Mobility detection and tracking of surface emitters at a tactically acceptable airborne ESM altitudes

Abstract

The use of airborne electronic support measures (ESM) system to detect and track mobile emitters is vital in military operations because of its importance in emitter identification and threat evaluation in a highly dense electromagnetic environment. The aim of this paper is to study whether the three dimensional inputs of azimuth, elevation, and height to an ESM system can detect and track surface mobile emitters at tactically acceptable airborne ESM altitudes. The paper establishes an algorithm that is: (a) non-computationally extensive, (b) can give decision criteria on the transition state of targets from stationary to mobile, and (c) is tactically and operationally acceptable.