Patent Document ID: 20040027257
Application ID: 10217024
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method to rapidly, passively range and track maneuvering and non-maneuvering airborne emitters for tactical fighters that includes batch (series of cosine of cone angle measurements and signal to noise data) based maximum likelihood probabilistic data association filter (MLPDAF) for track initialization and interacting multiple model (IMM) estimators for track maintenance, comprising the steps of: providing track initialization by providing and including an ML-PDAF filter; providing track maintenance using interacting multiple model PDAF with amplitude information; providing information processing connected to the input of said track initialization filter, which includes threat database information, angle and estimated signal-to-noise ratio data, and ownship inertial data; providing the pilot the optimal maneuver cue that optimizes passive estimation of target range, heading, and speed (along with their quality factors) subject to the critical constraints of (a) time-allotted for the ranging solution, (b) current ownship speed and heading with respect to the threat/target, (c) current ownship multispectral LO (low observability) contour map ‘presented’ to the target/threat, (d) real-time, tightly-coupled IR/EO defensive aid suite missile (SAM—surface-to-air; AAM—air-to-air) launch status, and (e) IFDL (intra-inter flight data link) data that indicates where adjacent wingmen are; providing radio frequency airborne emitter track information; and maintaining track whenever the airborne emitter target or threat maneuvers using either solely electronic warfare asset measurements and/or supplemented by Mission Systems-provided onboard track file data or offboard information.