High FreqUency oveR The Horizon sensors’ cognitivE netwoRk.
The iFURTHER project aims to address wide area air and sea covert surveillance, by developing new concepts of Over-The- Horizon radar to be integrated into a collaborative network of high-frequency sensors. This project will therefore focus on a cognitive network of high-frequency radars as a disruptive future defence capability to protect the EU. The main objectives of this project are:
- Detect and track air and sea targets at long range (over the horizon), far beyond currently existing systems, by using the reflections of skywave and surface-wave propagated signals
- Fill gaps and extend the current EU air and sea radar coverage by introducing a multistatic sensor configuration supported by ad-hoc network protocols and an appropriate infrastructure for synchronization and coordination of sensors (e.g., C2)
- Implement cognitive radar management systems to optimise operational parameters in real time and as a function of environmental conditions (e.g., the state of the ionosphere), based on robust ionospheric models and sounding protocols (not excluding the development of ionospheric sensors)
- Implement advanced signal processing techniques to improve over-the-horizon detection and track performance as well as target localisation capabilities
- Utilize available non cooperative illumination and apply cognitive features at network level to develop new techniques for optimized use of the electromagnetic spectrum and passive processing.
Partners: Hellenic Aerospace Industry SA, Office National D’etudes Et De Recherches Aerospatiales, Ethniko Asteroskopeio Athinon, Imatik – Efarmoges Ypsilis Texnologias Etaireia Periorismenis Efthinis, Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Politechnika Warszawska, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forschung E.V., Helzel Messtechnik GmbH, Technisch-Mathematische Studiengesellschaft Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Indra Sistemas SA, Universidad De Alcala, SignalGenerix Limited, Patria Aviation Oy, Era AS, Ministry Of National Defence, Greece, L – up SAS.
Short explainer animation describing the iFURTHER project:
iFURTHER is a research project funded by the European Defence Fund under EDF-2021-DIS-RDIS-OTHR-2 “Research for disruptive technologies for defence applications” – Grant Agreement No. 101103607
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Documentation
Publications
2023
iFURTHER Project - A Cognitive Network of HF Radars for Europe Defence Conference
2023, (IFURTHER).