CRFS has announced it will launch its passive 3D airborne tracking system RFeye AirDefense at the 56th Annual AOC International Symposium & Convention in Washington DC.

The event will take place on October 28-30.

Developed to passively detect and geolocate airborne targets using their radio frequency (RF) transmissions, RFeye AirDefense provides militaries with covert surveillance of their airspace for situational awareness, silently augmenting existing Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS).

Both military and civilian aircraft transmit RF signals for voice communication, navigation, tactical data links and radar.

The RFeye AirDefense system uses the transmissions to accurately detect the signal, locate its position in three dimensions and determine the probable flight path for individual aircraft, independent of the number that may be operating in the area.

CRFS general manager Marty Mosier said: “The practical advantage of RFeye AirDefense is its ability to detect hostile aircraft and UAS without them being aware they are being tracked.

“This can provide essential covert intelligence on enemy activity and also augment radar systems by providing a long-range warning of incoming threats to enable radar cueing or provide coverage overlap.”

“The ability to derive course, speed and altitude from a geolocated signal of interest is often considered the holy grail of the airborne SIGINT community. Just from these pieces of data, we can help analysts determine the origin, platform type, bearing to estimated target and even intent.”

RFeye AirDefense uses a ground-based network of intelligent RFeye receivers linked to management and geolocation software to enable real-time monitoring and tracking of airborne targets over extremely wide airspace. The same network and sensors can also provide general RF environment situational awareness and terrestrial emitter geolocation.

Mosier added: “Using our four-sensor test network in Buffalo, New York, we can accurately geolocate and track multiple aircraft simultaneously at distances of hundreds of kilometers. It can track aircraft from stationary to speeds in excess of Mach 1.

“The system is expandable to any number of sensors to cover as large a geographic area as desired and can be managed and monitored in real-time from anywhere in the world.”

The system can be used for situational awareness or as an integrated element in a system for complete air defence. Applications range from operational in-theatre use to training and testing.

CRFS is a global leader in RF spectrum monitoring, management and geolocation solutions.

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