Influence factors of probability of detection test on surveillance systems

The current surveillance systems, especially the enhanced en-route system and the advance surface movement guidance and control system (A-SMGCS), are an integration of various techniques, primary surveillance radar (PSR), secondary surveillance radar (SSR), Multilateration (MLAT), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast(ADS-B). The performances of these systems are often evaluated based on their compliance with the guidance document of performance specifications and test procedures for civil aviation equipment. One of the key performance parameters is Probability of Detection (PD). For a stable surveillance system, the value of PD tends to be fixed and the confidence level of the evaluation test rises as the sample size increases. However, in practice, tradeoffs have to be made between sampling time and precision of estimation. This paper discusses the impact of influence factors on the PD estimation in surveillance systems. The theoretical relations with the significance level and the deviation of measured PD from the required PD are presented. Recommended sample size tables are presented in the discussion for MLAT, ADS-B, and SSR respectively for reference.