Estimation of a Radiation Source Location by Difference-Energy Method

This paper analyzes a difference-energy method for determining the location of radiation sources (RS) based on measuring the levels of signals received from the RS at N reception points (RP) of a multi-position system (MPS), which is a group of aircrafts. The RS coordinates are defined as the point of intersection of the position lines representing Apollonian circles or spherical surfaces. The focus points of the Apollonius circles are the points of the location of the aircrafts. In the proposed method, each aircraft in the group is equipped with radio receivers, a navigation system and a communication system with an information collection and processing point. Using the established mathematical apparatus, the analytical estimates of RS positioning and the position finding accuracy estimates were obtained. Based on the developed computer calculation model, quantitative characteristics of the RS location estimation accuracy were obtained. A comparison of the accuracy estimates for the difference-energy and direction-finding methods with the same relative position of the aircraft and RS were performed. The presented method can be used in systems of air control of the electronic situation for determination of the interesting RS coordinates.