In Your Own Words with Sue Robertson

When Artech House authors write their books, we ask them what they want their readers to get out of the project. In this series, we show you what our authors, in their own words, wish to impart upon readers. Sue Robertson, author of Practical ESM Analysis, describes what her book is about:

ESM Systems all exhibit the same issues which degrade their performance, notably DOA errors, uncertainty in location estimation, multi-tracking and ambiguous radar identification. “Practical ESM Analysis” addresses these issues with explanations of why they occur and solutions for improving ESM system performance.

The visualization of ESM data is important in the analysis of ESM performance. Graphical methods for depicting equipment test/trials data are described together with simulated examples of trials data. The processes to be carried out to prepare for testing and trials are discussed with the techniques needed to simulate the RF environment. A particular problem of ESM systems is multi-tracking, i.e. where more than one track is created for a single emitter. There are many causes of this phenomenum, explained in the book, together with methods for mitigation. The unambiguous identification of radar signals is a challenge for even the most sophisticated RF library matching process. Reasons for this difficulty are described and suggestions for improving the generation of RF databases and methods for successful library marching are explored

ESM antenna separation plays a significant part in the generation of DOA errors so this is described with examples of the effects for different situations. ESM processes such as pulse train deinterleaving and radar location estimation each have their own chapter. One of the most important factors affecting ESM performance is multipath. The chapters on multipath begin with a classification of reflection type, of which multipath is the most significant. The reasons why multipath affects DOA measurement in all types of ESM systems are explored. Issues such as radar beamwidth, ESM antenna configuration and the range from ESM to radar that all exacerbate multipath effects are discussed. Some techniques to minimize the effects of multipath on DOA measurement are described.

The main body of the book does not contain many equations, relying instead on text and diagrams to explain the principles underlying the effects described in each section. There are many examples of simulated data to back up explanations. Appendices contain more detailed explanations, and multiple equations, including a  method of modeling a radar beamshape.

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