Satellite-Based Emitter Geolocation Using Matched Location Processing

Abstract

Radio emitter geolocation via satellite-based systems is crucial for global spectrum monitoring and interference mitigation. This letter proposes matched location processing (MLP), a novel technique that achieves precise geolocation through coherent phase measurements from multiple satellites. MLP determines emitter locations by maximizing the correlation between received signals and location-specific modeled signals derived from radio propagation analysis. While extending spatial beamforming principles, MLP incorporates normalized phase correlation processing to surpass existing direct position determination (DPD) methods in both accuracy and computational efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate robust performance in extremely low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments, achieving geolocation accuracy within 10 km at −30 dB SNR. Furthermore, the method’s location-selective phase matching capability enables effective spatial discrimination of multiple co-frequency emitters.