Accurate Localization in GNSS Denied Environments for Tactical Applications

Location estimation is crucial in many applications to improve the overall system performance. The location estimation is carried out with the help of reference nodes and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The estimated location is shared with the control/command station for various reasons. But, with the developments in the field of Electronic Warfare (EW), there is a possibility that the navigation RF bands may be jammed, or signals may be spoofed to mislead the critical operations especially in tactical applications. The identification of friend/foe location in GNSS denied environments with high accuracy is a non-trivial task. In this paper, accurate localization technique is proposed to estimate the location of neighbor nodes which operates in GNSS denied environments. It is achieved using a secondary system which exchange command- response data in a custom communication link operating in a different RF band. Moreover, the iterative based information exchange algorithm is proposed to improve the range and angle estimation accuracy of secondary system. Experimental results are carried out to validate the proposed technique and it achieves a range accuracy of sub 30m with deviation of +/- 10m and angle accuracy of sub 7.5 degree with deviation of +/- 2.5 degree.