems. In 1987, ARINC issued a specification for an
MLS receiver [32c], and, in 1995, EUROCAE issued a specification for a com-
bined ILS-MLS receiver [31].
13.6.1 Signal Format

A basic MLS consists of azimuth and elevation ground stations and a conven-
tional DME (Section 4.4.6) for 3D positioning on approach courses to 40 deg on
either side of center line and to 15 deg elevation above the runway. An expanded
MLS may include a back-azimuth station for departure/missed-approach lateral
guidance to ±40 deg of center line, additional approach coverage to ±60 deg
of center line, and a more accurate DME (DME/P, Section 13.6.6).
The MLS ground stations transmit both angle and data functions (messages)
on one of200 frequencies between 5031.0 and 5190.7 MHz, Figure 13.13 [4a].
Each transmitted function begins with a differentially encoded binary preamble,
modulated by 2-state phase-shift keying. The preamble establishes the carrier
phase in the airborne receiver for decoding the preamble message, provides a
5-bit correlation (Barker) code as a timing reference, and identifies the function
(e.g., elevation angle) being transmitted. Preambles are radiated from low-gain,
fixed-pattern antennas at the azimuth (Az) and elevation (El) stations that fill the
approach coverage volume. Therefore, the acceptable bit-error rate of the dif-
ferential phase-shift key (DPSK) transmissions at the 20-nmi limit determines
the transmitter power (about 20 w) needed in the ground stations.
13.6.2 The Angle Functions

The requirement for proportional angle encoding throughout broad coverage
sectors is achieved by scanning a narrow antenna pattern. For Az antennas,
the antenna beam width may be chosen so that, when the aircraft is near the
extended center line, undesirable (multipath) reflections from large hangars
along the runway will arrive at the airborne antenna earlier or later than the
desired (direct-path) signal. Similarly, for elevation antennas scanning ver-
tically, the antenna beamwidth is chosen to avoid interference from signals
reflected from the ground when scanning to the lowest required elevation angle,
Figure 13.14. Note that reflected energy can arrive before direct energy if the
622 LANDING SYSTEMS
z
0
~
0 ....
w UJ en
0
0
0
zw 0
0
u:
;:::
z
<
z
wiil
(!)-
w
....
a:ffi O::UJ 0 w z
wz <~ c·
w-
zz a:-' ._w
!!!a.
O::z
a: a
we
~8
gQ Q
....z
>-o
z-
<'"""
0
w:::>
>a.
o-
<"'
- -'
0:::>
<- o!<: w ww oz
o!::: a:W
w:::E zo
:::>- :::0 Z-'
a:w
•O
U.- ~~
u.!!? ~;::: u.\!: a. o>- cO
a:::> w ....z 5 O"' ·<
>-o zt"'
0 0 w 0 aJ
a: :::>- :::>- • AZIMUTH
0 w w oo 0
< a: Q 0 < :!!; a:
(!)
FUNCTIONS
z ONLY
:::>
0
a:
'
''
I
''
I '
'
''
I
'
I ' ''
'
''
I
PAUSE GROUND RADIATED TEST
I ' '' TIME ("FRO" PULSE)•
r-~-L-f--~~----------------.1,-----------------Thr--
"TO" SCAN "FRO" SCAN 1NEXT
L-----~~--~------------------L-L-----T-IM_E
TIME SLOT __S_LO_T______~ 1 PREAMBLE
Figure 13.13 Transmission of angular information, MLS.
scanning beam illuminates a nearby object before it illuminates the landing air-
craft.
Early military MLS with mechanically scanned antennas used a varying
audio tone (or a pulse train) to encode the pointing angle on the scanning-beam
pattern. The particular audiofrequency (or pulse code) modulation on the RF
carrier, which represented the instantaneous pointing angle, was detected when
the scanning pattern illuminated the aircraft's MLS antenna (Section 13.8.3).
The FAA adopted time interval between successive passages of the unmod-
ulated beam as an efficient method of angle encoding. This reduced spectral
requirements and was compatible with high (electronic) scanning rates. In this
system, the angle coding is a linear function of time, as follows:
e= V(To- t)
2
where 8 is the azimuth or elevation guidance angle in degrees, V is the scan

velocity (typically 20 degjmsec), To is the value of the time difference at the
vertical center line plane (Az functions) or at the horizontal plane through the
phase center (El functions) in milliseconds, and t is the time interval in mil-
___________t___________________________ _ Hangec -------- ~

Image aircraft
Az ------------- ------------ ------- ~ ~~~::~g

88 w ~ ( ~-~~} ( !
1 0
} degrees
(a)
~Landing
~aircraft
(b)
Figure 13.14 Selection of maximum beamwidths for MLS antennas: (a) Multipath
geometry for azimuth antennas; (b) Multipath geometry for elevation antennas.
liseconds between TO and FRO passages of the beam centroid at the aircraft.
A complete angle-transmission format is shown in Figure 13.15 [4a].
The high scanning rate (20,000 degjsec) provides about 40 samples per sec-
ond of the angle data, a rate ten times higher than needed to control the aircraft.
Filtering this high rate at the receiver output can significantly reduce the angular
errors due to multipath interference and other "noise" sources.
An electronically scanned antenna is an array of radiating elements with a
feed network incorporating variable propagation delays (i.e., a "phased array").
These arrays cause the antenna pattern to rotate by "phase shifting" (delaying)
the RF signal provided to each radiating element according to a predetermined
624 LANDING SYSTEMS
"TO" pulse "FRO" pulse
REF time Pause time
----,--~-T---
I
I
I
I
I
~-----,----,----~------------------ --------------------T-1
1 '
1
"TO" scan 1 I
"FRO" scan : :
1 1\1
I I
: Preamble : : t. t I I
I_____ _ ___ _I _ _ _ _ _ I _ _ _ _ _ 1meso
1
__________ _ __:__ ~_l_ time slot : :
-----------------~-1
oo oo
Mid scan
Sector signals point
I
~~-- t ---7-1
I
1 - - E - - - - - T0 - - - - - - 7 - 1
1~-----T~ -~1
*Used by MLS receivers for confidence check
Figure 13.15 Angle scan-timing parameters for MLS antenna.
sequence stored in a computer memory and readout at the proper time in the
signal format, Figure 13.16 [9].
Elevation Function Quality vertical guidance is the most difficult to provide,

due to the ever-present signal reflections from the ground. An antenna vertical-
' A
;;
.....;:-
RF ...... ~
input '
/
::::
'rJ ~
~
.,..H .._.
Power Phase Antenna Near Far
distribution shifters elements field field
network
Figure 13.16 Phased array antenna.
pattern beam width of 2 deg or less is needed, in the absence of rising terrain
under the approach path, to avoid interference from the ground reflection from
the major lobe at lower glidepath angles (e.g., 2.5 deg), Figure 13.14b. The
MLS elevation antennas that support Category II and III operations have vertical
beam widths from 1.5 deg to 1.0 deg, created at 5 GHz by phased arrays from
8 to 12 ft high. Because the vertical pattern's side lobes are reflected from the
ground in front of the elevation array, the antennas are designed to suppress side
lobes 30 dB or more below the major-lobe peak at critical reflection angles. The
lateral pattern of the elevation array is a fan that is shaped to reduce the effect
of reflections from aircraft awaiting takeoff or from buildings.
After transmission of the preamble, the elevation array is scanned from its
lowest to highest angle. This "TO-SCAN" begins slightly below the horizontal
and may end as high as 32 deg, although an upper limit of 15 deg is typical of
1996 equipment designs. The scan pauses briefly before beginning the "FRO-
SCAN", back to the lower elevation angle limit [4a].
Azimuth Functions An azimuth function provides lateral guidance in the

approach (forward) sector, and a back-azimuth function provides lateral guid-
ance in the departure/missed-approach sector. While the signal formats in the
two sectors differ, they are equivalent in principle and are transmitted by sim-
ilar ground stations. The challenges to accurate azimuth guidance are the low
coverage required over the runway and the suppression of interfering reflec-
tions from lateral structures (e.g., large hangars). A lateral-pattern beam width
of 2 deg is generally satisfactory for runways less than 8,000 ft long; longer
runways typically require a 1-deg major lobe, Figure 13.14a. The electrical and
physical size relationships of the aperture are the same as those for elevation
arrays because the transmission frequency is the same. Because the lateral pat-
tern's side lobes are reflected from structures at wide angles, suppression of
the side lobes is less stringent than for the elevation array. Thus, typical side
lobes near the major lobe are attenuated 25 dB or more relative to the major
lobe. The vertical pattern of the azimuth array is a fan, shaped at lower angles
to reduce the amplitude of reflections from the ground and at higher angles to
suppress reflections from overflying aircraft.
After transmission of an approach-azimuth or back-azimuth preamble, the
azimuth-phased array is scanned clockwise (seen from above) from minimum
to maximum pointing angle (e.g., from -40 deg through zero (on center line) to
+40 deg). This 80-deg sector is the TO-SCAN limit for back-azimuth, although
one version of the approach azimuth can provide a sector of 120 deg [4a].
The scan pauses briefly before beginning the FRO-SCAN back to the minimum
azimuth angle.
13.6.3 The Data Functions

Like the angle-function transmissions, the data-word transmissions begin with a
preamble that contains an identification code for a "basic" or an "auxiliary" data
626 LANDING SYSTEMS
word. Following the preamble, predefined items of data are transmitted from
the azimuth preamble antenna for the allowable time period, using the same
DPSK coding scheme as the preamble. The differential encoding provides good
resistance to multipath interference, since decoding either the direct or reflected
signal yields the same information. (i.e., change = 1, no change = 0).
Basic-Data Words The eight basic-data words contain information about the
MLS ground station that is needed for proper operation of the MLS receiver
[4a]. Each word contains 26 bits of information plus 2 parity bits. Included in
these words are the facility identifier, proportional-guidance limits, minimum
glide-path angle, runway length, and so on. All MLS installations must transmit
all eight basic-data words.
Auxiliary-Data Words In contrast, the number of auxiliary-data words is

expandable to fit local needs, and the amount of data transmitted is limited
only by the excess time available in the signal format [4a]. Each word contains
57 information bits plus 7 parity bits. The auxiliary-data words are demodulated
within the MLS receiver and output directly to an avionic unit (e.g., a display)
or to a data bus. If the addresses of on-board avionics boxes were standard-
ized, the first eight information bits of the word could be the address of the
receiving avionics. The remaining bits may include information ranging from
weather data to waypoint coordinates for a particular area navigation (RNAV)
procedure associated with this runway [ 18b].
13.6.4 Aircraft Antennas and Receivers

A large aircraft (e.g., B-747) may have one antenna above the cockpit area
for forward coverage and one on the fuselage below the tail for coverage to
the rear. The azimuth signal format provides a time period for the receiver to
select the antenna with the stronger signal. Also, microwave horns are provided
behind the nose radome in some installations (e.g., on the USAF C-130) for
the final approach. Smaller aircraft may achieve the required ±70 deg forward
lateral coverage with only a single antenna typically above the cockpit. The
body-mounted antennas are stubs about 0.6-in. high or, on high-performance
aircraft, a flush-mounted slot. Generally, the MLS receiver has no RF amplifi-
cation; signals enter the mixer through a fixed filter that covers the MLS band.
After the IF, the preambles and data words are demodulated in a phase-locked
loop that has dynamics selected in consideration of the desired bit-error rate and
signal-acquisition time. The receiver decodes the basic-data words for internal
use and passes the auxiliary-data words through to the avionics data bus. The
video envelopes resulting from the TO-FRO passages of the scanning beams are
processed in another path to measure the elapsed time between beam passages
and to validate envelope width and amplitude. The consistency of these contin-
uous validation checks increments a confidence counter so that the receiver can
maintain track in the presence of momentary noise spikes or multipath signals.
THE MICROWAVE-LA NDING SYSTEM 627
However, a persistent signal of greater amplitude than the signal being tracked
will decrement the confidence counter and cause the receiver to drop the cur-
rent track and acquire the larger signal after the confidence is zero. In general,
MLS receiver designs are centered on a microprocessor. For Category II and Ill
operations, dual or triplicated receiver installations are required (Section 13.2).
13.6.5 Mobile MLS

The U.S. military have devloped a mobile MLS (MMLS) that is transported
by a three-man team and installed within .10 minutes each for the azimuth-
DME/ P or elevation station Oil runways up to 12.000 ft long r191. Favorable
initial operational test results were achieved in 199.1, and production systems
were tested in 1995 (Figure 13.17).
The accuracy specifications for the MMLS are based on Category I and II
ILS requirements rather than on the MLS accuracy (i.e., Category Ill) standard;
however, the radiated signals conform to the MLS signal format. These relaxed
accuracy requirements were chosen to allow smaller scanning antennas (with
wider beam widths) than would be typical of permanent installations. Although
antenna aperture has been reduced for lighter weight, the MMLS performance
mee ts MLS standards except at heights below I 00 ft.
13.6.6 Precision DME (DME/ P)

A precise L-band distance measuring equipment (DME) (±100 ft at runway
threshold. 95r/t:,) was developed in parallel with the MLS to improve range accu-
Figure 13.17 View up the glide path or a Mobile MLS at the Farnborough Air Show,
1994 (courtesy, Tex tron Defense Syste ms ).
628 LANDING SYSTEMS
racy when using MLS to calculate the three-dimensional position of the air-
craft with respect to the runway (RNAV mode) [4a]. (For a description of the
conventional DME, see Section 4.4.6.) The transponder and interrogator designs
for DME/P are fully interoperable with conventional DME (DME/N) such that
reception of the DME/P signal with a DME/N receiver improves accuracy but
does not realize full performance.
Obtaining this accuracy improvement requires a faster rise-time pulse to
increase accuracy which causes a wider bandwidth. It reduces the radiated
transponder power and the power introduced in adjacent L-band channels [4a].
These trade-offs resulted in specifying two modes of operation-an initial
approach (lA) mode using the Gaussian pulse shape of DME/N and a lower-
power final approach (FA) mode using a composite pulse with a shorter rise-
time, an earlier thresholding point, and the standard Gaussian decay time [20].
Thus, the DME/P operates in the lA mode from the MLS outer coverage bound-
ary to 8 nmi from the DME/P antenna, where the interrogator begins changing
the pulse-spacing code in order to complete the transition to FA mode by the
7-nmi point.
Typically, the DME/P transponder is located with the MLS approach azimuth
station but operates autonomously on the paired frequencies also used with the
ILS (Section 13.5.2). Civil DME receivers are standardized by ARINC [32a].
13.7 SATELLITE LANDING SYSTEMS
Even before the global positioning system (GPS) (Chapter 5) was declared oper-
ational by the United States in 1993, efforts had been underway to use it for
approach and landing. Later efforts involved the Russian GLONASS (Section
5.6) and may result in the combination of GPS Glonass, and other satellites
into a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS, Section 5.7).
An operational concept called Special Category I Precision Approach Oper-
ations Using DGPS, based on the differential GPS (DGPS) technique (Chap-
ter 5.5.9), was developed, tested, and certified for specific airports (Sections
5.5.9 and 5.5.10, and Table 5.7). The test results of the DGPS have been very
promising (Refs. [66-68] of Chapter 5). However, the unique requirements of
the approach and landing phase with regard to accuracy, integrity, and avail-
ability (Section 5.7 .I) have led to the development of additional GPS augmen-
tation methods, which are discussed in the next section.
13.7.1 Augmentation Concepts

The basic GPS, without differential corrections, cannot be the primary means
of navigation for precision approach and landing operations because of the fol-
lowing limitations:
l. Accuracy. The nominal vertical error is ±150 meters, compared to require-

SATELLITE LANDING SYSTEMS 629
ments of about ±8 meters for Category I, ±4 meters for Category II, and
±1.3 meters for Category III (Section 13.S.2, Table 13.3).
2. Integrity. The GPS design lacks a monitoring system which can provide
timely warnings of guidance-data faults within 10 sec for Category I, or
less than 2 sec for Category III.
3. Availability. The number of satellites in view in certain time periods may
not be adequate.
For nonprecision and Category I precision approaches, the above limitations

are expected to be mitigated by the FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System
(WAAS, Section S.7.3), which was under development in 1996. WAAS may
be supplemented with local differential GPS (LDGPS) stations located near
runways. Specifically, the W AAS will address the above three limitations by
providing (1) wide area differential GPS (W ADGPS) error corrections, (2) a
ground integrity broadcast (GIB), and (3) a GPS-ranging function from three
or four geostationary satellites providing additional availability or reliability
(Ref. [69] of Chapter S and [Sf] of Chapter 13]. The details of the W AAS are
described in Chapter S.7.3.
To support Category II and III landing operations, the additional require-
ment for accuracy and monitor-response times can be achieved with a differen-
tial GPS reference station and a high-integrity ground-to-air data-link located
near the landing runway, constituting a local differential GPS (LDGPS) con-
figuration (Chapter S.S.9). LDGPS operation leads to nearly complete cancel-
lation of errors due to satellite ephemerides, clock offset, selective availability,
and tropospheric/ionospheric propagation, leaving mainly those errors due to
multipath-signal interference and receiver noise. The runway reference station
(with appropriate monitoring) can supply integrity warnings within the required
response time of I to 2 sec. Additional availability augmentation may be pro-
vided by the W AAS, by a precise time standard on-board the aircraft, and by
pseudo lites (Chapter S. 7.1) located along the final-approach path or on the air-
port. In 1996, the U.S. FAA was investigating the feasibility of Category II and
III DGPS operations [Sf].
13.7.2 Position Solutions

In 1996, GPS receivers were capable of about ten solutions per second, which
is sufficient for coupled flight. The accuracy of the SPS code solution with-
out augmentation is satisfactory for nonprecision approaches. The code solu-
tion is improved by integrating the Doppler shift of the carrier to obtain a
velocity component for smoothing the position measurements and for removing
latency effects. Satisfactory auto-land performance has been demonstrated using
a velocity-smoothed, code-tracking, differential solution [21 ]. Carrier phase-
tracking differential techniques (Chapter S.S.9) have also been demonstrated
in real time to provide even higher accuracies [22]. This kinematic technique
630 LANDING SYSTEMS
results in a position solution with much lower noise content than code-tracking
solutions. Also, good error-canceling properties contribute to the attractiveness
of this method. One disadvantage of carrier-phase tracking is that the receiver
must accurately determine the range to the satellite in terms of the specific cycle
of the carrier frequency. Resolving this integer-wavelength ambiguity for each
satellite and guarding against cycle slips requires special techniques (Section
5.5.9 and [23]). Some pseudolite architectures (Section 5.7.4) favor this type
of solution, since the high pseudorange rates generated by the aircraft on final
approach are a significant aid to cycle ambiguity resolution [24].
13.7.3 Research Issues

Data Latency Delays of two seconds are intolerable during Category III land-
ings. The need for differential corrections to be radioed from a ground station
and the on-board processing may delay the position solution for several sec-
onds before it is available to the pilot and flight-control system. Delays can
be reduced in the ground computations, in the on-board computations, in the
receiver design (e.g., the Doppler shift of the carrier can measure the velocity
vector of the aircraft during the latency period) or by mixing satellite and iner-
tial data. A state-estimator (e.g., a Kalman filter) can combine the aged position
data with the velocity history of the aircraft to provide an accurate estimate of
the aircraft's current position.
RF Interference The low level of power received from the spacecraft makes
the satellite-based landing system more susceptible to RF interference and
receiver noise than has been experienced with the ILS and MLS. In 1996, these
effects were under intensive investigation.
Multipath Effects Satellite-signal reflections from terrain or ground objects to

the aircraft antenna are small, for air-carrier aircraft, but reflected-signals at the
differential stations are larger. Siting criteria, analogous to the airport critical
areas developed for ILS and MLS, are likely to be required to ensure integrity.
13.8 CARRIER-LANDING SYSTEMS
13.8.1 Description of the Problem

Aircraft are operated from large aircraft carriers, of which there are about 20
worldwide. Each carrier stores fewer than I 00 aircraft and helicopters. Heli-
copters and vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft are operated from
smaller ships, of which there are about 300 worldwide. There are approximately
1000 carrier-compatible aircraft in the world, about 2000 naval helicopters and
about 250 VTOL aircraft (in 1996, AV8 "jump-jets") [30].
The typical aircraft carrier landing deck is 600 ft long by 100 ft wide (Figure
CARRIER-LANDING SYSTEMS 631
13.18). The mean touchdown point is 180 ft forward of the runway threshold at
the center of the arresting cable area, which is about 120 ft long by 75 ft wide.
Two or three cables are stretched across the deck forward of this point and two
or three aft; they are spaced about 40 ft apart. Jet aircraft approach the car-
rier deck at airspeeds up to 125 knots; their speed relative to the deck is lower
due to the "wind-over-deck," which is normally about 30 knots. The approach
path, often called the glide slope, is in the vertical plane containing the runway
centerline and is inclined 3.5 deg relative to the sea at the touchdown point (4
deg relative to the moving flight deck) [25]. Aircraft cross the threshold at a
mean hook-to-ramp clearance of II ft and touch down about I sec later without
flaring out, at descent rates of 10 to 13 ftjsec. One aircraft may be landed per
minute by an automatic landing system; as many as two per minute are landed
in VFR weather. The ship's deck "heaves" vertically with a standard deviation
of 4 to 5 ft, rolls with a standard deviation of 2.3 deg to 5 deg, pitches with
a standard deviation of 1 deg, and yaws with a standard deviation of 1.8 deg
during an aircraft approach [25]. The frequency spectra of ship motions are dis-
cussed and their relative phasing is shown in [25]. A 1-ft heave causes a 1-ft
change in threshold clearance and a 14-ft change in the touchdown point. A
I deg-pitch causes a 9-ft change in threshold clearance and an 80-ft change
in the touchdown point. Ship motions affect impact velocity at touchdown.
A night landing on a carrier deck is the most difficult and dangerous task in
aviation.
The prevailing wind and forward motion cause a wind-over-deck between
20 and 40 knots; the ship is steered to place the relative wind along the canted
flight deck. Forward motion of the ship aids the pilot by reducing landing speed
relative to the deck, but it causes a turbulent-air wake which interferes with the
landing. The air wake may be divided into the following components [25]:
I. Steady-state wake caused by the relative wind over the ship's deck and
around the superstructure ("island"), which causes a "burble" at the
threshold and along the glide path. The vertical and horizontal compo-
nents of the steady-state wake for a Forrestal-class carrier are shown in
[25].
2. Wake perturbations, due to the ship's angular motions and heave, causing
fluctuations with standard deviations of 2 ftjsec (horizontal) and 4 ftjsec
(vertical) about the steady state wake. These become negligible 2000 ft
aft of the threshold.
Aircraft are stacked in holding patterns 8 to 12 nmi astern at altitudes from

4000 to 40,000 ft. They are vectored onto the glide path by carrier air traffic
control (CATC) using voice radio and the approach control radar until they are
within the coverage of the SPN-41 and the SPN-46 instrument landing systems.
Pilots are released from the holding pattern to the glide path and may follow
0\
~
N
SPN 41
Elevation
antenna
Figure 13.18 Canted-deck aircraft carrier showing installation of SPN-46/42, SPN-41, and
FLOLS (courtesy of U.S. Naval Air Engineering Center).
CA RRIER-LANDING SYSTEMS 633
Figure 13.19 Fresnel- lens optical landing aid (courtesy. U .S. Navel Ai r Engineering
Center).
cockpit display "needles" or may couple the autopilot to the Automatic Carrier
Landing Syste m (ACLS). Carrier pilots are also provided cues by a Fresnel-lens
optical system nicknamed the "meatball ," Fi gure 13.19.
An aircraft executing a missed approach from low altitude is ca lled a hotter.
Bolters fly to a Tacan-defined holding point that moves wi th the aircraft carrier.
The ACLS is capable of landing an aircraft ''hands off," giving the U.S .
Navy an operational capability in zero-zero visibility conditions. In 1996, ACLS
could fly an F-1 8 down the glide path more accurately than an average F-18
pi lot !28!. Howe ver. peacetime air operati ons were routinely di scontinued when
1 i
visibility fell below to nmi or ce ilings dropped below 200 ft. Carrier com-
manders were reluctant to depend on the ACLS in zero-zero visibility. except
in emerge ncies or cluri ng hosti Iities.
13.8.2 Optical Landing Aids

In the earl y clays of aircraft carrie rs, the landing si gnal officer (LSO) guided the
pilot using a paddle in each hand. The LSO signalled with colored li ghts and
voice radio. Mirrors fixed to the deck were used during the 1950s to assist pi lots
in followin g the glide path by proj ecting an image of a light along the path.
634 LANDING SYSTEMS
Because of deck rotation, the aid was gyrostabilized. In 1968, mirrors began to
be replaced by a vertical array of five Fresnel lenses (Figure 13.19) showing the
pilot a yellow spot ("meatball") that moves vertically relative to a lighted green
horizontal reference bar. The array is called the "Fresnel lens optical landing
system (FLOLS) [29]. The beamwidth of each lens is about 5 mrad. Because
the five lenses are spaced about 3 ft apart, adjacent beams overlap beyond 1000
ft, so pilots cannot easily estimate their displacement above or below the glide
path beyond 2000 to 4000 ft. The meatball gives only vertical cues.
The optical axis of the system is servoed to remove ship's pitch and roll
but not heave, although "compensated meatball" methods have been proposed
which correct for all three [25]. Lens pointing angles would be adjusted accord-
ing to a quadratic function of heave in much the same way as the angle data
from the radar-controlled ACLS is compensated (Section 13.8.3 ). This com-
pensation has not been implemented because the "meatball" is often shared by
two aircraft on final approach simultaneously.
13.8.3 Electronic Landing Aids

Two electronic instrument landing systems are found on all large U.S. aircraft
carriers. The ACLS involves two identical conically scanned Ka-band radars
(SPN-46 or SPN-42) set aft of the island about 125 and 135 ft above the water
line. They can track two aircraft simultaneously and, if desired, can uplink guid-
ance signals to aircraft autopilots. An independent sensor (the SPN-41) mon-
itors the approach. SPN-41 consists of a Ku-band transmitter and an airborne
receiver/processor. The receiver measures angular displacements from the glide
path.
Automatic Carrier Landing System Both SPN-42 and its successor, SPN-
46, are tracking-radar systems differing primarily in the antenna. Figure 13.20
shows one of the dual-frequency SPN-46 antennas. The SPN-42 was retrofitted
with a small X-band parabola when aircraft beacons were added to eliminate
errors caused by spatial "wandering" of the skin echo. Both radars radiate short
pulses at K,-band and receive replies from an X-band beacon (APN-202 or
APN-154) as well as Ka-band skin-echoes. Radar pulses, modulated by the
conically-scanning beam, are detected by the aircraft beacon receiver and data
are returned to the radar in the form of the arrival time and power of a pulse
from the X-band beacon's magnetron. Range and angle estimates are formed
aboard ship by conventional processing of the X-band signals. Angular accu-
racy is primarily a function of the conically scanned Ka-band beam pattern (the
X-band receiving beam is relatively broad). Errors in transferring uplink pulse
height to the X-band beacon tend to cancel in the radar tracking processor.
Data measured by the radar/beacon system are digitized and delivered to
a central ACLS computer which computes commands intended for the auto-
pilot of the aircraft in track suitable for flying the aircraft down the glide path.
These data are communicated to the aircraft via a UHF "Link 4" data channel
CARRIER -LANDING SYSTEMS 635
Figure 13.20 SPN -46 antenna (courtesy, U.S. Navy).
[26[ . The pilot has the option of coupling the autopilot to the ACLS, flying
the aircraft !'rom " needles" controlled by ACLS data, or being "talked down"
by a shipboard controller. A manual carrier landing with ACLS resembles a
land-based ground-controlled approach.
SPN-4/ Independent Landing Monitor This system consists of a single K 11 -

band transmitter switched between separate azimuth and elevation antennas.
Although driven synchronously, the horizontally and vertically scanning fan-
beam antenn as are separate units. A small rotating parabolic reflector provides
a shaped vertical fan beam that scans the azimuth sector ±20 deg ; at the end of
the scan the transmitter is switched to the vertically scanning fan-beam formed
by a horn antenna that mechanically oscillates at the end of a short torsion bar.
The aircraft receiver converts pairs of short K 11 -band transm itter pulses to IF
636 LANDING SYSTEMS
and video. The pair spacing identifies the azimuth or elevation beam, and the
spacing between pairs indicates its pointing angle. Airborne processing uses
amplitude information in estimating aircraft azimuth and elevation angles rela-
tive to the desired glide path, which then drives localizer and glide-slope needles
in the aircraft. Land-based SPN -4 I was used for landing Space Shuttles in the
I 980s and I 990s.
Figure 13.18 shows the locations of the SPN-41 azimuth and elevation anten-
nas aboard ship. The SPN-4 I is shared by all aircraft in the landing sequence.
Antennas are stabilized in roll and pitch but are not compensated for heave.
Since it conveys no range information and has no data link, the SPN-4 I cannot
be used as an ACLS. Common practice is to use SPN-41 signals at relatively
long range (20 to 30 nmi) for ACLS acquisition guidance. It also serves as a
monitor of SPN-42/46 angle information until the aircraft is within I 2 sec of
touchdown.
SPN-35 Precision Approach Radar (PAR) A few fixed-wing aircraft carriers

carry the SPN-35 as a backup to the SPN-46 or SPN-42. However, just as in
commercial avaiation, PARs are seldom used because they depend on a trained
operator.
In I 996, there were more than 20 LHA, LHD, and LPH assault ships that
carried only SPN-43 (approach surveillance) and SPN-35 PAR for low-visi-
bility landings of helicopters and VTOL aircraft such as the AV -8 Harrier.
Nonprecision low-visibility landings may be accomplished with Tacan (Chap-
ter 4 ).
13.9 FUTURE TRENDS
13.9.1 Pilot Aids

In I 996, several technologies were being pursued to reduce pilot work load
during approach and landing or to improve the pilot's ability to monitor an
automatic landing.
Enhanced vision systems, such as active millimeter-wave radar (MMWR)
and passive forward-looking infrared (FUR) detectors, can create an artificial
image of the runway and project it on a head-up display. MMWR developments
have focussed on 35 and 94 GHz where RF transmission "windows" exist in the
atmosphere. The higher frequency (3-mm wavelength) gives better resolution,
but the lower frequency (9-mm wavelength) requires less power to penetrate
rain. Even at these short wavelengths, physical constraints limit the beam width
to about 0.25 deg, which does not provide adequate runway resolution at the
shallow elevation angles encountered during the landing maneuver [4f]. Pas-
sive infrared systems with wavelengths near I 0 nm (I o-s mm) have adequate
resolution and reasonable fog penetration characteristics, but heat sources may
be required along the runway to improve the contrast of the runway against
FUTURE TRENDS 637
background terrain . The minimum range of a laser radar (200 ft in 1996) may
deny its use for taxi guidance.
Infrared cameras (FLIR) combined with head-up displays ( HUD. Chapter I 5)
are found in some navy aircraft. FURs have been tested on aircraft carriers for
monitoring operations in clear weather at night but IR energy suffers almost
the same absorption as visible light in fog and rain.
Figure 13.21 shows a 4 x 4 element 94 GHz focal-plane array of
antenna/detector elements that was fabricated photolithographically on a wafer
of GaAs (about l-in. square) 128]. 1f replication of such a tile were inexpen-
sive. 94 visual GHz cameras and focal plane array radars might enter service
as landing aids.
The HUD, which was developed by the military services to aid a single
pilot in transitioning to visual cues, is finding applications on air-carrier air-
craft (Chapter I 5.3 ). It projects sensor information (navigation, attitude. and
other sensors) and stored runway data onto the windscreen at infinite focus, so
that the pilot can see the data and images superimposed on the view through
the windshield. In 1996, European and American authorities had certi1ied many
aircraft for Category IliA operations and most glass-cockpit models of Boeing,
Douglas, and Airbus aircraft for Category IIIB operations. These authorities
have allowed a HUD and a fail-passive autopilot to substitute for a fail-opera-
tional autopilot.
Figure 13.21 A 4 x 4 element 94 GHz focal plane array (courtesy, U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory and Westinghouse Corporation).
638 LANDING SYSTEMS
13.9.2 Satellite Landing Aids

There is a need for low-cost, nonprecision and Category I procedures at low-
density airports in the industrialized countries and in underdeveloped countries
that have poor highway and railroad systems and are therefore dependent on
air travel. Satellite-navigation systems are likely to be the solution. Similarly
military needs for tactical approach guidance systems (including landing on
ships) will probably be satisfied by differential or relative satellite techniques
(Section 13.7). For lower-visibility landing, an independent monitor is re-
quired.
During the period of transition from ground-based to satellite-based guid-
ance, multi-function airborne receivers, capable of processing ILS, MLS, and
GPS guidance signals, will be used in civil and military aviation. An ARINC
characteristic for such a multimode receiver was in preparation in 1996. Two
technologies that will aid the application of satellite navigation to precision
approach operations are lower-cost inertial devices and lower-cost precision
(atomic) clocks.
13.9.3 Airport Surface Navigation

The use of differential satellite-based systems for guidance and surveillance of
rollout, taxi, and departure operations under low-visibility conditions will be
widespread and will extend to vehicles other than aircraft (e.g., fuel trucks,
police and emergency vehicles). The combination of LDGPS (Section 5.5.9)
and pseudo lites (Section 5.7 .5) is likely to offer a solution to the airport surface
navigation and surveillance problem.
13.9.4 Carrier Landing

The challenging problem of all-weather recovery of large (up to 65,000 lb) air-
craft aboard a floating platform less than 1000 ft long will lead to new guidance
systems. The combination of relative GPS (Chapter 5), a data link, and aircraft
and ship attitude sensors could provide the basis of a new ACLS. In the dif-
ficult environment of carrier landings, an independent monitor will be needed,
perhaps a descendant of SPN-41 or SPN-46.
PROBLEMS
13.1. A particular aircraft can deviate ±85ft laterally from the runway center
line without leaving the hard surface. Assuming the errors are normally
distributed, calculate the allowable lateral deviation (!-sigma) if the lat-
eral performance requirement for the auto-land system states that the
risk (probability) of touchdown off the runway is not to exceed 3 x
10-s.
Standard deviation of lateral
displacement at touch down
and in landing roll ()feet
I I
ILS (ground) ILS (airborne) I Auto-pilot
7.0 ft 5.0 ft 12.7 ft
I I I I
I I
I I I I
Radio beam Gain and Beam Touch down Crosstrack
noise sensitivity centering position at touch down
5.8 ft 2ft error 3.3 ft 11.2 ft 6.0 ft
I
Gain and Receiver
sensitivity Centering error
2.0 ft 4.6 ft
I I
Wind and Gain and
Datums
Turbulence sensitivity
3.5 ft
10 ft 3.5 ft
Problem 13.1 Accuracy-allocation tree.

0\
(-.l
~
640 LANDING SYSTEMS
The accuracy-allocation tree below allocates this accuracy to each

error source.
13.2. Discuss the factors associated with raising the operational category for
landing on a particular runway.
13.3. What precision in terms of linear measure is needed for positioning a

large transport aircraft at the approach threshold for a successful landing
with visibility of 1200 ft?
13.4. What factors can degrade the guidance quality of an ILS signal?
13.5. What would prevent a DME, associated with an ILS serving a specific
runway, from being used for an approach to a different runway?
13.6. Compare the value of approach lights versus runway lights to a pilot
who is conducting an approach to Category II weather minimums.
13.7. What justifies the expectation that ILS marker beacons will find less use
after 1997?
13.8. Discuss whether a building of a given size will be a more efficient reflec-
tor (scatterer) of glide-slope or localizer signals.
13.9. Suppose that an airport is adding a new runway that will be much closer
to existing hangers than the existing runway. Assume that all physical
obstruction criteria will be met. With respect to the radio guidance sig-
nals, identify the factors that must be considered when assessing the
suitability of the new runway.
13.10. Considering all GPS error sources, what is the key issue in s1t1ng
ground reference and monitor stations for a pseudorange-based, local
area, DGPS approach and landing system?
13.11. A GPS antenna is mounted on a pole 2 meters above the ground. Sig-
nals are received from a satellite at a low-elevation angle. The GPS
antenna will receive both the direct signal and one multi path signal from
the ground below the antenna. Assume perfectly flat ground below the
antenna. The frequency of the GPS signal is 1575.42 MHz. Figure 13.11
shows the (actual) satellite elevation angle during a 10-sec observation
interval.
(a) Calculate (in meters per second) the rate of change of the path dif-
ference between the direct signal and the multipath signal.
(b) Calculate the time period of the fading frequency.
Ans.: 3.78 x 10- 4 mjsec; 503 seconds.
PROBLEMS 641
7.5
7.49
7.48
tiD 7.47
aJ
"'0
~ 7.46
0:0
c
(IJ 7.45
c
0
.....(IJ 7.44
>
aJ
w 7.43
7.42 ........
7.41 ····--················ ··-········ . ········;...•...............,.................. ~---······

7.41
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Observation time (sec)
Problem 13.11 GPS Satellite elevation angle.
14 Air Traffic Management
14.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of air traffic management (ATM) is safe, efficient, and expeditious
movement of aircraft in the airspace. It comprises two principal processes: air
traffic control and traffic flow management. Air traffic control (ATC) is the tac-
tical safety separation service whose function it is to prevent collisions between
aircraft and between aircraft, terrain and obstructions. Traffic flow management
(TFM) is the process that allocate:.; traffic flows to scarce capacity resources
(e.g., it meters arrival at capacity constrained airports).
The principal clements of the ATM process are airspace; air navigation facil-
ities, equipment, and services; airports and landing areas; aeronautical charts,
information, and services; rules, regulations, and procedures; technical infor-
mation; and work force, including flight crews, air traffic controllers, traffic
managers, and facilities technicians [37, 18]. This chapter describes these ele-
ments of the ATM process and explains how they interact to fulfill its purpose.
14.1.1 Services Provided to Aircraft Operators

A principal service provided by ATM is separation assurance for the prevention
of collisions between aircraft and to prevent aircraft collisions with terrain and
obstructions. Traffic flow management services are designed to meter traffic to
taxed capacity resources, both to assure that unsafe levels of traffic conges-
tion do not develop and to distribute the associated movement delays equitably
among system users.
Relevant aeronautical information is provided both in the form of charts and
publications and as current (real-time) information communicated to the user
prior to and during flight. The real-time information provided includes weather
observations and forecasts, traffic congestion conditions and delays, status of air
navigation facilities and airports, and the positions and movement intentions of
other aircraft in the vicinity. The final principal service is search and rescue, that
is, notification of appropriate organizations regarding aircraft in need of search
and rescue assistance and support of these organizations during the ensuing
operations.
Navigation generally is the responsibility of the aircraft operator. Nonethe-
less, air traffic controllers assist lost and distressed aircraft in determining their
positions and navigating to their destinations.
FLIGHT RULES AND AIRSPACE ORGANIZATION 643
14.1.2 Government Responsibilities

Within the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is respon-
sible for establishing rules and regulations allocating airspace to various uses
and regulating those uses; for establishing and operating air navigation facil-
ities; for ensuring the publication of aeronautical charts and information nec-
essary for the safe and efficient movement of aircraft; and for establishing the
rules, regulations, and procedures governing air traffic control and traffic flow
management. The agency is also responsible for establishing minimum stan-
dards regarding the design, construction, certification, and maintenance of air-
craft and airports as well as for certifying flight crews [4]. The United States
has a common system for ATM in the sense that the same practices apply to
civil and military users and both the FAA and Department of Defense (DOD)
provide ATM services to both civil and military users. In many areas of the
world, most of the airspace is devoted to military operations for which military
authorities have jurisdiction; civil aviation authorities provide services to civil
users in limited corridors set aside for that purpose.
Standardization of air traffic management practices internationally is the
responsibility of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which
is affiliated with the United Nations and located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Procedures for aircraft operation and the provision of ATM services are stan-
dardized to the extent necessary to ensure regularity worldwide. In addition,
appropriate technical standards for aircraft, air navigation facilities, aeronauti-
cal information and charts, and airports are established. ICAO does not provide
ATM services directly to operators.
Countries align their procedures and equipment with ICAO standards so that
there is safe and efficient operation of international aircraft within their bor-
ders. As a result, ATM practices and procedures around the world have few
differences. Some regions have less developed ground facility infrastructures
than others and the efficiency of aircraft operations suffers as a result (Section
1.7). Increased use of satellite-based services for communication, navigation
and surveillance will foster better ATM services worldwide.
14.2 FLIGHT RULES AND AIRSPACE ORGANIZATION
14.2.1 Visual and Instrument Flight Rules

Aircraft in flight operate in accordance with one of two sets of rules, visual flight
rules or instrument flight rules. Visual .flight rules (VFR) operators are respon-
sible for avoiding collisions with obstacles, terrain and other aircraft by visually
observing these hazards and maintaining visual separations. Therefore, visibil-
ity conditions must meet prescribed minimums and the aircraft must remain
clear of clouds. In much of U.S. airspace, VFR operators are not required to
contact ATM authorities and are not subject to their directions. VFR flights
usually involve small aircraft operated for personal or business purposes. Nav-
644 AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
igation may be by visual reference to the ground and aircraft attitude control
may be based solely on the natural horizon visible through the windscreen of
the aircraft.
Flight crews following instrument flight rules (IFR) must be capable of nav-
igating and controlling the aircraft without reference to an outside visual scene.
In controlled airspace, the crew must operate in accordance with instructions
received from ATM authorities, and these authorities are responsible for sepa-
rating the aircraft from all other IFR aircraft. Aircraft operating IFR must be
equipped with appropriate attitude indicators, radios and other navigation equip-
ment not required on VFR aircraft. Further, the flight crew requires additional
training and experience to qualify for the necessary instrument rating. All air-
craft operators holding Air Carrier Operating Certificates are required to follow
instrument flight rules [6].
14.2.2 Altimetry
In order to understand airspace organization and navigation practices in the
ATM community, it is necessary to know how altitude measurements are made
in aircraft [7]. The barometric altimeter (Chapter 8) measures the static air pres-
sure outside the aircraft and converts this pressure to an altitude, in feet, based
on a standard model of the atmosphere adopted by ICAO [60]. According to
the model, atmospheric pressure and temperature at mean sea level are 29.92
in. of mercury (I 013.2 hectopascals) and 15.occ, respectively. The temperature
lapse rate in the model is 2.04"C per I 000 ft from sea level to 35,000 ft above
mean sea level, after which the temperature is constant at -56.5°C.
The aircraft barometric altimeter permits the flight crew to set the reference
pressure against which the outside atmospheric pressure is measured. If the
reference pressure were adjusted to the actual pressure at mean sea level, and the
temperature lapse rate matched the ICAO standard model, the altimeter would
indicate true altitude above mean sea level. Unfortunately, due to the varying
characteristics and movements of air masses, the pressure at mean sea level
varies around the world, and these pressures may not be representative of air
masses over land areas. Hence, altimeters are installed in ground stations (e.g.,
airports and flight service stations) and in the USA the setting is adjusted so
that the altimeter indicates the true altitude above mean sea level of the station.
A flight crew operating below 18,000 ft above mean sea level uses the setting
provided by a station located along the route of flight within 100 nmi of its
position. The resulting altimeter reading displayed to the crew is termed the
indicated altitude and is a good estimate of the aircraft altitude above mean
sea level. Hence, indicated altitude is expressed in feet above mean sea level,
which is abbreviated "ft MSL." Above 18,000 ft MSL, flight crews set their
altimeters to 29.92 in. of mercury. The resulting altimeter reading is referred to
as the pressure altitude. Pressure altitudes are expressed as flight levels (FLs) in
hundreds of feet using three digits. Hence, FL290 represents a pressure altitude
of 29,000 ft.
FLIGHT RULES AND AIRSPACE ORGANIZATION 645
14.2.3 Controlled Airspace

A fundamental construct of the ATM system is the organization of airspace into
various categories and the establishment of rules governing aircraft operations
within each category. The objective is to provide maximum freedom in public
use of the airspace while ensuring the safety and efficiency of flight operations
where airspace is heavily used or is required to support special purposes such
as military training.
Within airspace regions categorized as controlled, aircraft operating IFR are
required to receive separation and other services from ATM authorities. VFR
operators are required to accept ATM separation services in some types of
controlled airspace. Ground-to-air communications and navigation aids support
these services. The following paragraphs describe a few examples of controlled
airspace. Additional details are given in the Airman's Information Manual [8].
Class A-Positive Control Area Virtually all of the airspace above the 50 U.S.
states from 18,000 to 60,000 ft MSL is designated Class A. All aircraft within
Class A airspace must follow instrument flight rules, that is, must file IFR flight
plans and operate in accordance with clearances. A clearance is authorization
for an aircraft to proceed under conditions specified by the responsible ATM
authority. The purpose of Class A is to ensure separation for all aircraft oper-
ating in this regime wherein aircraft speeds are high and VFR see-and-avoid
techniques are ineffective.
Class B-Terminal Control Areas Class B airspace exists around the nation's
busiest airports. The general shape of Class B airspace resembles an upside-
down wedding cake centered on the primary airport. The radius increases with
altitude so that aircraft remain within the airspace as they descend into or climb
away from the airport. All aircraft, whether operating by IFR or VFR, must
receive a clearance to enter the airspace and the associated ATM authority is
responsible for separating all aircraft. Aircraft at the same altitude are kept at
least 3 nmi apart. Aircraft within 3 nmi of one another are separated vertically
by at least I 000 ft if both aircraft are IFR, or by at least 500 ft if one aircraft is
IFR and the other is VFR. VFR aircraft are required to operate in accordance
with visual flight rules including maintaining prescribed distances from clouds.
IFR operators have priority over VFR aircraft, and access by VFR operators can
be denied if the ATM authority believes VFR operations would compromise
safety.
14.2.4 Uncontrolled Airspace

Uncontrolled airspace is airspace that is not designated as controlled. In the
United States, most uncontrolled airspace is within 1200 ft of the ground in
sparsely traveled areas. ATM authorities will not provide separation services in
uncontrolled airspace. IFR operators need not file flight plans and may operate
in any visibility conditions. VFR operators below I 0,000 ft MSL must have a
minimum visibility of one statute mile.
14.2.5 Special Use Airspace

Special use airspace is set aside for unique purposes, notably national secu-
rity operations. A prohibited area such as the airspace surrounding the White
House is closed to aircraft operations at all times. Restricted areas such as mil-
itary missile ranges are closed to civil traffic when operating and are open at
other times. Military operations areas (e.g., for training) will accept IFR traffic
if the responsible ATM authority can safely provide separation services. VFR
aircraft must exercise extreme caution when operating in active military oper-
ations areas.
14.3 AIRWAYS AND PROCEDURES
14.3.1 Victor Airways and Jet Routes

A system of.federal airways (highways in the sky) is defined by Parts 71 and 93
of the US Federal Aviation Regulations. As illustrated in Figure 14.1, most of
these airways originate and end at VOR stations (Section 4.4.4). A few airways
based on nondirectional beacons (Section 4.4.2) are still in use.
From 1200 ft above the surface to 18,000 ft MSL, VOR-based airways are
called victor airways and use "V" as a prefix in their identifiers (e.g. V51).
From 18,000 ft MSL to 45,000 ft MSL, all federal airways are based on VORs
and are referred to as jet routes. The prefix of the identifiers is "J" (e.g. J64).
Changeover points (COPs) are defined along airways to indicate where the
pilot should adjust the navigation receiver to obtain course guidance from the
facility (e.g. VOR) ahead instead of the one behind. The COP is normally at
the midpoint between facilities but may be elsewhere if required due to radio
frequency interference, facility siting limitations, or other effects. If a COP is
not at the midpoint of the airway, its position is shown on aeronautical charts.
Every VOR is designated either as a terminal VOR or as a low- or high-
altitude en-route VOR. Terminal VORs are intended for use in the local area,
for example, to support instrument approach and departure procedures. They
are usable only at ranges less than 25 nmi and may not be used for en-route
navigation. Low-altitude en-route VORs have service volumes extending up to
40 nmi from the facility and are used at and below 18,000 ft MSL for navi-
gation on victor airways. High-altitude VORs support navigation on jet routes;
their service volumes may extend 200 nmi from the facility. Service volumes of
VORs are controlled as described above in order to limit frequency interference
effects among adjacent ground stations.
Airway widths are determined by navigation system performance, taking into
account errors in the ground station equipment, errors in the aircraft receiver
AIRWAYS AND PROCEDURES 647
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Figure 14.1. Aeronautical chart showing victor airways.
and display system, and flight technical error. Flight technical error is the lateral
displacement error of the aircraft from the intended track given the course devi-
ation error signal generated by the navigation system. For the manually piloted
aircraft, it represents the pilot's ability to stay on course based on the displayed
cross-track error. Typical 2-standard-deviation allowances for VOR/DME in
the en-route environment are 1.9 deg for the VOR ground equipment and 3.0
deg for the airborne receiver. DME ground station error allowance is 0.1 nmi
with the avionics allowed 0.5 nmi or 3% of range, whichever is greater. Under
the assumption that the aircraft is piloted manually, the cross-track component
of the flight technical error allowance is 2.0 nmi. The total error in positioning
the aircraft on the intended route is derived by root-sum-squaring these errors,
treated as independent [9].
As illustrated by the example in Figure !4.2a, VOR airways are divided into
primary and secondary obstacle clearance areas. The primary obstacle clear-
ance area is 4 nmi either side of the route centerline except that the area expands
along system accuracy lines drawn at a 4.5-deg angle either side of the center
line when the COP is more than 51 nmi from one of the facilities [10]. The sec-
ondary obstacle clearance area extends 2 nmi either side of the primary area
except where the COP is more than 51 nmi from the facility, in which case the
secondary area is bounded by a 6.7-deg angle drawn either side of the center
line.
--------------------~--~
~ ~·~------------------------~--
Secondary _,-'' ',
----------------~~-~ ~~---~-~-~-----------------~-
,,, -~::::-----
Primary ------:----
... ... ...... ... ... ...
,'',,' 70 nmi "" ............... ...
............ 4.50 6.70 ............ .
Route Center line
a Clearance areas
Secondary Primary
b Clearance criteria
Figure 14.2. Primary and secondary obstacle clearance areas for an airway.
Along each airway segment between facilities, a minimum en-route altitude

(MEA) is established to ensure adequate clearance of obstacles and terrain in
both the primary and secondary obstacle clearance areas. In nonmountainous
areas, obstacle clearance in the primary area must be at least I 000 ft. The sec-
ondary area is raised above and slopes upward and outward from the primary
area, as shown in Figure 14.2b. No obstacle may protrude above the secondary
area. The MEA is set high enough to ensure adequate navigation signal recep-
tion and air-to-ground communications coverage. Aircraft operating IFR are
assigned altitudes at or above the MEA.
14.3.2 Random Routes

Many aircraft have area navigation (RNAV) capability, also known as random
route navigation. The on-board navigation system determines the position of
the aircraft and a navigation computer, often embedded in the flight manage-
ment system (see Section 14.5.7), carries out the necessary course computations
for reaching the next waypoint according to the principles described in Chapter
2. (A waypoint is simply a geographically fixed position identified by its lati-
tude and longitude.) Aircraft with RNAV capability are not constrained to travel
directly toward or away from ground-based VORs as are aircraft flying along
airways. Position determination may be based on station-referenced navigation
signals such as VOR, DME, Loran-C, Omega, and GNSS (Chapters 4 and 5) or
a self-contained capability, such as an inertial reference unit (Chapter 7). Ran-
dom routes generally reduce flight distances between origins and destinations
as compared to operation along the associated victor airways and jet routes. In
addition, they serve to disperse traffic geographically, thereby reducing traffic
congestion and increasing the traffic capacity of the airspace.
Procedures for constructing random routes that meet obstacle clearance
requirements for IFR operations are provided in FAA Advisory Circular 90-45
[9]. Routes are defined based on charted waypoints, which are assigned five-
letter pronounceable names. Primary and secondary obstacle clearance areas
are established around the route center line. Then minimum en-route altitudes
(MEAs) are established using the obstacle clearance criteria applied to airways.
The lateral dimensions of the obstacle clearance areas depend upon the accuracy
of the navigation system used. In the case of VOR/DME, dimensions depend
upon the perpendicular distance of the facility from the route center line and
the distance along the route from that tangent point (see Figure 14.3).
14.3.3 Separation Standards

There are three dimensions of separation-lateral, longitudinal, and vertical-
and three sets of rules for ensuring that adequate separation exists-procedural,
radar, and visual. Procedural separation is based on aircraft following pre-
planned flight trajectories so that all aircraft in the region will be adequately
separated. Flight progress and adherence to flight plans are monitored by con-
ltJVORJDME
80 nmi
Primary
I'
4 nmi
~
Route t Tangent Point
Center line
~
Laslo I'
4 nmi
Holly
32 nmi 32 nmi
Figure 14.3. Primary and secondary obstacle clearance areas for an RNAV route.
trollers based on position reports received from flight crews. In the future, these
position reports may be provided by the automatic dependent surveillance func-
tion (Section 14.5.3). Lateral and longitudinal separation standards (minimums)
are based on the accuracies of the navigation systems in the aircraft. The mini-
mums are lower along routes based on VOR/DME than over oceans, where less
accurate inertial reference units (IRUs) and Omega have been the only means
for navigation until the introduction of GPS (Section 5.5) on some aircraft. For
example, aircraft procedurally separated at the same altitude and speed along
the same airway or RNAV route using VOR/DME must be spaced at least 20
nmi apart [II (Chapter 6 )]. In oceanic airspace, aircraft at the same altitude on
the same route are commonly separated by 10-min intervals that correspond to
about 80 nmi for aircraft traveling at M 0.85 at FL350. Similar results apply to
separation minimums for aircraft with crossing flight trajectories and for lateral
separation of routes and flight trajectories.
Radar separation standards depend upon the accuracy of the radar position
report displayed to the controller and hence the distance of the aircraft from
the radar ground station. In the United States, the radar separation standard is
3 nmi in terminal areas when the traffic is within 40 nmi of the radar site and
5 nmi for traffic beyond 40 nmi. In the en-route environment, it is 5 nm below
FL600 and 10 nmi above [II, Chapter 5].
Vertical separation is applied by fixed rules for IFR aircraft operating in
uncontrolled airspace and for VFR aircraft [8, Chapter 3]. For example, VFR
aircraft cruising on magnetic courses between zero and 179 deg, more than 3000
ft above the surface but below 18,000 ft MSL, fly at odd thousands (MSL) plus
500ft (e.g., at 3500 ft, 5500 ft, and 7500 ft MSL). Opposite direction VFR traf-
fic cruises I 000 ft away (e.g., at 4500 ft, 6500 ft, and 8500 ft MSL). IFR traffic
in controlled airspace operates at altitudes or flight levels assigned by ATM.
These altitudes are integer thousands of feet (e.g., 4000 ft, 12,000 ft, FL31 0)
with a I 000-ft separation minimum up to and including FL290 and a 2000-
ft separation standard above FL290. In 1988, ICAO concluded that a 1000-ft
vertical separation standard can be established worldwide between FL290 and
FL41 0 without imposing unreasonable technical requirements on aircraft. Plan-
ning was initiated at that time to implement the I 000-ft standard in heavily
traveled airspace over the North Atlantic by 1996 [21 ].
Visual separation may be applied to IFR aircraft by a controller who is in
communication with at least one of the aircraft and who can see both aircraft
and maintain visual separation or at least is advised by one of the pilots that sjhe
can see the other aircraft and accepts responsibility for maintaining visual sepa-
ration. Because visual procedures effectively reduce separation standards, they
can expedite the flow of traffic and increase both the capacity of the airspace and
the flexibility of flight operations. They are commonly used in terminal airspace,
for example, in sequencing and spacing arrivals. They have less application in
the en-route environment where aircraft relative speeds are high.
14.3.4 Terminal Instrument Procedures

When meteorological conditions permit VFR operations (i.e., visual meteoro-
logical conditions, VMC, prevail), flight crews may be able to make transitions
from en-route airspace to terminal areas and runways visually. Alternatively, a
crew may conduct an instrument approach procedure to guide the aircraft to the
runway environment while ensuring safe clearances above terrain and obsta-
cles. The runway environment consists of the runway threshold and approved
lighting aids and markings identifiable with the runway (Chapter 13). Similarly,
departures in VMC may be conducted visually. When meteorological conditions
do not permit the visibility required for VFR, instrument meteorological con-
ditions (IMC) prevail. In IMC, or when elected by the flight crew, departures
are conducted in accordance with prescribed instrument departure procedures.
Instrument procedures are designed specifically for the associated runway end,
and then charted and distributed to the user community [5, 12, 28, 36]. The
criteria for designing instrument procedures are provided by TERPS [I 0].
An instrument approach procedure describes the route the aircraft should
follow (the procedure course) and the altitudes to be flown. The route and alti-
tudes are referenced to the navigation aids supporting the procedure, which may
include VOR, VOR/DME, TACAN, VORTAC, NDB, Loran-C, IRUs, ILS, the
localizer-only portion of ILS, MLS, GNSS, precision approach radar, and air-
port surveillance radar. Radar serves as a navigation aid when a controller uses
the system to monitor the position of an aircraft relative to obstacles, terrain,
and the runway and issues heading. speed, and/or altitude instructions to guide
aircraft to the runway environment. Instrument approach procedures also state
landing minimums, which have two parts-the minimum altitude to which the
aircraft can descend without sighting elements of the runway environment and
the minimum visibility on the runway surface permitted when conducting the
procedure, e.g., visibility required to be at least I smi (Chapter 13).
The following description of a simple instrument approach procedure illus-
trates the essential considerations in their construction [5, 28]. As shown in
Figures 14.4 and 14.5, the procedure has four segments. The initial approach
------11+~
Runway
Figure 14.4. Obstacle clearance surfaces for a precision instrument approach proce-
dure.
r--------
5000 ft Secondary
area
\t ',
Transitional
surface
16,000 ft OM
Final
approach
area
Transitional
surface
--E------- Secondary
13.5 nmi area
200ft ------'7- ~
0.6 nmi
~(typical)
6.3 nmi
~-- (typical)---'7-
50,000 ft
Figure 14.5. The final approach and missed approach areas.
segment commences at the initial approach fix (IAF). In Figure 14.4, this seg-
ment derives positive course guidance from a VOR ground station. VOR system
inaccuracies, including flight technical error, require a primary obstacle clear-
ance area extending 4 nmi on each side of the course and a secondary obstacle
clearance area extending laterally 2 nmi on each side of the primary area. If
any portion of the segment is more than 51 nmi from the VOR, the obstacle
clearance areas must be expanded in accordance with the en-route VOR airway
criteria described earlier (Figure 14.2). Along the initial approach segment, the
obstacle clearance in the primary area must be at least 1000 ft. In the secondary
area, the clearance must be at least 500 ft at the inner edge tapering uniformily
to zero at the outer edge.
The intermediate segment begins at the intermediate fix (IF) and extends to
the final approach fix (FAF). For an ILS approach procedure, the IF is defined
by the intersection of the initial approach course and the localizer course.
Along the intermediate approach segment, aircraft make speed and configu-
ration changes in preparation for the final approach. The length of the segment
is between 5 and 15 nmi, and the obstacle clearance areas have the same widths
as the areas of the adjoining segments. The minimum obstacle clearance in the
primary area is 500 ft. In the secondary area, 500 ft of clearance must be pro-
vided at the inner edge tapering to zero at the outer edge.
The final approach segment shown in Figures 14.4 and 14.5 assumes a Cat-
egory I ILS installation consisting of localizer and glide-slope stations of Cate-
gory I quality and outer and inner marker beacons. (See Chapter 13 for detailed
descriptions of the ILS equipment.) The outer marker (OM) serves as the FAF
and is located at the point where an aircraft at the prescribed altitude at the end
of the intermediate approach segment intercepts the glide slope. The length of
the final approach course is dictated by the altitude prescribed at the F AF and
the glide-slope angle, which is usually 3 deg. The course generally is less than
50,000 ft long.
As shown in Figure 14.5, the width of the final approach area is I 000 ft at a
point 200 ft from the threshold and expands uniformly to a width of 16,000 ft
at a point 50,000 ft from the beginning of the area. The final approach obstacle
clearance surface is an inclined plane which originates at the runway thresh-
old elevation 975 ft down the runway from the glide-slope ground point of
intercept and overlies the final approach area. (The glide-slope ground point
of" intercept is the point on the runway center line at which the straight-line
extension of the glide slope intercepts the runway surface.) The slope of the
final approach obstacle clearance surface is a function of the glide-slope angle.
Transitional surfaces for ILS Category I are inclined planes with a slope of
7 : I extending outward and upward from the final approach obstacle clearance
surface. The final approach obstacle clearance criterion increases with distance
from the runway threshold. (Chapter 13 covers categories II and III).
Aircraft approaching the runway using an ILS procedure may descend to
the decision height without visually acquiring the runway environment. If the
runway is not acquired at the decision height, the pilot must conduct a missed
approach procedure. For Category I ILS approaches, the decision height may be
no lower than 200 ft above the touchdown zone. If obstacles protrude through
the final approach obstacle clearance surface, either the glide-slope ground point
of intercept must be moved farther down the runway until the protrusions dis-
appear, which reduces the usable length of the runway in IMC, or the deci-
sion height must be raised for adequate clearance. Raising the decision height
reduces the utility of the runway in IMC.
The final portion of the approach procedure is the missed approach segment.
It begins at the missed approach point (MAP), which is the point on the final
approach course where the height of the glide slope above the touchdown zone
equals the decision height. The inner marker (IM) generally is located near the
MAP. The missed approach segment extends to a point or fix where either initial
approach or en-route obstacle clearance is achieved. A straight missed approach
course is 15 nmi long, and the missed approach area is 8 nmi wide at the end.
PHASES OF FLIGHT 655
Obstacle clearance criteria ensure that an aircraft in the missed approach area
climbing with a gradient of at least 150 ft/nmi from the MAP will not collide
with an obstacle. In addition, obstacles may not penetrate the secondary areas
that slope upward at 12: 1 from the missed approach area.
14.3.5 Standard Instrument Departures and Arrivals

Standard instrument departures (SlDs) and standard terminal arrival routes
(STARs) are published IFR procedures for transitioning between terminal and
en-route airspace. Their purpose is to assure obstacle clearance for departing
and arriving aircraft. The tracks prescribed may extend 100 to 200 nmi from
the airport. A typical SID will show the track to be followed from the airport
referenced to appropriate radio navigation facilities and the minimum altitudes
at which the various segments may be flown [28]. The outlying track segments
may provide more than one transition path to the en-route airway structure. In
some cases, STARs terminate at initial approach fixes and approaches can be
made without vectoring. (A vector is a heading instruction issued by a controller
to provide navigation guidance, e.g., "Turn right to heading 090 degrees.")
14.4 PHASES OF FLIGHT
An aircraft transitions through a number of flight phases as it travels from the

airport surface through the terminal airspace to the en-route environment and,
finally, the destination terminal airspace and airport. Terminal airspace is the
volume of airspace generally extending from the ground to 10,000 ft MSL to
a distance of 30 or 40 nmi from the airport. Responsibility for air traffic man-
agement in this airspace is assigned to an approach control facility. There are
five principal areas of control responsibility within the approach control facil-
ity. The clearance delivery controller provides the predeparture clearance to
the pilot prior to the aircraft leaving the gate or parking area. The ground con-
troller ensures the safe and expeditious movement of the aircraft from the gate
to the runway for takeoff. Takeoff and the first few miles of the flight are under
the jurisdiction of the local controller, after which the departure controller is
responsible for the remainder of the flight leaving the terminal area. As the air-
craft approaches the destination terminal area, an approach controller assumes
responsibility for the flight. The clearance delivery, ground, and local controllers
are in the tower cab from which they visually monitor aircraft movements on
and near the airport. At major airports serviced by radar, the departure and
approach controllers are in a radar approach control facility (TRACON, for-
merly RAPCON), which is often located inside the tower building below the
cab. In 1996 in the U.S., regional TRACONS were being established to serve
many airports.
Control responsibilities are assigned geographically, and each area, or sector,
is assigned a unique VHF frequency for controller-pilot radio voice communi-
cations. The ground controller is responsible for the entire movement area of
the airport except for the runways actively in use for takeoffs and landings.
These active runways are the responsibility of the local controller, who also
has control over small arrival and departure areas off the ends of the active
runways under his/her jurisdiction. The remainder of the terminal airspace is
divided into departure and arrival sectors with a controller or controller team
assigned to each. Terminal areas are embedded in en-route ainpace, also sub-
divided into sectors. In the en-route environment, low-altitude sectors extend
from the floor of controlled airspace to 18,000 ft MSL, high-altitude sectors
extend from FL180 to FL350, and super-high-altitude sectors are established
from FL350 to FL600 [37]. In airspace surrounding major terminals, the en-
route airspace may include arrival and departure sectors that interface with ter-
minal arrival and departure sectors respectively. In the United States, en-route
airspace is managed by controllers in air route traffic control centers (Sections
14.4.4 and 14.6.2).
14.4.1 Pre-flight Planning

Prior to departure, the flight crew requires a weather briefing describing current
and forecast weather along the intended route of flight as well as at the depar-
ture, destination and alternate airports. Weather information of interest includes
ceilings, visibilities, surface winds, winds aloft, turbulence, icing conditions,
and storm activities. Information is also required regarding relevant air navi-
gation facility outages, status of relevant special use airspace, and anticipated
traffic congestion and delays. Private pilots and flight crews of business air-
craft obtain this preflight briefing information from FAA flight service stations
(FSSs) or from commercial flight planning services. Major airlines brief their
crews in dedicated flight operations centers at the origin airport. The flight crew
then develops the flight plan that states whether the operation will be IFR or
VFR and provides the aircraft identification number (e.g., N446L or Central
Airlines Flight 242); the aircraft make and model (e.g., Boeing 737-400); the
planned true airspeed and cruising altitude; the origin, destination, and alternate
airports; the planned departure time and estimated time en route; the planned
route of flight including SIDs and STARs; the fuel on board (e.g., 5 hr, 40
min); the number of people on board; the aircraft color; and the pilot's name.
The navigation equipment installed on the aircraft and the transponder capa-
bility (Section 14.5.2) are shown as well. The aircraft identification number is
used by pilots and controllers as the call sign in radio communications. The
description of the intended route of flight must be complete and unambiguous
[8].
IFR flight plans are filed with FAA through FSSs, air route traffic control
centers, towers, and commercial flight planning service providers. The FAA
reviews each of the flight plans, amends it if necessary to incorporate ATM
constraints (e.g., to route the aircraft around special use airspace), and stores
the amended flight plan until 30 minutes prior to the planned departure time. At
that time, the amended flight plan in the form of the predeparture clearance is
sent to the clearance delivery controller in the tower at the airport from which
the flight will originate. While flight plans for VFR flights are not required,
they are strongly recommended. Their principal purpose is to notify the FAA
of the flight so that search-and-rescue procedures can be initiated in the event
the aircraft is overdue at its destination.
14.4.2 Departure
Flight crews operating IFR call the clearance delivery controller on the radio
approximately 10 minutes prior to their planned taxi times. The controller issues
the predeparture clearance including the departure procedure or SID, the route
of flight and assigned altitude, the radio frequency for contacting the depar-
ture controller, and the assigned aircraft transponder code (Section 14.5 .2). The
flight crew next tunes a VHF receiver to the Automatic Terminal Information
Service (ATIS) broadcast frequency to obtain noncontrol information. including
ceiling and visibility, temperature. dew point. wind direction and velocity, the
altimeter setting, the runways in use, and any facility outages affecting airport
operations. The crew then contacts the ground controller for a taxi clearance.
The local controller clears the flight onto the departure runway, clears the air-
craft for takeoff, and, before the aircraft enters departure airspace, instructs the
crew to contact the departure controller.
FAA standard takeoff visibility minimums are I smi for aircraft having two
engines or less and 4 smi for aircraft having more than two engines. Site-
specific instrument departure procedures and ceiling/visibility minimums are
established at some airports to assist pilots in avoiding terrain and obstacles
during climb to the minimum en-route altitude (MEA). These minimums and
procedures are published in U.S. Terminal Procedures [36]. During an instru-
ment departure. aircraft are required to climb at a rate of at least 200 ft/nmi,
cross the departure end of the runway at least 35 ft above ground level, and
climb at least 400 ft above the airport elevation before turning. Based on this
performance, obstacles to be overflown must be below a clearance plane slop-
ing upward at 152 ft/nmi starting no higher than 35 ft above the departure end
of the runway. This assures obstacle clearance not less than 48 ft/nmi of flight.
Where obstacles meet the above criteria. specific IFR departure procedures are
not required. Otherwise, site-specific procedures are developed and may include
ceiling/visibility requirements to allow obstacles to be seen and avoided. climb
gradients greater than 200 ft/nmi, and/or specified turning and/or climbing
maneuvers. In extreme cases. takeoffs in IMC may not be authorized.
At airports with little traffic and no obstacles, it may be possible for the
flight crew to takeoff. climb to 400 ft on the runway heading, and then turn to
the cleared route of flight while climbing to the assigned en-route altitude. In
busy terminal areas. the parsing of airspace into sectors with separate controller
teams assigned to each and the need to segregate departure and arrival traffic
flows impose restrictions on the flight paths available to departing aircraft.
14.4.3 En Route
An aircraft is under the control of one and only one controller at any one
time. As the aircraft moves from one sector to another, control responsibil-
ity is handed off from the transferring controller to the receiving controller.
The hand-off process involves three principal functions, namely, identification
of the aircraft to be handed off, transfer of pilot communications and con-
trol responsibility to the receiving controller and verification of the aircraft's
automatic pressure altitude report. The aircraft's transponder provides altitude
reports in response to interrogations from the ground-based surveillance radar
system (Section 14.5.2), and this information is displayed to controllers (Sec-
tion 14.5.6). If the aircraft's altitude shown on the receiving controller's display
differs from the altitude reported by the pilot over the radio (based on the pilot's
altimeter reading) by more than 300 ft, the controller cannot use the data for
controlling vertical separations relative to that aircraft and will instruct the pilot
to switch off the altitude reporting capability of the transponder.
As the aircraft proceeds through en-route airspace, the responsible controller
monitors the flight to assure separation from other aircraft and from special
use airspace and to assure that the flight conforms to its flight plan as well as
applicable flow instructions. Flow instructions place limitations on the rate at
which traffic can enter saturated fixes, downstream sectors and airports. Traffic
managers issue these instructions to controllers who then adjust aircraft trajec-
tories by using vectors and speed instructions, by holding aircraft and, in some
cases, by diverting (rerouting) aircraft to ensure that the instructions are fol-
lowed. Holding is a procedure that keeps an aircraft within a specified airspace
(generally in a pattern shaped like a racetrack and referenced to a fix) while
awaiting further clearance from ATM.
Pilot-controller communications are restricted to matters related to manage-
ment and control of aircraft including controller instructions (e.g., vectors for
maintaining separations), pilot requests for local flight path modifications (e.g.,
around severe weather), and traffic advisories. Traffic advisories are issued to
flight crews to alert them to other aircraft in their immediate vicinity. The advi-
sory includes the direction in which the pilot should look to see the other air-
craft, the distance to the aircraft, the direction in which it is flying, and the
aircraft altitude and type. The flight crew is responsible to visually search for
the aircraft, to notify the controller when the traffic is in sight, and to maintain
visual separation.
Arrival metering programs have been established for some major airports.
The objective is to match the arriving traffic flow to the airport's acceptance
rate. If aircraft must be delayed, the goal is to delay them en route with speed
reductions, a strategy that is more fuel efficient than holding. Metering uses a
software program to predict the arrival flow rate and, when the rate is predicted
to exceed the acceptance rate, to assign metering fix crossing times to individual
aircraft to reduce the rate. Metering fixes are inbound fixes in en-route airspace
close to the boundary of terminal airspace. Metering fix crossing times are dis-
played to the responsible en-route controller who then issues instructions to

adjust the flight paths and speeds of individual aircraft to meet their assigned
times, usually within ±1 minute.
14.4.4 Approach and Landing

In 1996 terminal airspace is frequently organized around arrival.fixes (corner
posts), which may serve as metering fixes, at the vertices of a square (more
generally, a quadrilateral) with the airport near the center. Typically, the fixes are
30 nmi or so from the airport. Arriving IFR aircraft enter the terminal airspace at
the corner posts, while departures are routed out of the area through the sides
of the quadrilateral. Arriving and departing aircraft follow prescribed routes
and altitude profiles to and from the airport. Different routes are established
for propeller and turbojet aircraft because they operate at significantly different
speeds. This arrangement procedurally separates the traffic, thereby reducing the
likelihood of traffic conflicts and simplifying the controllers' tasks. However,
the process does not necessarily provide direct routes to and from the airport
or fuel-efficient altitudes.
The approach controller's principal task is to sequence, merge, and space the
aircraft for landing. When the leading aircraft crosses the approach end of the
runway, the following aircraft must be spaced a prescribed minimum distance
behind. The separation minima are established to protect the following aircraft
from upset due to wake turbulence generated by the leading aircraft and depend
upon the maximum takeoff weights of the aircraft involved (Table 14.1 ).
The task of establishing properly spaced landing sequences without encum-
bering aircraft operations with unnecessary vectors and speed adjustments is
demanding in heavy traffic conditions. In vectoring an aircraft off its route of
flight, a controller assumes responsibility for its navigation including clearance
from obstacles and terrain. To ensure adequate clearances, minimum vectoring
altitudes are established within terminal areas, and IFR aircraft are maintained
above these altitudes as they approach the airport.
Aircraft noise is the principal factor limiting airport capacity. At some air-
TABLE 14.1 Wake turbulence separations for landing

Leading Aircraft Category
Following aircraft
Category Small Large Heavy
Small 3 nmi 4 nmi 6 nmi
Large 3 3 5
Heavy 3 3 4
Note. Maximum takeoff weight, .1mall: <12,500 lb; larr;e: 12,500-300,000

lb; heavy: >300,000 lb.
ports, specific noise abatement routes have been defined (e.g., along rivers) to
channel the noise where relatively few people will be affected. These routes can
be complex (require a number of turns within restricted geographical areas), and
it may not be feasible to site navigation aids to support them. Hence, some of
these routes are flown with visual reference to the ground and published as
charted visual procedures.
The approach controller generally hands off traffic to the local controller
when it has been established on the final approach course. The local controller
hands off to the ground controller as the aircraft taxis off the active runway.
The flight crew's principal responsibilities during approach and landing are
to navigate the cleared route of flight, respond to controller instructions, main-
tain visual separation from other aircraft, and manage the aircraft configuration
(flaps and gear) and dynamics (speed, altitude, and rate of descent) for landing.
Entry into the terminal area may be along the STAR requested in the filed flight
plan, and the aircraft may then be cleared for an instrument, visual, or charted
visual approach, with or without vectoring for the transition. Prior to entering
the terminal airspace, the crew listens to ATIS communications for essential
information on airport and navigation aid conditions.
14.4.5 Oceanic
The ATM processes described in the preceding sections are based on controllers
having reliable, accurate radar surveillance information and nearly instanta-
neous voice communications with flight crews. With some exceptions, neither
of these conditions prevailed in oceanic airspace in 1996. Flight crews gener-
ated position reports by determining their positions using inertial reference units
having drift rates of I to 2 nmi/hr and communicated these reports to controllers
when over mandatory reporting points spaced every 500 nmi along the route of
flight. Air-to-ground communication for periodic position reporting and control
instructions in 1996 was dependent upon relatively unreliable high-frequency
(HF) voice links with contacts sometimes requiring many minutes to establish.
The consequence of the relatively inaccurate navigation, cumbersome commu-
nication, and little real-time surveillance was large separation standards that
poorly utilized the available airspace. By 1995, successful experiments had been
accomplished using air-to-ground data communication via geostationary satel-
lites for the transmission of aircraft derived position and velocity data (either
from inertial navigation systems or GPS receivers) to achieve satellite-based
automatic dependent surveillance (ADS) (Section 14.5.3). A few transoceanic
airlines had implemented the required equipment (called FANS 1) to use this
technique on a regular basis on commercial flights in 1996.
To organize traffic so that controllers can effectively ensure separation, track
systems are established in heavily traveled oceanic areas (e.g., over the North
Atlantic). A track system is a set of nearly parallel routes, each joining oceanic
gateways (fixes) on the two sides of the ocean. Some of the track systems are
flexible in that they are adjusted twice daily to provide fuel-efficient routing
SUBSYSTEMS 661
matched to prevailing wind and weather conditions (pressure pattern naviga-

tirm). Overland en-route airways carrying traffic to and from the ocean con-
nect with the oceanic routes at the gateways. The overland route segments are
within radar coverage and are used for sequencing, merging, and spacing the
traffic into oceanic airspace. Track systems, even with flexible tracks, are ineffi-
cient in terms of aircraft operations. The ultimate objective is to achieve RNAV
routing, with each aircraft following the route, speed and altitude profiles best
adapted to its operating requirements. It is expected that GNSS (Section 14.5.1
and Chapter 5), automatic dependent surveillance (Section 14.5.3) and satel-
lite communications (Section 14.5.4) will facilitate widespread use of RNAV
routing in oceanic airspace.
14.5 SUBSYSTEMS
The ATM system is a complex interconnection of communications, navigation,

surveillance, aviation weather, and automation subsystems [ 13, 39]. They inter-
act with corresponding aircraft subsystems, in some cases automatically via RF
data links and in others manually based on pilot-controller voice communica-
tions and manual data entry. In the future, automatic data link communications
will increasingly be used to reduce the work load and the potential for errors
inherent in voice communications.
The voice and data communications network that interconnects U.S. traffic
control centers, radars, etc. is operated by the FAA is second in size only to
that operated by the U.S. Department of Defense. The network carries weather
data, flight plans, facility control and maintenance information, traffic flow
management and control instructions, surveillance data, and notices to airmen
(NOTAMs) [13, 39]. A NOT AM provides current information for flight opera-
tors concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any component (facil-
ity, service, procedure, or hazard) in the system. The interfacility communica-
tions network interfaces with international ATM networks (e.g., to exchange
international flight plans) using protocols established by ICAO. It intercon-
nects with other U.S. government agencies to coordinate aircraft operations and
exchange data (e.g., weather information).
14.5.1 Navigation
In 1996, only VOR/DME and VORT AC were accepted as sole means systems
for en-route and terminal navigation under instrument flight rules. A sole means
air navigation system is a system approved for specific phases of air navigation
without the need for any other navigation system in the aircraft. A supplemental
air navigation system can be used to enhance navigation performance, but the
aircraft must also carry and use the sole means system approved for the partic-
ular phase of flight. In 1996, IRUs (Chapter 7) and Omega (Chapter 4) were
accepted internationally as sole means navigation systems over oceans and GPS
was accepted as a sole means navigation system in U.S. oceanic flight infor-
mation regions (Section 14.6.6).
In 1996, guidance for precision approaches and landings was primarily pro-
vided by ILS and MLS (Chapter 13). NDBs, localizers, VOR/DME, GPS,
VORTAC, Loran-C (Chapter 4), and IRUs (Chapter 7) are approved for non-
precision approaches to appropriate minimums. Precision and nonprecision
radar approach procedures had been established. During radar approaches,
flight path guidance instructions are transmitted to pilots by controllers moni-
toring the aircraft positions relative to prescribed approach paths. A precision
approach procedure provides the pilot both route and height (glidepath) guid-
ance to the decision height. A nonprecision approach procedure provides only
route guidance; the pilot controls the altitude of the aircraft based on the altime-
ter reading and the charted procedure. Decision heights are lower for precision
approaches because the height of the aircraft relative to terrain and obstructions
can be controlled more accurately.
The development of navigation systems to meet civil and military require-
ments is a subject of intensive planning among users and providers of nav-
igation services. In the United States, a principal product is the comprehen-
sive Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP) published biannually [59]. In 1996,
two major development efforts were underway, one focused on establishing and
implementing the concept of required navigation performance (RNP) and the
second focused on the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). In contrast,
the method most commonly used at that time to prescribe the minimum naviga-
tion performance required of aircraft operating in a given airspace was to require
the installation of specific equipment. These requirements were often subject to
international agreement and hence cumbersome to change. This situation con-
strained the effective application of new navigation technology and imposed
heavy work loads on standards organizations, especially ICAO, trying to keep
pace with technology improvements. Initially, the GNSS was represented by the
U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS, Section 5.5). In the future, the Russian
Global Orbiting Satellite System (GLONASS, Section 5.6) is expected to be
part of the GNSS. The emergence of the GNSS has lead to the RNP approach.
RNP is a statement of the navigation accuracy required for operation within
a defined airspace [22]. The navigation accuracy prescribed is the total system
use accuracy (Section 2.7), including ground-station or space-station equipment
errors, aircraft receiver and display errors, and flight technical errors. The RNP
concept will be applied to all phases of flight, including approach and land-
ing. Providers of air traffic services, in collaboration with airspace users, will
determine the level of navigation performance required to ensure the safety
and efficiency of flight operations in a given airspace and will specify the cor-
responding RNP. To simplify this process for airspace planners, manufacturers,
and operators, ICAO is standardizing the RNP types. In 1996, four types were
proposed, RNP 1, RNP 4, RNP 12.6, and RNP 20. The figure in each RNP type
designation is the accuracy required on a 95% probability basis. For example,
aircraft in RNP 4 airspace are required to be within 4 nmi of their intended
SUBSYSTEMS 663
positions in the horizontal plane 95% of the time. RNP 1 is expected to sup-
port operations along routes where the most accurate positioning of aircraft is
required, including transitions to and from airports and operations along par-
allel offsets. Parallel offsets are routes offset laterally from the planned route
center line by a specified distance. Operations along such offsets may be advan-
tageous for passing slower traffic, for increasing airspace capacity and/ or for
facilitating uninterrupted climbs and descents where there is conflicting traffic
on the planned route. RNP 4 corresponds to VOR navigation practices (Sec-
tion 14.3.1 ), and RNP 12.6 corresponds to the nominal capabilities of inertial
reference units on long oceanic flights. RNP 20 is the minimum capability con-
sidered acceptable to support en route traffic operations. It is the responsibility
of the aircraft operator and the associated national airworthiness authority (the
FAA in the United States) to ensure that an aircraft operating in a specified
RNP airspace is equipped to achieve the required navigation performance. It
is expected that the RNP concept will foster the effective application of new
navigation technologies as they become available.
In 1996, the civil aviation community is moving rapidly to establish
and exploit the two global navigation satellite systems, namely, GPS and
GLONASS. After GPS achieved initial operational capability in late 1993, air-
craft in the United States equipped with the approved avionics [ 15] were autho-
rized to use GPS on a supplemental basis for some phases of flight. The prin-
cipal issues in relying solely on GPS for route navigation are the availability
of the system (i.e., the percentage of the time GPS will provide a sufficiently
accurate navigation service) and the integrity of the system to provide timely
warnings of satellite or system failures. In 1996, the development of the FAA's
Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) (Section 5.7.3) was under way, with
the aim of providing the required availability, integrity and accuracy for cer-
tain flight operations, including nonprecision and Category I precision approach
(Section 13.8). In 1995, GPS augmented by local differential GPS (DGPS) cor-
rections satisfied the requirements for so-called DGPS Special (private use) Cat-
egory I approaches (Section 5.5.9). A number of issues pertain to the use of
differential GPS for Category II and III approaches, including the practicality
and cost effectiveness of augmentations to provide the necessary accuracy and
integrity (Section 13.8); however, experimental test results obtained in 1995
were extremely promising.
Separation Standards Separation standards are determined by the density and

complexity of traffic movements, the aircraft's navigation system performance
and the communication, surveillance and automation capabilities that permit
controllers to intervene in order to modify flight paths. Separation standards,
in turn, determine the amount of airspace that must be protected for each route
and aircraft. Efficient, flexible use of airspace is fostered by reduced separa-
tion standards and application of RNAV capabilities that permit operators to fly
point to point as opposed to constraining their operations to fixed routes and
airways. GNSS is expected to provide the accurate, ubiquitious RNAV capa-
bility required. The international airline community has estimated that a fully
implemented GNSS will reduce their costs by $5 billion annually.
14.5.2 Radar Surveillance

The radar surveillance subsystem provides controllers information on the three-
dimensional positions of aircraft. In ATM, two types of radar systems are used:
Primary radar (or search radar) determines target range, azimuth, and, in some
cases, elevation from the signal reflected back by the aircraft skin. The main
beam of the ground station antenna pattern is broad in elevation (e.g., 40 deg)
and narrow in azimuth (e.g., 2 deg). As the antenna rotates (scans) about its
vertical axis, pulses of radio frequency (RF) energy are transmitted, and the
signals scattered back by the surface of the aircraft are received. The target
range is determined by the round-trip time between transmission and reception
(the energy travels at the speed of light) and the azimuth is determined by the
pointing angle of the antenna main beam (Figure 14.6). Target elevation can be
determined by a second antenna pointed along the target azimuth which scans
in elevation (i.e., scans around a horizontal axis). Such height-finding radars
are not commonly used for civil aviation purposes but do find application in
the military (e.g., radars used for controlling precision approaches).
\ Target
Target report
·Range
·Azimuth
Pulse transmission
time
Figure 14.6. Primary radar.

SUBSYSTEMS 665
The advantage of primary radar is that accurate target position reports can
be generated without any participation on the part of the target aircraft. The
disadvantages are that the ground-station equipment is expensive, performance
is limited by the target size and the range, and it degrades when the transmitted
signal is reflected back by terrain or weather (clutter), obscuring returns from
aircraft, and the aircraft cannot be uniquely identified (e.g., as "Central Airlines
Flight 34"). Nonetheless, primary radar is a mature technology widely used for
ATM [57].
In the secondary radar (or beacon radar) system, the signal transmitted
from the ground-station antenna (commonly mounted on top of a primary
radar antenna) initiates the transmission of a reply signal from the transponder
(receiver/transmitter) in the aircraft. The system essentially provides two-way
air-to-ground data communications and operates in several modes [23, 38, 45,
56]. As shown in Figure 14.7, Modes A and C use simple three-pulse, pulse-
position modulated (PPM) interrogations with PI and P3 having equal ampli-
tudes. When the P 1-P3 interval is 8 f-1-Sec (Mode A interrogation), the transpon-
der replies with the aircraft identification (ACID) code; if the interval is 21
f-1-Sec (Mode C), the reply will contain the encoded altitude of the aircraft. At
short ranges, the signal strength may be sufficient to interrogate transponders
via the antenna side lobes. To avoid this situation, aircraft in the antenna side
lobes are prevented from replying through a technique called transmit side lobe
suppression. The P2 pulse of the interrogation (Figure 14.7) is transmitted on
an omnidirectional antenna at a slightly higher power density than that pro-
duced by the antenna side lobes. Transponders are designed to reply only if the
received P 1 pulse is greater than the received P 2 pulse. This condition is not
satisfied in the side lobes of the antenna. It is essential to suppress transponders
in the side lobe regions because their replies would be erroneously displayed
at the azimuth corresponding to pointing direction of the mainbeam.
The replies are also PPM signals with 13 data pulses uniformly spaced
between 2 "framing pulses" separated by 20.3 f-1-Sec. The special identification
(SPI) pulse, when present, follows the last framing pulse in Mode A replies
only. In Mode A replies, 12 of the 13 data pulses are used to communicate the
ACID code as one of 4096 possible codes. This code is assigned to each IFR
aircraft in the route clearance and is set into the transponder by the flight crew.
(VFR aircraft transmit the code "1200" to identify the aircraft as not under
ATM control.) The controller writes the assigned ACID code into the flight
plan. Ground automation equipment correlates ACID codes with flight plans
as Mode A replies are received from the surveillance site and determines the
aircraft identification (e.g., Central Airlines Flight 34) corresponding to each.
Through this process, the aircraft identification can be displayed in the data tag
associated with the aircraft position on the controller's display (Figure 14.12
and Section 14.5.6). To contact the aircraft over VHF, the controller can read
the identification directly from the display.
The SPI pulse is inserted into a Mode A reply as a result of the pilot depress-
ing the !DENT button on the transponder control panel. Ground-based automa-
0\
0\
0\
~~~
Altim~e~ Transponder
Response
Identification code
~
3563
p1p p3
0 -~ 0 0 :~, :-: :-: :-1 :-: • • • :-: 0 :-:
~~sec' 1
Mode A ~ 20.3 ~sec ---:-~1
Pressure
altitude
~12,500
Mode C
21 ~sec
0 :-: :-1 :-: ••• :-: 0
1~c::.~~ 20.3 ~sec ~1
Figure 14.7. Secondary radar Mode A and Mode C (interrogation at 1030 MHz; response at
1090 MHz).
SUBSYSTEMS 667
tion display equipment will blink the data block of an aircraft from which the
SPI pulse is being received. Controllers will ask pilots to /DENT during hand-
offs and at other times when it is necessary to quickly and unambiguously locate
aircraft on their displays.
In Mode C replies, the 12 data pulses provide the pressure altitude of the
aircraft in 100-ft increments from -1000 ft to 126,700 ft. All Mode C altitude
reports are referenced to 29.92 in. of mercury.
Mode S has been added to reduce or eliminate some of the performance lim-
itations of Modes A and C. For example, with Mode A, at some major airports
two or more aircraft with the same ACID code may be operating in the area
at the same time and the ground automation will not be able to identify these
aircraft unambiguously. In addition, when two aircraft are in the antenna main
beam simultaneously and close in range (e.g., one above the other), their replies
will overlap and obscure one another. Mode S uses more sophisticated inter-
rogation and reply modulation wave forms (Figure 14.8 and Section 14.5.4),
permitting discrete addressing of aircraft. Data blocks have 56 bits in the short
format and 112 bits in the long format. Error detection coding ensures unde-
tected message error rates of less than I in I 07 . A unique 24-bit ModeS address
is assigned to each aircraft so that aircraft can be unambiguously identified
and addressed worldwide. There are more than 16 million available Mode S
addresses with specific blocks assigned to every country by ICAO. A ground
station with Mode S capability addresses each Mode S capable transponder by
its unique address thereby establishing a private-line communications service.
By managing interrogations properly in time, the ground station can ensure that
replies do not overlap. The private-line capability of Mode S supports general-
purpose data link communications capability for which a number of applications
were under development in 1996 (Section 14.5.4). All secondary radar ground
stations and aircraft transponders are capable of operating in Modes A and C.
Where Mode S is added, Modes A and C are retained in the equipment to ensure
that the equipment can operate compatibly with equipment having only Modes
A and C.
Given a series of surveillance reports from a target aircraft, ground automa-
tion equipment estimates the target velocity over the ground by tracking the
reports. In the most elementary form, the estimated velocity vector is in the
direction joining the two most recent reports with a magnitude equal to the
distance between the reports divided by the time interval between them. U.S.
Federal Aviation Regulations require the installation of transponders with spec-
ified capabilities in various airspace regimes in order to support the ATM ser-
vices provided and to ensure safety.
14.5.3 Automatic Dependent Surveillance

As shown in Figure 14.9, automatic dependent surveillance (ADS) is a func-
tion that automatically transmits, via a data link, position data derived from the
on-board navigation system [2, 46]. The purpose of ADS is to provide real-time
PREAMBLE DATA BLOCK

3.5 !'S 16.25 OR 30.25 !'S
SYNC PHASE REVERSAL
1.25 ~"'
Pe
r---~~.~.~.~.~;~,T.~.~.~.~.~. n,~.~,r,~,T,~,~.~.~
I 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
'\.'\.'\.56 OR 112 DATA///

PHASE REVERSAL POSITIONS
DIFFERENTIAL PHASE SHIFT KEYING (DPSK) MODULATION

DATA RATE 4 Mb/s
INTERROGATION WAVEFORM
PREAMBLE
8.0 f.LS -I.._ DATA BLOCK
56 OR 112 f.LS
~~
BIT
(BIT 1(BIT 2(BIT 3(BIT 4( I N-1 (BIT N(
r·~·~·~·T·~-T·~-r·~·T•T·~·~·~-,
:1:o:1:o:1:o:1:o::: :1:o:no:
l' I I I I I
TIME (f.LS)
8.0
I
9.0
I I I II II
PULSE POSITION MODULATION (PPM)
DATA RATE 1 Mb/s
REPLY WAVEFORM
Figure 14.8. Mode S waveforms.
surveillance information to ATM authorities and aircraft operator dispatch facil-

ities. Surveillance is dependent in this technique because its operation and qual-
ity depend upon the performance of the aircraft's navigation system. Accord-
ing to the ICAO definition [24, 30], as a minimum, the ADS data includes
time of day, aircraft identification, and three-dimensional position information.
Additional information reported may include aircraft speed and direction, the
waypoints stored in the navigation system and meteorological data (static air
temperature and velocity of winds aloft). The route data, including the next
waypoint and the (next+ I) waypoint with the corresponding planned altitudes,
SUBSYSTEMS 669
Figure 14.9. ADS concept.
enable controllers to check conformance with their flight plans for the aircraft.
The interval between ADS reports can be controlled by the controller respon-
sible for the flight. Figure 14.9 depicts the use of a geostationary communication
satellite as a relay data link medium, which is typical for overocean operations.
Alternatively, over land areas, a VHF or L-band direct data link from the aircraft
can be used. In 1996, the initial application of ADS was in oceanic airspace,
with reporting intervals ranging between 30 sec and 5 min. Over land areas,
the reporting intervals are expected to range from 10 sec (or more) in en-route
airspace to 4 sec in terminal areas.
14.5.4 Air-to-Ground Data Link Communications

The performance of the ATM system is critically dependent upon the quality of
the information available within cockpits and within ATM and aircraft dispatch
and flight planning facilities. Much of the information required at any of these
sites is collected and processed elsewhere. Therefore, high capacity, reliable
air-to-ground communications capabilities are required.
In 1996, air-to-ground information exchange was accomplished largely using
VHF voice communications, but it was realized that digital data communica-
tions (data link) capability is needed to support a number of applications. The
development of this data link capability was well under way in 1996 and in
use for some applications; for example, for providing predeparture clearances
to aircraft. In the future, aeronautical information such as weather data, ATIS,
and NOTAMs will be provided on pilot displays and as printed copy in the
cockpit to reduce transmission errors and work load. As more automated ATM
processes are developed, data link will be required for exchanging flight plans
and route clearances as well as to transmit ATC instructions to the cockpit,
including altitude and VHF frequency assignments. In addition, data link will
be used to provide automatically to flight crews traffic advisories derived from
surveillance data resident in ground-based ATC centers, as well as to alert crews
when they are about to enter special use airspace or airspace such as Class B
(terminal control areas) where operations are closely regulated.
Efforts by ATM authorities to establish data link capability have been bol-
stered by complementary initiatives among the airlines focused on more effi-
cient fleet scheduling and flight and maintenance operations. Engine perfor-
mance is monitored automatically on board many aircraft with some parameters
automatically transmitted to the ground for fault detection and trend analysis.
Flight plans are sent to aircraft and stored automatically in the flight manage-
ment system (FMS) computer (Section 14.5.7), with position reports, fuel status,
estimated arrival times at waypoints, and wind and static air temperature data
sent to the ground automatically on request. Data link is a principal tool for
fostering improved safety and efficiency of flight operations.
Three data link media have been developed. VHF data link uses 25 kHz-
wide channels in the frequency band 118-136 MHz [41]. Minimum shift keying
(MSK) modulation is used to achieve data rates of 2400 bits/sec. In the future,
offset quaternary phase shift keying (OQPSK) modulation techniques may be
employed to increase the data rate to 21 kbitsjsec. A principal advantage of
VHF data link is the low cost of the ground stations and aircraft equipment.
While a large number of data channels could be accommodated within the 18
MHz assigned for air-to-ground VHF aeronautical communications, the num-
ber available in practice is limited by heavy competition from voice traffic. In
1996, the airlines employed VHF data link for company purposes worldwide,
and the FAA is using it to transmit predeparture clearances to appropriately
equipped aircraft in order to reduce the work load of tower controllers and
expedite departure operations.
By virtue of its discrete address feature, Mode S provides a wideband,
general-purpose data link capability [4 7]. Ground-station interrogations are
transmitted in a single 8 MHz-wide channel at 1030 MHz with transponder
replies provided in a 2.6 MHz-wide channel at I 090 MHz. Differential phase
shift keying (DPSK) modulation is used within interrogations to provide a
4-Mbitjsec data rate. Replies use pulse position modulation (PPM) with a
1-Mbitjsec data rate (Figure 14.8). A principal advantage of the ModeS data
link is that it is integral with the surveillance system, which permits ground
stations and transponders to efficiently support both functions. In addition, a
number of data link applications (e.g., automatic traffic advisories and airspace
SUBSYSTEMS 671
alerts) are closely related to surveillance functions, and their implementation is

therefore simplified when Mode S is used as the data link medium.
Digital data and digitized voice communications capability via satellite data
link have been implemented to service oceanic regions and continental land
areas where the establishment of ground stations is impractical [3, 25, 48, 49].
Satellite-to-aircraft communications operate in the 1.5 to 1.6 GHz frequency
band (L-band) with ground-to-satellite links operating in Ku- or C-bands. In
1996, four channel types were used, three operating in a packet-switching mode
for data and one in a circuit-switching mode for voice. For data rates between
600 and 2400 bits/sec, binary phase shift keying (BPSK) is used on the satellite-
to-aircraft link with quaternary phase shift keying (QPSK) used for data rates
from 4800 to 21,000 bitsjsec. Voice transmissions are encoded at 9600 bitsjsec.
The principal advantage of satellite-based data link is that ground stations within
line of sight of the aircraft are not required. Worldwide communications with
aircraft can be assured between 80-deg North and 80-deg South latitudes using
only three or four geostationary satellites and a like number of ground stations
servicing those satellites. In practice, a larger number of ground stations (about
10 in 1996) is used to ensure reliability and competition in the provision of
services. The principal disadvantage is that service is relatively expensive due
to the high costs of satellites in orbit and the associated ground stations and
aircraft equipment. In 1996, the principal application of satellite-based data link
was ADS and associated oceanic ATM improvements.
A communications protocol is a set of rules governing the exchange of data
between two entities (e.g., a computer and a display system or two computers).
Typically, protocols specify data formats and coding; processes for coordina-
tion, acknowledgment, and error handling; and how data are to be sequenced
and timed [55]. For air-to-ground data links, there could be a protocol devel-
oped for every cockpit entity to communicate with every ground-based entity
over each of the three available media. This approach is impractical, because
each entity would be required to implement a large number of protocols, and
every time an entity was modified or added, every connecting entity would need
to be modified to add a new protocol. One alternative is the approach selected
for packet data communications within the Aeronautical Telecommunications
Network (ATN). (See Figure 14.10). Avionics entities and ground-based enti-
ties are grouped into subnetworks connected to the three data link subnetworks
through routers, subnetwork nodes that serve as gateways. A network (or sub-
network) is a collection of nodes to which communications entities connect, the
links joining those nodes, and the protocol governing exchange of data among
the nodes (Figure 14.11). Within the ATN, the avionics subnetwork connects
the avionics entities and may operate according to a protocol peculiar to the
aircraft type or the avionics equipment (Figure 14.10). The data link subnet-
works connect any number of aircraft through avionics routers in each to any
number of ground subnetworks through ground routers. The ground subnet-
works operate in accordance with whatever protocols are best suited to their
requirements.
Flight Data Data Central

management display entry maintenance
computer processor processor computer
Avionics
subnetwork
VHF
Private ground ATM (FAA)

subnetwork subnetwork
Airline Airline Airline Weather & TFM ATC

weather maintenance scheduling NOT AM automation automation
processor processor processor processor
Figure 14.10. Aeronautical telecommunications network.
The ATN has adopted the International Organization for Standardization

(ISO) open-system interconnection (OSI) 7-layer protocol architecture [50, 55].
14.5.5 Aviation Weather

Flight crews require reliable weather information both pre-flight and in flight
for planning and decision making, and air traffic controllers need timely, accu-
rate weather data in order to aid flight crews in avoiding hazardous weather
areas. Weather products unique to aviation are needed to support these require-
ments including forecasts of icing conditions, turbulence, ceilings and visibili-
ties, winds aloft, and wind shear.
The production of weather products requires observations of existing weather
conditions, modeling to forecast future conditions, and timely distribution of
products tailored to user needs. In the United States, this is a large-scale
undertaking that involves the FAA, the National Weather Service (NWS), and
SUBSYSTEMS 673
Network
or
subnetwork
0 = Node D = Entity
Figure 14.11. Communications network.
airspace users [29, 31]. Observations are made by ground-based sensors, air-
craft sensors, flight crews in flight and space-based systems. These observations
are assimilated into FAA, NWS, and airline data bases from which products are
derived by forecasting models and filters that screen out the relevant informa-
tion for users. The long-range objective is to ensure that all aviation weather
product users are provided forecasts that are both reliable and consistent. Con-
sistency is essential for ensuring that all concerned planners and operators are
working with the same assessment of the weather situation so that their deci-
sions and plans will be consistent as well.
14.5.6 Automation and Display Subsystem

The automation and display subsystem interfaces with the air traffic con-
troller and with surveillance, weather, and communication subsystems [57]. The
surveillance subsystem provides primary and secondary radar target reports in
both analog video and digital message formats. The analog formats are used
only with the older radars that are gradually being replaced. The surveillance
subsystem also provides radar reflectivity data from weather cells. The weather
subsystem provides weather information derived from weather radars, such as
the next generation weather radar (NEXRAD) and the terminal Doppler weather
radar (TDWR), and from weather sensors, such as the low-level wind shear alert
system (LLW AS). The communication subsystem provides the voice and data
communications circuits necessary for controllers to communicate with aircraft
and with other controllers both within the local facility and at other ATM facil-
ities. Although the controller workstation configuration is somewhat different
in the en-route and terminal environments, the basic components are similar.
It consists of a situation display, a keyboard, and a trackball as well as means

for displaying flight plan data and for controlling air-to-ground and ground-to-
ground communications.
The situation display is oriented with North at the top and depicts the air
traffic situation in relation to navigation aids, fixes, obstructions, airports, and
runways (Figure 14.12). It also presents automation alerts to the controller. The
information provided includes the aircraft position symbols with the associated
flight data blocks, a list of safety alerts (i.e., minimum safe altitude warnings
and conflict alerts), and a list of arriving and departing aircraft.
In Figure 14.12, there is an aircraft on the display in the 9 o'clock position.
The data block shows that the aircraft identification (radio call sign) is N24F,
its altitude is 5000 ft, and its ground speed is 210 Kn. The position of the aircraft
System area:
Time, airport altimeter
MSAW/CA
List
Obstructions
N24F LA/CA
/ 5 0 21 DEL 476 013 LA
w ~ /// / I
I
CAL73 N24F CA
~ CA%;; I
w"' ///
I
I
I
CAL 73
502~ ~~ I
)
»;
/////////J
TUL41 ~
~E/170W27~
I
/ ///
0~f?~~
I
I
I
I
EL476 ~/////////
/01315
IL-- 4724 w ~:sA~
LJ 60
Nav Aid
(VOR) Victor
BAL 764 3472 airways
TUL 215 3726
Airport runways and Arrival/departure list:

extended center lines radio call sign,
ACID
Figure 14.12. Radar situation display data presentation.
SUBSYSTEMS 675
is at the symbol "W" at the end of the leader line from the data block. The
"W" designates the controller responsible for the aircraft, in this case, the west
controller. The blinking "CA" displayed below the data block is a conflict alert
to the controller based on the automation system's assessment that N24F and
CAL 73 may lose standard ATC separation if the controller does not intervene.
Aircraft DEL 476 in the 5 o'clock position is below the minimum safe altitude
at its location and the automation therefore has generated a low altitude alert
(a blinking "LA"). The aircraft to the southwest has only a limited data block
because the automation has no flight plan for the aircraft. The data block shows
that the aircraft's identification code (ACID) is 4724 and its altitude is 6000
ft. Its radio call sign is unknown. The data block for TUL41 at 4 o'clock is
blinking because the aircraft is in the process of being handed off from the east
controller to the west controller.
14.5.7 Airborne ATM Subsystems

Aircraft are equipped with a number of subsystems that intemperate with the
ground-based system, including voice and data link transceivers, navigation
receivers and computers, secondary surveillance radar transponders, and, in
some cases, instrumentation for sensing wind velocity, air temperature, and tur-
bulence. Increasingly, flight management systems (FMSs) are employed rou-
tinely to guide aircraft along their flight trajectories, and their full integration
with the ATM system has been a subject of intense development [19, 32, 54].
The FMS has three specific capabilities relevant to ATM [54]. It can guide
the aircraft accurately along a predetermined path defined by a sequence of
two-dimensional (latitude and longitude) or three-dimensional (adding altitude)
waypoints. The FMS also can minimize the cost of the flight by selecting opti-
mum speeds and/or altitudes along the predetermined path. The optimization is
based on a pilot-selected cost index that weights fuel cost relative to flight time
cost. When the cost of flight time is weighted heavily, the FMS will complete
the trip more quickly, burning more fuel in the process. Finally, the FMS has
a required time of arrival (or 4D navigation) capability that assures the aircraft
will arrive at selected waypoints within small time windows (e.g., within ten
seconds of the prescribed times).
Extensive data bases are resident in the FMS, as well as the current flight
plan and the wind velocities and air temperatures expected along the route of
flight. The FMS provides pitch, steering, and autothrottle commands to the
aircraft guidance systems, as well as essential flight data, including estimated
times of arrival at waypoints, fuel remaining and fuel flow, current position
and speed. and current winds. The FMS integrates the various avionic subsys-
tems, including the navigations sensors (Figure 14.13). It will automatically
tune VOR/DME receivers according to the position of the aircraft and the nav-
igation aid frequencies stored in the data base.
Data link interfaces with the FMS have been developed to allow flight data,
flight plans, ADS position reports, and wind data to be transmitted to the ground
Flight control and Electronic flight

thrust management r-- Pilot - ·Instrument system
computer (Nav Map Display)
Data storage unit Control and Nav sensors

·A/C performance model display ·IRU
~oo;t/~
;-...Javaids ·DME
·Airways ·VOR
·Airports and runways ·GPS
-Routes, SIDs, STARs FMS ·ILS
.Procedures ·MLS
/ ~
"Flight plans
'Route winds
Air data
Fuel Avionics
computer
management subnetwork
(air speed and
system (data link)
pressure altitude)
Figure 14.13. Flight management system.
and new flight plans and information requests to be sent to the aircraft. The
FMS is the airborne automation system controlling the flight path of the aircraft.
Linking its operation to ground-based ATM and airline dispatch operations has
obvious advantages. An early application was FMS-guided terminal procedures
that allowed aircraft to fly complex procedures (e.g., charted visual approaches)
in IMC, thereby providing access to runways otherwise not available. An early
application of 40 navigation capability is expected to be assigning aircraft spe-
cific times for crossing oceanic gateways into track systems so that the tracks
with the most favorable winds can be fully utilized. Future applications will
involve dynamic reclearance of aircraft on long oceanic flights to adjust flight
paths to changing wind and weather patterns. The scenario may involve the
airline dispatch automation system computing a new plan and data linking it
to the FMS where it would be checked by the flight crew. The crew would
then send the plan to ATM via the FMS. When ATM is satisfied that the plan
meets separation requirements, it would be transmitted back to the FMS where
the crew would select it to actively guide the aircraft. Similar applications are
expected in terminal airspace for metering traffic to airports and negotiating
fuel-optimal descent and approach trajectories [ 19].
FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS 677
14.6 FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS
The air traffic management services provided in the United States include traf-
fic flow management, air traffic control, and flight services. The traffic flow
management services are provided by the air traffic control system command
center (ATCSCC) in conjunction with regional (en-route) and terminal facili-
ties. ATM services are provided by air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs) at
the regional level, and by approach control facilities and airport-traffic control
towers (ATCTs) at the terminal and local levels. Flight services are provided
principally by flight service stations (FSSs). Some flight services are also pro-
vided by ARTCCs and terminal facilities.
14.6.1 National Traffic Management

In the (ATCSCC), traffic managers monitor the national flow of air traffic to
identify situations where demand may exceed capacity. This capacity /demand
imbalance is often caused by a surge in demand at peak traffic hours or by
a reduction in the capacity of a resource (e.g., an airport) due to weather or
loss of essential ATM equipment. The traffic managers are provided graphi-
cal displays of traffic as well as automation tools to predict capacity /demand
imbalances and to aid in formulating and implementing strategies to cope with
excess demand. An automation tool periodically checks the estimate of demand
on each resource (airport, sector, and fix), monitored against the capacity of the
resource to determine if any will be saturated in the near future. As soon as a
capacity /demand imbalance is predicted, the traffic manager develops a strat-
egy to prevent its occurrence or to mitigate its effects. The strategy is often
developed in coordination with the affected airlines and with the traffic man-
agement units (Section 14.6.2) and terminal facilities responsible for the air-
craft involved. The strategies commonly considered include reroutes, delaying
aircraft en route using speed adjustments or holding procedures, and holding
aircraft on the ground at the origin airports.
14.6.2 En-route Facilities

The ARTCC provides ATM services to aircraft operating under instrument
flight rules (IFR) in the en-route airspace. In 1996, there were 20 ARTCCs
in the continental United States. They received surveillance data from long-
range air route surveillance radars (ARSRs), and communicated with aircraft
through ground-based transmitter/receivers located at remote communication
air-to-ground (RCAG) sites. The ATM services provided at the ARTCC include
aircraft separation and traffic flow management. The flow management services
are provided by traffic managers in the traffic management unit (TMU) who
work closely with sector controllers and traffic managers at the ATCSCC to for-
mulate and implement traffic flow instructions. These instructions are designed
to minimize delays while ensuring that excessive levels of traffic congestion

are prevented.
The principal automation functions performed at the ARTCC include flight
plan processing, metering, weather data processing, target tracking, tactical sep-
aration assurance based on target tracks, and strategic separation assurance
based upon aircraft flight plans.
Flight Plan Processing The flight plan processing function accepts flight
plans filed by pilots through flight service stations, airline operations offices,
military base operations, or sector controllers, as well as flight plans filed in
bulk form by airlines. The flight plans are processed to produce flight progress
data for posting to all controllers (en route and terminal) within the ARTCC
airspace who will control the flight. The flight plan data are then passed to
the next ARTCC along the route of flight. In 1996, flight progress data were
presented to controllers on paper medium (i.e., as flight strips).
Metering The metering function assists traffic managers and sector controllers
in avoiding unacceptable levels of traffic congestion. Traffic managers in the
TMU run the metering program during periods of peak traffic demand or may
issue metering instructions based on their judgment and experience. The meter-
ing instructions provided to controllers may include meter fix crossing times for
specific aircraft arriving at a terminal area or in-trail spacing restrictions (e.g.,
all aircraft being handed off to a congested adjacent sector must be separated
longitudinally by 20 nmi).
Weather Processing The weather-processing function accepts real-time

weather radar reflectivity data from FAA and military surveillance and weather
radars as well as processed weather data from a number of sources. These data
are displayed on the sector controllers' plan-view situation displays so that the
controllers can route aircraft around severe weather and provide weather advi-
sories to pilots as required.
Track Processing and Tactical Automation Functions The en-route automa-

tion system tracks all aircraft from which either primary or secondary target
reports are received. The tracking process establishes a velocity vector for each
tracked aircraft. The aircraft position and velocity data are used by the tacti-
cal separation assurance functions, namely, conflict alert, Mode C intruder, and
minimum safe altitude warning (MSA W). The conflict alert function projects
aircraft positions approximately two minutes into the future and searches for
violations of separation minima between IFR aircraft (i.e., between aircraft for
which the automation system has flight plans). The Mode C intruder function
provides a similar service for IFR aircraft in relation to VFR aircraft that are
providing automatic pressure altitude reports in the Mode C replies from their
transponders. MSA W provides the controller a warning when an aircraft is pro-
jected to drop below the minimum safe altitude for the occupied airspace. Aural
FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS 679
and visual alerts are provided to the responsible controller when separation
problems are predicted.
Strategic Separation Assurance Functions Automated problem detection

(APD) and automated problem resolution (APR) are automated en-route ATC
(AERA) functions planned for implementation in the late 1990s. They generate
a four-dimensional (x, y, z, and t) trajectory for each aircraft derived from its
current position, flight plan, and aerodynamic performance characteristics. As
long as the aircraft operates within a threshold distance of this trajectory, the
trajectory reliably represents the future path of the aircraft and therefore can
be used as the basis for detecting conflicts. Based on 15- to 20-min projections
of aircraft along these trajectories, APD detects conflicts with other aircraft,
with restricted airspace and with flow instructions. APR will generate recom-
mended control instructions for resolving each conflict, taking into account all
aircraft operating in the vicinity. The responsible controller may elect to use
these instructions or to resolve the conflict in another way.
14.6.3 Terminal Facilities

Approach control facilities provide services to aircraft within the terminal
airspace delegated to the terminal facility by the parent ARTCC. The termi-
nal airspace is sectorized into arrival and departure sectors to facilitate the flow
of aircraft to and from airports.
In 1996, there were approximately 240 facilities in the United States provid-
ing approach control services. These include combined center/radar approach
controls (CERAPs), terminal radar approach controls (TRACONs), terminal
radar approach controls collocated with tower cabs (TRACABs), and military
radar approach controls (RAPCONs). Of these terminal facilities, the FAA
operated 133 small-to-medium TRACONs, 63 medium-to-large TRACONs,
and I very large TRACON (the New York TRACON). During the mid-to-
late 1990s, several large consolidated terminal facilities called Metroplex Con-
trol Facilities (MCFs) will be created by combining several TRACONs into
a single facility. Terminal area controllers communicate with aircraft through
transmitter/receiver sites known as remote transmitter/receivers (RTRs) and are
provided short-range surveillance data by airport surveillance radars (ASRs).
The principal automation functions performed at the terminal facilities include
weather processing, target tracking, and tactical separation assurance based on
target tracks (Section 14.5.6).
14.6.4 Airport Facilities

Airport ATM facilities are designated airport traffic control towers (ATCTs) or
towers for short. In 1996, there were approximately 692 ATCTs in the United
States, 419 operated by the FAA, 208 operated by the military and 65 operated
by nonfederal entities.
Towers normally have four principal positions of operation (see also Section
14.4). These are the flight data, clearance delivery, ground control, and local
control positions. The flight data position is responsible for the maintenance
of flight data (flight strips) and for updating miscellaneous tower data, includ-
ing the automatic terminal information service (ATIS). The clearance delivery
position is responsible for issuing predeparture clearances to IFR aircraft. The
clearance delivery and flight data positions are commonly combined and oper-
ated as a single position.
The ground controller is responsible for the safe movement of vehicles and
aircraft within the airport movement area, with the exception of those operat-
ing on active runways. The local controller is responsible for movements on
active runways. In 1996, local control and ground control operations were con-
ducted principally through controller visual contact with the aircraft and ground
vehicles being controlled. High-resolution primary radar is used at some major
airports for detecting aircraft and ground vehicles on the airport surface and dis-
playing this information to tower controllers. Development and testing efforts
were under way in 1996 to improve surveillance and control of the surface
using automatic dependent surveillance techniques (Section 14.5.3), based on
the use of differential GPS (Section 5.5.9) and digital data links.
The level of automation support provided in ATCTs is dependent upon the
activity level of the tower and the complexity of the air traffic operation. The
smallest towers are provided with the capability to enter flight data, print flight
strips and display environmental data. The largest towers have plan-view radar
situation displays to support approach control operations and ground surveil-
lance radars. During the late 1990s, the more complex towers will be provided
with automation tools to assist in metering departures and to reduce the risk of
aircraft collisions on the ground.
14.6.5 Flight Service Facilities

In 1996, flight services were provided in the United States by 131 flight service
stations (FSSs). These facilities receive notices to airmen (NOTAMs) from the
U.S. NOT AM system and weather products from the National Weather Service
(NWS), including weather observations at airports, winds aloft, terminal and
area forecasts, and weather warnings that describe significant meteorological
events of importance to airmen. Section 14.4 describes the principal functions
of flight service stations.
14.6.6 Oceanic Facilities

The oceanic airspace is divided into flight information regions (FIRs) under the
auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The United
States has responsibility for providing ATM services in several FIRs in the
Atlantic and Pacific oceanic regions as well as one FIR over the Gulf of Mexico.
SYSTEM CAPACITY 681
The associated oceanic control centers are colocated with en-route facilities in
New York, Oakland, Houston, Anchorage, and Honolulu.
14.7 SYSTEM CAPACITY
The demand on the ATM system continues to rise. For example, the number of
aircraft handled by U.S. air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs) is forecasted
to rise from 36.6 million operations in 1989 to 47.8 million operations by the
year 2000. This growth in air traffic will put increased pressure on all system
resources, especially the major airports.
The FAA's Aviation System Capacity Plan [16] defines the aviation capacity
problem in terms of flight delays determined by comparing actual with optimal
arrival times. In 1990, 23 U.S. major airports experienced more than 20,000
aircraft hours of flight delay. That number is expected to grow to 40 major
airports by the year 2000 if capacity improvements are not implemented.
During the course of a flight, a number of system resources are utilized,
including the departure airport taxiways and runways; terminal fixes and sec-
tors; en-route fixes, routes, and sectors; and the arrival airport. Although any
of these resources can become saturated and contribute to flight delay, histo-
rically, the departure and arrival airports are the principal contributors. Table
14.2 shows the sources of flight delays greater than 15 minutes as reported in
the 1991-92 Aviation System Capacity Plan.
The following sections discuss techniques for reducing flight delays by
reducing peak demand and increasing system capacity.
14.7.1 Reducing Peak Demand

There are a number of techniques to reduce peak demand, thereby reducing the
severity of demand/capacity imbalances. ATM authorities can delay departures
and slow down en-route traffic in order to reduce airport arrival demand during
the peak hour. Another demand management technique is to encourage smaller
aircraft to use reliever airports. In the United States, of the 40 airports fore-
TABLE 14.2 Sources of flight delays greater than 15 minutes

1988 1989 1990
Weather 70 57 53
Terminal air traffic volume 9 29 36
Center air traffic volume 12 8 2
Closed runways/taxiways 5 3 4
Equipment outages 3 2 2
Other I 3
casted to experience significant delay problems, approximately one-third have

25% or more general aviation operations. For those airports, shifting a portion
of the general aviation operations to a reliever airport would reduce delays. A
related technique is to shift demand to underutilized airports that are equipped
to handle air carrier aircraft and are within 50 mi of saturated airports. Finally,
underutilized airports can be used as connecting hub airports instead of con-
gesting major metropolitan airports with passengers who are only transferring
to other flights.
14.7.2 Increasing System Capacity

The largest capacity gainers at airports are new runways. In 1996, 62 new run-
ways or major runway extensions were planned or proposed at the top I 00
U.S. airports. The next most productive capacity enhancement is improved ter-
minal airspace procedures. In 1989, 57% of all flight delays were attributed to
adverse weather conditions. These delays are a consequence of the fact that
instrument approach procedures are more restrictive than the visual procedures
in effect during better weather conditions. Much delay could be eliminated if
the approach procedures used during IMC were more flexible.
Dependent Parallel IFR Approaches In 1996, simultaneous parallel ap-

proaches could be made in IMC to parallel runways spaced as closely as 2500
ft provided a 2 nmi diagonal separation is maintained between aircraft (Figure
14.14a). Parallel runways with dependent approach streams can accommodate
45% to 65% more arr-ivals per hour than a single runway (i.e., 44 to 50 arr-ivals
per hour as opposed to 30 arrivals per hour for a single runway).
The diagonal separation requirement makes one arrival stream dependent on
the other because it prevents a faster aircraft on one approach from passing
a slower aircraft on the adjacent approach. This dependency limits the capac-
ity benefit of the parallel runways as compared with two independent arrival
streams. In the late 1990s, technology advances and procedural improvements
may permit the reduction of the diagonal separation requirement to 1.5 nmi,
which would increase the capacity of the dependent parallels by approximately
four aircraft per hour.
Independent Parallel IFR Approaches During simultaneous independent

approaches to parallel runways, each approach course is monitored by a dedi-
cated monitor controller using a plan-view radar situation display. An aircraft
on an ILS approach is established on the final approach course prior to the
point where it intercepts the glide slope. Aircraft on parallel approaches (e.g.,
to 25L and 25R in Figure 14.14b) are separated vertically by 1000 ft prior to the
point where the higher approach path intercepts the glide slope. From this point
forward until the aircraft land, the monitor controllers ensure that the aircraft
maintain lateral separation. In particular, if an aircraft on one approach course
enters the no transgression zone shown in Figure 14.14b, the monitor controller
SYSTEM CAPACITY 683
mmn···~1l~mmmm nnmnm/+m··
2500 It min. 2 nmi (min) 2 nmi (min)
m•mn~~nL.nmmm¥ mmmmm.
a. Dependent parallel approaches
2200 It No transgression zone GSI - Glideslope

I intercept
11
mmmn~1m• mmmn+m••n•m+Gslm+
b. Independent parallel approaches
Figure 14.14. Parallel approaches.
responsible for the parallel approach course will vector away any aircraft that
is threatened by the "blundering" aircraft.
For parallel runways with center lines separated by 4300 ft or more, the stan-
dard airport surveillance radar, which has a 4.8-sec antenna scan period and uses
a conventional controller display, has been used for monitoring simultaneous
independent approaches. In 1995, a quick-scan radar called the precision run-
way monitor (PRM) was developed. Its 0.5-second scan period and its high res-
olution controller display system permit independent parallel approaches where
runway center lines are separated by 3400 ft or more.
Independent approaches provide an increase in arrival capacity of approxi-
mately 30% as compared to dependent parallel approach procedures. A decrease
in the runway center line spacing requirement through the use of new technol-
ogy and procedures provides capacity gains for airports with limited real estate
resources.
Dependent Converging IFR Approaches Independent converging approaches

arc generally permitted only when the ceiling is greater than 700 ft and the vis-
ibility is 2 smi or more. The principal aircraft separation problem arises when
both aircraft execute missed approaches. If the ceiling is above 700ft the pilots
and tower controllers can ensure separation visually. At lower ceilings, either
Final approach
course A
0 Mirrored positions
Final approach
course B
~--- d -----3'"1
Figure 14.15. Converging dependent approaches.
the approaches must be confined to a single runway or dependent approach

streams must be established. In dependent converging approach streams, the
aircraft are spaced longitudinally such that, if any two aircraft execute missed
approaches and fly over the point where the runway center lines intersect, the
aircraft will be separated longitudinally.
To aid controllers in establishing dependent converging approach streams,
the converging runway display aid (CRDA) was installed at a number of air-
ports in 1995 (Figure 14.15). CRDA displays a mirror image of each approach-
ing aircraft. As shown in Figure 14.15, the mirror image is drawn on the adja-
cent approach course at a distance from the runway intersection equal to that of
the approaching aircraft. Controllers then space aircraft from the mirror images
of aircraft on the converging course as well as from real aircraft on the same
approach course. It is estimated that capacity increases of approximately ten
arrivals per hour over single-runway arrival capacities are achievable with this
procedure.
14.8 AIRBORNE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS
Airborne collision avoidance systems are installed in aircraft to provide ground-

independent protection from midair collisions as a backup to the conventional
ATC system. Within the United States, a two-member family of equipment
called the traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) has been devel-
AIRBORNE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS 685
oped [17, 20, 26, 33, 51, 52, 61]. TCAS interrogates the secondary surveillance
radar transponders installed in proximate aircraft and processes the replies to
alert flight crews to potential conflicts. The protection provided is independent
of ground-based equipment. Hence, a TCAS-equipped aircraft receives backup
separation assurance service wherever it flies.
Figure 14.16 illustrates the conflict geometry when the aircraft velocities V 1
and V 2 are constant. V R is the relative velocity, R is the distance between aircraft
2 and aircraft I, and m is the miss distance, that is, the distance between the
aircraft at the closest point of approach (CPA). Ve is the tangential velocity of
aircraft 2 relative to aircraft 1. The time that it will take aircraft 2 to reach CPA
is T. From Figure 14.16,
( 14.1)
e· =Ve- radjsec ( 14.2)

R
and
m Ve
sin e x = - = - ( 14.3)
R VR
Combining Equations 14.2 and 14.3, and then using Equation 14.1, one obtains
( 14.4)
Figure 14.16. Conflict geometry.

where, from Figure 14.16,
(14.5)
Equation 14.4 illustrates the fact that the bearing rate iJ is zero if and only if
the aircraft are on a true collision course, m = 0.
The most widely implemented version of the TCAS family, TCAS II, inter-
rogates the transponders on nearby aircraft, tracks the replies in range and alti-
tude, and generates crew alerts if both range and relative altitude are predicted
to be small at some time within the next 40sec or so. Two types of alerts are
displayed: traffic advisories (TAs) and resolution advisories (RAs). A TA is
displayed approximately 40sec prior to CPA and shows the range, bearing, and
relative altitude of the intruder on a cockpit plan view display. If the intruder
continues to close, an RA will be displayed approximately 25sec prior to CPA.
The RA shows a vertical escape maneuver (e.g., "climb") for avoiding a colli-
sion. Two TCAS II aircraft in conflict must exchange escape maneuver inten-
tions to ensure that they are complementary (i.e., one aircraft climbs, the other
descends). TCAS II uses ModeS air-to-air data link communications to perform
the coordination function.
While TCAS II uses intruder bearing 0 in displaying T As, the angle-of-
arrival-sensing antenna is not sufficiently accurate to provide bearing rate data
for miss-distance, m, estimation. The time to CPA is estimated as tau, 7, where
R
7 = -.- sec (14.6)
-R
This estimate is accurate in the critical cases where m is small. A principal dis-
advantage of TCAS II is that a certain number of unnecessary alerts are gener-
ated because miss distance cannot be estimated. In 1995, all air carrier aircraft
with more than 30 passenger seats operating in U.S. airspace were required to
be equipped with TCAS II.
TCAS I does not display RAs. The equipment tracks proximate aircraft in
range and altitude and displays T As for intruders that satisfy tau-based collision
threat criteria. The T As aid flight crews in visually acquiring threat aircraft so
that visual separation can be maintained. By the end of 1995, TCAS I was
required to be installed in all air carrier aircraft with I 0 to 30 passenger seats
operating in U.S. airspace.
14.9 FUTURE TRENDS
Since the air traffic management system consists of a large number of sub-
systems, including communication, navigation, surveillance, automation, and
FUTURE TRENDS 687
weather service, there are a wide variety of future trends toward system
improvements. They are discussed below.
One of the most profound trends will be the wide-spread use of air-to-ground
digital data communication (versus voice) for interfacing automated, ground-
based information sources with aircraft systems and flight crews. Use of data
communication will result in more reliable and timely exchange of large quan-
tities of data. In some airspace, voice communication will be used principally
for emergency and nonroutine functions.
A second major, nearly revolutionary, trend will be the widespread use of
satellite-navigation systems, initially, GPS (Section 5.5), to provide highly accu-
rate, worldwide navigation information (position, velocity, and time) to meet
RNP requirements for all phases of flight. In 1996, GPS was authorized by
the U.S. FAA for use as a sole means system of oceanic navigation and for
Special nonprecision and (private use) Category I SCAT precision approaches.
In the future, in conjunction with the U.S. Wide Area Augmentation System
(WAAS, Section 5.7.3), it will be authorized for use as a sole means system
for terminal and en-route navigation, as well as public-use Category I precision
approach operations. With a local area augmentation system (LAAS) (Sections
5.5.9, 13.8, and 13.9), Category II and III precision approach and landing capa-
bility is likely to be provided in the more distant future. Extensive research and
flight experimentation, with very promising results, were in progress in 1996.
In some highly congested areas, such as in Europe, MLS is likely to be used for
some time in the future for providing precision approach and landing capability,
particularly for Category II and III operations.
The use of GPS will be combined with GLONASS (Section 5.6) and possi-
bly other satellite-navigation systems, to constitute a Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS), thereby achieving a worldwide navigation capability based on
at least 48 satellites. Geostationary satellites will also include a GNSS-like rang-
ing function. This will lead to very high availability, integrity, and continuity
of service characteristics and hence greater safety.
Aircraft equipped with a GNSS (initially GPS) receiver and a simple nav-
igation computer will have RNAV capability, permitting direct routes any-
where on the globe. In the more distant future, rigid airways, based on net-
works of ground-based navigation aids (e.g., VOR/DME) will become obsolete.
The flexibility of flight operations will be greatly enhanced, and ATM service
providers will discontinue operation of some ground-based navigation aids.
Another major future trend will be the combined exploitation of rapid, auto-
matic, air-to-ground digital communication and high-accuracy (e.g., GNSS)
positioning capability to provide automatic dependent surveillance (ADS, Sec-
tion 14.5.3) virtually everywhere, from oceanic airspace to the airport sur-
face. The initial implementation of ADS will be in oceanic airspace and over
remote land areas, and this will result in more cost-efficient separation stan-
dards, replacing the procedural separation methods still in use in 1996. The
use of ground-based primary and secondary radars is likely to continue for ter-
minal area surveillance for some time, but in the en-route environment it will
ultimately be replaced by ADS because of its greater accuracy and cost effec-
tiveness. Based on the successful experimentation and testing in the mid-1990s,
ADS techniques (using local differential GPS and data link) are likely to be used
for airport surface surveillance and control at major airports.
Ground-based automation to support national and local traffic flow manage-
ment, as well as the more tactical ATC process, will be implemented on a large
scale as the principal means for accommodating user-preferred flight trajectories
and ensuring that system capacity resources are fully utilized to accommodate
demand. ATM automation linked to FMS and flight dispatch automation by data
link will ensure comprehensive planning of each flight trajectory, taking the
needs of all other users into account. Four-dimensional (including time) clear-
ances will be used where necessary to ensure aircraft separations and on-time
arrivals at merge points. The FMS will guide the aircraft on fuel-optimal trajec-
tories, meeting users' schedule requirements from wheels-up to touchdown. The
traffic display capability of TCAS will be enhanced with additional informa-
tion, such as the locations and orientations of runways and the identifications
of proximate aircraft, to provide a comprehensive display of the ATM situa-
tion for the flight crew. The crew will then be able to participate more fully in
planning and decision making, including resolution of local traffic conflicts in
collaboration with the other aircraft involved.
An important future trend for air-to-air collision avoidance will be the wide-
spread mutual exchange between aircraft of their accurately known present posi-
tions, as obtained from their on-board navigation equipment, such as a GPS
receiver, to provide situation and threat information on all other aircraft in the
vicinity. This technique is another means, other than basic TCAS, of achieving a
ground-independent collision avoidance function for all participating aircraft. In
this approach, only one-way broadcasts are used, which results in much larger
communication capacities than with two-way transmissions. Also, heading and
other pertinent data can be exchanged to reduce the number of unnecessary res-
olution advisories. This approach will improve the situational awareness per-
formance of the collision avoidance system.
There is a strong trend toward development, evolution, and implementation
of the concept of free flight [53]. Free flight is a flight operations capability,
under instrument flight rules (IFR), in which the operators have the freedom
to select their flight path and speed in real time, after interaircraft communica-
tions ensure safe separation. Air traffic restrictions are only imposed to remove
a threat to safety, to preclude exceeding airport capacity and to prevent unautho-
rized flight through Special Use Airspace (SUA) [53]. The concept is intended
to greatly increase a user's operational flexibility and "self-optimization," while
achieving guaranteed safety. The major technologies that will make it possible
to accomplish these objectives are (1) efficient digital data links; (2) the global
navigation satellite systems (e.g., GPS); (3) the concept of automatic dependent
surveillance (Section 14.5.3) of continuously broadcasting (by all aircraft) the
position, velocity, and short-term intent, used in conjunction with airborne col-
lision avoidance computation equipment; (4) improved displays in the aircraft
PROBLEMS 689
and at ATC centers to provide good situational awareness; and (5) revised air
traffic procedures that capitalize on these newly available capabilities. Incre-
mental evolution and implementation of free flight is likely to progress in the
near term and continue for the foreseeable future.
The major overall theme for the future of ATM will be information fusion,
providing to each user and provider of services an accurate, comprehensive
awareness of the ATM situation, wherein automation systems perform the rou-
tine command, control, and guidance functions. Benefits will include increased
safety and efficiency of flight operations worldwide, full utilization of system
capacity resources, and reduced costs of ATM services. These new capabilities
and the associated benefits will emerge first in oceanic airspace where exist-
ing ATM services have been rudimentary, the aircraft fleet is generally well
equipped, and the operators are highly motivated to achieve fuel savings.
PROBLEMS
14.1. From the material in Section 14.8, show that miss distance can be
expressed in terms of intruder range, range rate, and bearing rate as
iJR2
1n = ----,---~--
[R2 + (RfJ)l]I/2
14.2. It is proposed to use a TCAS antenna capable of measuring the angle

of arrival (()) of the intruder's transponder reply and to trac~ these mea-
surements in time to derive an estimate of bearing rate (8). The miss
distance would then be estimated from the equation derived in Problem
14.1. Show that bearing rate estimation errors would need to be less than
a few tenths of a degree per second. In particular, show that iJ = 0.90
degjsec for m = 1.0 nmi, V R = 300 kn, and T = 25 sec.
14.3. In Figure 14.16, it is easy to show that
T
T = ----o-- and
COS2 a
Hence T is always greater than or equal to the true time to CPA, T, and
T increases relative to T as mjV R increases. Plot T versus T for V R = 300
kn and m = 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 nmi. Show that for these parameters a
TCAS II that requires a T less than 20 sec as a condition for displaying
an RA:
(a) Will not display an RA for m = 1.0 or 1.5 nmi.
(b) Will display an RA for m = 0.5 nm approximately 18 sec prior to
CPA.
(c) Would be able to inhibit the unnecessary alert for the intruder with
m = 0.5 nmi if it could reliably detect bearing rates of 1.0 degjsec
or so.
14.4. Queuing theory can be used to model airport capacities and arrival delays.
For example, the operation of a runway can be regarded as a server that
lands aircraft. The time interval between the aircraft crossing the thresh-
old and the aircraft exiting the runway (the service time) can be modeled
as an exponential probability density function (pdf) with a mean of I/ fl.
sec per landing operation. Aircraft arrivals can also be modeled as an
exponential pdf with a mean of I jx sec between arrivals. If the runway
(server) is busy when an aircraft arrives, the aircraft must wait for the
preceding aircraft to exit the runway before it can land. From queuing
theory, the average number of aircraft waiting to land would be
- p2
n=--
1-p
where
X
p =- <l
fl.
The mean time required to service a landing (1/tJ.) is typically 50 sec, and
the ultimate capacity of a runway might therefore be taken as 72 arrivals
per hour. Graph n and show that for p = 0.62, on average every aircraft
must wait to land (n = I) and a practical arrival capacity might be taken
as x = 0.62f.J. or 45 aircraft per hour.
14.5. For the conditions described in Problem 14.4, the average value and stan-
dard deviation of the delay time experienced by each aircraft is
-d - -I ( -P- )
fl. I- P
and
[p(2- p)]l/2
tJ.Cl - p)
respectively. Graph these equations. Does 45 arrivals per hour still appear
to be a practical arrival capacity for a single runway?
15 Avionics Interfaces
15.1 INTRODUCTION
Interfaces are an integral part of any avionics navigation system. There is no

value in a navigation system that can determine the position of its host vehicle
if that position cannot be made known to the host and other avionics elements
through some type of a signal interface. However, interfaces between the air-
craft navigation system and the rest of the vehicle extend beyond the signal
interface, commonly a data bus, to include displays for the flight crew and the
maintenance crew, the power system, packaging and mounting, and a suitable
operating environment.
15.2 DATA BUSES

Data buses are the cornerstone of modern integrated avionics systems. They are
the principal means by which information is exchanged among the navigation
and other systems. Data buses are the paths by which the necessary inputs are
received by a system or subsystem to perform its process(es) and the paths by
which the outputs from the process(es) are sent to users.
Data buses fall into one of two broad categories: simplex (one way) with a
single transmitter and multiple receivers, and duplex (two way) with multiple
transmitters and receivers. Also, there are at least two possible transmission
media, wire or optical cable. Other important features of data buses are bus
control, bit rate, and word and message structure.
For military aircraft the principal data bus is the MIL-STD-1553, Digital
Time Division Command/Response Multiplex Data Bus. This bus is used on
many types of military aircraft including the F-15, F-22, and C-17. It is also
being installed in older aircraft as part of retrofitting upgraded avionics, and
even in some ground military equipment such as the U.S. Bradley Fighting
Vehicle.
There can be three types of terminals on a MIL-STD-1553 bus: the bus con-
troller, a remote terminal, and the bus monitor. As the name implies, the bus
controller manages all activity on the bus. It directs a designated remote termi-
nal to transmit a message back to the bus controller or to another designated
remote terminal. A remote terminal is the interface between the bus and the
remote terminal's host system or subsystem. It can be a separate line replace-
able unit (LRU) or embedded in its host. The bus monitor, if used, records all
692 AVIONICS INTERFACES
(or a designated subset of) messages on the bus. However, in most production
systems, the bus monitor is not used. Figure 15.1 shows a quadruple-redundant
MIL-STD-1553 data bus.
The smallest unit of exchange on a data bus is a word. In MIL-STD-1553 a
word is 20 bit times long. MIL-STD-1553 operates at one megabit per second
which means each bit is one microsecond long. The first three bit times are
used for synchronization and the last bit is used for parity check (odd parity).
MIL-STD-1553 uses Manchester coding which means that every bit has a mid-
bit transition. For a logical I, the signal starts at a positive or high state and
transitions at midbit to a negative or low state. For a logical 0, the signal starts
at a negative or low state and transitions at midbit to a positive or high state.
Figure 15.2 shows the three types of words found on a 1553 bus, namely,
command, status, and data. A command word, shown in Figure 15.2a, is always
the first word in any message and can be transmitted only by the bus controller.
Note that the synchronization code is a positive 14 bit time followed by a neg-
ative 14 bit time. Details on the significance of each bit can be found in MIL
Standard 1553 [5].
MIL-Standard 1553 describes ten ways that words can be assembled into
messages. There are six command/response formats and four broadcast for-
mats. The appropriate message format is determined by the bus controller.
Command/response formats require confirmation of receipt of a message
by the designated addressee remote terminal. Broadcast message formats do
not require confirmation of receipt and therefore cannot guarantee that the
address(es) received the message. Because of this lack of a guarantee broadcast
message formats have never been approved for use in U.S. AirForce applica-
tions.
Bus
Monitor
•••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••.••••••••.••.•••••• ' •••1•• • l ...: ....... .

. . . I I
· - - ~ - r - - - - - ---:- T - --- - - -- - ~ -~- - ·- - - - - -
: I : I : d
-:-~-~-- -:-~-~-----...I~--
. I . I : I
I I I I I I : I I I
Bus Remote Subsystem
Controller Terminal with Embedded
Remote Terminal
I I I I
Subsystem(s)
Figure 15.1 Quadruple redundant MIL-STD-1553 data bus.

DATA BUSES 693
Co~;~nd ~..-q---t---+-----+1---tl-----+------11----ll
SyLn-c~----R-em
__o_re--~T-/R~-S-ub_a_d_d-re_s_s_/-+--0-a_t_a_W_o_r_d--L-P~
Terminal Mode Count/
Address Mode Code
Status L-CJ--+---I----------1--------------------------Ij---ll
Word 1'-----L----.t____-----L......l
Sync Remote Status Field (See MIL-STD-1553) P
Terminal
Address
~~~c==Jr--~--~------------------------------------,l-41
Sync MSB Data P
T/R =Transmit/Receive; P = Parity

Figure 15.2 MIL-STD-1553 word types.
MIL-STD-1553, as the pioneer avionics data bus, demonstrated the advan-

tages of data buses and whetted the appetite of the avionics designers for even
higher capacity. Consequently, buses such as the high-speed data bus (HSDB)
and the NATO STANAG 3910 are used in advanced fighters such as the
F-22 and the Eurofighter 2000, respectively. The HSDB can operate at up to
50 Mbitsjsec over either wire or optical media. STANAG 3910 is a hybrid bus
design in which a MIL-STD-1553 bus controls a higher-speed (20 Mbitjsec)
optical bus.
To counter the escalating electromagnetic interference (EMI) hazard in air-
craft built primarily of composite material, MIL-STD-1773 has been developed
to apply fiber-optic technology to aircraft data buses. Additionally, fiber-optic
data buses intrinsically have enormous bandwidth, hundreds of times larger than
that of MIL-STD-1553. MIL-STD-1773 is very similar to 1553, except for using
the optical media. In fact, 1773 makes extensive reference to 1553 for details
on word structure, and so on. Furthermore, because of the rapidly improving
performance of optical bus components, 1773 defers to the specification for the
system in which the bus is being used for detailed performance requirements
for the optical components.
ARINC 429 [21 is the proven data bus for civil transport application and
also has limited military application where civil products are being adapted
to military use, such as the engines on the U.S. Air Force C-17. ARINC 429
is a one-way broadcast bus with a single transmitter and up to 20 receivers.
When compared to MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429 is very slow, having a capacity
of only 12 to 14.5 kbps or I 00 kbps, depending on the application. Despite
these limitations, ARINC 429 is very popular on commercial transport aircraft
because it is very easy to certify; that is, it is straightforward to establish the

effects of the bus off-nominal performance or failure condition and to design
the system to tolerate the condition.
Civil avionics bus technology has continued to advance and has led to the
development of the ARINC 629 multi-transmitter data bus as the cornerstone
of the B-777 aircraft. This bus incorporates many of the features of MIL-STD-
1553 words but avoids the use of a bus controller, considered by civil aviation
authorities to be the weak link in 1553 operation. In the case of ARINC 629,
each terminal acts autonomously to transmit when, and only when, three timing
conditions (one of which is unique to a given terminal) are met, and receives
only those messages that have the specified labels. These transmit timing con-
ditions are stored in an easily updatable "transmit personality" PROM, and the
list of words to be recorded from the bus are stored in a "receive personality"
PROM.
As noted in Section 15.1, every airborne system requires extensive inte-
gration to accomplish its function, and this integration is often accomplished
through data buses. However, integration inexorably leads to the issue of data
latency, since no information can be instantaneously sensed, transmitted, pro-
cessed, and used. Data latency can be defined as the time from when a quantity
or condition is sensed until the quantity or condition is available in suitable
form to the ultimate user. Common examples of where data latency is an issue
include data fusion from multiples sources such as digital maps and radar or
infrared images, and feedback of sensor and state information in navigation,
flight control and fire control systems. 1
Precisely quantifying data latency is a very difficult problem. Estimates can
be made based upon an understanding of sensor and bus characteristics, such
as data transmission and frame rates. However, the only method to accurately
determine the data latency is to assemble an actual system, complete with rep-
resentative connectors, cable lengths, interfaces, and signal conditioners and
converters and to make the appropriate measurements. Since there is no way to
completely eliminate data latency, one method often used to compensate for it
is to compute the probable value of a parameter at the time it is used and/or dis-
played, based on the most recent measured value and the trend in the measured
values.
15.3 CREW DISPLAYS
The single most important interface in any manned aircraft is that between the
aircraft and the crew. This interface takes the form of cockpit displays and
1As an example, FAA Advisory Circular 25-11 Transport Category Airplane Electronic Display
Systems, requires that there be no more than 0.1-sec latency in displaying aircraft attitude
information on cockpit electronic displays. Also it is important to note that typical subsonic
large aircraft velocities are over 600 ft/sec, which can generate substantial data latency issues
in precision navigation systems.
CREW DISPLAYS 695
controls (and test and maintenance panels.) Since crew error has historically
played a major role in most aircraft accidents, the cockpit must be designed to
be user friendly and to ensure error-free operation, especially under high work
load and emergency conditions.
Electronic displays dominate the cockpit of modern aircraft, although there
are still many electromechanical displays in use, in some cases as backup to the
electronic displays. Electronic displays offer substantial increases in reliability
and virtually unconstrained flexibility relative to electromechanical displays. 2
The principal electronic display device is a cathode-ray tube (CRT). However,
flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD) devices are rapidly capturing more of
the market since, when compared to CRTs, they require less power and depth
behind the instrument panel, have improved sun light readability, and are intrin-
sically digitally compatible.
Table 15.1 compares the performance of CRT displays on the Douglas MD-
II to LCD displays on the Boeing B-777. Note the reductions in power and
weight for the LCD displays and the improved reliability, measured in mean
time between failures (MTBF).
Figure 15.3a is a picture of the Boeing B-777 cockpit. From left to right on
the instrument panel are the Captain's primary flight display (PFD) and naviga-
tion display (ND), the engine indicator, the crew alerting system (EICAS), and
the first officer's ND and PFD. Below the EICAS display is the multi-function
display (MFD). Because of the intrinsic flexibility of electronic displays, the
B-777 can be dispatched with one display inoperative since the MFD is not
required and the information normally displayed on the other five displays can
be redistributed automatically by the symbol generators to the five remaining
operating displays. Furthermore, all six display units are identical. Any display
unit will operate in any position on the instrument panel, since the information
displayed on it is determined by the display generators and the display unit
connector pin arrangement.
Figures l5.3b and c are close-up views of the PFD and ND, respectively.
TABLE 15.1 Comparison of MD-11 CRT displays to B-777

LCD displays
Characteristic MD-II CRT B-777 LCD
Viewable area (in.) 6.5X 6.5 6.7 X 6.7

Power (w) 160 90
Weight (!b) 35 19.5
Volume (in. 3 ) 896 (8 X 8 X 14) 624 (8 X 8 X 9.75)
Reliability (MTBF, hr) 8500 11765
2
0ne av10mcs manufacturer has developed a drop-in replaceable LCD horizontal situation
indicator (HSI) for the United States Air Force F-15 that is lighter and I 00 times more reliable
than the original electromechanical design.
Figure 15.3a Boeing B-777 cockpit (councsy of the Boeing Company).
The PFD contains fi ve basic display format s. In the center is the attitude display
that is dominated by the aircraft symbol. the pitch ladder. and the roll sca le. ILS
localizer and glide-slope guidance clots arc below and to the right of the attitude
display, respecti vely. On the left is the airspeed tape with a di gi tal readout of
the airspeed visibl e in the window. Across the top in the three windows arc
the navi gation modes currently engaged. T he abbrev iations in the three upper
windows stand for SPD --- speed: LN AY _c lateral navigation, and VNAV PTH
'- vertical navigation path following. On the right is the altitude tape with a
digital readout of the altitude visible in the window. To the right of the altitude
display is an instantaneous vertical speed indi cator. At the bottom is a segment
of a compass rose showing the curre nt magnetic headi ng. The ND is dom inated
by the compass arc across the top. Also near the top are arrival time and distance
to go to the next waypoint. (In the case shown the aircraft is over the LACR E
waypoint (() nm i) at 1434 Z.) Near the bottom of the ND is a tri ang le that
represents the aircraft ("ow nship.. ).
In addition to the conventi onal electron ic di splays described above that arc
mounted in the in strument panel. two other types of cockpit electron ic d isplays
arc the head-up di splay (HUD) and the helmet-mounted di splay (HMD), fre-
quentl y used on military aircraft. A HUD, which is essentiall y a transpare nt
display, is mounted in the cockpit above the instrument panel in the pil ot's (or
CREW DISPLAYS 697
Figure 15.3b Closeup view of the Boeing B-777 primary flight display (courtesy of
the Boeing Company).
first officer 's) field of view when looking outside straight ahead. HUDs display
a limited subset of aircraft, system, and/or target information or a synthetic
or enhanced image of the outside scene. Obviously, the amount and format
of information displayed on a HUD must be very carefully selected to avoid
obscuring the outside scene and confusing the crew members. HUDs are rel-
atively difficult to install, since they consume a lot of valuable space in the
cockpit and must be precisely aligned to ensure the displayed information is true
relative to the outside scene. A typical modern HUD will have a 24° high x 30°
wide field of view and approximately 90% transmittance of the outside scene. A
helmet-mounted display (HMO) is a compact, lightweight display installed on a
helmet that projects into the wearer's field of view critical aircraft, system, and
target information regardless of the direction in which the wearer is looking.
Thus, it has a significant advantage over a HUD in military high-performance
aircraft where the pilot must often look other than straight ahead while still
maintaining control of the aircraft. It is essential that HMDs be very lightweight
and carefully mounted for wearer comfort and to avoid neck injury in the case
of high-acceleration maneuvers or ejection. To correlate the display with the
Figure 15.3c Closeup view of the Boeing B-777 navigation di sp lay (courtesy of th e
Boeing Company).
outside sce ne , the HMO host aircraft must have a helmet tracke r to determine
the direction the helmet is pointing at any time.
Modern civil transport aircraft are often equipped with a flight-management
computer (FMC). typically part of the flight-manage ment system (FMS), which
optimizes the performance and/ or flight path of the aircraft in terms of some
parameter such as fli g ht time or fu e l cost. (Chapter 14.5.7). The most common
interface betwee n the crew and the FMC is a control display unit (CDU) like
the one for a MD-II shown in Figure 15.4. In addition to the alphanumeric
keyboard . there are special-purpose keys that support the llight-planning and
management processes. There are typically three C DU s in the a isl e stand of the
cockpit, one each for the captain and first officer in the front of the aisle stand ,
and one at the rear of the aisle stand intended primarily for use by maintenance
personnel to operate the on-board maintenance system. This third CDU also is
a backup to the other two.
The B-777 aircraft uses a touchpad cursor control for interacting with some
of the displays. Immediate ly be low each llight crew CDU is a touchpad that can
be used to control a cursor on either the CDU display screen or the electronic
library system if in stall ed .
I
CREW DISPLAYS 699
ADDITIONAL PAGE
LIGHT SENSOR AVAILABLE
El 1R
El 2R
LINE
SELECT
3L
DISPLAY
El 3R LINE
SELECT
KEYS 4L El 4R KEYS
E3 SR
6L EJ El 6R
VERTICAL
FUNCTION AND SLEWING
MODE KEYS AVAILABLE
BRIGHT
ADJUST
ANNUNCIATORS ANNUNCIATORS
NUMERIC KEYS ALPHA KEYS
Figure 15.4 MD-II Control display unit (courtesy of the McDonnell-Douglas Corpo-
ration).
Another medium for cockpit/crew interfaces is speech. Speech-interactive

systems are of two basic types: synthetic and recognition. Synthetic speech sys-
tems have been used for many years to provide aural warnings to the crew such
as "Glide slope, glide slope," and more recently for the traffic alerting and col-
lision avoidance system (TCAS), "Traffic, traffic" (Section 14.8).
Speech is another option for the crew to control the aircraft, particularly
under high work load conditions; however, so far it has found only limited
application. The major challenge in using speech as a crew /aircraft interface
is the same as that in many other speech-interface applications, which is word
recognition. Speech systems with a large vocabulary capability are user depen-
dent, which means that the system must be calibrated for each individual user
through the generation and use of a pronunciation template. Where speed recog-
nition systems have been tested in aircraft the correct recognition rate is only
about in the mid-90% during straight and level flight. In a high-acceleration

flight conditions, the rate drops to less than 80%, which is clearly not accept--
able.
15.4 POWER
Power is the lifeblood of any avionics system. Historically, avionics designers

have always assumed that electrical power would be available in the quality
and quantity needed. However, as the performance of electronic devices has
improved and avionics are being used in flight critical applications, power has
taken on new importance. 3
The principal document guiding the design of military aviation power sys-
tems is MIL-STD-704 Aircraft Electrical Power Characteristics. This standard
levies requirements on the power quality as delivered to the connectors on the
avionics equipment. A portion of these requirements is summarized in Table
15.2, along with equivalent requirements from D0-160, Environmental Condi-
tions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment, the standard for civil avia-
tion power. Civil avionics power requirements are very similar to those for mil-
itary avionics, as shown in Table 15.2. D0-160 presents power quality require-
ments for avionics and describes the laboratory test facilities and procedures for
verifying the operation (or survival) of the avionics when energized by power
of the stated quality. Like the military power systems, a major driver for civil
power systems is continuous availability of power for flight critical functions.
15.5 MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is a major factor in avionics life cycle costs, since much of the
life-cycle cost is incurred as maintenance cost after the avionics has entered
service. Maintenance costs are driven in large part by the amount of attention
maintenance receives early in the design stage. The key drivers in maintenance
are well designed built-in test (BIT) of the line replaceable unit (LRU, com-
monly called a black box) or line replaceable modules (LRMs); clearly written
maintenance manuals; easy-to-use maintenance aids, and accessibility, both to
replace the LRU and internal to it.
BIT is always a major concern in avionics, since approximately one-half
of the avionics LRUs removed from an aircraft that are thought to be faulty
are in fact not faulty. A common way of stating this situation is that the mean
time between unscheduled removals (MTBUR) is approximately 50% of the
mean time between failure (MTBF). One avionics manufacturer has stated a
goal of increasing MTBUR to 90% of MTBF for some of the B-777 avionics.
3 In the X-29 aircraft a loss of power for more than 0.2 sec will result in an unrecoverable attitude
requiring immediate ejection by the pilot.
PHYSICAL INTERFACE 701
TABLE 15.2 MIL-STD-704 and D0-160 aircraft power characteristics

Voltage MIL-STD-704 D0-160
ac voltage (volts)
Normal 108.0-118.0 104.0-122.0 A, E, za
Over- and undervoltage 100.0-125.0 97.0-134.0
Emergency 108.0-118.0 (steady state) NA
ac frequency (Hertz)
Normal 393-407 380-420 A, E, Z
Abnormal 375-425 (Same as normal)
Emergency 360-440 (steady state) 350-440 A, E, Z
de voltage (volts)
Normal 22.0-29.0 (28.0 normal) 22.0-29.5 (27.5 nominal) A, Z
24.8-30.3 (27.5 nominal) B
Over- and undervoltage 20.0-31.5 20.5-32.2 A. Z
22.0-32.2 B
Emergency 18.0-29.0 (steady state) 18.0 A, Z; 20.0 B
Starting 12.0-29.0 (steady state) 10.0 for 15
"Refers to equipment categories described in D0-160 as follows: category A- mainly ac power with de from
transformer/rectifier units, mtegory B ~ solely de power with a large battery on the bus, category E = soley
ae power, category Z = mainly ac power with de from variable speed generators.
Maintenance costs are nearly the same for a LRU removal from service that
later checks out to be operational, as for a LRU removal from service that is
truly faulty. This is so because of the additional testing that a good LRU must
undergo to determine that it is, in fact, good. As a typical design goal, BIT
should be able to detect 98% of all possible faults in an LRU and identify 95%
of them. Also, the BIT function should be able to test itself.
Another major consideration is who will be performing the maintenance and
where it will be performed. The general lack of well-experienced maintenance
personnel, coupled with the frequent need to get the aircraft back into the air
as quickly as possible, dictate that maintenance procedures and equipment be
easy to use. The availability of notebook computers with large memory capacity
and reasonably large displays has led to advanced portable maintenance aids
that significantly reduce the troubleshooting time and the unscheduled removals
discussed earlier.
15.6 PHYSICAL INTERFACE
Packaging of the avionics is another type of "interface" with the host aircraft.
Most modern avionics is packaged in accordance with widely used packaging
standards. In commercial transport aircraft and some business jets, the avionics
LRUs are designed in compliance with the ARINC 600 Air Transport Avionics
r--outlet Area ----j
Top
1
~
!1---:L-----~l
1--!-- 1.97 in .• 2 places
Connector Area
1 ~
j Re~~
Front
Holddowns Side
~------------------~
~---12.76 in.-----+!
1.15 in. (max.), 2 places

t-4.5 in. j-4.5 in.
Bottom
(MCU 5
through
MCU 12)
Figure 15.5 ARINC 600 line replaceable unit.
Equipment Interface. ARINC 600 establishes standards for the LRU dimen-
sions, cooling air, and connector and tiedown placement. Figure 15.5 shows an
ARINC 600 LRU. For any ARINC 600 LRU, the height and depth are con-
stant, 7.64 and 12.75 in., respectively, but the width can vary from 25 to 256
mm in increments of 33.0 mm, depending on the number of printed circuit
boards inside.
Military avionics is packaged in a much larger variety of nonstandard LRU
designs. The principal approach to standardized packaging for military avionics
is the standard electronics module specified in MIL-M-28787 Modules, Standard
Electronic, General Specification for. There are several optional sizes described
in that specification; however, the one most often selected is size E. Hence, there
are frequent references to SEM-E modules in military avionics publications.
SEM-E modules have a standard height of 6.68 in. and span (depth when viewed
from the front) of 5.88 in. The width (thickness) can range from 0.38 to 0.58
in., in 0.1-in. increments.
FUTURE TRENDS 703
Cooling the avionics is often a major issue, since conventional wisdom holds
that the lower the operating temperature of the avionics, the lower is the failure
rate, or, conversely, the longer is the MTBF. 4 For a cooling air inlet tempera-
ture of 30°, ARINC 600 requires a flow rate of 136 kg/hr/kw; for 40°C inlet
air, the flow rate climbs to 200 kg/hr/kw, where kw is the amount of power
being dissipated by the LRU. Another requirement in ARINC 600 is that the
equipment must operate for up to 90 minutes without cooling air. 5 As a pos-
sible indicator of future practice, the B-777 aircraft will use passive cooling,
in which the entire avionics bay is cooled and the ambient bay air cools the
modules using natural convection flow through air gaps between the modules.
Military avionics is often cooled by the metal rail that grips the printed circuit
board card when it is installed in the module. The rail is actively cooled by cir-
culating fluid through it. Also under consideration for advanced military avion-
ics high-power-dissipation cards is the immersion of the entire card directly
into a liquid coolant.
Another critical interface with the host aircraft is the mounting alignment of
certain types of avionics such as navigation sensors, radio-navigation antennas,
radar antennas, and other sensor apertures. Alignment is also critical for HUDs
and HMDs, which were discussed earlier in this chapter.
One concern in the realm of physical interfaces is electromagnetic interfer-
ence (EMI). Modern digital avionics is especially susceptible to EMI because of
the higher processor speeds, smaller element sizes on the electronic chips, and
the increasing loss of shielding as composite materials replace metals. Because
of the complex interaction of electromagnetic fields with the aircraft metallic
structure and wiring, EMI effects are difficult to model and predict, although
progress is being made using finite element methods in programs operating on
high-speed computers. Consequently, many adverse EMI effects are not discov-
ered until the avionics is installed on the host aircraft.
15.7 FUTURE TRENDS
The present trend toward increased integrated avionics and automated cockpits
is expected to continue, driven by even higher-speed microprocessors and data
buses. Over the next decade, more aircraft functions will be allocated to the
avionics, including additional flight critical ones. The avionics will be packaged
in modules that fit into a cabinet that provides cooling air, a backplane data bus,
4 Some reliability experts doubt the validity of the assumption that higher temperatures, at least
within the operating temperature range of most avionics, lead to higher failure rates. They believe
instead that the failure rate is coupled to the number of onjoff cycles an electronic component or
device experiences.
5
This requirement is driven by the typical airline route structure, which dictates that an aircraft
should be capable of being dispatched with an inoperative cooling system for up to a 11-hr flight
from a remote "spoke" or feeder airport with limited or no-maintenance capability to an airport
where the cooling system can be repaired.
power, and EMI protection. Fault tolerance will become a major design feature
of avionics to ensure error-free operation for long periods. Enhanced vision
systems will be the cornerstone of enhanced situation awareness, leading to
safer operations in low-visibility and crepuscular (e.g., twilight) conditions.
In the longer term, distributed avionics architectures may develop in which
there will be multiple identical avionics cabinets distributed throughout the air-
craft, each of which will be capable of performing all functions, including cen-
tralized ones such as maintenance monitoring and recording.
PROBLEMS
15.1. Discuss the advantages of fiber-optic data buses over wire data buses.
15.2. Why is it necessary to determine the data latency for a given data bus
configuration?
15.3. State the advantages of liquid crystal displays over cathode-ray tube dis-
plays.
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CHAPTER 12
[I] Kayton, M., and W. R. Fried. Avionics Navigation Systems. New York: Wiley,
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[2) Pitman, G. R. Inertial Guidance. New York: Wiley, 1962.
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CHAPTER 13
[I] Kelly, R. J., and J. M. Davis. Required navigation performance (RNP) for pre-
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[2] Directorate of All Weather Operations. National Air Traffic Service (U.K.). Inter-
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[4] The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), headquartered in Mon-
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Convention on International Civil Aviation that promulgate standards and rec-
ommended practices (SARPs) to ensure ground/air avionics interoperability. In
addition a large number of manuals and other documents provide guidance on
implementing and operating most aspects of the civil aviation infrastructure:
(a) Annex 10, Aeronautical Telecommunications, vol. 1, 4th ed., April 1985
(b) Annex 14, Aerodromes, 8th ed., March 1983
(c) Doc 9365, Manual of All Weather Operations, Second. Ed., 1991
(d) Operational requirements for a new non-visual precision approach and landing
guidance system for international civil aviation, Report of the 7th Air Navigation
Conference, 1974
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1994
(g) Proposed Operational Requirements for Advanced Surface Movement Guid-
ance & Control Systems (A-SMGCS), European Air Navigation Planning Group,
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[5] Federal Aviation Administration: Washington, D.C.
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(b) Advisory Circular 120-28c, Criteria for Approval of Category Ill Landing
Weather Minima, March 1984
(c) Advisory Circular 20-57 A, Automatic Landing Systems, January 1971
(d) Handbook 8260.3B, United States Standard for Terminal Instrument Proce-
dures (TERPS), 3d ed., July 1976, reprinted August 1993.
(e) Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), current edition
(f) GPS Implementation Plan for Air Navigation and Landing, August 1994.
(g) Order 6750.54, Electronic Installation and Instructions for Instrument Land-
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[8] AIAA/ION Guidance and Control Conference Proceedings, August 1965:
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(b) J. R. Utterstrom and R. E. Kestek. The Boeing-Bendix precision approach
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Radio, Inc., Annapolis, MD, May 1991.
[42 J RTCA, Inc. Report rif Special Committee 159 on Minimum Aviation System Per-
formance Standards (MASPs) for Global Positioning System (CPS). D0-202.
RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. Current edition.
[43] RTCA, Inc. Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Airborne Supple-
mental Navigation Equipment Using Global Positioning System (CPS). D0-208.
RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. Current edition.
[44] RTCA, Inc. Task Force Report on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)
Transition and Implementation Strategy. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036.
September 1992.
[45] RTCA, Inc. Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Air Traffic Control
Radar Beacon System/ Mode Select (ATCRBS/ Mode S) Airborne Equipment. DO-
ISlA. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. Current edition.
[46] RTCA, Inc. Minimum Operational Performance Standard for Airborne Automatic
Dependent Surveillance (ADS). D0-212. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036.
Current edition.
(47] RTCA, Inc. Minimum Operational Performance Standard for Mode S Airborne
Data Link Processor. D0-203. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. Current edi-
tion.
[48] RTCA, Inc. Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Aeronautical
Mobile Satellite Services (AMSS). D0-210. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036.
Current edition.
[49] RTCA, Inc. Guidance mz Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service (AMSS) End-to-
End System Performance. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. To be published.
f50] RTCA, Inc. Design Guidelines and Recommended Standards to Support Open
Systems Interconnection for Aeronautical Mobile Digital Communications. D0-
205. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. Current edition.
[51] RTCA, Inc. Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Traffic Alert and
Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II) Airborne Equipment. D0-185, Vol I and
II. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. Current edition.
REFERENCES 739
[52] RTCA, Inc. Minimum Operational Performance Standards for an Active Traffic
Alert and Collision Avoidance System I (Active TCAS I) for Revenue Passenger
Operations. D0-197 A. RTCA, Inc., Washington, DC 20036. Current edition.
[53] RTCA, Inc., Final report of RTCA Task Force 3 Free .flight implementation, Octo-
ber 26, 1995.
[54] Sorensen, J., et al. Opportunities for integrating the aircraft FMS with the future
air traffic management system. 37th Annual Air Traffic Control Association Con-
ference Proceedings. Air Traffic Control Association, Inc., Arlington, VA 22201.
November 1992.
[55] Stallings, W. Data and Computer Communications. New York: Macmillian, 1988.
[56] Stevens, M. C. Secondary Surveillance Radar. Boston: Artech House, 1988.
[57] Stone, M. L., and J. R. Anderson. Advances in Primary Radar. Lincoln Labo-
ratory Journal vol. 2, no. 3 (special issue on ATC). Lincoln Laboratory, Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology, Lexington, MA 02173-91108. Fall 1989.
[58] Unisys Corporation. Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS IIA) System
Description. Unisys Corporation, Paoli, PA 19301. May 1987.
[59] U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Defense. Federal
Radionavigation Plan. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA
22161. Published in even-numbered years.
[60] Van Sickle, N. D. Modern Airmanship. Tab Books, Inc., Blue Ridge Summit,
PA. Current edition.
[61] Williamson, T., and N. Spencer. Development and operation of the Traffic Alert
and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). Proceedings r!f the IEEE, vo!. 77, no.
II (special issue on ATC). November 1989.
CHAPTER 15
[ 1] U.S. Department of the Navy. Advanced avionics architecture and technology
review. Final report. U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command, August 1993.
[2] Aeronautical Radio, Inc. ARINC 429 Digital Information Tramfer System.
Annapolis, MD. 1993.
[3] Spitzer, C. R. Digital Avionics Systems, 2d ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993.
[4] RTCA, Inc. D0-160 Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne
Equipment. Washington, DC, 1989.
[5] MIL-STD-1553 Digital Time Division Command/Response Multiplex Bus,
September 1986.
[6] MIL-STD-704 Aircraft Electrical Power Characteristics, May 1991.
INDEX
Use this index in conjunction with the Table of Contents. Acronyms are defined in ital-
ics. Listings are under the noun except where an expression is commonly used, in which
case the listing is under the adjective (e.g., Kalman filter or multisensor navigation).
When navigation is the noun, the listing is under the adjective or the navaid. Some
expressions are listed only under the acronym (e.g., FIR, FANS, AGC). Page numbers
lead the reader to the vicinity of the topic in the book but not necessarily to all pages
on which the expression occurs.
A-6, 530. 538 ACLS, automatic carrier landing S\'stem. 633

A-200, 60:1 Acoustic:
AAMP microprocessor, 24 7 air data, 417
Aberration. image. :166, 587 gyroscope. 348
Aborted landing, see Bolter: Missed approach target detector, 6
Aborted takeoff. 7 Acquisition:
Absolute position: GPS code. 216
defined, I, I I 4, 283 Loran, 151
Absorption, see Atmosphere radar target, 505
Absorption ratio, I 0 I star, 574
A/C aircraft A/D, analog-digital
Acceleration: Ada. 51,539
deck heave, 63 I Adaptive control. see Filter
effect on gyro drift rate, 34:1 ADC. see Analog-digital converter
effect on oscillators. 233 ADC, air-data computer, 409-41 l
GPS limit, 248 Adcock loop. I 19
inertial equations, 365 ff ADDS!. Army data distribution S\'stem inter(i1cc,
VG correction, 434-436 31 I
See also Accelerometer; Vibration AD F. airborne direction finder. 117
Accelerometer: ADIZ, Air Def('nse ldemification Zone
bias estimation, 87 ADS, see Automatic dependent surveillance
cross-coupling, 320, 323 Advisory Circulars. see FAA,
description, 3 I 7-324 AE, antenna electronics, 245
electrolytic level, 429 AEEC. Airline Electronic Engineering Committee
error model, 323-324 AERA. automated en-route ATC. 679
flexure pivot. 317.319-321 Aeronautical Radio, Inc .. see ARINC
flight control, 324 Aeronautical Telecommunications Network, 671
floated. 320 AerosoLs, 419
hysteresis. 32 I AFCS. automatic .flight control system
gravity level. 428-429 Ati'ica, 167
micromachined, 32 I-322 AFSCF, Air Force Satellite Control Facilit\', US,
multiaxis. 321 20R
pendulum, 3 I 9 AGC. uutonl{/tic gain control, 231, 247, :107
PJGA. 323 AGL, ahove ground level
pulse-rebalance, 326 AGR. air-to-gmwul rwzging, 504
rectification in. 323 AH. alert height. 599
tNing, 324 AH-1 helicopter, 417
thermal effects, 323 AH-64D helicopter, 415
vibrating beam, 322 AHRS, attitude and heading reference .1ystem:
vibration effects. 320 complex dg/vg, 426. 430. 433-436
Accident rate, autoland, 597-598 with Doppler radar, 450
Accuracy. sec Error with GPS, 347
ACID. aircraft identification mde, 665, 675 gyroscopes for, 325

742 INDEX
AHRS, attitude and heading reference system Air traffic management, 642 ff
(cont'd) advisory, 658, 6 70, 686
with magnetic compass, 443 alert, 686
with navcom, 14 blocks, 12
simple inertial, 389 China, 13
AIM, Airman:, Inj{mnation Manual, 645 display, 673-675
Air, properties, see Atmosphere; Ionosphere; oceanic, 12, 13, 660-661
Troposphere; Weather positive control, 12, 645
Airbus HUD, 637 procedural, 13
Air carrier, 3, 96, 656, 676 radar, 12, 664-667
Air Carrier Operating Certificate, 644 railroad precedent, 13
Aircraft, types, 3-7, 659 Russia, 12-13
Aircraft carrier: undeveloped areas, I 3
alignment. INS, 377 vs. on-board, 675-676
deck dimensions, 630-631 See also Airport; Airspace; Capacity; Landing;
deck motion, 631 Mode-C; Separation
operations, 631-632 Airway:
optical landing aid, 633-634 area navigation, 42-43
landing systems, 630 ff dimensions, 646-649
Tacan, 633, 636 jet route, 646
Air data: low altitude, 646
boom, 395 steering, 41-42
computer, 409-411 US structure, 646-649
distributed ports, 421 Victor, 646
helicopter, 413 ff AJ, anti-jam, 230. See also Jamming
history, 400 ALA-52, 497
hypersonic, 421 Alarm:
optical, 418 ff limit, 266
smart probes, 424 navaid integrity, II
system, 393 tf radar. false, 540
Air Force, see United States star selection, 583
Airport: Alaska, 152
capacity, 681 Aliasing, 24 7
control tower, 655 Alert:
cornerpost tix, 659 conflict, 678
ILS installation, 608, 618 flag, GPS, 221
lighting, 600--{)0 I, 651 height, 599
reliever, 681 limit, GNSS, 263, 266
sensitive area, 620 TCAS, 684
surface detection radar, 604 Alford loop, 123-124
surface navigation, 9, 605, 638 Alignment, 317 ff
surface reflection, 619 avionics, 703
surveillance radar, 664-667, 683 azimuth, 86
traffic control, 642 ff directional gyro, 446
See also Approach; Departure; Ground control; coarse, 382
Runway fine, 383
Airspace: gyrocompassing, 384 ff
capacity, 681 maneuver-match, 388
Class A and B, 645 memory, 381
controlled, 644-645 numerical example, 392
oceanic control area, 680-681 optical, 381
organization of, 645-646 preflight. 592
positive control, 645 runway, 381
special use, 646 stellar-inertial. 560, 592-593
terminal controL 645, 655 transfer, 380-388, 446
uncontrolled. 645-646 vertical gyro, 446
US airway system, 646-649 Sec also Calibration
See also Air traffic management Allan variance, 190-192, 208
Airspeed: Allied Signal, 497
calibrated, 397, 406-407 Almanac:
damping of INS. 6 7-68 GLONASS, 251
during carrier landing, 631 GPS, 220, 224-22."i
equivalent, 397 star, 5."i6
"hold," 15 Alpheratz, 571, 573
indicated, 397 Altimeter:
Mach calculation, 405 haro-inertial. 297, 3 75
true, 407, 418 barometric, II. 644
INDEX 743
for approach, 600 focused, 516-517

for traffic control. 644 glide slope, 616--617
in celestial navigator, 575 GPS airborne, 238, 245
GPS-inertial, 86 GPS ground, 208
inertial, 374 GPS requirements, 230
Mode-C, 665-6Cl7 GPS satellite, 204
pressure, 394, 396 isotropic radiator, I 0 I
radar, 494-498 Janus, 454
radar landing, 599, 606 leakage, 465, 493
setting, 405, 644 localizer, 613-614
terrain-matching, 37, 491 location for GPS pseudolite, 278
Altitude: log periodic, 613
astronomical, 556 loop, 117-119
ATM display, 658 Loran transmitter, 147
bam-inertial, 375 marker beacon, 121
density, 404 mechanically scanned, 622
indicated, 644 MLS airborne, 626
inertial, 374 MLS ground, 622-623
hole, radar, 481 monopulsc, 483, 511, 525, 538
pressure, 394, 644 near field, 463
star (angular), 556 nulls, 110
See also Minimum altitude Omega airborne, 169
Altitude rate, air data, 407 Omega ground station, 156
Ambiguity, navaid, II, 115 phase center, 511
Amplifier: principles, 99-103
low noise, 232, 493 pscudolite, 278
TWT, 546 radar altimeter, 492
AN/x, U.S. military designation, see x radiated power, I 02
Analog-digital converters: SAR pattern, 513
accelerometer, 320 SAR radar, 512
air data, 402 scanned array 546-54 7
frequency-to-digital. 486-487 sense, 118-119
GPS, 246-247 slotted array, 480
radar, 507. 516. 548 SPN-46, 635
Anchorage, 681 Tacan, 134
Anemometer: transponder, 665
early flight, 19 wave-guide glide slope, 616
rotating, 414 See also Aperture; Beam configuration; Centroid;
Aneroid, see Altimeter; Barometric Polarization
Angle of attack: See also each navaid
defined. 30, 399 ff Antenna placement:
landing, 603 aircraft, 4
probe, 395 aircraft carrier, 632
Angle of sideslip, 399 ff Antenna, stabilized:
Aniso-inertia, 343 horizontally, 134. 459, 474, 636
Anomaly: track-stabilized, 457, 459
magnetic, 437 Anti-jam, 230, See also Jamming
orbital, 187 Anti-spoofing, 198, 304
Antarctic, 503 AOC, auxiliary output chip, 248
Antenna: AOR, Atlantic Ocean Region, 270
Adcock, 119 APD, automated problem detection, 679
aperture, I 0 I Aperture:
array. GPS. 204 antenna, I 0 I
ATM radar, 665 effective area, I 0 I
beam shaping. 483, 5 13 SAR, 517
body-fixed, 456-457, 474 telescope, 565
bore.sight. 515-516 APN-81, 490
controlled reception pattern, 230 APN- 154, 634
dipole, 99 ff APt-.<-194, 493
directivity, I 0 I APN-202. 634
DME airborne, 131 Apogee, satellite, 186
drift-stabilized, 459 Apollo, 450
electronic scan, 528, 546-547 Approach:
elevation pattern. 507 alarm, II
end-fire glide slope. 617 back course, 613
farm, 4 controller, 655
fixed radiation pattern, 215 converging. 683-684
744 INDEX
Approach (cont'd) Artiticial horizon, II

coupled, 609 A-S, llllii-spoofing, 198, 235, 248
crab angle, 603 Ascension Island, 208
description, 8 ASDE, airport surface detection radar, 604
fix, 8 ASF, additional secondary phase factor, Loran, 143
front course, 613 ASN-157, 490
GPS. 202, 251, 628-630 ASR, airport surveillance radar. 679
ground-controlled. 613, 636 Astrocompass, 446
initial, 652-653 Astrodome, 3
instrument, 65 2 ATC, air-trqffic control, 642 ff
landing, 600-601 ATCSCC, air traffic comrol system command
missed, 9, 599 center, 677
navaids allowed, 652 ATCT, airport traffic control tower, 677, 679
non-precisinn, 8, 600, 662 ATE. automatic test equipme/11, see Testing
paralleL 682-683 ATIS, automatic terminal i1~{ormation service, 657,
radar, 662 660, 670, 680
mutes, 659 Atlantic Ocean, 13, 152, 270, 651, 680
segments, 652-654 AT\1, air-traffic management, 642
sink rate, 600 Atmosphere:
terminal area, 6 absorption, I09
terminal VOR. 646 attenuation in fog, I 09
visual, 65 I attenuation in rain. I 09
See also Approach; Precision; Landing; \1isscd background light, 568-572
approach; PAR density, 397, 404
Approach. precision, 600-607 ground wave, I 04-106
GPS, 235 radio noise, I 05
procedures, 654, 659-660. 662 refraction, L-band, 298
See also Category of landing: ILS: PAR refraction, optical, 35, 578
APQ, availahle position quality, 299 sky wave, I 06-108
APR, automoted prohlem resolution, 679 specific heat ratio. 397
Apsides of orbit. 186 standard. aerodynamic, 397, 644
Architecwrc. system: standard. refraction, 196
air data, 41 2 turbulence, 513. 578
avionics, 17-18 See also Ionosphere; Troposphere
central, 18, 94, 283, 489 ATN, Aeronautical Telecommunications Network
decentralized, 93-94. 283 671
distributed, 412 ATR, Austin-Trumbull mdio rack
federated, 93-94 Attitude:
Arctic navigation, 13. 503 "hold." 15
Area navigation. see RNAV inertial, 31:1-316
Argentina, I :12 integration, 349
Aries, :153. 576 vertical gyro, 431-434
ARII\C, Aeronalltical Radio Inc.· Augmentatinn, GPS. 268 tf
air data, 725 Australia, 158. 197. 621
characteristics, 19 Autocorrelation. see Correlation; Noise
DME, 628 Automatic dependent surveillance, I, 13, 650, 660,
Doppler radar, 730 667-669, 687
GPS receiver, 235, 7 II, 736 Autnfocus, SAR. 520
ILS receiver, 608, 619, 736 Autoland, 605 ff
inertial navigator, 364, 724 Automation:
marker beacon. 619 AT\1, 608, 673-675
MLS, 621, 736 cockpit, 17
multimode receiver, 638 navaid, II
navigation. 705, 707 See also Fault tolerance and each navaid
software. 5 I Autonomy, navaid. 9
See also each navaid Autopilot, see Flight control
ARINC-429 data bus, 693 Autothrottle, 599, 675
air data, 409 AV-8, 245, 636
GPS, 234 Availability:
ARINC-600, 702 ATM. 663
ARINC-629 data bus, 694 GNSS, 262-263
air data, 409, 413 GPS, 202-20:1. 663
Army, see United States landing, 629
Arrival, see Approach Loran, 144
ARSR, air route surveillance radar, 677 navaids, II, 115
ARTCC, air rowe tmffic control center, 677-678. W AAS, 273-274
681 See also Reliability; SA
INDEX 745
Aviation: riding. 2
air carrier, 3, 96, 656 See also Doppler radar; Radar: Airborne
general, 3, 682 Beam width:
Aviation System Capacity Plan, 681 Doppler, 460 ff, 476
Avionics: ILS, 609-610,612,617
architecture, 18 :\IlLS, 623, 625
bay, 3-5 radar, 504
described. 15-16, 115, 691 ll radar altimeter, 492
interfaces, 691 ff Bearing:
military, 16 to autopilot, 21
partitioning, 18 computation, 38-40
subsystems, 16 illustration, 30
See also Packaging measurement of, 32
AWACS airborne warning and conrml system 290 relative, 39
Azimuth: Bearing, gyro, 344
calculation of, 34, 281-282 Beaufort scale, 475
from direction cosines, 385 Bellamy, J .C.. 12
free, 371 Bends. ILS, see Multipath
MLS scan, 621-625 Bessel sidebands, 466-467
radar, 506, 508, 558 Betelgeuse, 585
SAR, 513 ff Bias:
star calculation. 556 accelerometer, 323, 559, 561
wander, 29. 366, 370-373 clock, 83
See also Heading Doppler radar, 65, 462, 489, 559, 561
gyro, 65, 87, 341, 345, 579
B-1, 284, 450, 530 mini, 385
B-2, 551 radar velocity. 528
B-52. 450 star sensor, 59!-592
B-58, 551 Bins, range, 515, 519 ff
Back azimuth, MLS, 621 BIT, built-in resr:
Back-course, ILS, 613 air data, 411, 423
Background light, see Atmmphcre LRU, 700-701
Backscattering: radar, 456. 504, 549
coefficient. 474-475 See also Failure detection; Fault tolerance;
Doppler radar. 452 ff Monitor
mapping radar, 507 BITE. built-in tesr equipmenr, sec BIT
Ball-bank indicator, II, 400 Black Sea, 17 5
Bandwidth: Blanking, Loran, 140
air data, 402 BLEU, Blind Landing Experimemal Unir. UK, 605
antenna, 475 Blinking. Loran, 139, 145
data bus, 693 Block:
Doppler. 475 air traffic control, 12
GPS-IF. 236 strapdown instrument, 356-35X
GPS P-code. 216 Blunder:
Omega, 169 navigation error, 48
radar altimeter, 493 parallel approaches, 683
Band, see Frequency bands Boeing aircraft:
Barn-inertial, 374-375 air data, 402, 412
Bm·omcter, see Altimeter cooling, 703
Barometric correction, 405 data bus, 694
Baseband, 216 displays, 695-697
Baseline, Loran, !53 display photos, 696
Batteries, 18 HUD, 637
Beacon: landing systems, 605
ATC radar. 665-667 MLS. 626
carrier landing, 634 MTBF. 700
DME, 131-133 Bogue, R.K .. 421
fan, 121-122 Bolter, 633. See also Missed approach
four-course. II Boltzmann's constant, 4 73
lighted. II Bomber. 5
non-directional, 13, 120-121, 662 Bombing, radar, 503
radar mode, 503 Boresight:
Tacan, 133 telescope. 563, 590
See also Interrogator: Marker beacon; See also Antenna
Tramponder Boundary layer, 578
Beam: BPSK, binary phase-shiji keying, 213, 278,671
pencil, 533, 538 Brazil, 152
746 INDEX
Bridge, compensation, 399 data link, 671

Bubble level, 429 microwave landing: 621, 671
Bubble sextant, 3, 557 radar altimeter, 492
Buffalo International Airport, USA, 616 weather radar, 542
Bug, cursor, 50 CBT, computer-based trainer, 20, 52
Built-in test, see BIT ceo, charge-coupled device, 553, 572-573, 596
Burble, 631 CCITT, International Consultive Committee for
Burnout protection, 245 Telephone and Telegraph, 311
CD!, course-deviation indicator, 609
c, speed of light, 101, 223 See also VDI
C, computer language, 51 COMA, code-division multiple access, 214, 257
C-17, 691, 693 CD/ROM, compact disc read-only memory, 21, 50,
C-130, 626 51
C/ A, coarse/acquisition 198 CDU, control-di.1play unit, 698
Cables, carrier landing, 631 Ceiling, 597, 683. See also Visibility
CADC, central air data computer, 409 Ceilometer, 599
Caging, gyro, 440 Celestial navigation, 552 ff
Calibration: block diagram, 5 80
accelerometer, 324 calibration, 592-593
air data system, 408-409, 422-423 focal plane processing, 573
Doppler radar, 462, 481 history, 551-552
in flight, 68, 423, 593 manual, 2, 551
focal-plane array. 592 Moon, 586
GPS, 210 moving observer, 557
gyro, 358 offset gimbal, 581
inertial instruments, 358 stabilized, 578-579,
Loran grid, 146 strapdown, 64, 563, 581-583
magnetic compass, 444 See also Star; Telescope
mapping radar, 529 Cells:
overwater, 483 PVU, 524
radar PVU, 5 26 resolution, 508
ROM, 345, 409 SAR, 518
stellar-inertial, 590 ff Center:
See also Error; Kalman filter ATC/ ATM, 661 ff
Cams, mechanical: CSOC, 208
air data, 393 See also ARTCC
magvar, 438 Centralized, see Architecture
Canada, 12, 152, 167 Centrifuge, 324
Capacity: Centroid:
ATC system, 663, 677, 681-684 discriminant, 5 36
DME, 127-128 Doppler beam, 453, 456
radio navaids, 11, 116 Doppler spectrum, 462
PLRS, 309 optical, 574
RNAV, 649 radar target, 5 34
runway, 690 TF/TA, 535
Tacan, 136 CEP, circle of equal probability, also called circular
terminal, 651 error probable, 47, 561
Capricornus, 585 CERAP, Center/Radar Approach Control, 679
Capture effect ILS, 610 Certifrcation, US, 9, 253
Cardioid, 119-120, 122 Cesium clock, 204
Cargo aircraft, 6 CFAR, constant false-alarm rate, 540
Carrier, see Aircraft carrier Chaika, see Chayka
Carrier-phase tracking, 249 tf, 629 Chain:
Cartridge, data entry device, 21 Chayka, 173
Caspian Sea, 175 Decca, 171
Cassegrain telescope, 565 Loran, 139
Catalog, see Star Changeover point, 646
Catadioptric, 564 Chart:
CATC, carrier air traffic control. 631 airlines, 50, 52
Category of landing: .. for air traffic control, 642
Cat I, 8, 272, 663, 677, 681-684 airways, 647
Cat 11, 599. 687 analog, 50
c~ Ill, s, 252, 663, 687 approach plate, 9
Cat IIIC, 599, 605 departure, 8, 16, 49
See also Airport; !LS; Landing digital. 16, 49-50
Cathode ray tube display, 695 display, 211
C-band, 4-7 GHz en-route example, 647
INDEX 747
instrument, 49 Codes:
Lambert, 28 CjA, 214
Mercator, 16 Gold, 214
radar strip map, 5 16 forward error correcting, 271
SAR, 509-5 I 0 GPS spectrum, 216
terrain matching, 37-38 GPS tracking, 241
UTM, 28 P-, 216
visual, 49 PRN, 213-218
Chayka, 173-176 transponder, 657
Checkpoint, see Waypoint See also Spread-spectrum
China: Coherent:
enroute navigation, 13 Doppler radar, 464
Loran coverage, 152, 176 processing interval 540
Chip: video, 512
GPS processing, 240 Collision-avoidance:
See also EPROM; GaAs; MMIC; RAM; ROM; subsystem. 16
PROM; Spread-spectrum taxiway, 9
Chipping rate, 214, 2 I 6, 302 TCAS, 684-686, 688
Chronometer, 57 5 See also Separation
Cicada, 178 Colorado Springs, USA, 208
Circular error, see CEP Comanche helicopter, 414
CIS, Confederation of Independent States: Combat, see Military
air traffic control, 12-13 Communication, air-ground:
Chayka, 152, 173-176 ATM, 645, 658
en-route navigation, 13 aircraft carrier, 634-635
GLONASS, 178, 257-262 civil, 119
helicopters, 414 differential GPS, 250
magnetic field, 437 differential Omega, 167
Tsikada, 178 digital, 670, 687
Clearance: HF, 660
air traffic, 645 integrated with navigation, 283 ff
delivery, 655, 657-680 JTIDS. 284 ff
obstacle, 648, 653 military, 119
Clearance signal, ILS, 609-610 Mode-S, 667
CLOC, central oscillator control, 307 oceanic. 660
Clock: PLRS, 311
air-data computer, 409 satellite, I 5, 670
atomic, 204 subsystem, I 5
drift, 190 traffic control, 669-6 72
error model, 82-83, 184 Communication, interfacility:
GPS, 190-192, 204, 208 ATM, 661
JTIDS synchronized, 284, 286 ff, 298 ionospheric, 108
Loran. 146 Communication-navigation system:
ofbet. 13, 35, 168, 184 en-route, 8
Omega, 164-165, 168 nodal, 284
one-way ranging error, 36 nodelcss, 283
stability, 32, 168. 190-192 post GPS, 279, 390
synchronization, 36 satellite, 8, 9, 15
time-difference error, 36 terrestrial, 283 ff
See also each navaid: Oscillator; Time definition; See also Inmar.sat: JTIDS; PLRS;
Time measurement WAAS
Clock correction: Community, navigation:
DGPS, 250 JTIDS, 288
GLONASS, 262 PLRS, 300
GPS, 222-224 Commutativity, 349
JTIDS drift, 286 Compass:
passive synchronization. 287 astro, 446
relativistic, 227 gyro, 436
Clouds, see Weather radiomagnctic, 426
CLR. !LS clearance signal, 609-610 See also Magnetic compass
CMC-2012, 490 Compensation:
CNES, Centre National des Etudes Spatia/e.\·, 202 air data, 402 ff
Coarse/acquisition code, 198 antenna stabilization, 134
Coast Guard. see USCG GPS frequency, 194
Cockpit workload, 530. See also Controb; magnetic, 438
Displays meatball, 634
Coder, GPS, 240, 247 vertical gyroscope, 434
748 INDEX
Compensation (cont'd) Coriolis acceleration:

See also Calibration; Errors; Kalman filter: defined, 368 ff
Motion compensation inertial error, 61
Compression. see Pulse in vertical gyro, 435
Computer: Corner post. 659
air data, 409-411 Correlation:
analog, 400, 438 codeless, 198
architecture, 412-413 coefficient, 45
centralized, 18 Doppler. 462, 477
decentralized, I X GPS, 214, 216, 277
distributed, 412 GPS code, 240
federated, 93-96 loss. 217
iteration rate, 353. 411, 539 stellar inertial, 561-5()2
microprocessor, 24 7 terrain-matching, 37
parallel. 540 See also Covariance matrix; Spread-spectrum
See also each navaid Correlation distance, 146
Conductivity, see Earth Correlation time, Doppler, 462, 477
Cone of silence, 120 Correlator, 240, 24 7, 5 16
Confidence, see Quality COSPAS, Russian acronym for search and rescue
Configuration control, software, 5 I satellite, 16
Conflict, ATC: Cost:
alert, 678 tlying time, 675
prediction, 679 GNSS. 664
TCAS, 685 G PS user charges, 15
Conical scan, 634 inertial navigator, 313
Coning. 353. 358-359 military avionics, 16
Conning, I radar, 503-504
Constellation: tradeoffs. 8
GLONASS, 262 see each navaid
GPS, 200 Counterpoise, II 0-111, 125
star, 584 Course-line computation:
Continuity, 263 block diagram, 22
Continuous wave Doppler, 465-472 description, 38-41
Control area, see Airspace Covariance matrix:
Controller: defined. 374-375
hand, 18 information, 564
human ATC, 655 FF system error. 46
Controls: See also Error; Kalman filter
cockpit, 17 Coverage, geographic:
fly-by-wire. 18 Chayka, 174
subsystem, 18 gaps, 3
See also Display, Cockpit: Flight control GPS, 200-204. 273
Control segment, GPS, 179. 207 Loran, 152
Control tower, 14 navaids, I I 5
CONUS, collfinental United States, 202. 252, 269. tradeoff,. II
273 CPA, closest point of approach, 685
Converging runway display aid, 684 CPE, circular probable error, see CEP
Convolutional code. 213-218 CP!, coherent processing inten•al, 540
Cooling, .1ee Temperature CPU, central processing unit, 409
COP, changeover point 646 Crab, landing, 603
Coordinates: CRDA, converging runway display aid. 684
celestial, 553-555 Crew:
direction cosines, 27, 349 ff ATM re,ponsibilities. 658, 660
Doppler radar, 454, 485 See also Display; Human navigator; Trainer;
Earth-centered, 26 Landing
geodetic, 27 Cross-correlation, see Correlation
GLONASS, 262 Crms-coupling:
inertial. 26-27. 365-367 acce lcrometcr, 3 20
JTIDS. 288 gyro, 325
map grid, 28 Cross-pointer, 609
MGRS, 28, 302 Cross-track velocity:
radar, 527 illustrated. 30
rotating. 365-367 Doppler, 451. 459
tangent plane, 29 Cross-wind:
transverse pole, 28 drift, 30
wander azimuth, 27, 370 ff landing, 603 ff
See also MGRS CRPA, controlled reception pattern antenna, 230
INDEX 749
CRS, /LS course signal. 610 defined, 8, 598, o54

CRT, cathode ray rube. 695 See also Approach, Precision
Cryptographic: Deck motion, 631
GPS security, 198 Declination:
key, 235 astronomicaL 553
security, 300 magnetic. 43 7
CrystaL see Clock Decrab, 603 ff
Cs, cesium. 204 Defect. static. 394. 396
CS. see Control Segment, GPS Defense Mapping Agency. US, 197. 208
CSB. /LS carrier-with-sidebands signal, 609 Deflection of the vertical. 25, 9X, 188-190
CSOC, consolidated space operations center, Degrees of freedom:
20X gyroscope, 325. 344
Cursor control, 509, 698 platform, 361
CW. continuous wave, 155, 4o5 Delay:
Cycle slip: air-data pneumatics, 412
GPS, 630 air traffic, 681
Omega. loS alarm. 266
compass, 440
D, Bellamy Drift, 12 data bus, o94
Damping: Doppler radar, 479
accelerometer. 320-321 group, 194
compass needle, 440 ionospheric, 225-226, 24'1
Doppler-inertial, 65. 479 PLRS, 305
gravity sensor, 428 TCAS. 686
leveling loop. 383-384 tradeoff, I 0
vertical gyro. 432-433 traffic modeL o90
Data hus: tropospheric, I 96
air-data computer, 409 See also Latency
avionics, 18 DMA, /Jefcnsc Mapping Agencv, US. 197, 208
controller, 691 Departure:
fiberoptic. 693 controller. 655
GPS, 234-235 description. 7, 657
high speed, 693 routes, 659
inter-subsystem, 18. o91-694 terminal VOR, 646
MLS, o26 Depth of focus. SAR, 51 X
STANAG-3838, 693 Descent. rate of:
See also ARINC; MIL-STD-1553 carrier landing, 63 I
Data-entry device, 21 land landing. 603
Data link: Detector, see Sensor
AT C. 665, 669 Deviation, magnetic, 43X
carrier landing. 634-o35 DF. see Direction tinder
future, 687 DGPS differential CPS:
satellite, 671 accuracy, 14
See also Communication: Mode-S for approach, 251-252, 628-630, o38
Data message, G PS, 21 8 ff corrected pseudorange. 250
DBS, Doppler beam sharpenin!{, 504 description, 248-253
DDM. difference in depth of modulation: o09 kinematic, 252
Dcadband: landing, 663
accelerometer. 323 RTCM-SCI04, 250
laser gyroscope, 341 runway surface, 680
Dead-reckoning: standard message, 250-251
defined. 2 DGRF, Definitive GNJmagneric Reference Field, 437
Doppler radar, 3 I DH. see Decision height
equations, 29-32 Diego Garcia Island, 20X
flat Earth, 31 Differential:
gyroscopes, 42o ff carrier phase, 252
illustration, 30 GPS, 248-253
JTIDS, 290 Loran, 146
in multisensor system, 55 Omega, 167
Omega, 3, 155-171 Diffraction, 5o5
sensors, 56 Dipole:
with wind. 3 I antenna, 101-102
Dead zone. see Deadband magnetic, 437
Decca, 171-173 Directional gyroscope, 444-446
Decentralized, see Architecture Direction tinder, 112
Decision height: Direction cosines:
ATC. o54 azimuth from, 3X5
750 INDEX
Direction cosines (cont'd) with MLS, 621

inertial mechanization, 342 ff, 354 lf, 371 receiver, 128-131
JTIDS, 294 recovery time, 130
latitude-longitude from, 372 signal-in-space, 127
multisensor software 90 steering to. 42
numerical example, 52-53 on taxiway, 604
strap-down, 350-352 transmitter, 131-133
Direction finder: DME/N. 628
airborne, 117 DMEjP, 621, 627-628
ground, 116 D0-160, 700
radio, 112 DoD, Department of Defense, US, 643
Directivity, antenna, 10 I See also Military: United States
Direct ranging, see Ranging Doppler, Christian, 45 I
Dispatch: Doppler navigator:
airline charts, 50, 676 block diagram, 452
computer, 21 with GPS, 183, 189,218
FMS, 676 in multimode radar 539-540
inoperative avionics, 703 system error, 488-490
Display, cockpit: test results, 489
ATC, 673-675 See also PVC: Multisensor navigation
avionics, 17 Doppler radar:
ball-bank indicator, 400 bandwidth, 4 75
block diagram, 22 beam configuration, 454-457
cathode ray tube, 695 boresighting, 486
CD!, 609 calibration, 48-483
CDU, 698 components, 464
conventional, 426, 696 continuous-wave, 465-466
cross-pointer, 609 errors, 477-490, 501
DME, 608 FMjCW 466-469, 474
E!CAS, 695 frequency tracker, 469-4 72, 4 76
eight ball, 426 heading reference, 446, 498
flat panel, 695 homodyne, 465, 467
glass, 426-428 installation, 486
HS!, 426-427, 695 maneuver error, 485
liquid crystal, 695 mountain paradox, 453-454
marker beacon, 618-6 19 sea current, 48 I
manual target-finding, 506-507 signal/noise, 472-474
map, 17, 50 smooth-earth paradox, 453
map radar, 505, 507, 549 spectrum, 460 ff, 479, 481-482
micromachined sensor, 429 stabilization, 459-460, 474, 485-486
multifunction, 695 terrain bias, 481
PFD. 696 transmitter frequency, 463
radar altimeter, 495 velocity sense, 465, 471
radio-magnetic compass, 426 See also Antenna: Backscatter: Doppler
speech, 699 navigator; Helicopters:
VDI, 613 Multisensor navigation; Noise; Oscillator:
VOR, 126 Radome
VS!, 426-427 Doppler shift:
weather radar. 540 air data, 419
See also Display, ~ap; HMD; HUD beam sharpening, 504, 5 13
Display, traffic control, 673-675, 684 described, 451-453
Distance calculation: drift angle, 31
flat Earth, 39 GPS, 240
spherical Earth, 40 radar, 45 I ff
Distance measuring equipment. see DME radar filter, 514 ff
Diurnal correction: SAR radar, 523
Loran, 142 See also Doppler radar
Omega, 160 Doppler velocity:
electron density, 194 measurement of, 449 ff
Diversity, radio propagation, Ill from multimode radar 538-539
DMA, see Defense Mapping Agency See also PVU
DME: Doppler VOR, 126-127
block diagram. 129 Dorne & Margolin, 245
capacity, 127-128, !32 Douglas aircraft:
duty cycle, 132 antenna farm, 4
identifier, 132-133 displays, 699
landing. 627-628 HUD, 637
INDEX 751
Downconverter, 493, 546 Electronic countermeasures, I 7

Downwash, 413,418 Elevation angle:
DPSK, differential phase-shift key, 626, 670 line of sight, 34
Drag. orbital, 188 during GPS pass, 640-641
Drift. gyro: MLS scan, 624--625
aniso-elastic, 346 star calculation, 556
bias, 341, 345-346 Ellipse, orbital, 186
coning, 353, 358-359 Ellipsoid, reference, 23
directional gyro, 445 See also Earth
in error analysis, 3 76 ELT, emergency locator transmitter, 16
historical, 325 EM!, electromagnetic interference:
magnetic, 342, 346 avionics. 16, 276-278
mass unbalance, 346 data bus, 693
math model, 341-342 GPS near-far, 206, 232, 277
optical gyro, 331, 340-341 radar, 538
strapdown, 325, 348 Engine control, 16
temperature-dependent, 341, 346 Engineer, flight, 19
vertical gyro, 432 En-route:
Drift angle: navigation. 7
illustration, 30 traffic control, 658-659, 677-679
measured by Doppler radar, 459 Environment:
pressure pattern, 12 anti-jam, 232
Drift sight, 12, 30 GPS space, 204
Drone, see UAV HIRE 18
Duplex data bus, 691 mechanical, 3, I 8
Duty cycle, DME, 132 thermal, 3, 346
See also EM!; Lightning; Vibration
E2A, 284, 290, 450 Ephcmeri.,;
E3, 284, 290, 450 star catalog, 556, 563, 590
Earth: errors, GPS, 249
conductivity, 104, 141, 143, 161 GLOI'\ASS, 261
coordinate frame, 26-29, 365 ff GPS, 223-224
dielectric constant, I 04 WAAS, 271
dimensions, 23-25 EPLRS, enhanced PLRS, 310
gravitation, 187, 223 Epoch, 216, 584
magnetic field, 437-438 EPROM, erasable programmable read-only
orbit, 590 memory, 51, 409
polar wander, 389 Equinox, vernal, 186, 584
radar backscatter, 474 Erection, v-gyro, 43!-432
rotation rate, 23, 188, 365, 554 Ergodic statistics, 44
VLF anisotropy, 161 ERP, effective radiated power, I 02
See also Atmosphere; Ionosphere; Troposphere Error, component:
ECEF, Earth-centered, Earthfixed, 26, 184, 212 accelerometer, 322, 560
ECCM, electronic counter-countermeasures, 300, beam direction, 480
538 clock, 82-83, 255
ECD, envelope-to-cycle difference, 140 coning, 353, 358-359
ECI, Earth-centered inertial, 26-27 lever arm, 359
Eccentricity, orbit, 186, 200 mechanical gyroscope, 345-346, 560
Ecliptic, 553 optical, 574 ff
EEPROM, electrically erasable PROM: optical gyroscope, 340-342
air data, 409 PYU, 525
stored program, 5 1 sculling, 359
Effective radiated power, 103 star angle, 552
Efllciency, quantum, 572, 574 Error, subsystem:
EFGS, end-fire glide slope, 6!7 air data, 41 8, 422
EGNOS, Eumpean Geostationary Navigation baroinertial altitude, 374, 378
Overlay System, 268 DGPS. 251
EHF. extremely-high ji·equencv, I 00 DME, 132
El, Earth ionosphere, 161 differential, 114
EICAS, engine indicator and crew alerting system direction finder, 119
695 Doppler fluctuations, 477-478
Eight-ball indicator, 426 Doppler radar, 497-498
EIRP effective isotropic radiated power, see ERP glide slope, 616-619
Electric power, see Power. Radiated; Power GPS, 198, 208, 227, 253-257
consumption GPS velocity, 255
Electrolytic level, 429 inertial, 373, 376 ff
Electromagnetic interference, see EMI JTIDS ReiNav, 290, 297-299
752 INDEX
Error, subsystem (cont'd) Europe:

localizer, 619-620 Geostationary Overlay, 268
Loran, 52, 143 ILS interface. 620
magnetic compass, 438 ff Loran chain, 152
mapping radar, 529 traffic control, 12, 167,687
obstacle clearance, 652-653 Exciter, radar, 539, 548
Omega, 156, 165, 166-167
PLRS propagation, 298-299, 310 4, 284, 538
radar altimeter, 495 F-15, 284, 402, 691, 695
radar velocity, 527-528 F-16, 402
step, radar altimeter, 495 F-18, 245, 538, 633
Tacan, 136 F-22, 691, 693
vertical gyro, 433--436 F-104, 421
VOR/DME, 126, 647 F-Ill, 450, 530
warm up, 381 FA, final approach, 628
See also each navaid; Error, Budget; Error, FAA, Federal Aviation Administration,
System ~ US:
Error, system: Advisory Circulars, 734
absolute, 114 airport lights, 600
along track, 489 airport capacity, 681
autoland, 607 data link, 670
cross-track, 489 display, 694
description, 44--48 GPS, 235, 251
en-route, 8 ILS, 608
instrumentation, 115 landing categories, 606
mean, 45--46 Loran regulations, 175
mean square, 45--46 Omega regulations, 168
navigation system, 299, 458 overwater, 3
principal axes, 45 required navigation, 663
relative, 114 TCAS, 684-686
repeatable, 114 terminal facilities, 679
stellar-inertial, 561-562 traffic publications, 736
system use, 44 TSOs, 705, 728
terminal area, 7 W AAS, 268, 271
test data, 44--48 weather, 6 72
3-dimensional, 48--49, 201-202 FAA, Technical Center, 275
tradeoffs, 9 FADS, flush air-data system, 422
2-dimensional, 48--49, 201-202 FAF, final approach fix, 600
uncorrelated, 49 Fail-safe. see Fault tolerance
vertical channeL 253 Failure detection:
wild points, 480 Loran, 139
See also Covariance; Flight technical subsystem, 16
error W AAS. 272-273
Error budget: See also BIT; Fault-tolerance; Monitor; RAJM;
air data, 408 Safety-critical
Doppler radar, 477--487 Fan beam:
GPS, 253-257 airborne radar, 546
inertial, 377-379 marker beacon, 121-122
JTIDS, 297-298 microwave landing, 621-622
radio link, I 03-1 04 Fan marker, 121-122
SAR, 522 FANS, Future Air Navigation System:
Error covariance matrix, 75 GPS, 279
Error rate, PLRS, 309 oceanic, 13, 660
ESA, electronically scanned array, 546 FAR, Federal Aviation Regulations (US)
Escape maneuver, 686 Faraday Effect, 333
Estimator, see Filter Fault, see BIT; Failure detection; Fault tolerance;
ETR, external time r4'erence, 286 Monitor
Euler angles, 349 Fault tolerance:
EUROCAE, Europemz Organisation for Civil computation, 18
AviaLion Equipment: FDE, 272
altimetry, 727 GPS monitor, 210
description, 19, 608 GPS spacecraft, 205-206
GPS, 719 landing, 599
ILS, 608 YILS, 627
marker beacon, 61 9 quadruple bus, 692
MLSjiLS, 621, 735 strapdown IMU, 357
specifications, 19, 705, 707. 711 WAAS, 272-273
INDEX 753
See also BIT; Category III; Failure detection; radar manual, 503
Monitor; RA!M; Safety-critical radar reference, 505
FCS, flight contml system radar update, 506
FOE, fault detection and exclusion, 264 radio, 32, 112
FDMA, frequency division multiple access, 257 rho-rho, 113-114
FEC, forward errror correction, 271 rho- theta, 113
Federtrl Aviation Administration (US), see FAA semiautomatic radar, 509 ff
Federal Radionavigation Plan (US), 136, 145, 200, Tercom. 37-38
662 theta-theta, 113
Federated, 93-96 FL, flight level, 644
See also Architecture Flare maneuver:
FFT fast Fourier transf(mn: carrier landing, 63 I
radar, 497. 540 described. 603-607
SAR, 519 dispersions, 607
target detection, 540 equations, 603
Fibcroptics: guidance, 606
gyro, 336 Flight control system:
interconnects. 548, 693 accelerometer, 426
Field of view: bank angle. 41-42
optical. 566 ff carrier landing, 634
radar, 508 fail-operational, 599, 637
Field stop, 565 fail-passive, 599, 637
Filter: landing, 597. 603-607, 609
anti-aliasing, 247 subsystem, I, IS
bank, 546, 548 terrain f(Jllowing, 530, 536-538
bam-inertial. 375 Flight-critical, see Safety-critical
Doppler inertial, 67 Flight director, ILS, 599
Doppler radar. 469-470 Flight level, 644
GPS-IF. 236 Flight management system, 16, 409, 670, 675, 688,
gyrocompass, 385 698
leakage elimination, 465 Flight path angle, 30, 375
least squares, 70-72 Flight plan. ATC:
leveling, 383 contract, 645
Loran notch. 15 I !FR. 656
marker beacon, 618 processing, 678
matched. 285, 574 VFR, 657
multisensor. 55 ff Flight rules. see IFR; VFR
notch. 151 Flight service station, 32, 656, 680
PLRS tracking. 307-308 Flight strips, 678, 680
radar beam sharpening. 513-514 Flight technical error, 44, 116,254, 647,653
radar matched, 539 Flight test, see each navaid; Test
recursive, 70-72, 75 FUR. For>Vard-looking infrared detector. 530, 636
SAR, 515 ff FLOLS, Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System,
satellite triplexer, 206 632-634
SAW, 236 Flow, ATC, 658
sensor errors, 70 Flux gate, 440-441
transfer alignment, 387 Fly by wire, 18
vertical gyroscope, 433 FMC, flight management computer, see Flight
weighting functions. 71 management system
See also Kalman filter; Multisensor navigation FM-CW, frequency modulated continuous wave:
Final approach segment. 654. See also Approach altimeter, 493-497
l-'IR, flight information region, 680 Doppler radar, 466-469
Fire control. 16, 413 FMS, see Flight management system
Fix: 1/nurnber. telescope, 566
absolute, 114. 283 FOC, full operational capabilitY. 175
arrival, 659 Focal length, 565
automatic radar, 509-511 Focal plane, optical:
celestial, 2, 551 defined, 565
differential, 114 sensor array, 573-574, 637
final. 600, 653 Focus. radar, see SAR
holding. 658 FOG, fiber-optic gyro, 336 ff
hyperbolic. 164 Forrestal, 631
inertial, 69, 313-314 Foucault pendulum. 61
initial, 600, 653 Formation flight. 18
intermediate, 653 Fortran, 51
metering. 658 Four-dimensional navigation. 16
Omega, 162-165 Frame, GPS, 220
754 INDEX
Framing pulses, 665 General aviation, 3, 175

France, II, 176, 202, 437 GEO, fieostationary orbit, 268-269
Free azimuth, 371 Geodesy, 23-25
Free flight, 8, 688 Geological Survey, US, 437
Frequency, operating: GEOMAG, 437
bands, 100-10 I Geometric dilution of precision, see GDOP
Chayka, 173 Geopotential, see Gravity
Decca, 171 Geostationary orbit, 202, 268-269
direction finder, 120 GES, ground earth station, 269
DME, 127 GHA, Greenwich hour angle, 554-556
Doppler radar, 463 GHz, gigahertz = I 09 Hz
glide slope, 609 Gimbal:
GLONASS, 258 antenna, S27
GPS, 198, 206 gyro, 344
JTIDS, 285 platform, 361
laser gyroscope, 331 telescope, 63, 579, 583, 591
localizer, 609 See also Platform, Inertial
Loran, 139 Gimbal lock, 361
marker beacon, 12 I, 609 Glide path angle:
MLS, 621 carrier, 631
Omega, 157 land, 602
PLRS, 300 Glide slope:
radar, 538 aircraft carrier, 63 I
radar altimeter, 492 antenna, 614-617
Tacan, 133 bends, 619-620
VOR, 122 capture effect, 614
weather radar, 542 description, 614-617
See also each navaid end- fire, 617
Frequency measurement, Allan variance, 190-192, modulation, 624-625
208 obstacles, 654
See also Time measurement point of intercept, 654
Frequency, plasma, 193 stabilized, 634
Frequency stability, 192 waveguide, 616
Frequency tracker, see Tracker, Electronic Global Navigation Satellite System, see
Fresnel lens, 633 GNSS
Front course, ILS, 613 Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System, see
FRP, see Federal Radionavigation Plan GLONASS
FRPA, fixed radiation pattern antenna, 245 Global P?sitioning system, see GPS system; GPS
FSS, flight service station, 656, 677 receiver
ft, foot, meter equivalent, 25 GLONASS Russian Global Orbiting Navigation
FTE, see Flight technical error Satellite System:
Fuel usage, 656, 675-676 cost, 15
Future trends, see last section of each navaid description, 257-262
chapter landing, 628, 662
outlook, 14-15, 175, 687
g, firavity unit GMV, firound movinK vehicles, 545
GA, firound antenna, 208, 212 GNSS, Global Navigation Satellite System:
GaAs, fiallium arsenide, 493, 546, 548 availability, 262-263
Gain: description, 178
antenna, 101 GPS, 235, 687
scheduling, 606 integrity, 262-263
Gatwick Airport, 597 landing, 662
Gaussian: over ocean, 661
distribution, 46-47, 478 RNAV, 649
Doppler noise, 460 required accuracy, 263
MLS delay, 628 Goniometer, 117, 119, 123
radius of curvature, 25, 40 GPS hybrids, see Multisensor navigation
GCA, ground-controlled approach, 6 GPS receiver:
GDOP, fieometric dilution of position: AGC, 246
defined, 201 antenna requirements, 230
described, 48-49, I 13, 115 block diagram, 231, 237, 244
equations, 48-49 on a card, 235-238
GPS, 201 commercial, 235-242
JTIDS, 298-299 description, 229-248
Loran, 143-144, 153 downconverter, 232, 238
Omega, 166 dual-frequency, 194-195
GEC Avionics, Inc., 419 filtering, 236, 242, 245
INDEX 755
frequency plan, 233 performance, 445

IF section. 233-234 slaving, 445-447
MAGR, 243-247 Gyroscope, fiberoptic:
oscillator, 232-233 closed loop, 339
signal processing, 234, 242 description, 326, 336 ff
See also Antenna errors, 340-341
GPS system: modulation, 338-339
accuracy, 253-257 resets, 339
A-S/SA, 19~, 235, 248 Gyroscope, mechanical:
for ATC, 663 description, 324, 342ff
Category I approach, 254 electrostatic, 325
constellation, 200, 210 floated, 325
control segment, 208-209 hemispherical resonator, 348
cost, 15 history, 325
description, 179 ff micromachined, 347
ECEF calculation, 280 simple, 427 ff
en-route, 7 single-degree-of-freedom, 325
errors, 227-228 testing. 347
for free flight, 688 tuned rotor, 325, 343-347
measurements, 226-227 two-degree-of-treedom, 325, 343 ff. 434, 444
military use, 5 See also Gyroscope, Directional; Gyroscope,
navigation solution, 228-229 Vertical
outlook, 175 Gyrm·cope, ring laser:
over ocean, 650 cavity, 327, 331-332, 335
range calculation, 33-35, 180-183 description, 326 ff
runway surveillance, 605 dither. 331, 333
signal-in-space, 213-218 error model, 345
sole means of navigation, 235, 687 finesse, 329
spares, 207 gas mixture, 332
spacecraft, 204-206 lock-in. 330
traffic control, 687 mirrors. 327, 331
user charges, I 5 mode hops, 332
See also Clock; Codes; DGPS; GPS receiver; multioscillator, 326, 333 ff
Integrity; performance, 340-341
Message navigation; Multisensor navigation; pseudoconing, 333
RAIM rate biasing, 331
GRASS, Geographical Resource Analysis Support scale factor, 328
Group, 50 two-mode, 327
Gravitation, 35, 187, 223 vibration, 331-333
Gravity, 23 weight, 340
Great circle, 40 Gyroscope, vertical:
Greenwich: compensation, 433-434
hour angle, 554, 576 description, 429 ff
meridian, 26, 554 dynamic response, 431-436
GRI, group repetition interval, 139, 149 erection, 431
Ground controller, ATC, 655, 680 performance, 430, 432
Ground wave:
attenuation, I 05 Hall Effect, 443
one-way ranging, 35-36 Hamming code, 221
propagation, I 04-106 Hand-off, ATC, 658, 660
range calculation, 35 Hand-over word, 218
time-differencing, 36-37 Hard iron, 438
GT ground transmitter Harmonicb:
Guard sampling, !51 gravitational, 189
Guidance, defined, 1-2 magnetic field, 437
Gulf Stream, 484 Harrier, see AV -8
Gunfire aiming, 17, 41 3 Hawaii, 208
Gunn diode, 490 Hawkeye, 290
Gust, see Wind HCG. halj~cycle generator, 147
Gyrocompass: HOOP, horizontal dilution of position:
airborne (erroneous), 436 description, 49
inertial, 384-386 for GPS, 201, 253
marine, 313 Heading:
Gyroscope, directional: best available, 29
description, 444 ff gyro, 444-446
backup, 446 illustration, 30
gravity sensor, 444 inertial measurement, 371
756 INDEX
Heading (cont'd) ILS, 608, 620

magnetic, 30, 440-443 ILS indicator, 609~61 0
reference for Doppler radar, 450, 488 interfacility communication, 661
toward target, 34 landing categories, 598, 662
true, 30 microwave landing, 621, 628
See also Azimuth ModeS, 661
Heading reference, see Gyroscope, directional; publications, 19, 737
Inertial navigator; Magnetic compass standard atmosphere, 644
Head-up display, see HUD traffic control, 643
Heat removal, see Temperature vertical separation, 651
Heave, deck, 631 VOR, 122
Helicopter: W AAS/SBAS, 268
air data sensors, 413 ff lCD, interface control doc·wnent, 261
Doppler radar. 72, 89, 450, 469, 502 ICD-GPS-200B-PR. 212
military, 6 Icing:
naval, 636 he! icopter, 416
operational, 6 probes, 396
Heterodyne: ICN!A, integrated communication, navigation, and
Doppler radar, 465 identification: avionics, 96
mapping radar, 5 12 ICNIS, integrated communication, navigation, and
HF, high frequency, I 00 identification system, 96
HF /DF, high-.fi-equency direction finder, II !CO, intermediate circular orhit, 279
HG9550, 498 ICW, interrupted continuous wave, 465
HIRF, high intensity radiated .fields, 18 ID, identification, 675
History of navaids. II~ 13 !DENT. identification code, 665
See also each navaid; Time measurement Identification point, 509, 517
HMO, he/met-mounted display, 696 IEEE, Institute c!f Electrical and Electronics
Holding: Engineer.>, 725
aircraft carrier, 631 IF, intermediate fix, 653
ATC, 658 if, intermediate .fi-equency
Homing, 119 IFR, instrument flight rules, 9, 598, 645, 677
Homodyne radar, 465, 467 IFRB, lntemational Frequency Registration Board,
Honeywell: 258
air data, 402-403 !FOG, interferometric fiber-optic gyro, 336 ff
inertial, 357 IGRF, International Geomagnetic Reference Field,
radar altimeter, 495 437
Honolulu, 68 I liP, iono.1pheric intersection point, 225
Houston, 681 ILS, instrument landing system, 608~620
HOW, handover word, 218, 221 aircraft carrier, 634~636
HPA, high-power amplifier, 270 bends, 619
hr, hour error, allowed, 61 I
HRG, hemispherical resonator gym, 348 limitations, 6 I 9
HSDB, high-speed data bus, 693 low-visibility landing, 599
HSI, horizontal situation di.1piay, 691 microwave, 620~627
HUD, head-up display, 637, 696-698 military use, 6
Human navigator, 504~505. 647 monitors, 608
Hyperbolation, 298 paired frequencies, 609
Hyperbolic navigation, 138 ff portable, 627
reduction of fix, 162~ 166 Russian, 13
See a/so Decca; Loran: Omega signal-in-space, 609
Hypersonic: usage, 652~654
aircraft, 3 See also Glide Slope: Localizer; MLS
air data, 421 ~422 IM, inner marker beacon, 618, 654
See a/so Supersonic IMA, integrated modular avionics, 96
Hysteresis, accelerometer, 32 I Image:
Hz, Hertz ~ cycle/second optical, 565 ff
radar, 505 ff
I, in-phase, 234 See also Display
lA, initial approach, MLS, 628 IMC, instrument meteorological mnditions, 9. 598,
IAF, initial approach fix, 600, 653 651, 657
ICAO. International Civil Aviation Organi;:ation: IMU, inertial measwement unit, see Inertial
airport lights, 600 navigator
annexes, 733 Inclination of orbit, 185
approach, 600 Index of refraction, see Atmosphere; Ionosphere
DME, 132 India:
FIR, 680 Loran coverage, !52, I 76
GNSS. 178, 279 Omega coverage, 167
INDEX 757
Indian Ocean, 13, 270 landing, 605

Indonesia: Loran, 145
air traffic control, 13 See also Fault tolerance; RAIM; W AAS
Omega coverage, 167 Interdiction, 5
Inertial navigator: Interfaces, intersubsystem, see Data bus
AHRS, 389 Interference, see EM!
alignment, 379-388 Interferometer:
cost, 313 fibcroptic, 336-337
errors, 358-360, 376-379, gyro, 326, 329, 337
history, 313-314 radar, 538
horizontal mechanization, 368-373 International Association of Geomagnetism and
for landing, 14, 263 Aeronomy, 437
limitations, 389 International Civil Aviation Organization, ;·ee ICAO
military use, 5 International Frequency Registration Board, 258
over ocean, 650 International traffic control, I 3, 660
SAR processing. 519 Interrogator:
SAR stabilization, 5 II ATC radar, 665
sole means, 661 DME, 127
strapdown, 356-358 JTIDS, 287
system, 314-317 Tacan, 133
system specification, 349, 364 See also Beacon; Transponder
throwaway, 390 Interrupted CW Doppler, 465
vertical mechanization, 373-375 Intersection, chart, 43
wander azimuth, 366 I/0, input-output, see Data bus
weight, 317 IOD. issue of' data, 250
See also Accelerometer; Alignment: Gyroscope; IODC, issue of data clock, 223
Multisensor navigation; Platform !ODE, issue of data ephemeris, 224
Inertial navigation hybrids, see Multisensor Ionosphere:
navigation best path, I 08
Inertial space, defined, 26-27 correction, 213
Information, defined, 563-564 D, E regions, 161
Infrared, see Optical; Sensor; Star delay model, 193- I 94, 225-226, 249
Initial conditions: dual-frequency correction, 195
dead-reckoning, 29 electron density, 194
inertial navigator, 379-388 GPS correction, 195, 227
Kalman filter, 76-77 Omega propagation. 161
time, 575 refraction, 106, 192-194
INMARSAT, International Maritime Satellite scintillation, I 95
Organization, 268-271 skip distance, I 07
Input-output, computer, see Data bus sunspot cycle, 161
INS, inertial navigation system, see Inertial windows, I 09
navigator !OR, Indian Ocean Region, 270
Installation: IP, idemification point, 509, 517
air data, 393-394 ljQ, in-pha.\·ejquadrature, 528
antennas, 4. 626 Iridium, 279
avionics, 4, 703 Irradiance, star, 567
Doppler radar, 486 IRS, inertial ref£'rence system, 263
EML 703 See also Inertial navigator
HUD, 697 IRU, inertial reference unit, 650
inertial platform, 356-357 Island, aircraft carrier, 631
JTIDS, 297 ISO, International Standards Organization, 672
maintenance, 700 Isodops, 459, 482
radar mounting. 528 Isolation:
stellar-inertial, 577 gimbals, 362
Instrument approach procedure, 652, 655 inertial sensor, 357
Instrument departure procedure, 655, 657 transmitter/receiver, 467
Instrument flight rules, see IFR Isotropic radiator, I 04
Instrument landing system, see ILS Iterative solution, 43,70-72, 181-184
Instrument meteorological conditions, see IMC ITT Aerospace, 205
Integrated navigation systems, see Multisensor
navigation systems JAA, Joint At·iation Authority, Europe. 608
Integrity, navaid: Jamming:
ATC, 663 altimeter, 498
defined, II , I I 5 GPS, 230
GNSS, 262-263, 687 military, 300
GPS receiver, 230 stellar, 55 I
GPS system, 663 Janus beams. 454, 480, 500, 523
758 INDEX
Japan, Loran coverage, !52 L1, GPS carrier frequency, 178

Jet route, 646-647 L2, GPS carrier frequency, 178
Jitter, PPI, 498 L-1011, 605
Jovial, 51, 539 LAAS, local area augmentation system 687
JPL, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA 208 Lambert conformal chart, 28
JPO, joint project office, 197 Lag, see Delay; Latency
JST ARS, joint surveillance target attack radar Landing, 8-9, 600-605
system, 290 accidents, 598
JTIDS, joint tactical information distribution aircraft carrier, 630--636
system, 284-299 automatic, 605-608
air-data backup, 297 with DGPS, 628-630
clock synchronization, 287 ff, 312 with Doppler-GPS, 498
community, 288 ff HUD usage, 637
donor, 286 minimums, 8, 599 ff
errors, 297-299 missed apporach, 605
Kalman filter, 289, 293-294 navaids, 662
quality, 293 nonprecision, 8, 600, 662
relative navigation, 285 optical aids, 633-634, 637
Re!Grid, 288 procedure, 659-660
signal-in-space, 286 radar altimeter, 497
time reference, 289 see to land, 599
TOA only, 285 see to taxi, 599
with GPS, 286 taxi, 681
See also Multisensor navigation See also Airport; Approach; Category of landing;
Julian date, 584 ILS; MLS
Lane;
Ka-band 10 I, 634 ambiguity. 3, 162-164
Ke-band 10 I, 463 Decca, 171-1 72
Ku-band 101, 538, 545, 634, 671 Omega, 155
km, kilometer Laser:
Kalman filter, 72-81, 559 ff air data velocimeter, 418 ff
cascaded, 94 inertial sensor, 326 ff
closed-loop, 79-81 radar, 637
extended, 560 Latency:
GPS ground, 212 defined, 10-11
GPS-inertial example, 83-91 data bus, 694
GPS orbit, 212 Doppler maneuvers, 485
GPS receiver, 228-229 during flare, 603
inertial alignment, 383-385 during landing, 630
in-flight calibration, 358, 593-594 Latitude:
INS, 386 celestial, 556-557
JTIDS relnav, 285, 292 ff terrestial, 23-24
linearization, 78, 82 L-band, I 01
magnetic compass, 444 data link, 6 71
measurement model, 83, 560 DME, 133
observability, 563 GPS, 198
Omega, 171 JTIDS, 285
open-loop, 77-79 SSR, 665
practical considerations, 91-93 Tacan, 133
process model, 83, 8 8 LCD, liquid crystal display, 549
radar velocity, 527-529 LCP, l~ft-circularly polarized, 333
square-root form, 93 LDGPS, local differential GPS, 638
stellar inertial, 61-64, 557 ff, 582, 590-593, 595 Leakage:
U-D factorization, 93 Doppler, 465
See also each navaid radar altimeter, 493
Kepler, J., 187, 225 LEM (now LM), lunar excursion module, 450
Keyboard, 698 LEP, linear error probable, 253
kHz, kilohertz= I 03 Hz Leveling, inertial navigator, 382-384
Kinematic GPS, 252, 629-630 Levels, see Accelerometer
KLM airline, 597 Lever-arm correction:
kn, see Knot GPS, 278
Knot= one nautical mile per hour inertial system, 388
Korea, Loran coverage, !52 LF, low frequency, I 00, I 06
Kronecker delta, 351 LHA, local hour angle
kt, see Knot LHA, LHD landing ships, 636
KVH Industries, Inc., 441 LHCP, left-hand circularly polarized, 230
Kwajalein Island, 208 Lidar, 418
INDEX 759
Light: propagation error, 141

aircraft carrier, 633-634 receiver, 149-151
background, see Atmosphere repetition interval, 139
bars, 600 seasonal effects, 142, 144
speed of, 34, I 0 I, 223 signal-in-space, 139-140
See also Airport tracking, 151
Lightning: transmitter, 147-149
atmospheric, I OS See also Ground waves; Sky waves; Multi.sensor
protection, 3, 19 Navigation
See also EM! LOS, see Line-of-sight
Linearization: Low observables, 532
GPS equations, 229 LP, linearly polarized, 230
of Kalman filter, 81-82 LPD log-periodic dipole antenna, 613
of range measurement, 35 LPH, landing ship, 636
See also Filler LP!, low-probability of intercept, 493
Line of nodes, 185 LRM, line replaceable module, 700
Line of position, see LOP LRU, line replaceable unit, 691, 700
Line-of-sight: LSO, landing signal officer, 633
GPS, 33-34, 181 LTP, local tangent plane, 201
optical, 5 64
radar, 523 m, meter
radio, I 08-lll m, prefix mi/li = I 0 - 3
Link budget, radio, I 03-104 M, prefix mega = I 06
Link-4, 634 Mach number:
LLWAS, low-level wind-shear alert system, 673 calculation of, 400, 405
LNA, low-noise amplifier, 232, 493 effect on airspeed, 407
LO. local oscillator, 232, 247, 469, 493 effect on light, 578
Lobe: effect on pressure, 396-397
antenna, 548, 665 effect on temperature, 398
switching, 483 Magnetic compass:
See also Antenna; Beam Compass Engine, 441
Lobing, simultaneous, 483 deviation, 438-439
Local controller, ATC, 655, 680 in Doppler navigator, 489
Localizer: errors, 438-439, 442
aircraft carrier, 635-636 ft ux gate, 440-441
bends, 619 hard iron, 438, 442
description, 613-614 needle, 439-440
See also ILS soft iron, 438, 443
Local level coordinates, 27, 365-373 strapdown, 442, 447
Lockheed, 245. See also C-130 superconducting, 443, 447
Longitude: Magnetic field:
defined, 234 declination, 437
of satellite, 186 dip, 15, 437
Loop direction finder, 117 effect on gyroscopes, 341, 346
LOP, line of position: effect on IMU, 363
celestial, 557 goniometer detector, 119
described, 117, 264 mathematical model, 437 ff
Decca, 171 sensors, 440 ff
Loran, 112, 149 variation defined, 437
Omega, 159 VOR reference, 176
Loran, 138-154 Magnetometer, see Magnetic compass
accuracy, 143 Magnitude, star, 567-568, 570
for approach. 652 MAGR, miniature airborne CPS receiver, 243-245
availability, 144 Magvar, 437
blinking, 139, 145 Maintenance:
calibration, 146 air data, 412, 423-424
chain, 139 avionic, 700
with Chayka, 176 dispatch, 703
differential, 146 radar, 504
direct ranging, 145-146 See also MTBF, MTTR
diurnal effects, 142 mamp, milliampere
false locks, 151 Manchester coding, 692
geometry, 15 3 Manual navigation, see Human navigator
hyperbolic, 13 Maneuver sensitivity, see Error
integrity, 145 Manometer, 404, 422-423
for landing, 6!8 MAP, missed approach point 654
nonprecision approach, 8 Map, see Chart; Display, map
760 INDEX
Map, real-beam, 501-509 airspace, 646

Map matching, see Terrain matching avionics. 16
Marker beacon: celestial navigation, 594
description, 121-122,618-619 charts, 49-50
as final fix, 654 cooling, 703
landing, 599 Doppler radar, 450
taxiway guidance, 605 GPS. 198, 229 ff, 243-248
Markov process. 90, 297 helmet display, 697
MASP, Minimum Aviation Svstem Perj(mnance inertial navigators, 314, 390
Standard, 251 JTIDS, 284-299
Master station: landing, 630-63 7
Decca, 171 MGRS, 28, 302
GPS control, 179 mission planning, 17
Loran, 139 MLS, 622
Mathematical model, see Error; Simulation packaging, 702
Matrix: PLRS, 299-311
antenna rotation, 527 radar, 503
covariance, 75 radar velocity error, 526
direction cosine, 27, 355, 366 sonobuoys, 6, 484
Kalman gain, 75 standards, 19
measurement noise, 74 Tacan, 133-137
observability, 563 tactical landing, 622, 638
quaternion, 355-356 terrain avoidance, 529-533
rotation, 563 terrain matching, 534-536
McDonnell-Douglas Corporation, 4, 699 See also aircraft designations; Aircraft carrier;
See also Boeing; C-17; F-15; F-18; MD-x Helicopter;
MCF, Metroplex control facilities, 679 Rad•lf, airborne
MCM, multi-chip module, 548 Millibar, defined, 397
MCOPS, million complex operations per second. Millimeter-wave, 636-637
548 Millington (Loran), 146
MCS, master control station, 208 MIL-M-28787, 702
MCU, modular concept unit, 235 MIL-STD-704 power, 700
MD-I!, 605, 695, 698 MIL-STD-1553 data bus:
MD-80. 605 air data, 409
MDA, minimum descent altitude, 600 description, 691-692
MEA, minimum en-route altitude, 649, 657 Doppler radar, 490
Measurement, see each navaid; Accelerometer; GPS, 235
GPS; Gyroscope; Magnetic Compass: Sensor MIL-STD-1773, 693
Mean time between failures, see MTBF min, minute
Meatball. 633 Minimum altitude:
Mediterranean Sea, 152, 167 descent, 18, 600
Memory: en-route, 649, 657
DME, 131 landing, 652
Loran, 149 vectoring. 659
See also EPROM; RAM; ROM; Software warning, 6 74
Mercator, 28, 40 MIPS, million instructions per second, 548
Message: Mirror:
GLONASS navigation, 261-262 laser gyro, 327
GPS navigation. 218-226 telescope, 567
WAAS, 270-272 Misalignment, see Alignment
Meteorology, see Weather MIS, metal insulator semiconductor, 572
Metering, ATC, 658. 6 78 Missed approach:
Metroplex, ATC, 679 aircraft carrier, 633
MF medium frequency, I 00 described, 9, 599
MFD, multifunction display, 695 procedure, 654
MF/OF, medium-jrequency direction finder, II segment, 654
MGR, miniature GPS receiver, 243 See also Bolter
MGRS, military grid r~ference svstem, 28. 302 Missile guidance, 8, 41
MHz, megahertz = I 06 Hz Mission planning, 17, 21, 182
Microbursts, 544, 599 Mixer, 470
Microwave landing system, see MLS Mizar, 585
MIDS, 284. 311 MLS, microwave landing system, 620-628
Military: data transmission, 625-626
airborne radar, 503 in Europe, 687
aircraft carrier, 630-636 ICAO, 7
aircraft types, 5-6 mobile, 627
air data, 408-409, 413-414 redundancy, 627
INDEX 761
scanning, 623 ff SAR radar, 514, 518-522

signal-in-space, 621 vertical reference, 433-434
Shuttle landing, 636 Morse code, 123, 133, 609, 618
See also DME/P Moving target detection, 539-540
MM, middle marker 618 mrad, milliradian = 10 - 3 radian
mm, millimeter (10-3 meter) MS, master station, PLRS, 300
MMIC, microwave monolithic integrated circuits, MS, monitor station, GPS, 208-210
493, 498 MSAS, MTSAT satellite augmentation system, 268
MMLS, mobile MLS, 627 MSAW, minimum safe altitude warning, 678
MMO, maximum operational Mach number. 408 MSBLS, microwave scanning beam landing
MMWR, millimeter-wave radar, 636 system
Mode A, 665-667 MSK, minimum shiji key, 670
Mode C, 409, 665-667 MSL, mean sea level, 23. 38, 307, 644
ModeS: MSS, mobile satellite services, 259
described, 667, 670 MTBF, mean time between failures:
display overlay, 50 avionics, 695, 700
TCAS coordination, 686 inertial, 364
Models, mathematical, see Filter; Simulation radar, 504
Modes, see each navaid MTBUR, mean time betwl'l'n unconfirmed removals,
Modulation: 700
air-ground communication, 670 MTI, moving target indication, 541, 544
depth of, Tacan, 134 MTSAT, multi-functional transport satellite, 268
difference in depth of, 609-610 MTTR, mean time to repair, 202
Doppler radar, 466-469, 490 Multilateration, 42-43, 113, 283-284, 288
Doppler VOR, 126 Multimode radar, 538 ff
fiberoptic gyroscope, 337 Multipath effects:
ftuxgate compass, 441 altimeter, 495
GLONASS, 259 description, 109-111
GPS, 213 direction tinder, 119
glide slope, 610-611, 614-616 DME, 132
JTIDS, 286 Doppler CW, 465
localizer, 609 glide slope, 615
marker beacon, 121 GPS, 228, 230-232, 250. 278
PLRS, 302 JLS bends, 619
pseudonoise, 213 JLS siting, 630
radio altimeter, 492, 498 ionosphere, I 07
of radio waves, I 00 PLRS, 309
Tacan, 134-135 Tacan siting, 138
VOR, 123 VOR siting, 127
wobbling, 495 Multisensor navigation:
See also each radio navaid air-data-inertial, 67-68, 97, 373-375
Modulation index, 466, 468 block diagram, 22
Monitor: Doppler-AHRS, 69-70
aircraft systems, 670 Doppler-inertial, 64-67, 451, 462, 477, 479
carrier landing, 635-636 GPS-AHRS, 347, 389, 447
data bus, 69!-692 GPS-Doppler, 97, 451, 490, 498
GPS, 179,207-210 GPS-GLONASS, 257-262, 267
gyro, 325 GPS-inertial, 81-91, 629
ILS, 608 GPS-JTIDS, 297
landing, 638 GPS-Loran, 69, 175
Loran transmitter. 149 GPS-Loran-Doppler, 2069-70
Omega station, 156, 167 JTIDS-air data, 297
PLRS, 301 JTIDS-incrtial, 289
precision runway, 683 JTIDS multifunction, 311
RAJM, 176, 264-265 Loran-Chayka, 176
WAAS, 269 Omega-inertial, 156
See also BIT: Failure detection; Fault tolerance SAR-inertial, 511, 519
Monopulse, see Antenna stellar-inertiaL 61-64, 557 ff
Monte Carlo simulation, 376 stellar-inertial-Doppler, 68-69
Moon, 210, 586 theory of, 55 ff
MOPS, Minimum Operational Perjimnance VOR-inertial, 82
Standards, 235, 271
MOS, metal oxide semiconductor, 572 NAS, national airspace system, US, 262
Motion compensation: NASA, National Aeronautics and Space
autofocus, 520 Administration, US
Doppler tuning, 515 air data, 418
range walk, 5 l 6 Space Shuttle, 422
762 INDEX
NATO, North American Treaty Organization, 197, described, 660-66!

198 Pacific, 680-681
Nautical mile, defined, 25 regulations, 680-681
Navigator, human, 3, 19-20 OCXO, oven-controlled crystal oscillator, 233
NAVSTAR, see GPS OEM, original equipment manufacturer
NC, navif{ation controller, 288 Offset, parallel ATC, 663. See also Clock
NCO, number-controlled oscillator, 240 0' Hare International Airport, 27 5, 608
NO, navif{ation display, 695 OM, outer marker beacon, 602, 654
NOB, nondirectional beacon, !2, 120-121, 662 Omega, 155-171
Network: accuracy, 162-163
air traffic, 671 differential, 167
JTIDS, 284 ff direct ranging, 164-165
PLRS, 300 ff hyperbolic, 162
New York, 681 lane ambiguity, 158, 163
NEXRAD, Next-Generation Weather Radar, 673 over ocean, 650
NF, noise figure, 476 propagation anomalies, 159-161
Night, propagation, 117 receiver, 169-171
NIST, National Institute of Science and Techrwlofiy, RNAV, 649
US, 575 signal-in-space, 157-159
nm, nanometer= I0 - 9 meter sole means, 661
nmi, nautical mile = 1852 meters, stations, 156-157
NNSS, Navy navigation satellite system, US, 178 transmitters, 156, 168-169
NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric with VLF, 167-169
Administration, US, !52 Omnidirectional range, see VOR
Node: Optical landing aid:
ascending, 186 aircraft carrier, 633-634
com-nav, 283 enhanced vision, 636
descending, 186 FUR, 636
line of, !85 focal plane array, 637
Noise: Optical sensor, see Sensor
abatement, 659-660 OQPSK, offset quaternary phase shift keyinfi,
clock, 190 670
Doppler S/N, 476 Orbit elements:
Doppler spectrum, 460, 472-473 GLONASS, 257
optical gyro, 331 GPS, 197-198
radar jitter, 528 perturbations, 188-190
receiver, I 02 Orbiter, see Space Shuttle
scanning, 462-463 Order wire, PLRS, 300
sensor, 70-7 I Orthogonality, 560
velocity, 487 Oscillator:
white, 83, 560 DME crystal, 128
See also Atmosphere; Correlation; Filter; Power Doppler radar, 480
spectral density: Spread-spectrum GPS, 232, 236
Noise figure, I 02, 476 number-controlled, 240
Noise power, receiver, I 02 optical, 327-336
Northrop-Grumman Corp., 580, 582, 591 OXCO, 233
NOT AM, Notice to Airmen, 66!, 670, 680 radar altimeter, 493
NovAte! Communications, Ltd., 235, 236, 237, 239 TXCO, 233
NTR, net time reference, 286, 289 vco, 236
Null, antenna, 110 VFO, 524
Null-reference glide slope, 614 VOR crystal, !23
Nutation, astronomic, 587 See also Clock
NWS, National Weather Service, US, 672, 680 OS!, open system interconnection, 671
Nyquist rate, 548 Outlier, 48
Oakland, 681 P3V, 450

OAT, outside air temperature, 398 P3V, 450
Observability: Pacer Systems, Inc., 416
Doppler radar, 65 Pacific Ocean:
Kalman filter, 91 Chayka, 175, 176
radar, 529 Inmarsat, 270
stellar-inertial, 562-564 Loran, 152
Obstacle clearance, 648, 653 Omega, !56
Oceanic traffic: traffic control, 13, 680
Atlantic, 660 Packaging:
celestial navigation, 551 ARINC, 600, 70 1-702
com-nav, 13, 660 inertial, 356-358, 362-363
INDEX 763
radar. 548 Pipeline processors, 540

SEM, 549, 702 Pitot tube, 393 ff
Packet, 67L See also MTBF; Weight; Power Pixel:
consumption ceo, 572
Painting, radar 506 defective, 592
PAR, precision approach radar: telescope, 596
land-based, I 3, 652, 664 PL, see Pseudolite
Russia, 13 Planar array, see Antenna
shipborne 636 Planck's constant, 572
Para<lox: Planet, 586
mountain, 453-454 Plan position indicator, 506
smooth Earth, 453 Plasma, ionosphere, 193
Parallax, 555, 587 Plates, see Charts
Parallel approaches, 682-683 Platform, inertial, 314, 348 ff
Parallel processors, 540 alignment, 382 ff
Parasitic clement, Tacan, !34 analytic, 314
Partitioning, 18 4-gimbal, 3 16, 363-364
Pascal, B., 51 gimballed, 361 ff
Patch: gimbal lock, 361
SAR, 509, 520 isolation, 356, 361
terrain-matching, 37 stellar, 552
PATCO, pulse amplitude and timing controller, 147 strapdown, 356
Payload, GPS, 204-205 temperature effect, 356, 363
PCD, polar-cap disturbance, 165 vibration ef1'ect, 356, 362
PCDP, pilot control display panel, 301 PLRS, position location reportin!i system, 299-311
P-code, precise code: accuracy, 309-310
GLONASS, 260 altimetry, 305
GPS, 216 capacity, 309
PDF, probability density function, 541 control network, 30 I
POOP, position dilution of position, 49, 201 enhanced, 31 0
Pendulum, see Accelerometer Kalman filter, 307
Performance, see Error MGRS, 312
Perigee, 187 network management, 308-309
Period of orbit, !87 range measurement, 305
Perturbation: time offset measurement, 305
orbital, 188 ff waveform, 302-304
state vector. 7 8 Pneumatic tubing, 396
See also Filter PMC, power managment control, 493
PFD, primary flight display, 695 PN, see Pseudo-random noise
PGTR, pulse group time reference, 149 P/N, part number
Phase: Pointing:
in-phase, 239-240, 247, 528 precise, 594
lock, 236 to star, 556
measurement, 32 Polarization:
quadrature, 239-240, 247, 528 DME, 131
VOR, 126 Doppler radar, 464
Phased-array, see Antenna GPS linear, 206
Phases of flight, 7-10, 655-659 laser gyro, 333, 340
Photoconductive, 572 radio waves, I 04
Photomultiplier, 573 VOR, 123, 125
Phoron, 572 Polar regions:
Photovoltaic, 572 air traffic control, 13
Pickoff: wander azimuth, 29
accelerometer, 320 POR, Pacific Ocean region, 270
air-data probe, 417 Port, static, 394, 422
gyroscope, 325, 344 PORT structure, 30 I
inertial platform, 361 Positioning:
Pick-up, see Detector; Pickoff absolute, 114, 283
Piezoelectric: defined, 2
air-data, 402 relative, 283
cavity control, 33! Position Location Reporting System, see PLRS
mandrel, 337 Position report, ATC, 660
torquer, 3 27 Position update, see Fix
PIGA, pendulous intet?rating /iyro accelerometer, Positive control, 8, 12, 645
323 See also Air traffic control
Pilot, see Display; Cockpit Power, optical
Pilotage, 504-505 sky, 568-572
764 INDEX
Power, optical (cont'd) SEP, 48

star, 567-568 three dimensional, 48
Power, radiated: See also MTBF; Safety of flight
DME interrogator, 127 Probe, air data:
DME transponder, 128 angle of attack, 399-400
Doppler radar, 490 intrusive, 394
GLONASS, 258, 261 flush, 394, 422
GPS, 206 omnidirectional, 415
Loran, 147 pitot-static, 394-396
marker beacon, 121 recovery factor, 399
Omega, 169 rotating, 414-416
pseudolite, 276 swivel, 417
radar altimeter, 491-493, 495, 498 Profile, see Terrain matching
radar, phased array, 546 Program pins, 409
radio navaid, I 03 Programming, see Software
VOR, 123 Prohibited area, 646
See also each navaid Projections, map, see Charts
Power consumption: PROM, programmable ROM:
D0-160, 700-701 ARlNC bus, 694
gyroscope, 345 data storage, 51
inertial system, 317, 349 personality, 694
\!IlL-STD-704, 700-701 Propagation, radio:
radar altimeter, 493, 495, 498 description, 99 ff
Power spectral density, 219. 479 diurnal, 142, 160
PPC, predicted propagation correction, 159 JTIDS, 298
PPl, plan position indicator, 506 Loran over water, !46
PPL!, precise position location and identification, Omega, 160-161
284-285 seasonal, 142. 160
PPM, pulse-position modulation, 665, 670 Proportional navigation, 41
PPS, precise positioning service: Protocol, communication, 671
accuracy of, 245 Pseudolite:
description, 198 coverage, 202
error budget, 253 described, 13, 275-278
PPS-SM, PPS Security Module, 248 landing, 630
Preamble: · WAAS, 275
GPS, 220 Pseudo-random noise, see Spread-spectrum
JTIDS, 285 Pseudorange:
PLRS, 302 calculation of, 34-35. 89
WAAS, 271 definition, !81
See also Data bus GPS measurement, 226-227
Preamplifier, see Amplifier radio navigation, 114
Precession: Psi-angle, 62, 558
astronomic, 584, 586-589 PTH, path, 696
gyroscopic, 343 PTTI, precise time and time interval, 139
vertical gyro, 432 Pulse:
Precipitation, see Rain compression, 545
Precise positioning service, see PPS group, Loran, 139
Pressure: Tacan, north, 136
dynamic, 396 PVU, precision velocity update, 453, 504
helicopter dynamic, 414
impact, 396 Q-ball, 421
pitot, 396 Quadraphase, 234, 528
static, 394 Quality of navigation:
total, 396 GPS health, 221-222
Pressure altitude, 404 JTIDS, 289
Pressure-pattern navigation, 12, 41, 661 MLS confidence. 626
PRF, pulse reptitimz frequency, 493. 498 POOP, 202
PRI, pulse reJ>tition interval, 540 See also Errors
Principal axes, 45 QPSK, quadrature phase-shift keying, 27X, 670-671
PRM, precision runway monitor, 683 Quaternions:
PRN, Pseudo-random noise, see Spread-spectrum strap-down inertial, 352-353, 355
Probability: JT!DS, 293
CEP, 45
Gaussian, 46 RA resolution advisory, 6g6
GPS codes, 214-216 Rad, radian
integrals, 46 Radar:
landing accident,597 equation, 4 72-4 77
INDEX 765
history, 503 IR absorption, 637

millimeter wave, 637 landing, 599
signal processing, 539-540 RAM, random-access memory
software, 539, 547-548 Random route, see RNAV
Radar, airborne: Random walk, see Noise
fluctuations, 5 13 Range:
mapping, 503 ff bin, 515,519 ff
military target, 5 cell, 534 iT
multimode. 29, 451, 457, 503, 524, calculation of line-of-sight, 33-35
538 ff clock error, 35
pencil beam, 533, 538 dynamic, 507
reliability, 504 in ECEF, 233
resolution, 505, 508 iterative calculation, 33-35
search, 664 Millington's method, 146
sensitivity, 507 one-way, 35-36
shadowing, 508 range-to-go, 21, 38-40
terrain avoidance, 504, 529 ff samples, 506
terrain-following, 529 ff slant, 33, 550
warning time, 533 trace, 506
weather, 540-545 two-way, 32
See also ACRS; Altimeter, radar; Doppler radar; walk, radar, 5 16-5 I 7
PAR; SAR: ''''''?'''?" 0 ''''Weather radar Ranging:
Radar, traffic control: DME, 81-82
airport surveillance, 652 GPS, 229
approach vectors, 600 with JTIDS, 288
ASR, 679 line of sight, 112, 181
carrier landing, 634-635 with PLRS, 305
display. 658 pseudoranging, 34, 181
ground-controlled approach, 636, 664 WAAS, 273
height-finding, 664 while search, 538
primary, 664 See also Mnltilateration
procedures, 662 Ranging, direct:
secondary surveillance, 664-667, 687 Loran, 145-146
Tracon, 679 Omega, 164-165
transponder, 665 Range-rate calculation, 183-184
See also Separation RAPCON, radar approach control center, 655, 679
Radiance, sky, 569 Rayleigh scattering, 421
Radiation: Rb, Rubidium, 204
hardening, 206 RBGM, real beam ground map, 504-509, 538
natural, 10 RCAG, remote communication air-l{rotmd site, 677
Radio altimeter, see Altimeter: Radar RCP. right circularly polarized, 333
Radio-frequency interference, see EM! RCS, radar cross section, 542
Radio-magnetic compass, 426 Reasonability test:
Radio navigation: JTIDS relnav, 294
history, 11-14, 100 Kalman filter, 92
radiated power, 103 Reasonableness, see Reasonability test
See also each navaid Rebalance loop:
Radionavigation Plan, US, 705 accelerometer, 320-322
Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, see mechanical gyroscope, 343, 345
RTCA optical gyroscope, 339
Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services, Receiver, see each radio navaid
see RTCM Receiver autonomous integrity monitoring, see
Radius of curvature: RAIM
Gaussian. 25 Reconnaissance, 6
meridian. 25, 370 Recovery:
prime, 25, 370 factor, probe, 398
Radome, 4-5, 125, 230, 465-466, 480, 626 time, DME, 70-72, 130
Rails, cooling, 703 Recursive filter, see Kalman filter
RAIM, receiver autonomous integrity monitoring, Redundancy, see Fault tolerance
264-268 Reference:
Rain: pulse, Tacan, 134
attenuation in, 109 points, radar, 505
detection by radar, 542 station, GPS, 248
effect on air-data, 399 Reflection, see Mirror: Multipath
effect on GPS, 195 Reflectivity:
effect on radar, 476, 533-534 clouds, 542
effect on weather radar, 540, 542-543 dust, 544
766 INDEX
Reflectivity (cont'd) oceanic, 661

radar, 507-508 separation, 663
rain, 542, 545 RNP see Required navigation performance
See also Mirror; Multipath Rockwell, dust jacket photo
Refraction, see Atmosphere; Ionosphere; Rollout, on runway, 599, 604-605
Troposphere ROM, read-only memory, 21, 51
Refractive index, 35, 193 Rosemount, Inc, 395
Refueling, 6 Rotation:
Relative navigation, 283 axis of, 352
Relativity, 227 of Earth, see Earth
Re!Orid, 288 Euler angles, 349
Reliability: on takeoff, 7
air data, 412 See also Direction cosines; Quaternions
inertial navigator, 364 Round-off, 92
Loran, 144 RPV, remotely piloted vehicle, see UAV
radar, 504 RS, radio set, 300
of software, 18 RSS, root sum square
temperature effect, 703 RS-232, serial data bus, 409
See also Availability; MTBF RSBN, CIS navigation aid, 13
Re!Nav, 284 RT, radio transmitter, 17 4
Remotely piloted vehicles, 6 RTCA, formerly Radio Technical Commission for
Repair, see Maintenance Aeronautics: ·
Repeatability, Loran 144-145 altimetry, 727
Repetition rate: air traffic management, 738
DME, 127 avionics standards, 19, 705-739
Loran, 132, 140 OOPS landing, 251, 252, 713
radar altimeter, 493, 498 Doppler radar, 730
weather radar, 544 OPS, 235, 713
Reporting, ATC, 660 ILS specifications, 608
Required navigation performance, 235, 662 landing, 735
Rescue, see Search and rescue marker beacon, 619
Residuals, OPS, 229 radio navaids, 710
See also Errors software, 51
Resolution: WAAS, 718-719
A/D converter, 402 RTCM, Radio Technical Commission for Maritime
advisory, 686 Services, 250, 252, 715
optical, 565, 572 RTR, remote transmitter/ receiver, 679
radar, 5 II ff RTT, round-trip timing, 286-287
Resolvers: RTTI, round-trip timing interrogation, 286
gimbal, 317 RTTR, round-trip timing reply, 286
star tracker, 577, 579 Rubidium clock, 204
Resonance: Runge- Kutta, 26 I
accelerometer, 320 Runway:
optical gyroscope, 326 active, 656
tuned rotor, 344-345 aircraft carrier, 630-631
vertical gyroscope, 433 ATM, 660
See also Tuning capacity model, 690
Restoring loop, see Servo environment, 651
Restricted area, 646 ILS installation, 6 I 9
RF, radio frequency incursion, 604-605
RF, remote facility, 208 monitor, 683
RFI, radio frequency interference, see EMI surveillance, 600
RH, relative humidity, 195 See also Airport
RHCP, right-hand circularly polarized, 230 Runway dimensions:
Rho-rho fix, 113 aircraft carrier, 630
See also Multilateration fixed, 600
Rho-theta fix, 113 Russia, see Cl S
Rhumb line, 40 RVR, runway visual range, 599
Right ascension, 200, 553
Risk, collision, I 0, 606 S3A, 450
RLO, ring-laser gyro, 326 ff SA, selective availability, OPS 198, 235
RMS, root mean square, 46 Safety-critical:
RNAV, random navigation: air data, 399
computation, 42-44 air speed 413
described, 7, 649 avionics, 16, 703
ONSS, 687 OOPS, 248-249
MLS, 626 engine controls, 16
INDEX 767
flight control, 599, 606 state, 475

partitioning, 18 water, Loran, 143
terrain following radar, 536-538 water, Omega, 160
software, 5 l SEADS, Shuttle Entry Air-Data System, 422
traffic control, 678 Sea level:
WAAS, 268 atmosphere, 397, 644
See also Fault tolerance map, 23, 38
Sagnac effect, 326 refraction, 578
Sampling: Search:
aliasing, 24 7 DME, 67, 130
Kalman filter, 94 Loran, 149
See also Filter radar, 511
SAR, synthetic aperture radar, 5 ll-522 Search and rescue, 16, 119, 605, 642, 657
antenna scan, 509-511 .sec, second of time
array time, 512 Secondary phase factor, 143
autofocus, 519 Secondary surveillance radar, 665
beam sharpening, 504 ff Sector, ATC, 656
focussed, 516-518 controller, 677
future, 549 departure, 657
image formation, 508, 512 ff terminal, 679
patch, 509, 520 Segment:
polar format, 519 final approach, 654
real beam, 504 ff, 518 GPS, 207 ff
rectangular format, 5 18 initial approach, 652-653
scalloping, 509 intermediate approach, 653-654
strip maps, 5 16 mi>sed approach, 654
terrain features, 508 Selective availability, see SA
unfocussed, 514-516, 518 Self-test, see BIT
utilization, 505-509 SEM, standard electronic module, 702
SARP, Standard and Recommended Practice, SEM-E, SEM size E, 549, 702
608 Sensitivity, receiver, 102
SARSAT, search-and-rescue satellite-aided Sensitivity time control, 507
tracking, 16 Sensor:
Satellite navigation history, 178. See also air data, 39 3 ff, 400
GLONASS; GPS airspeed, 396-397
Saudi Arabia, 176 acoustic, 6, 348, 417
SAW, suiface acoustic wave, 236 angle of attack, 399-400
S-band, 2-4 Ghz ceo, 553, 572-573, 596
SEAS, satellite-based augmentation system, 268 electrolytic level, 429
SBO, ILS sidebands-only signal, 609 inertial, 317-348
Scale factor: magnetic, 437-443
accelerometer, 323-324 military target, 5
gyro, 341 navigation, 21
Scalloping, radar, 509 photo, 327-328
Scan, radar, 506, 5 32, 5 38 pressure, 394-397
Scattering, optical, 330, 335 quantum of, 572
Scattering, radar: star, 572-574
Doppler noise, 462-463 temperature, 598-599
sea, 481-485 See also Accelerometer; Dead-reckoning; FUR;
terrain, 474-475 Gyroscopes; Star
Schiphol Airport, 597 Sensor Systems, Inc., 235, 238
Schuler frequency: SEP sphere of equal probability, also called
damping, 91 spherical error probable, 48, 207
defined, 373, 377 Separation of aircraft:
illustration, 59, 567 alert, 678-679
Scintillation: approach, 659, 682
radio, 195 in controlled airspace, 645
SAR, 508 longitudinal, 650
star, 578 metering, 678
TF/TA radar, 535 oceanic tracks, 660-661
Scorsby table, 365 procedural 12, 649
Scramjet, 421 radar, 651
Sculling, 359 standards, 649-651, 663-664
SDF, single-degree-ojfreedom, TCAS, 685
SDLC, synchronous data link control, 210, 212 vertical, 651
Sea: visual, 651
bias, radar, 481 wake turbulence, 659
768 INDEX
Separation of aircraft (it cont'd) Slip rings. 363

See also Airspace; Air traffic management; Slot, see Time slot
Collision Avoidance SM, securiry module, 248
Servo; Smart probes, 492
accelerometer restoring, 320 Smart skin, 549
air data, 393 smi, starure miles = 5280 feet
gimbal drive, 361-363 Smoothing, see Filter: Delay
goniometer, 117 S/N, see Signal-to-noise ratio
Tacan antenna, 136 Snell's Law, 577
Sextant, 551 Snow, see Rain
SF, secondary phase fiJcror. 143 SNR, see Signal-to-noise ratio
Shadowing, 508 Soft iron, 438
Shear, see Wind shear Software:
SHF, super-high frequency, I 00 contents of, 21, 411, 507, 539
Shimmer, star, 578 cost, 52
Shock and vibration, see Vibration development sequence, 51-52
Shock wave, see Supersonic independent verification, 25 I-252
Shupe Effect, 340 loading. 21, 52
SID, standard insrrumenr deparrure, 16, 49, 655 radar, 539-540, 547
Sidebands, 466, 609 See also each navaid; Filter; Kalman filter
Side lobe: Solar:
Doppler radar, 461 activity, 194
suppression, 665 array, 204
Side-looking radar, see SAR illumination, 162, 571
Sidereal day, 200, 554 Sole means of navigation, 11, 661, 687
Sideslip, 399-400, 603-604 Sonobuoy, 6, 484
Signal-in-space: Sound, speed of, 397. See also Acoustic
GPS, 213-218 South America, I I, 208
Loran, 140-141 Soviet Union, see CIS
Omega, 157-159 Space segment, GPS, 179
Tacan, 135 Space Shuttle:
VOR, 123 air data, 393, 422
See also each navaid landing, 636
Signal processing, see each navaid; Filter; Kalman Space wave, 141
filter Spacing, see Separation
Signal-to-leakage ratio, 465 Specification, see ARINC: Eurocae; lCAO;
Signal-to-noise ratio, 103,241,472,476, 533,573 RTCA
Silicon sensors: Specific heat. air, 397
air data, 402 Spectrum:
inertial, 321, 347 Doppler radar, 460 ff
Simplex data bus, 691 GLONASS, 260
Simulation: GPS, 216-217
baro-inertial, 373-375 multi-mode radar, 523, 525
inertial, 3 76 ff See also Frequency bands; Spread spectrum
landing, 604 Spectral density, see Power spectral density
Monte Carlo, 376 Speech:
stellar-inertiaL 561-562 recognition, 699
training, 52 synthesis, 699
See also each navaid; Error; Kalman filter; Speed
Multisensor navigation landing, 600, 603, 63 I
SINS, ship's inerrialnavifiation system, 314 of light, I 0 I, 223
Sirius, 555 of sound, 397
SJTAN, 38 See also Airspeed
Siting errors: Sperry Corp, see Honeywell
glide slope, 6!6-617 Spherical harmonics:
Tacan, 136 gravity model, 188
VOR, 127 magnetic model, 437
SKE, srarionkeeping equipment Spherical triangle, 40
Skip distance, 107 SPI, special idenrificarion pulse, 665
Sky background, 568-572 SPN-35, 636
Sky wave, Loran: SPN-41, 42, 46, 631-636
propagation, 106-108 Spread-spectrum:
pulse contamination, 140 GPS, I 98, 234
Slave station: JTJDS, 286
Decca, 171 PLRS, 302
Loran, 139 SPS, srandard posirionillfi service:
Slip, landing, 604, 607 accuracy of. I 98, 253 ff
INDEX 769
described, 198 Steering:

landing, ()29-630 airway, 40-42
SR-71, 551 carrier landing, 633
SRC, sensitivity range control, 492 course-line, 38-42
SS, space segment, GPS, 179 direct, 40-41
SSR, secondary surveillance radar, 665 great circle, 40
Stable element, see Platform; Inertial guidance, 2
Stable platform, see Platform; Inertial inertial, 373
Stability. filter, 92 Stellar-inertial navigation, 68, 557 ff
Stabilization: STOL, short takeoff and landing, 6. See also
celestial, 577 VTOL
Doppler radar, 457-460, 485 Strapdown:
heading references, 426 ff magnetometer, 440-442
inertial, 314, 361-362 radar antenna, 459
Tacan transmitter, 134 stellar sensor, 64. 581-583, 594
Stall margin, 603 Strapdown INS, 348 ff
STANAG 3910, 693 mechanization, 348-353
Standard: packaging. 356-359
arrival, 655 performance. 359-361
atmosphere, 397 quaternions,352-354
departure, 65 5 role of gyroscope, 325
deviation, 4() Strouhal number, 416, 553
positioning service, see SPS SUA, special-use ainpace, 688
Standards, Subfrarne, GPS, 220
avionic, 19 Sunspots, 106
separation, 663-664 Supersonic:
See also ARINC; DoD; Eurocae; ICAO; IEEE; Mach calculation, 405
RTCA optical shock wave, 578
Standard terminal arrival route, see STAR radar reflection, 465
STAR, standard terminal arrival route, I h, 655 See also Hypersonic
Star: Supplemental navigation, 235, 266, 661
catalog, 556. 583-590 Surveillance:
calculation, 590-593 automatic dependent, I, 667-669
detector, 571-573 radar, 664-667, 683
double, 585 on runway, 605
geometry, 553-557 Surveyor, 450
irradiance, table, 570 Swath, range, 507, 519. 538
magnitude, 567-5t>9, 583 Swcrling, P., 53()
measurement, 552 Swinging:
pointing error, 576-578 compass, 439, 443-444
position calculation, 586-590 with Doppler radar. 490
quantum efficiency, 574 Switch, land-sea, 483
signal power, 567-568 Swiveling probe, 417-418
spectral characteristics. 567-568 Synchro:
variable, 584-585 air data computer, 400
Star tracker: direction finder, 445
detached. 577 Doppler radar, 459
gimballed, 576 magnetic compass, 441
strapdown, 563, 577, 581-583 Synchronization:
See also Celestial navigation; Telescope bit, 242
State vector: frame. 242
deli ned, I, 73 GPS codes, 216
dimensions, 90 GPS navigation data, 218
GPS, 91 JTIDS, 286-287
inertial, 90 Loran, 147
JTIDS. 289 of measurements, 92
stellar-inertial, 560 Omega, 158
See a/so Filter; Kalman filter PLRS, 300
Static defect, 394 VLP, 167
Static source, 413 See also Time measurement
Statistics: Synchronous satellite, 268
distribution of errors, 45 Synthesizer, GPS, 239
Gaussian, 46 Synthetic aperture radar, see SAR
stationary, 44 Synthetic array, sec SAR
variance, 4()
See also Covariance: Noise T A, traffic advison, 658, 68()
STC, sensitivitr time control. 507 TA, terrain avoidance, 504
770 INDEX
TACAN, tactical air navigation: Terrain:

aircraft carrier, 134, 633 approach, 615-618
approach fix, 600 avoidance radar, 529 ff
military usage, 5 digital maps, 37-38
receiver, 135-137 errors, radar, 474, 481
signal-in-space, 133 following radar, 529 ff
transmitter, 133-135 glide slope bends, 619
Takeoff, 7 land-water boundary, 506
rapid, 593 matching, 37
Tanker, 5 measurement, radar, 38, 534-536
Target: patch, 37-38, 509, 520
chart, 49-50, 378 profiling, 38, 530
military, 5 radar image, 505, 508
radar, 534 radar reflection, 67, 453--454, 474, 508-509
Taxi, see Landing scattering, radar, 474 ff
Taylor series, 520 See also Glide slope; Radar, Airborne
TCAS, traffic alert and collision avoidance system: Testing:
description, 684-686, 689 accelerometer, 324
display overlay, 50 air data, 422
speech cues, 699 Doppler radar, 489
TCXO, temperature compensated crystal oscillator, flight, 299, 311, 379, 394,409, 413, 418,
233 422--423, 489 71 8/10
TO, dynamical time, 576 mechanical gyroscope, 34 7
TO, time difference, 139 optical gyroscope, 342
TDF, two-degrees-oj}reedom, 343-345 See also Compensation; Calibration; Swinging
TDMA, time-division multiple access: Textron Defense Systems, 627
JTIDS, 287 TF, see Terrain following
PLRS, 303 TF/TA, terrain .followingjterrain avoidance
TDOP, time dilution of position, 49, 201 TFM, traffic-flow management, 542
TDWR, terminal Doppler weather radar, 673 Theodolite, 381, 439
TEC, total electron content, 194 Threshold, optical, 574. See also Landing
Telemetry, GPS, 212, 218-221 Throttle management, 15
Telescope: carrier landing, 635
design, 96, 564-566 Category II, III, 599
gimballed, 579-580 TID, travelling ionospheric disturbance, 194
optic, 514-516 Tidal effect:
stabilized, 563, 578 landing altimeter, 607
strapdown, 552, 563 radar, 484
pointing commands, 557, 576 Timation, 197
Temperature: Time constant, see Delay
accelerometer error, 323 Time definition:
antenna error, 480 dynamic, 576
avionic bays, 703 uni versa!, 207, 226
effect on reliability, 703 Time-difference, Loran, 139
free stream, 398 Time measurement:
lapse rate, 644 absolute, 13, 226
optical effects, 578 Allan variance, 190-192
outside air, 398 atomic, 204
stagnation, 398 celestial navigator, 551, 575-576
star, 568 difference, 32, 139
total, 398 from GPS, 255
Temperature-compensation: history, 13
air data, 399, 402 tram JTJDS, 289
beam direction, 480 WWV, 575
gimballed platform, 363 See also Clock
inertial instruments, 321, 331, 340, 346, 381, Time of arrival:
429 ComNav, 283
optical gyroscope, 340 GPS, 184
oscillator, 232-233 JT!DS, 284 tf
Template, voice, 699 Loran, 3 6, 145-146
TERCOM, Terrain Contour Mapping, 38 PLRS, 299 ff
Terminal: Omega, 36
control area, 645 Time slot:
instrument procedure, 657 DME, 130
See also Airspace JTlDS, 284 ff
TERPROM, 38 Loran, 149
TERPS, terminal instrument procedures, 652, 736 PLRS, 304
INDEX 771
Time to closest approach, 685 Tsikada, 178

Time Reference Scanning Beam, 621 TSO, technical standard order, 235
TLM, telemetry word, 218 ff TT &C, telemetry, tracking and control, 270
TMU, traffic management unit. 677-678 Tubes, air data, 396, 412
TOA, see Time of arrival Tuning:
TOPCO, transmitter operational control, 147 gyrocompass, 436
Torquer: gyro suspension, 344
accelerometer, 319 Kalman filter, 92
directional gyro, 445 optical cavity, 331
gyro, 325, 343, 345, 431, 444, 583 See also Filter; Radio navaids
mechanization, 371 Turbulence:
platform, 314 clear air, 418, 543
Touchdown: shimmer, 578
aircraft carrier, 631 wake, 659
tolerances, 604 Turn and bank indicator, 11, 400
wheel path, 602 TWT, travelling wave tube, 546
See also Landing TXCO, temperature-controlled crystal oscillator,
TOW, time of week, 204 233
Tower:
air traffic control, 655, 679-680 U-2, 245, 551
as radar target, 533-535 U AV, unmanned airborne vehicle:
T jR. transmit/receive, 546 Doppler radar, 450, 490
TR-1, 245 mis,,ion. 6
TRACAB. terminal radar approach colocated with navigation of, 311
tower cab, 679 radar altimeter 497
TRACE, track review and correction estimation, vehicle, 5
307 UDRE, user differential range error, 250
Trace. range, 506 UERE, user equivalent range error, 253
Track: UHE ultra-high frequency, 100
angle, illustration, 30 United Kingdom, 417, 437, 598, 605
oceanic, 660 United States:
proce~sing, 678 Air Force, 197, 208, 245, 530, 692, 725, 735
terrain matching, 37 Army, 413, 474, 480, 726
toward target, 40 Naval Air Engineering Center, 632, 633
Tracker, electronic: Naval Research Laboratory, 637
altitude, 493 Navy, 178, 197, 245,633,635
carrier phase, 242, 248 See also FAA; Military; NWS; USCG
DME, 131 Unmanned airborne vehicles, see UAV
frequency, 469-472 Update, see Fix
GPS code. 241-242, 248 Uplink, see Data link
leading edge, 492 Upload, GPS, 207
Loran, 151 URA, user range accuracy, 221
mapping radar. 511 URE, user range aror, 207
sine-cosine, 471 URO, user readout, 301
while scan, 538 USCG, United States Coast Guard, 119, 145, 153.
TRACON, tenninal mdar approach control center, 175
655, 679 USNO, US Naval Observatory, 207-20S, 262
Traffic, see Air space; Air traffic management USSR, Union of Soviet Sociali.,t Republics, see CIS
Training: UT, universal time, 576
CBT, 20 UTC, universal time coordinated:
maintenance. 701 celestial, 575-576
radar operator, 506 GLONASS, 262
simulator, 52 GPS, 207. 218. 226, 255
Transducer, air data, 400. See also Sensor Loran, 139, !55
Transfer alignment, 386-388 UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator, 28
Transit, 178
Transmissometer, 599 Validity test, see Reasonability test
Tran.'!mitter, see each radio navaid Vane:
Transponder, ATC. 657, 658, 665-667. See also angle of attack, 399
Beacon; Interrogator angle of sideslip, 399
Transverse pole, 28-29 pivoted, 395
Trident aircraft, 605 swiveling, 417
Trilateration, see Multilateration Variance, 46. See also Allan variance; Statistics
Troposphere: Variation, magnetic. 437
delay, 249, 272 VCO, \'Oltage-controlled oscillator, 236
refraction, 195-197, 227-228 VDJ, vertical deviation indicator, 613
Truncation. 92 VDOP, vertical dilution of position, GPS, 201. 253
772 INDEX
Vector: radome, 125

air traffic, 655, 659 receiver, 125-127
celestial error, 558 signals-in-space, 122-123
gravity, 23 terminal, 646
state, I transmitter, 122-125
Velocity: VOR/DME:
dead reckoned, 29 airways, 42-44
Doppler-measured, 449 ff approach. 65 2
GPS-measurcd, 255 description, 122-126
group, 193-194 Doppler, 646
iII ustrated, 30 RNAV, 646
inertially-measured, 313 ff RNP, 663
JTIDS, 285 VORTAC VOR-Tacan:
phase, 193 ATM, 646
PVU, 522 description. 138
SAR, 518-522 steering, 41-44
touchdown dispersion, 607 Vortex transducer, 415-416
Vertical: VS! vertical situation displav, 427
apparent, 23 VTOL, vertical takeoff and landing, 636. See also
astronomic, 23 STOL
defined, 23
deflection of the, 25 w, wart= joule/second
gyro, 429-436 W AAS, wide-area augmentation system:
separation. 65 ATM, 663, (>B7
true, 23 description, 268-274
Vertical gyroscope, see Gyroscope: Vertical en-route, I 5
Vertical position, see Altitude landing, 252
VFO, variable frequencv oscillator, 524-525 WADGPS, wide-area DGPS, 252, 268
VFR, visual flight rules: Wake turbulence:
clearance, 657 aircraft, 659
in controlled airspace, 645 ship, 631
described, 643 ff Wander angle, see Azimuth; Wander
transponder code, 665 Wander azimuth, see Azimuth; Wander
VHF, verv highfrequencv, I 00 Warm-up, INS, 3Xl
VHF, omnidirectional range, see VOR Water:
Vibrating beam accelerometer, 322 scattering, 475
Vibrating diaphragm semor. 402 sea bias, 4S I
Vibrating string accelerometer, 322 sea current, 484
Vibration: sea state, 475
accelerometer, 322 tidal offset, 484
directional gyro, 446 Wave, electromagnetic:
effect on alignment. 384 tf guide, 161
effect on oscillator, 233 line-oyf-sight, 1OX-Ill
gimballed platform, 362 Loran space, 141
gunfire, 6-7 number, 159-160
gyroscope, 331-333, 340 See a/.10 Ground wave; Sky wave; Space wave
.strapdown system, 359 Wave-off, see Bolter
See also Acceleration Watts Antenna Company, 618
Vibropendulous error, 320 Waypoint:
Victor airway. 646 description, 16, 38, 43, 649
Video, radar, 5 12 time of arrival, 675
Visibility, 597, 645-646, 657. See also Ceiling Weapons:
Visual charted procedures, 660 control of, 17
Visual flight rules, 643-644 kill radius, 8, 47
Visual separation, see Separation miss distance, 522
VLF, very low fi'equency, 100 Weather:
VLF, Omega, 167-168 all-weather operations, 597
VMC, visual meteorological conditions, for ATM, 642, 672-673, 678, 682
65 I ff briefing, 656
VMO, maximum operational velocity, 408 cyclonic winds, 12
Von Karman, 415 forecast, 598, 6 72, 680
VOR, VHF omnidirectional range: GPS, 210
approach fix, 600 IMC. 9
block diagram, 125 landing, 597-598
Doppler, 126-127 runway visual range,
high altitude, 646 star visibility, 562
low altitude, 646 See also Ceiling; Lightning
INDEX 773
Weather radar, 540-545 LLWAS. 673

history, 503 measured by radar, 540
precipitation effect, 542 shear, 16, 418-420, 540, 543, 673
See also Display steering, 41
Week number, GPS, 222 Window:
Weight of receivers: atmospheric, I09
direction finder, 117 distortion, 577
DME, 131 optical, 552, 577
Doppler radar, 490 radar PVU, 525
GPS antenna, 245 WMM, World Magnetic Model, 437
inertial navigator, 317, 349 WMS, wide-area master station, 269
marker beacon, 122 Wobbling modulation, 495
mechanical gyroscope, .'45 World Geodetic System:
optical gyroscope, 340 dimensions, 25, 224
radar altimeter, 491, 493 gravitation, 187
Tacan, 136 World War 11:
YOR, 126 navigation, 12
Weighting factors, see Filter radar, 503, 507
Westinghouse Corporation, 637 WRS, wide-area refermce station, 269
WGS, see World Geodetic System WWY radio, 575
Whisky compass, 440 WWY-H radio, 575
Wide-area DGPS. see W AAS
Wilcox Corporation, 614, 615 X-15 air data, 421
Wild point, 48 X-band, 101,517,538,542,550, 6.'4
Wind:
aircraft carrier, 631 Yaw damper, 400
cross-wind landing, 60.'-604
dead reckoning, 30 Z-beacon, 12
Doppler radar, 484 Z-count, 204
in-flight calculation, 408 Zero crossings, Loran, 141
during landing, 599, 603 Zonal harmonics, see Spherical harmonics

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Avionics Navigation Systems Second Edition

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AVIONICS NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

Avionics Navigation Systems. Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried

Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried

A WILEY -INTERSCIENCE PUBLICATION

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.

Copyright © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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2 The Navigation Equations 21

2.3 Coordinate Frames 26

3 Multisensor Navigation Systems 55

3.13.1 Linearizing a Nonlinear Range Measurement 81

4 Terrestrial Radio-Navigation Systems 99

5 Satellite Radio Navigation 178

5.2.2 Range-Rate (Change-in-Range) Equations 183

6 Terrestrial Integrated Radio Communication-Navigation

6.2.3 Clock Synchronization 286

7 Inertial Navigation 313

7.6.2 Simulation 376

8 Air-Data Systems 393

9 Attitude and Heading References 426

10 Doppler and Altimeter Radars 449

11 Mapping and Multimode Radars 503

11.2 Radar Pilotage 504

12 Celestial Navigation 551

12.1 Introduction 551

12.4 Stellar Sensor Design Characteristics 564

13 Landing Systems 597

13.6 The Microwave-Landing System 620

14 Air Traffic Management 642

14.4.2 Departure 657

15 Avionics Interfaces 691

15.1 Introduction 691

or navigation. The chapters are extensively cross-referenced for the readers'

Dr. Kayton wishes to acknowledge Clarence Asche of Honeywell for photos of

R. Grover Brown on Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring, Ed Martin

THOMSON S. ABBOTT, JR. (Co-author, Chapter II), Hughes Aircraft Com-

DAVID H. AMOS (Co-author, Chapter 4), Senior Director, Systems Engineer-

R. GROVER BROWN, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 3), Distinguished Professor

HEINZ BUELL (Co-author, Chapter 10), Senior Member of Technical Staff,

JOSEPH M. COVINO (Co-author, Chapter 4), Senior Engineer, Synetics Cor-

GERALD N. HAAS, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 12), Senior Research Engineer,

JAMES R. HAGER (Co-author, Chapter 10), Honeywell Military Avionics,

ROBERT H. JEFFERS, Ph.D. (Co-author, Chapter 11), Senior Scientist, Hughes

MYRON KAYTON, Ph.D., P.E. (Editor; author of Chapters 1, 2; co-author Chap-

JAMES A. KIVETT (Co-author, Chapter 6), Hughes Aircraft Company, El

EDWARD J. KNOBBE, Ph.D. (Lead author, Chapter 12), Advanced Systems

Navigation is the determination of the position and velocity of a moving vehi-

1.2 GUIDANCE VERSUS NAVIGATION

Avionics Navigation Systems. Myron Kayton and Walter R. Fried 1

1. Steering toward a destination of known position from the aircraft's present

1.3 CATEGORIES OF NAVIGATION

Navigation systems can be categorized as positioning or dead-reckoning. Posi-

1. Radio systems (Chapters 4 to 6). They consist of a network of transmit-

Dead-reckoning navigation systems derive their state vector from a contin-

I. Aircraft heading and either speed or acceleration. For example, heading

8) or Doppler radars (Chapter I 0). Vector acceleration is measured with

Dead-reckoning systems must be re-initialized as errors accumulate and if

1.4 THE VEHICLE

1.4.1 Civil Aircraft

Figure 1.1 Avionics placement on multi-purpose transport (Courtesy of McDonnell Douglas,