GIDL: Generalized Interference Detection and Localization System

The Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) and the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) are being developed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide satellite navigation performance compliant with the stringent requirements for aircraft precision approach and landing. A primary design goal of both systems is to insure that signal-in-space failures are detected by ground facilities and to exclude the affected measurements before differential corrections are broadcast to users. One such failure is unintentional interference or intentional jamming in the GPS frequency band. To protect integrity, LAAS and WAAS ground facilities must quickly detect the presence of any hazardous interference falling within the restricted band used by GPS. To protect availability, ground personnel must be able to quickly locate and deactivate the interference source.; In order to serve this purpose, the prototype Generalized Interference Detection and Localization System (GIDL) has been developed. This prototype includes four antennae and RF sections slaved to a common clock to allow detection and determination of a three-dimensional interference location. Measurements of differential signal propagation delays across the multiple baselines between the GIDL antennae are combined to estimate the location of the undesired interference transmitter. The GIDL system can be implemented in parallel with a three- or four-receiver LAAS ground facility (sharing components with the LAAS reference receivers and processors) or as a separate installation to support nearby LAAS and WAAS sites.; This dissertation describes the GIDL theory and GIDL receiver design and derives theoretical predictions of the ability of the GIDL to accurately locate interference sources. The GIDL System has been successfully demonstrated to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).