Blood, Sweat, and Tears (BST) of Antenna Modeling Practices

Daniel J. Dresher, Dana L. Howell and Denice S. Jacobs

Abstract:	AFRL/SNAR at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base OH has developed a GPS Virtual Flight Test (VFT) capability using the AWFS and the GPS Interference and Navigation Tool (GIANT), an AF Standard Analysis Toolkit. The AWFS simulates the effects of RF signals (i.e., GPS satellites and natural/man-made interference) across a 1-8 element GPS antenna array, and with the help of GIANT, can reproduce a realistic RF environment encountered by potentially any platform for any given flight test scenario. These signals are then fed to actual GPS hardware to assess their performance during realistic test conditions. As a result, the VFT can be used to effectively predict and validate actual flight test results since it is performed within a controlled lab environment, which is repeatable and extremely cost effective. Furthermore, this unique capability provides a powerful means of overstressing a system that may not be otherwise possible during flight test due to FAA outdoor jamming restrictions.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2001 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 22 - 24, 2001 Westin Long Beach Hotel Long Beach, CA
Pages:	442 - 446
Cite this article:	Dresher, Daniel J., Howell, Dana L., Jacobs, Denice S., "Blood, Sweat, and Tears (BST) of Antenna Modeling Practices," Proceedings of the 2001 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Long Beach, CA, January 2001, pp. 442-446.
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