Algorithms for Improved, Heading Assisted, Maneuver Tracking

The evolution of the SSR mode S system makes it possible to receive airborne measurements at the ground station. The possibility of using data-linked heading measurements to assist present trackers to track maneuvering aircraft is investigated. The quality to be expected from heading measurements is investigated from available on-board recordings. Maneuver detection and false measurement rejection schemes are developed, and finally suitable maneuver tracking filters are constructed and evaluated.     

Improved tracking with mode-S data-linked velocity measurements

The use of downlinked airspeed and magnetic heading data to enhance tracking in mode-S equipped air traffic control (ATC) systems is examined. A tracker performing satisfactorily during straight line flight as well as during steep maneuvers is discussed. The filter copes easily with longitudinally accelerating targets and is suitable for tracking low-velocity targets like helicopters in all phases of flight. The filter assumes that the target flies in a circular path from sample to sample, which results in nonlinear system equations. The filter is suitable for implementation in three-dimensional tracking systems, particularly on the vertical axis, where target velocities are usually small     

Computation of aircraft geometric height under radar surveillance

A radar system for geometric height estimation of civil aircraft is described. The system consists of one standard or mode S secondary surveillance radar (SSR) and one omnidirectional antenna sited away from SSR under an airplane. The geometric height is derived by trilateration. Systematic errors are compensated for by deriving the profile of the effect on height measurements of the bias in range measurements. A curve-fitting technique is then used, which estimates both the geometric height and any non-zero systematic errors     

Using Roll-Angle Measurements to Track Aicraft Maneuvers

Present day radar trackers used for air traffic control purposes perform satisfactorily during straight-line flight, but their performance during maneuvers is sometimes degraded. The introduction of the secondary surveillance radar mode S system makes transmission of several airborne measurements to the ground station possible. This paper investigates the use of one such parameter, roll angle, to assist present trackers during maneuvers to achieve accuracies comparable to those achieved during straightline ine flight.     

Three-dimensional tracking using on-board measurements

The development of a three-dimensional tracker using onboard measurements is described. A system model based on aircraft dynamics is derived. A full 3-D tracking system that can be split, with a part operating onboard and a part operating on the ground, is developed. Attitude angle and aircraft airspeed measurements are processed to estimate the components of the aircraft velocity with respect to the surrounding air. These are then used to obtain estimates of the aircraft position and ground speed. The tracker is designed so that the number of quantities transmitted to the ground station is kept to a minimum. The tracker was evaluated with real data and was found to perform well, resulting in a considerable improvement over the conventional first-order Kalman filter     

Real-Time Wind Estimation and Tracking with Transponder Downlinked Airspeed and Heading Data

The use of magnetic heading and true air speed measurements made on board civil airplanes to assist in radar tracking is described. The data are telemetered via the air-ground data link of the mode S radar system. A new filter, similar to the first-order Kalman filter, is developed using velocity measurements to bias its prediction equations. This filter follows satisfactorily maneuvers, and estimates, in real time, the wind in the vicinity of the airplane. Finally a scheme is described to remove false data due to data-link corruption.     

Inherent bias assessment in height computation employing mixed-typeradar data

The objective here is the analysis of a systematic error inherently existing in aircraft geometric height monitoring under radar surveillance. This error is caused by the nonlinear processing of noisy measurements. The geometric height system under investigation uses mixed-type radar data, since the height is computed by referring range raw measurements to horizontal trajectory smoothed data