Aerial vehicle detection system

Abstract

Embodiments described herein are concerned with system for identifying an aerial vehicle. The system comprises: a radar sub-system, the radar sub-system comprising at least one radar connectable to a static support member and a transceiver configured to transmit data indicative of one or more targets identified by the radar within an airspace; a receiver arranged to receive the data indicative of one or more targets identified by the radar; and a processing system configured to process said data, whereby to identify at least one aerial vehicle. In some embodiments the radar comprises a marine radar.

1 . A system for identifying an aerial vehicle, the system comprising:
 a radar sub-system, the radar sub-system comprising at least one radar connectable to a static support member and a transceiver configured to transmit data indicative of one or more targets identified by the radar within an airspace;   a receiver arranged to receive the data indicative of one or more targets identified by the at least one radar; and   a processing system configured to process said data, whereby to identify at least one aerial vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . A system according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one radar is configured to receive, as a continuous input, data indicative of a fixed location, the fixed location being the location of the radar when connected to the static support member. 
     
     
         3 . A system according to  claim 2 , wherein the at least one radar comprises a marine radar. 
     
     
         4 . A system according to any preceding Claim, wherein said data indicative of one or more targets identified by the at least one radar within an airspace comprises course, speed, closest point of approach and time of closest point of approach, for each target. 
     
     
         5 . A system according to any preceding Claim, wherein the at least one radar has a usable swept volume and a vertical beam width, and is connectable to the static support member via an adjustable connector, the adjustable connector being arranged such that the vertical beam width is rotatable with respect to a centre of the adjustable connector and about an axis that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the static support member and is aligned with the centre of the adjustable connector so as to control an overlap between the usable swept volume and the ground. 
     
     
         6 . A system according to any preceding Claim, wherein the radar sub-system comprises a plurality of radars, each connectable to a respective static support member and positioned with respect to another of the radars such that the plurality of radars collectively provide contiguous coverage over a predetermined volume within the airspace. 
     
     
         7 . A system according to  claim 6 , wherein each radar has a usable swept volume, and is positioned with respect to another of the radars such that overlap between respective usable swept volumes excludes areas occupied by objects on the ground and/or at sea level. 
     
     
         8 . A system according to  claim 7 , wherein the processing system is configured to output a location associated with the identified at least one aerial vehicle to a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface being configured to display a map of a region including respective locations of at least the or each radar and its usable swept volume. 
     
     
         9 . A system according to  claims 6  to  8 , wherein the processing system comprises a correlator configured to correlate data indicative of one or more targets identified by a first radar with data indicative of one or more targets identified by a second radar, whereby to generate first correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . A system according to  claim 9  dependent on  claim 8 , wherein the correlator is configured to identify a first vehicle location associated with the first correlated data and to output the first vehicle location to the graphical user interface for display on the map. 
     
     
         11 . A system according to any preceding Claim, further comprising an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) receiver arranged to receive tracking information from aerial vehicles equipped with an ADS-B transceiver, wherein the processing system is further configured to process said tracking information received from the ADS-B receiver, whereby to identify at least one aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         12 . A system according to  claim 11  dependent on  claim 9 , wherein the correlator is configured to correlate data indicative of one or more targets identified by a first radar and/or data indicative of one or more targets identified by a second radar with the tracking information received from the ADS-B receiver, whereby to generate second correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle and to identify at least a second vehicle location for display on the map. 
     
     
         13 . A system according to any preceding Claim, further comprising a telemetry receiver arranged to receive telemetry data from aerial vehicles equipped with a radio modem, wherein the processing system is further configured to process said telemetry data received from the telemetry receiver, whereby to identify at least one aerial vehicle. 
     
     
         14 . A system according to  claim 13  dependent on  claim 9 , wherein the correlator is configured to correlate data indicative of one or more targets identified by a first radar and/or data indicative of one or more targets identified by a second radar with the telemetry data received from the telemetry receiver, whereby to generate third correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle and to identify at least a third vehicle location for display on the map. 
     
     
         15 . A system according to  claim 13  dependent on  claim 12 , wherein the correlator is configured to correlate the telemetry data received from the telemetry receiver with second correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle whereby to generate fourth correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle and to identify at least a fourth vehicle location for display on the map. 
     
     
         16 . A system according to  claims 10  to  15 , wherein the graphical user interface is responsive to input received from an input device to display selected ones of the first, second, third and fourth vehicle locations. 
     
     
         17 . A system according to  claims 10  to  16 , wherein the correlated data comprises vector data indicative of direction and speed, and the correlator is configured to identify a given vehicle location in the event that the vector data are within predetermined ranges. 
     
     
         18 . A system according to  claim 17  dependent on  claim 13 , wherein the processing system is configured to determine a potential collision between two aerial vehicles based on the vector data, and to generate instructions for transmission via the telemetry receiver to change a flight path of one of the aerial vehicles. 
     
     
         19 . A method of identifying an aerial vehicle on a graphical user interface configured to display a map of a region, the method comprising:
 receiving data indicative of one or more targets identified by at least one radar, the data comprising one or more of course, speed, closest point of approach and time of closest point of approach, for each target in the region;   receiving data indicative of an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) receiver arranged to receive tracking information from aerial vehicles equipped with an ADS-B transceiver in the region;   correlating the data indicative of the one or more targets identified by the radar with the tracking information received from the ADS-B receiver, whereby to generate first correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle and to identify at least a first vehicle location for display on the map.   
     
     
         20 . A method according to  claim 19 , further comprising receiving data indicative of one or more targets identified by a plurality of radars and correlating data indicative of one or more targets identified by a first radar and/or data indicative of one or more targets identified by a second radar with the tracking information received from the ADS-B receiver, whereby to generate second correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle and to identify at least a second vehicle location for display on the map. 
     
     
         21 . A method according to  claim 20 , further comprising receiving telemetry data from aerial vehicles equipped with a radio modem, and correlating data indicative of one or more targets identified by a first radar and/or data indicative of one or more targets identified by a second radar and/or the tracking information received from the ADS-B receiver with the telemetry data received from the telemetry receiver, whereby to generate third correlated data associated with at least one aerial vehicle and to identify at least a third vehicle location for display on the map. 
     
     
         22 . A method according to any one of  claim 19  to  claim 21 , in which the correlated data comprises vector data indicative of direction and speed of an aerial vehicle, the method further comprising determining a potential collision between two aerial vehicles based on the vector data. 
     
     
         23 . A method according to  claim 22  dependent on  claim 21 , further comprising generating instructions for transmission via the telemetry receiver to change a flight path of one of the aerial vehicles. 
     
     
         24 . A computer readable medium comprising a set of instructions, which, when executed by a processing system, causes the processing system to perform the method according to any one of  claim 19  to  claim 23 .