MICROWAVE ENERGY IMPLEMENTED AIRCRAFT LANDING SYSTEM

摘要

A microwave radio frequency landing system includes an aircraft borne transmitter/receiver (transceiver) (56) and a ground unit. The ground unit comprises a dielectric material lens and a transponder module array. The transceiver (56) transmits pulsed interrogation signals (60) to the ground unit. The dielectric material lens focuses the pulsed signals onto the transponder module array. The transponder modules illuminated by the pulsed signals transmit continuous wave return signals (62) to the aircraft. Each continuous wave return signal (62) comprises four tones, which are used by the aircraft to determine azimuth and glide slope of the aircraft, carried on a microwave carrier. In each transponder module which receives the pulsed signals (60) from the aircraft transceiver (56), the microwave carrier is phase inverted for the duration of each pulse of the pulsed signals. The phase inversions on the microwave carrier are used by the aircraft to determine the range, velocity and acceleration of the aircraft with respect to the ground unit.