Use of a Group of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Detect Radio-Emitting Devices

Currently, there is a rapid development of radio engineering systems for various purposes, which causes the problem of their electromagnetic compatibility. To solve this problem, the most important organizational measure is the timely detection of interfering radio- emitting devices and determination of their location. For this purpose, spatially distributed systems of radio engineering monitoring and control of the electromagnetic environment are used. The main disadvantage of such systems is the limitation of the range of action by the line of sight. This drawback can be eliminated by modifying the spatially distributed radiotechnical monitoring system – using a group of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These UAVs relay signals from radio- emitting devices to a ground- based data reception and processing item. However, such a system must solve the problem of high- precision navigation of UAVs both among themselves and relative to the data reception and processing station. The article proposes two methods for improving the accuracy of UAV coordinate measurement in relation to such a radiotechnical monitoring system. The first is a method for measuring the mutual coordinates of the UAV and the data reception and processing point, based on the use of a single constellation of navigation spacecraft; the second is the use of a rangefinder method for measuring the distance from the data reception and processing point to the UAV, which allows specifying their coordinates, as well as measuring the distances from the data reception and processing point to the UAV with high accuracy.