Signal Processing in Sensor Dependent Air Defence Systems - A preliminary Study

The present report is a preamble to a fortheoming larger study. The latter will investigate to what extent modem information theory can be used to describe and assess information processing in a typical sensor-oriented C21 - system. A radar based longe range air defence system will be chosen as an exemple. The aim is to use some of the basic concepts of modern information theory to describe and quantify the amount of genuinly new information, as well as the flow of such information, in today´s C21 systems, and also in future network centric systems. In this preliminary study the basics of Shannon´s results and concepts are presented an used to analyse the output of a long range air surveillance radar. Entropy-saturation using modern DR17M repeater jammers is found to generate a profound, entropy load on the signal processing of such a system, as weil as on the associated communication system. The prevailing C21 system paradigm, top control vs. distributed control, is also pointed out as a decisive factor when assessing the results of electronic attack on air defence systems.