Containing a Difficult Target: Techniques for Mitigating DME Multipath to Alternative Position Navigation and Timing (APNT)

S. Lo, Y.H. Chen, B. Segal, B. Peterson, P. Enge, R. Erikson, R. Lilley

Abstract:	Distance measuring equipment (DME)/Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) has been serving aviation for approximately 60 years. It has been a primary navigation aid in the national airspace (NAS) for much of that time with its basic operations little changed since its inception. However, future airspace will demand greater navigation performance to support higher traffic levels and more efficient operations. While Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) will be the primary source of this capability, DME can have a vital role in the future navigation infrastructure. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Alternative Position Navigation and Timing (APNT) program is examining the use of DME to provide accurate two-way and passive ranging. APNT is examining whether DME has the capability to allow for continued operations of the NAS with minimal economic impact. For DME to support this capability, it must have better performance in several areas: accuracy, integrity, capacity and coverage. Multipath limits DME performance in two key areas: accuracy and integrity. The challenge with the DME/TACAN is that its signal was not designed to mitigate multipath to the levels required by APNT. This paper examines DME multipath and different techniques to mitigate it. The first part examines the effects of DME multipath and the challenge it poses for APNT. The second part describes several mitigations being developed and examined by the APNT team.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2014 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 27 - 29, 2014 Catamaran Resort Hotel San Diego, California
Pages:	413 - 423
Cite this article:	Lo, S., Chen, Y.H., Segal, B., Peterson, B., Enge, P., Erikson, R., Lilley, R., "Containing a Difficult Target: Techniques for Mitigating DME Multipath to Alternative Position Navigation and Timing (APNT)," Proceedings of the 2014 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, California, January 2014, pp. 413-423.
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