CW Jamming Effects on a COTS C/A Code GPS Receiver

Kenneth D. Johnston and Mikel M. Miller

Abstract:	The Navigation Warfare program is interested in denying the use of commercial GPS receivers in designated tactical areas. The recent announcement by the US government to locate the C/A code signals at the GPS L2 frequency may cause potential problems in terms of denying the use of C/A code GPS receivers without jamming military P(Y) code receivers. The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of CW jamming effects on a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) C/A code receiver. Actual GPS satellite signals were combined with CW jamming signals during the research. Of particular interest was the feasibly of selectively jamming individual satellite signals received by a COTS C/A code receiver using CW jamming signals at moderately low J/S values. Also of interest was the ability to cause erroneous position indications in a COTS C/A code GPS receiver using only CW jamming signals. Results of the research highlight that it is feasible to selectively interfere with individual satellite signals in a COTS Navstar XR5-M C/A code receiver using simple CW signals at low J/S values. The research demonstrated a maximum three dimensional position error of more than 20 kilometers prior to the receiver detecting the jamming signal. Results of the research may be used in the future to develop "smart jamming systems" which can be optimized to jam C/A code receivers while reducing the jamming effects on military P(Y) code receivers. Recommendations for improvements to C/A code receiver design to mitigate CW interference are also provided.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 12th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1999) September 14 - 17, 1999 Nashville, TN
Pages:	1169 - 1178
Cite this article:	Johnston, Kenneth D., Miller, Mikel M., "CW Jamming Effects on a COTS C/A Code GPS Receiver," Proceedings of the 12th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GPS 1999), Nashville, TN, September 1999, pp. 1169-1178.
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