Waveform design and analysis of frequency hopping LPI networks

The concept of a multiple access low-probability-of-intercept (LPI) network has generated considerable interest in the past few years, due to increased demands for highly connected, yet covert, communications in the tactical battlefield. Detectability studies of LPI networks have traditionally emphasized the interception of a single transmitter. We consider the interception of the network at large, in which the interceptor forms its detection decisions based on the energy received from multiple emitters. The detectability of the network, using a frequency hop multiple access (CDMA) scheme, is evaluated for the wideband and channelized radiometers, LPI network quality factors are used to compare the performance of the two intercept receivers as a function of the LPI signal parameters. Waveform design strategies for maximizing LPI performance are proposed based on these comparisons.