Advanced RF Mapping
Abstract
One of the key advantages on the battlefield is the ability to actively sense and manipulate the radio frequency (RF) environment, enabling reliable and assured communications, as well as effectively mapping and manipulating the adversary's communications in ways that defy their situational awareness, understanding, or response. Current approaches are emitter-based, with the signal processing techniques focused on array and time-based processing for each emitter. As the RF environment becomes more complex and cluttered, the number of collection assets and the required level of signal processing inhibits our capability to pervasively sense and manipulate at the precision (time, frequency, and space) required for effective action. To address these Radio Frequency and Spectral Sensing (RF/SS) challenges, the Advanced RF Mapping program developed and demonstrated new concepts for sensing and manipulating the RF environment based on distributed rather than centralized collection. This approach took advantage of the proliferation of RF devices, such as radios and cell phones, on the battlefield. To leverage these existing devices effectively, the program developed new algorithms that map the RF environment with minimal communication load between devices. The Advanced RF Mapping program also developed approaches to exploit our precise knowledge of the RF environment and the distributed proximity of RF devices to provide reliable and assured communications for our warfighter as well as to infiltrate or negate our adversaries' communications networks. The Advanced RF Mapping program enabled both offensive and defensive operations in complex RF environments. Advanced RF Mapping technology transitioned to the Services.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2019
- Source ID
- 58c57a1bd568c07bf3e3fde925bd2aa9