Expanding the Use of Time/Frequency Difference of Arrival Geolocation in the Department of Defense
Download eBook for Free
Full Document
| Format | File Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PDF file | 4.3 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
Summary Only
| Format | File Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PDF file | 0.1 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) faces a tightening budget in the coming years. Despite the lean budget years, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are expected to be a priority. Due to their usefulness for intelligence collection in irregular warfare (IW) and counterinsurgency (COIN), UAS were quickly fielded and sent to theater without analysis of how their intelligence sensors complemented each other. There are ways for DoD to improve the methods of employment and the integration of multi-intelligence capabilities on assets to better leverage the systems it currently owns.
The general aim of this research is to explore an area in which DoD can operate "smarter" with its proliferating UAS fleet. Specifically, this research investigates how DoD can better leverage UAS and improve multi-intelligence capabilities by expanding its geolocation capacity through the use of time/frequency-difference-of-arrival (T/FDOA) geolocation on UAS. The research sheds light on important questions that need to be answered before investing in T/FDOA-capable UAS. It first demonstrates the potential of T/FDOA geolocation in the context of how we use UAS today. It then shows what some of the "costs" of adding a T/FDOA geolocation capability to UAS might be. Finally, it explores how T/FDOA geolocation could improve multi-intelligence operations.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
T/FDOA Accuracy Estimation Model
Chapter Three
When Is T/FDOA Geolocation Useful?
Chapter Four
What Is Needed to Use T/FDOA Geolocation?
Chapter Five
How Can T/FDOA Be Leveraged in Multi-Intelligence Operations?
Chapter Six
Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix A
Direction Finding Model
Appendix B
Orbit Geometry Results
Appendix C
CAP Allocation Model
Appendix D
Manpower Calculations
Research conducted by
This document was submitted as a dissertation in September 2012 in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the doctoral degree in public policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. The faculty committee that supervised and approved the dissertation consisted of Brien Alkire (Chair), Carl Rhodes, and Sherrill Lingel.
This publication is part of the RAND Corporation Dissertation series. Pardee RAND dissertations are produced by graduate fellows of the Pardee RAND Graduate School, the world's leading producer of Ph.D.'s in policy analysis. The dissertations are supervised, reviewed, and approved by a Pardee RAND faculty committee overseeing each dissertation.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.