A test method in operational phase includes three distinct steps, a first step using the replies of the transponder to the interrogations in the Mode S transmitted in operational mode by the secondary radar to perform the measurement of the power of the transponder, and the measurement of the average rate of reply to the interrogations in Mode S transmitted by the radar intended for it; a second step which performs the measurement of the sensitivity of the transponder and a third step which carries out the test of its maximum rate of reply. The second step and the third step are carried out by modifying the operating parameters of the radar so that the additional interrogations required for the measurement can be performed, during the time interval following the last operational interrogation during which the aircraft remains located within the main Sum channel lobe of the antenna of the radar.

A method for detecting conflicts in the II/SI identification code of radars nearby a secondary mode-S radar, includes at least: a first step wherein the radar detects unsolicited unsynchronized replies, i.e. fruits, in a region of extended radar coverage; a second step wherein the radar detects a conflict in II/SI code by analyzing geographic regions of radar coverage common to the radar and to at least one nearby radar, a conflict being detected if the radar: detects, in the region of extended coverage, the presence of fruits that have as source the nearby radar; observes the absence of fruits caused by the nearby radar in that region of radar coverage of the radar which does not overlap with the region of radar coverage of the nearby radar; the region of overlap between the radar coverage of the radar and the radar coverage of the nearby radar forming a region of conflict in II/SI code.

A method for detecting a plurality of useful signals in a total signal. The useful signals correspond to radiofrequency signals emitted by different terminals in a multiplexing frequency band. A plurality of spectrograms calculated that have a compensated linear frequency drift and are respectively associated with different linear frequency drift values. For each analysis frequency and each spectrogram, time envelope filtering of the values is performed at the different times for analyzing the spectrogram at the analysis frequency using a filter representing a reference time envelope of the useful signals. A useful signal is detected at an analysis time and at an analysis frequency in response to a verification of a predefined detection criterion by the value from a spectrogram resulting from filtering at the analysis time and at the analysis frequency.

A system comprising a hemispherical array antenna having a plurality of antenna elements comprising a set of baseline antenna elements arranged in a first 360 circular antenna array, a set of upper antenna elements arranged in a second 360 circular antenna array and latitudinally aligned with the baseline antenna elements, and a set of lower antenna elements arranged in a third 360 circular antenna array and latitudinally aligned with the baseline antenna elements. The system includes a fleet base station including a plurality of non-shared receiver channels coupled to and dedicated to a particular antenna element. The base station is configured to provide 360 of transmission/reception from horizon to zenith using the antenna elements for command and control fleet communications to and from mobile devices and to provide secondary radar functions using the fleet communications to track the mobile devices based on received signal characteristics received at the antenna elements.

A radar includes an antenna having a radiating pattern forming a sum channel, a radiating pattern forming a difference channel and a pattern forming a control channel, and generates at least interrogation messages on the sum channel and interrogation messages on the control channel; transmits messages via the sum channel and via the control channel respectively, and receives and processes signals received via the sum, difference, and control channels, configured for detecting replies of targets on the signals received via the sum and difference channels and carrying out monopulse processing and RSLS processing on the replies. The transmission is configured such that, for each target, the width of the beam for transmitting interrogations and receiving mode S selective replies is controlled based on the movement window of the target and position of the axis of the antenna in the window, to provide detection of the target by reducing the number of selective interrogations by a selective sub-interrogation of the target while ensuring precise positioning in azimuth: by pre-locating the target at the edge of the main reception lobe of the antenna by deviation measurement between the signals received on the difference and sum channels; and by selectively re-interrogating the pre-located target in mode S by calculation of the roll-call signal nearest to the centre of the main lobe to ensure precision in azimuth, without any other unnecessary supplementary interrogation.

An ADS-B transponder system is associated with a vehicle including a transponder. The system includes a universal access transceiver (UAT) subsystem configured for detecting and responding to an interrogation signal by broadcasting a signal representing a vehicle parameter. The interrogation signal can be detected by monitoring current fluctuations in a power bus on the vehicle. The UAT subsystem is connected to a smart antenna configured for transmitting and receiving ADS-B signals. In an aircraft (A/C) application the vehicle parameter can comprise squawk code, altitude, heading vector, airspeed and other flight data.

In some examples, a system that mounts on a vehicle includes a transceiver configured to transmit a first surveillance message including a first value for a quality parameter, wherein the first value indicates a first level of integrity or accuracy for the first surveillance message. The transceiver is also configured to receive a reply message to the first surveillance message. The system also includes processing circuitry configured to determine a second value for the quality parameter in response to the transceiver receiving the reply message, wherein the second quality parameter indicates a second level of integrity or accuracy for surveillance messages transmitted by the transceiver, and wherein the second level of integrity or accuracy is higher than the first level. The transceiver is configured to transmit a second surveillance message including the second value for the quality parameter in response to the processing circuitry determining the second quality parameter.

In one implementation, a method includes receiving a number of instances of a message that includes a self-reported position of a transmitter of the message from a corresponding number of satellite-based receivers that each received an RF transmission of an instance of the message. The method also includes determining the number of satellite-based receivers that received an instance of the message and selecting a validation technique based on the number of satellite-based receivers that received an instance of the message. If the number of satellite-based receivers that received an instance of the message is one, a propagation-based validation technique is selected. The method further includes determining a measure of the likelihood that the self-reported position of the transmitter is valid using the selected validation technique, and transmitting an indication of the measure of the likelihood that the self-reported position is valid.

The secondary radar includes an antenna having a radiation pattern forming a sum channel, designated SUM, a radiation pattern forming a difference channel, designated DIFF, and a pattern forming a control channel, designated CONT, the targets are located by implementing the following steps: detecting ADS-B squitters received via the CONT channel, via the SUM channel and via the DIFF channel; measuring at least the power of the squitters and their azimuth with respect to the radar; the location of a target transmitting ADS-B squitters being computed by exploiting at least the detection of one ADS-B squitter, in light of the latitudinal and longitudinal position of the radar and of the azimuthal measurement with respect to the radar, the position cell, designated the CPR cell, coded in the squitter being selected via the azimuthal measurement.

A radar is provided which is mechanically and functionally independent of the primary radar; applies the principles of separation of emission pattern for each interrogation of any mode; of reception pattern for each reply of any mode; of assignment of the tasks which are specific thereto to distinct units. The radar includes one or more SSR/IFF interrogators dedicated at one and the same time to SSR surveillance and to gathering new mode S targets; and includes one or more other SSR/IFF interrogators for selective surveillance dedicated to mode S surveillance and to directed interrogations of IFF identification. The radar ensures simultaneous emission of the interrogations of the SSR/IFF interrogators in different azimuths, this simultaneous emission being enabled when the azimuthal spacing of the beams formed in emission ensures a decoupled level of jamming at the level of the transponders of the aircraft between the interrogations emitted by the respective sidelobes of the beams formed in emission.