Microwave emitter position location: present and future

Position location (determination) of enemy microwave emitters (radars and jammers) is one of the most important tasks of electronic warfare (EW) systems, particularly for electronic intelligence (ELINT) and electronic support measures (ESM) systems. Correctly performed location of those emitters yields data allowing one to deduce an allocation of enemy radar-controlled weapon systems, to detect associated threats and makes possible the elimination of the emitters from a battlefield by jamming or missiles (weapon delivery). Effectiveness of emitter location is a significant condition of successful military action. Since the contemporary battlefield is more and more saturated by electronic systems, thus the significance of location systems using sophisticated emitter location techniques and algorithms (ELT&A) will be permanently increasing. This paper provides a comprehensive review, presenting current state of knowledge concerning ELT&A including the most important technological and theoretical aspects of emitter location.