New type of radar I can actually talk about..., page 2

In the past, back when stealth was relatively new, I thought of ways to defeat it. Blogged about the concepts and then left it as that. Not like I'm considered an expert in anything, so I'm doubtful it'd have been taken too seriously compared to anybody else's speculative blogs. Figured anyone developing the tech would know these vulnerabilities would show up eventually anyways.

Hypothetically, with enough computing power and the correct filters applied via signal analysis, any strong enough broadcast signal could be used as an emitter source for an ad-hoc radar of sorts. If you know the radials and how long it takes for the signal to reach you from local radio and TV stations, it's just a matter of intentionally designing an antenna to pick up "ghost" images. You then filter out the direct signals from the broadcast sources and those "ghost" (reflected) signals which remain static and non-moving in relation. (Likely you run the set-up a few minutes to calibrate and build a background map for your filter.) After doing that, you know the radials from the emitters, so you can compare post filter reflections and strength as related to the filtered sources which should be able to produce position data for any remaining reflections since those aren't filtered out as part of the static set.

I'd be willing to bet with the right receiver board plugged in, the right antenna, an OTS computer supplemented with fancy graphics cards and using CUDA could accomplish this feat. Since the core of the concept is data analysis and doing it rapidly, it's primarily a software problem.

BTW, such a system doesn't need any active broadcasting as radar in the traditional sense does, but it works to image data in a way that would be comparable to passive sonar. In other words, you're not going to be able to lock a radiation guided missile on it. It beats stealth as most stealth designs are intended to counter emitters in-line with their receiver, the signal absorbing materials only pick up the scraps. Now imagine how well that finely tuned angular deflection "magic" works when your emitters are miles off in random directions from your receiver. However the counter is to either use active jamming or put any strong broadcast source (TV and radio) on your primary target list.

As for the other alternate method? You could do background illumination of the ionosphere and then look for the dark spots. This is different than traditional radar too. (But sounds more like what you're describing.) It's more of a masking radar than a passive radar. (Called this because you're looking for whatever is masked out on a bright background.) However such a system seems like it would take a lot of power and use some dedicated emitter facilities. Something comparable to HAARP could do this.

edit on 2-1-2012 by pauljs75 because: minor edit, spelling.