BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A MULTI-FREQUENCY RADIOMETRIC COMPLEX FOR UAV DETECTION IN DIFFERENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
Authors: Ruzhentsev Nikolay , Zhyla Simeon , Pavlikov Vladimir , Cherepnin Gleb , Tserne Eduard , Popov Anatoliy , Sobkolov Anton 
Published: December 2021

Background. Technologies for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of various classes are rapidly developing in Ukraine and the world. Small in terms of weight and dimensions and almost invisible for most information and measurement systems, UAVs began to be used in various industries - from the national economy to multimedia and advertising. Together with their useful application, new dangers and incidents have appeared - a collision of UAVs with people, structures, cultural monuments, the transportation of criminal goods, terrorist acts, flights over prohibited areas and within airports. UAV detection and control of their movement in populated areas and near critical objects are becoming one of the most important tasks of air traffic control services. The existing systems of the optical, acoustic and radar ranges cannot effectively perform such tasks in difficult meteorological conditions. As an addition to the already developed detection systems, it is proposed to use radiometric systems that register the UAV's own radio-thermal radiation. The authors have developed the theoretical foundations for the construction of multifrequency complexes necessary for the specification of their structural schemes.

Objective. The purpose of the paper is development of a scheme for a multi-frequency radiometric complex for detecting UAVs in different meteorological conditions based on optimal algorithms.

Methods. Analysis of the experience in the development of radiometric systems and methods for dealing with fluctuations in the gain of receivers, optimal operations for processing signals of intrinsic radio-thermal radiation, investigations of the probabilistic characteristics of detection and analysis of the domestic market of microwave technology developers will make it possible to develop a scheme of a multifrequency radiometric complex that will perform reliable measurements in various meteorological conditions.

Results. A block diagram of a four-frequency radiometric complex is proposed, which can be implemented in practice and is capable of performing reliable measurements in various meteorological conditions. The frequencies 10 GHz, 20 GHz, 35 GHz, and 94 GHz were chosen as the resonant frequencies for tuning the radiometric receivers. For a given design and characteristics of receivers, the probabilities of detecting a UAV were calculated depending on the range of its flight.

Conclusions. From the results of the analysis of the existing achievements in the development of radiometric systems in Ukraine and the elemental base of microwave components available on the market, it follows that the Ku and K bands have the worst characteristics of spatial resolution, but are all-weather. The Ka and W bands are highly sensitive to radio-thermal radiation against the background of a clear sky, but are completely "blind" in a cloudy atmosphere and in rain. The results of calculating the detection ranges with a probability of 0.9 lie in the range from 1 to 3 km, depending on the condition of the atmosphere. These results coincide with the known detection ranges of optical, acoustic and radar systems, but the selected parameters of the receivers do not correspond to potential world achievements and can be improved.