Method and apparatus for detecting command wire utilized to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED)

摘要

A method and apparatus is devised for detecting command wires utilized to detonate an improvised explosive device or other objects of interest in which frequency-scanned RF in the HF region of the electromagnetic spectrum is projected out across a given area and returns are detected and converted into image data in which phase, amplitude, range and frequency associated with the incoming data is correlated with frequency-dependent range templates to determine the existence of, the range of and the direction of command wires or other objects of interest.

主权项

1. A method for detecting the presence of a control wire used to detonate an explosive, comprising the steps of:
generating a number of range templates, each for a different megahertz frequency and each containing phase and amplitude information pertaining to a number of wires of a number of lengths in a number of orientations; transmitting stepped frequency signals in the megahertz range at frequencies at least one of which causes the control wire to resonate, the stepped frequency signals transmitted from a tunable electromagnetic probe tuned to the transmitted frequency towards a predetermined area; detecting wire resonance response using a single probe antenna in terms of the amplitude and phase of energy reflected back to the tunable probe as compared to the amplitude and phase of the transmitted signal using an S-parameter receiver; generating an image of the returned energy from the probe for each frequency of the probe transmission, the image including a range axis and an orthogonal amplitude/phase set of axes for each of the stepped frequencies; and, correlating the image formed at the each of the stepped frequencies to the stored range templates, with a high correlation to one of the surveyed templates indicated by the identity of the existence of the wire, the length of the wire and the range of the wire to the probe.