Multiple signal DF using superresolution: a practical assessment

The location of radio transmitters through direction finding (DF) has been required almost since the earliest days of radio communications. The two world wars have, not unexpectedly, given impetus to major advances in DF technology. The only major advance in DF technology since World War II has been in the field of wavefront analysis and it is only now that the supporting technologies have made these techniques a practical proposition. Superresolution DF techniques potentially offer the user not only the capability to operate in multiple and unfriendly signal environments but also flexibility of antenna deployment and fast operation. The author attempts to explain how this enhanced DF performance is obtained aided by comparison with other DF techniques. Results obtained with the Siemens-Plessey SR DF demonstrator are also presented to outline the practical performance of superresolution DF techniques