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© BAE Systems 2013. All rights reserved.

EW TEST AND EVALUATION - ASSURING SURVIVABILITY AND OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

1

Dr. Mike Pywell - EW Technologist & Project/Engineering Manager – Typhoon EW Rig Support Equipment

Mitch Midgley-Davies – Technical Lead - Typhoon Avionics Sensors Future Capability (Radar/EW)

Electromagnetic Engineering Department

BAE SYSTEMS, Military Air & Information

DEAL 5868

© BAE Systems 2013. All rights reserved. DEAL 5868 2

Introduction

Contents

• Survival – man-made and unintentional threats

• EW importance to survivability, mission success and affordability

• Description of EW systems

• Challenges facing the EW Test and Evaluation community

• EW T&E process and capabilities

• Description of significant developments to date

• Moving EW T&E from flight towards modelling and simulation

Security statement: Unclassified


Survival - Unintentional Threats

USAF Photo: Senior Airman James Croxon NASA Report

SP-2003-4529

• Lightning Strike

• High intensity radiated fields (HiRF)

• Electro-static discharge

Lightning strikes near taxying C-130

Hercules in Iraq

Bruce Fisher’s F-106B

Delta Dart was struck 714

times during lightning

research missions

Typhoon undergoing full-threat

lightning strike testing in BAE

SYSTEMS EW Test Facility


Survival - Man-made Threats

© Reproduced with the kind permission of Jane’s Information Group


Typical Missile Engagement Ranges vs. Missile Volume

SA-3

SA-8

SA-10

SA-13

SA-14

SA-15

SA-16

SA-18

SA-19

SA-20

SA-21

SA-6 SA-11, SA-17

SA-9

SA-12

SA-7 (USAF Photo by Airman

1st Class Jonathan Snyder)

• Patriot

• Roland

• Javelin • Rapier


Survivability and EW

• EW is a vital element of survivability

• Key capability of military aircraft

• Assists survival to fulfil primary goal – mission success

• Importance of ‘zero’ or ‘near zero’ attrition

Photo: LCpl. Andrew Williams, US Marine Corps


Survivability components and terminology

• Complex relationship between

individual components

• Applicable to land, sea and air

platforms

• Optimal survivability require

balanced approach

• Objective is best survivability

needed to affordably achieve

mission success

DEFENCE

/

Source: Pywell, M., 2013. Development and management of high-fidelity test

technology for comprehensive performance evaluation of electronic warfare systems in

multi-threat environments. PhD. University of Central Lancashire, UK.


Survivability - The EW contribution

DEFINITION: ‘Military action that exploits electromagnetic energy to provide situational

awareness and achieve offensive and defensive effects.’*

*North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Glossary of Terms and Definitions (English and French).

AAP-06(2013) Available at http://nsa.nato.int/nsa/nsdd/listpromulg.html


EW Suite – functional block diagram


Typical Modern Defensive Aids System - Typhoon

1) Laser Warner

2) Avionics bay

3) Missile Warner

4) Flare dispenser

5) Chaff dispenser

6) ESM/ECM port pod

7) ESM/ECM starboard

pod

8) RF towed decoy

1

1

1

1

2

3

3

4

4

5

5

6

7

8


Modern EW Equipment Fit

(Photos © SELEX-ES 2008-2013)


EW T&E Contribution to Challenging Solutions

Challenge A S I E U

Optimisation, Development and Sustainment of EW T&E Facilities

Bolster chamber and laboratory test capability robustness

• To trap more problems prior to flight, saving T&E cost/time by reducing number of fly-fix-fly iterations required

• To better support R&D, evaluation of prototype technical solutions and EW Technology Demonstrator Programmes

• By generating more operationally realistic and measurable RF/IR/EO threat environments in laboratory/chambers

Network EW T&E, Synthetic Environment (SE) and Modelling & Simulation (M&S) facilities – Benefits:

• System requirements capture and optimisation, system development risk minimisation, training, tactics development

Ensure long lead capabilities available in time. Anticipate:

• Urgent Operational Requirements, upgrades and future EW fits

• Upcoming ‘digital from back of sensor’ systems

Rapid Development, Insertion & Acceptance of EW Systems Improvements

Support increased EW acceptance process use of SE and M&S – provide facilities for robust validation of EW models

EW Sensor placement optimisation via modelling and sub-/full-scale testing in anechoic chamber, to prevent, reduce, resolve

problems with EW sensors/effectors, data links, communication systems and other RF sensors

Laboratory/chamber R&D to understand mismatches between flight and ground test results

Generate capability to perform mission rehearsal/optimisation in anechoic chamber’s secure RF environment

Reduced Cost and Environmental Impact of EW T&E and Facilities

Less flight testing and ground engine running = reduced fuel cost and carbon footprint

More energy-efficient ground test facilities e.g. RF threat simulators

Reduced RF environmental pollution: Radio/Radar/EW, EM Compatibility (EMC), lightning strike tests in chamber

Codes Strong Contributor Medium Contributor Minor Contributor or Not Applicable

From ‘Improved Test Capabilities for Cost-effective Performance Evaluation of Airborne Electronic

Warfare Systems’ (J. Royal Aeronautical Society, Sep-10), by these authors

Affordability

Survivability

Industrial

Environmental

UAS (UAV/UCAV)


EW T&E Process

From: Welch & Pywell NATO RTO AGARDograph 300 Vol.28, EW Test and Evaluation (Dec 2012).

http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public//PubFullText/RTO/AG/RTO-AG-300-V28///$$AG-300-V28-ALL.pdf


EW T&E Capabilities

• Required to support system design, development and customer acceptance

• Modelling and Simulation (M&S)

• Sub-System and Avionics Integration Laboratories (SIL)

• Hardware In The Loop (HITL)

• Measurement Facilities (MF)

• Installed System Test Facilities (ISTF)

• Open Air Ranges (OAR)

© UK Crown copyright 2006


Modelling and Simulation

M&S is:

• Representation of reality via use of models and simulations

• Used throughout the platform systems’ life cycle

Testing EW systems can be considered a ‘simulation’ of their

operational use

M&S examples used in EW T&E include:

• Antenna pattern modelling

• Full emitter scenario modelling within RF threat simulator

Synthetic Environments – rising importance to EW T&E process

© Northrop Grumman Amherst

Systems 2006

© BAE Systems 2013


Systems Integration Laboratory

From ‘Testing Tomorrow’s EW System Today’: P.W.

Richard, BAE SYSTEMS North America

Scenarios

Emitter Library


Measurement Facilities

Various Types of MF’s used for T&E of EW Systems:

• Cover testing of:

• Un-installed EW components,

e.g. antennas

• Platform-installed EW systems

• Main types shown on this and next slides:

• Radar Cross Section

• Infra-Red Signatures

• Antenna performance

EMC Tests on Open Air Test Site


Radar Cross Section Measurement

RCS Range:

• 2–18 GHz ground plane range

• Full polarisation – H, V and Cross

• Absolute RCS data, 1D and 2D imagery

• Component and full scale targets up to 35

tonnes and 15m

• On 7m tall, 12 tonne Az/El low-RCS positioner

Mobile RCS Measurements:

• 2–40 GHz instrumentation radar system

• Test articles from component to whole body

targets of up to 12 m

• Measure target in early and mid-life cycle,

production stage and in service


Infra-Red Signature Measurement

Key measurement capabilities:

• Engine/plume measurements

• Hotspot investigations and black body

calibration

• Thermal Imaging Cameras:

• Medium Wave IR (3-5 μm)

• Long Wave IR (8-12 μm)

• Spectro-radiometer (1.25 – 14.8 μm)

• Temperature range -20ºC to +1500ºC

• Ground-to-Ground/-Air and Air-to-Air & -Ground


Antenna Pattern Measurement

• Essential to know antenna pattern and gain

• Data gathered from facilities shown

• Data used to:

• Support design verification

• Validate Modelling & Simulation

• Programme RF threat simulators

Antenna Pattern Measurement


Installed Systems Test Facilities

• Large anechoic chambers

• Limited examples world-wide, this is UK example

• Recently upgraded:

• 11 Channel CEESIM

• Signal Measurement System

• Infrastructure & Amplifiers

INSTALLED SYSTEM TEST FACILITIES

RFEG

ECM RMS


Open Air Ranges


www.raf.mod.uk/rafspadeadam/gallery.htm



Pywell, M. ‘Developments in RF Simulator Technology – Approaching the Affordable

Fidelity Limit’. The Aeronautical Journal (2007)

Emitter modelling -

• Fully Complex Emitters and Environment Realism

• RF source improvements

• RF pulse shaping

• Optimal Use of RF Resources

• Modelling of jammers and newer radar features

• Pulse Modulator Components

• Emitter antenna pattern modelling

© Northrop Grumman Amherst Systems 2011


Significant Threat Simulator Developments to Date (1)


Significant Threat Simulator Developments to Date (2)


Propagation & atmospheric effects models

• Atmospheric effects

• Multipath

• Gaming volume, surface types, terrain

modelling/masking

• Platform and Emitter geometry modelling and

dynamics

Platform and System Under Test (SUT)

antenna/aperture/receiver models

• Receiver antenna pattern modelling

• Digitally controlled attenuators

• Phase Comparison & TDOA SUT techniques

• Polarisation modelling




Significant ECM RMS Developments

• Wider bandwidth

• Improved Dynamic Range: >50 dB

• Improved Low Signal Detection



Laboratory & Chamber Testing Benefits vs. Flight Trials



How much EW T&E can ACTUALLY be done by M&S and SE?


HLA RTI: High Level Architecture Real Time Implementation

• Move from Physical to ‘Virtual’ testing using M&S and SE

• Clear more can be done this way

• Will never totally supplant ground & flight test

Key Questions:

• Boundaries between physical and virtual testing

• Overall cost-effectiveness of those types of testing

• Sufficient confidence in M&S and SE to fully trust results


Conclusions


• EW remains crucial to survivability and so to mission success

• Significant military affordability challenges exist

• EW T&E community continues to help meet these challenges

• Further worthwhile improvements have been identified under three

headings.

• Improved RF threat scenario simulation fidelity

• Reduced overall T&E cost

• Reduced flight testing

• For further information see: • Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering (2010) Ch.375- Ch.380 • ‘De-Risking Platform Clearance of EW Systems’ G. Slater & M. Pywell (2012)


EW Test and Evaluation – Assuring survivability and operational effectivenss

Questions?

Co-authors’ contact details:

Mitch Midgley-Davies, BEng, CEng, MIET

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44 (0) 1772 857173

Dr. Mike Pywell, BSc, MPhil, PhD, CEng, FIET

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44 (0) 1772 852801

www.baesystems.com

mailto:[email protected]




http://www.baesystems.com/

© BAE Systems 2013. All rights reserved.

Thank you

30 © BAE Systems 2013

© BAE Systems 2013, unpublished, copyright BAE Systems all rights reserved.

Proprietary: no use, disclosure or reproduction without the written permission of BAE Systems plc.

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