Atomic clock base navigation system for on-the-move radar, obfuscation, sensing, and ad-hoc third party localization
Atomic clocks (at both the receiver and emitter) are used to obfuscate the location of the receiver by providing a different mechanism to synchronize (other than the direct reception). Using this approach, there is no need for the emitter to emit directly to the receiver; only the reflection is necessary, and therefore, the location of the receiver (or receivers) is better obfuscated. Phased antenna arrays are used in RADAR for a variety of applications, including steering of beams and increasing the “aperture” of the antenna for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The relative position of the emitters is known by means of using a Navigation unit. The beam-steering phase shifts are dynamically computed using the position of the emitters, and the atomic clock is used to synchronize the phase shifts.
1. A radar system for detecting radar targets while obfuscating a location of at least one radar receiver, comprising:
a plurality of vehicles, each vehicle comprising
a localization device, a radar receiver device, and
a vehicle atomic clock;
a radar emitter device comprising a radar transmitter and an emitter atomic clock, wherein the radar emitter device is operable to (i) transmit a radar signal via the radar transmitter at a first time of the emitter atomic clock and (ii) synchronize the first time of the emitter atomic clock with the vehicle atomic clocks of the plurality of vehicles;
wherein each of the vehicles of the plurality of vehicles is operable to receive, via the respective radar receiver devices, a reflection of the radar signal from a radar target and (a) calculate, based on the receiving of the reflected radar signal, a difference between the synchronized first time and a current time of the vehicle atomic clock, and (b) calculate, based on a location of the vehicle obtained by the localization device and the calculated difference, a relative location of the radar target.
2. The radar system of claim 1 , wherein the radar emitter device is in motion.
3. The radar system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of vehicles of the plurality of vehicles is in motion.
4. A method of operating a radar system employing a dynamically assembled RADAR beam-steering phased array, comprising:
recording, by a first vehicle in a convoy of vehicles and utilizing a first navigation unit, a first location of the first vehicle, at a first time of a first atomic clock of the first vehicle;
synchronizing the first atomic clock of the first vehicle with at least one second atomic clock of at least one second vehicle in the convoy;
recording, by the at least one second vehicle in the convoy of vehicles and utilizing a second navigation unit, a second location of the at least one second vehicle, at the first time of the second atomic clock of the at least one second vehicle;
computing, utilizing the recorded first and second locations, a phase shift for a beam-steering RADAR emission;
emitting, in accordance with the computed phase shift for the beam-steering RADAR emission and by a first RADAR emitter of the first vehicle, a first RADAR emission; and
emitting, in accordance with the computed phase shift for the beam-steering RADAR emission and by a second RADAR emitter of the at least one second vehicle, a second RADAR emission.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first and second navigation units comprises a GPS device.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the first vehicle and the at least one second vehicle comprises a RADAR receiver device and wherein the method further comprises:
receiving, by the RADAR receiver, a reflection of a least one of the first and second RADAR emissions.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein at least one of first vehicle and the at least one second vehicle is in motion at the first time.