Doppler Navigation System with a Non-Stabilized Antenna as a Sea-Surface Wind Sensor

Sensors (Basel). 2017 Jun 9;17(6):1340. doi: 10.3390/s17061340.

Abstract

We propose a concept of the utilization of an aircraft Doppler Navigation System (DNS) as a sea-surface wind sensor complementary to its normal functionality. The DNS with an antenna, which is non-stabilized physically to the local horizontal with x-configured beams, is considered. We consider the wind measurements by the DNS configured in the multi-beam scatterometer mode for a rectilinear flight scenario. The system feasibility and the efficiency of the proposed wind algorithm retrieval are supported by computer simulations. Finally, the associated limitations of the proposed approach are considered.

Keywords: Doppler navigation system; algorithm; normalized radar cross section; scatterometer; sea wind.