New rapid transfer alignment method for SINS of airborne weapon systems

Transfer alignment is an effective alignment method for the strapdown inertial navigation system （SINS） of airborne weapon systems. The traditional transfer alignment methods for large misalignment angles alignment use nonlinear transfer align- ment models and incorporate nonlinear filtering. A rapid transfer alignment method with linear models and linear filtering for ar- bitrary misalignment angles is presented. Through the attitude quaternion decomposition, the purpose of transfer alignment is converted to estimate a constant quaternion. Employing special manipulations on measurement equation, velocity and attitude linear measurement equations are derived. Then the linear trans- fer alignment model for arbitrary misalignment angles is built. An adaptive Kalman filter is developed to handle modeling errors of the measurement noise statistics. Simulation results show feasibili- ty and effectiveness of the proposed method, which provides an alternative rapid transfer alignment method for airborne weapons.     

Self-alignment of full skewed RSINS：observability analysis and full-observable Kalman filter

Traditional orthogonal strapdown inertial navigation sys-tem （SINS） cannot achieve satisfactory self-alignment accuracy in the stationary base： taking more than 5 minutes and al the iner-tial sensors biases cannot get ful observability except the up-axis accelerometer. However, the ful skewed redundant SINS （RSINS） can not only enhance the reliability of the system, but also improve the accuracy of the system, such as the initial alignment. Firstly, the observability of the system state includes attitude errors and al the inertial sensors biases are analyzed with the global perspective method： any three gyroscopes and three accelerometers can be assembled into an independent subordinate SINS （sub-SINS）;the system state can be uniquely confirmed by the coupling connec-tions of al the sub-SINSs;the attitude errors and random constant biases of al the inertial sensors are observable. However, the ran-dom noises of the inertial sensors are not taken into account in the above analyzing process. Secondly, the ful-observable Kalman filter which can be applied to the actual RSINS containing random noises is established; the system state includes the position, ve-locity, attitude errors of al the sub-SINSs and the random constant biases of the redundant inertial sensors. At last, the initial self-alignment process of a typical four-redundancy ful skewed RSINS is simulated： the horizontal attitudes （pitch, rol ） errors and yaw error can be exactly evaluated within 80 s and 100 s respectively, while the random constant biases of gyroscopes and accelero-meters can be precisely evaluated within 120 s. For the ful skewed RSINS, the self-alignment accuracy is greatly improved, mean-while the self-alignment time is widely shortened.     

Consensus intuitionistic fuzzy group decision-making method for aircraft cockpit display and control system evaluation

A novel group decision-making (GDM) method based on intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) is developed to evaluate the ergonomics of aircraft cockpit display and control system (ACDCS). The GDM process with four steps is discussed. Firstly, approaches are proposed to transform four types of common judgement representations into a unified expression by the form of the IFS, and the features of unifications are analyzed. Then, the aggregation operator called the IFSs weighted averaging (IFSWA) operator is taken to synthesize decision-makers’ (DMs’) preferences by the form of the IFS. In this operator, the DM’s reliability weights factors are determined based on the distance measure between their preferences. Finally, an improved score function is used to rank alternatives and to get the best one. An illustrative example proves the proposed method is effective to valuate the ergonomics of the ACDCS.     

Radial acceleration estimation of multiple high maneuvering targets

The acceleration of a high maneuvering target in signal processing is helpful to enhance the performance of the tracker and facilitate the classification of targets. At present, most of the research on acceleration estimation is carried out in cases of a single target with time-frequency analysis methods such as fractional Fourier transform （FRFT）, Hough-ambiguity transform （HAT）, and Wigner-Vil e distribution （WVD）, which need to satisfy enough time duration and sampling theorem. Only one reference proposed a method of acceleration estimation for multiple targets based on modified polynomial phase transform （MPPT） in the lin-ear frequency modulation （LFM） continuous-wave （CW） radar. The method of acceleration estimation for multiple targets in the pulse Doppler （PD） radar has not been reported so far. Compressive sensing （CS） has the advantage of sampling at a low rate and short duration without sacrificing estimation performance. There-fore, this paper proposes a new method of acceleration estimation for multiple maneuvering targets with the unknown number based on CS with pulse Doppler signals. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method under several conditions with different duration, measurement numbers, signal to noise ra-tios （SNR）, and regularization parameters, respectively. Simulation results also show that the performance of the proposed method is superior to that of FRFT and HAT in the condition of multiple targets.     

Response surface method using grey relational analysis for decision making in weapon system selection

A proper weapon system is very important for a na- tional defense system. Generally, it means selecting the optimal weapon system among many alternatives, which is a multiple- attribute decision making （MADM） problem. This paper proposes a new mathematical model based on the response surface method （RSM） and the grey relational analysis （GRA）. RSM is used to obtain the experimental points and analyze the factors that have a significant impact on the selection results. GRA is used to an- alyze the trend relationship between alternatives and reference series. And then an RSM model is obtained, which can be used to calculate all alternatives and obtain ranking results. A real world application is introduced to illustrate the utilization of the model for the weapon selection problem. The results show that this model can be used to help decision-makers to make a quick comparison of alternatives and select a proper weapon system from multiple alternatives, which is an effective and adaptable method for solving the weapon system selection problem.     

Knowledge-based detection method for SAR targets

When the classical constant false-alarm rate （CFAR） combined with fuzzy C-means （FCM） algorithm is applied to target detection in synthetic aperture radar （SAR） images with complex background, CFAR requires block-by-block estimation of clutter models and FCM clustering converges to local optimum. To address these problems, this paper pro-poses a new detection algorithm： knowledge-based combined with improved genetic algorithm-fuzzy C-means （GA-FCM） algorithm. Firstly, the algorithm takes target region＇s maximum and average intensity, area, length of long axis and long-to-short axis ratio of the external ellipse as factors which influence the target appearing probabil- ity. The knowledge-based detection algorithm can produce preprocess results without the need of estimation of clutter models as CFAR does. Afterward the GA-FCM algorithm is improved to cluster pre-process results. It has advantages of incorporating global optimizing ability of GA and local optimizing ability of FCM, which will further eliminate false alarms and get better results. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is experimentally validated with real SAR images.     

Inference for constant-stress accelerated life test with Type-I progressively hybrid censored data from Burr-Xll distribution

This paper proposes a simple constant-stress accel- erated life test （ALT） model from Burr type XII distribution when the data are Type-I progressively hybrid censored. The maximum likelihood estimation （MLE） of the parameters is obtained through the numerical method for solving the likelihood equations. Approxi- mate confidence interval （CI）, based on normal approximation to the asymptotic distribution of MLE and percentile bootstrap Cl is derived. Finally, a numerical example is introduced and then a Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out to illustrate the pro- posed method.     

Underdetermined DOA estimation and blind separation of non-disjoint sources in time-frequency domain based on sparse representation method

This paper deals with the blind separation of nonstation-ary sources and direction-of-arrival （DOA） estimation in the under-determined case, when there are more sources than sensors. We assume the sources to be time-frequency （TF） disjoint to a certain extent. In particular, the number of sources presented at any TF neighborhood is strictly less than that of sensors. We can identify the real number of active sources and achieve separation in any TF neighborhood by the sparse representation method. Compared with the subspace-based algorithm under the same sparseness assumption, which suffers from the extra noise effect since it can-not estimate the true number of active sources, the proposed algorithm can estimate the number of active sources and their cor-responding TF values in any TF neighborhood simultaneously. An-other contribution of this paper is a new estimation procedure for the DOA of sources in the underdetermined case, which combines the TF sparseness of sources and the clustering technique. Sim-ulation results demonstrate the validity and high performance of the proposed algorithm in both blind source separation （BSS） and DOA estimation.     

Reduced K-best sphere decoding algorithm based on minimum route distance and noise variance

This paper focuses on reducing the complexity of K-best sphere decoding （SD） algorithm for the detection of uncoded multi-ple input multiple output （MIMO） systems. The proposed algorithm utilizes the threshold-pruning method to cut nodes with partial Euclidean distances （PEDs） larger than the threshold. Both the known noise value and the unknown noise value are considered to generate the threshold, which is the sum of the two values. The known noise value is the smal est PED of signals in the detected layers. The unknown noise value is generated by the noise power, the quality of service （QoS） and the signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） bound. Simulation results show that by considering both two noise values, the proposed algorithm makes an efficient reduction while the performance drops little.     

Survey on nonlinear reconfigurable flight control

An overview on nonlinear reconfigurable flight control approaches that have been demonstrated in flight-test or highfidelity simulation is presented. Various approaches for reconfigurable flight control systems are considered, including nonlinear dynamic inversion, parameter identification and neural network technologies, backstepping and model predictive control approaches. The recent research work, flight tests, and potential strength and weakness of each approach are discussed objectively in order to give readers and researchers some reference. Finally, possible future directions and open problems in this area are addressed.     

Optimal two-iteration sculling compensation mathematical framework for SINS velocity updating

A new two-iteration sculling compensation mathematical framework is provided for modern-day strapdown inertial navigation system（SINS） algorithm design that utilizes a new concept in velocity updating. The principal structure of this framework includes twice sculling compensation procedure using incremental outputs from the inertial system sensors during the velocity updating interval. Then, the moderate algorithm is designed to update the velocity parameter. The analysis is conducted in the condition of sculling motion which indicates that the new mathematical framework error which is smaller than the conventional ones by at least two orders is far superior. Therefore, a summary is given for SINS software which can be designed with the new mathematical framework in velocity updating.     

Immune multi-agent model using vaccine for cooperative air-defense system of systems for surface warship formation based on danger theory

Aiming at the problem on cooperative air-defense of surface warship formation, this paper maps the cooperative airdefense system of systems （SoS） for surface warship formation （CASoSSWF） to the biological immune system （BIS） according to the similarity of the defense mechanism and characteristics between the CASoSSWF and the BIS, and then designs the models of components and the architecture for a monitoring agent, a regulating agent, a killer agent, a pre-warning agent and a communicating agent by making use of the theories and methods of the artificial immune system, the multi-agent system （MAS）, the vaccine and the danger theory （DT）. Moreover a new immune multi-agent model using vaccine based on DT （IMMUVBDT） for the cooperative air-defense SoS is advanced. The immune response and immune mechanism of the CASoSSWF are analyzed. The model has a capability of memory, evolution, commendable dynamic environment adaptability and self-learning, and embodies adequately the cooperative air-defense mechanism for the CASoSSWF. Therefore it shows a novel idea for the CASoSSWF which can provide conception models for a surface warship formation operation simulation system.     

Evaluation matrix with the speed feature based on double inspiriting control lines

Methods of the comprehensive evaluation have been studied for many years. However, the change speed of evaluated objects was rarely considered by the existing evaluation methods. An evaluation matrix is proposed to remedy this deficiency. Firstly, the change speed state （CSS） of the evaluated objects is analyzed based on double inspiriting control lines （DICLs）, and a matrix of the CSS is constructed. Then, 72 elements in the matrix are analyzed, and formulas describing each CSS are given. The efficiency of the proposed evaluation matrix is proved when the CSS merges with the change speed trend （CST） in the dynamic comprehensive evaluation. Finally, a computing example shows that the proposed evaluation matrix is feasible in the dynamic comprehensive evaluation with the speed feature.     

Cramer-Rao bound and signal-to-noise ratio gain in distributed coherent aperture radar

This paper studies the estimation performance of the coherent processing parameter （CPP）, including time delay differences and phase synchronization errors among different apertures of the distributed coherent aperture radar （DCAR）. Firstly, three architectures of signal processing in the DCAR are introduced. Secondly, the closed-form Cramer-Rao bound （CRB） of the CPP estimation is derived and compared. Then, the closed-form CRB is verified by numerical simulations. Finally, when the next generation radar works in a fully coherent mode, the closed-form signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） gain of the three architectures is presented.     

Cramer-Rao bound of joint estimation of target location and velocity for coherent MIMO radar

The optimal estimation performance of target parameters is studied. First, the general form of Cramer-Rao bound （CRB） for joint estimation of target location and velocity is derived for coherent multiple input multiple output （MIMO） radars. To gain some insight into the behavior of the CRB, the CRB with a set of given orthogonal waveforms is studied as a specific case. Second, a maximum likelihood （ML） estimation algorithm is proposed. The mean square error （MSE） of the ML estimation of target location and velocity is obtained by Monte Carlo simulation and it approaches CRB in the high signal-to-noise ratio （SNR） region.     

Multi-dimensional blind separation method for STBC systems

Intercepted signal blind separation is a research topic with high importance for both military and civilian communication systems. A blind separation method for space-time block code （STBC） systems is proposed by using the ordinary independent component analysis （ICA）. This method cannot work when specific complex modulations are employed since the assumption of mutual independence cannot be satisfied. The analysis shows that source signals, which are group-wise independent and use multi-dimensional ICA （MICA） instead of ordinary ICA, can be applied in this case. Utilizing the block-diagonal structure of the cumulant matrices, the JADE algorithm is generalized to the multidimensional case to separate the received data into mutually independent groups. Compared with ordinary ICA algorithms, the proposed method does not introduce additional ambiguities. Simulations show that the proposed method overcomes the drawback and achieves a better performance without utilizing coding information than channel estimation based algorithms.     

Near optimal condition of OMP algorithm in recovering sparse signal from noisy measurement

This paper analyzes the performance of the orthogonal matching pursuit （OMP） algorithm in recovering sparse signals from noisy measurement. Considering the fact that some matrices satisfy some restricted isometry properties （RIPs） but not the coherence condition, a superior RIP-based condition is proposed, which means that if the measurement matrix satisfies δk＋1 〈 1/（2 ＋ √k） and the minimum component signal-to-noise ratio （MCSNR） is bounded, the OMP algorithm can exactly identify the support of the original sparse signal within k iterations. Finally, the theoretical results are verified by numerical simulations con- cerning different values of MCSNR and noise levels.     

Solution for polarimetric radar cross section measurement and calibration

The exact radar cross-section （RCS） measurement is difficult when the scattering of targets is low. Ful polarimetric cali-bration is one technique that offers the potential for improving the accuracy of RCS measurements. There are numerous polarimetric calibration algorithms. Some complex expressions in these algo-rithms cannot be easily used in an engineering practice. A radar polarimetric coefficients matrix （RPCM） with a simpler expression is presented for the monostatic radar polarization scattering matrix （PSM） measurement. Using a rhombic dihedral corner reflector and a metal ic sphere, the RPCM can be obtained by solving a set of equations, which can be used to find the true PSM for any target. An example for the PSM of a metal ic dish shows that the proposed method obviously improves the accuracy of cross-polarized RCS measurements.     

Method of target tracking with Doppler blind zone constraint

Doppler blind zone （DBZ） has a bad influence on the airborne early warning radar, although it has good detection performance for low altitude targets with pulse Doppler （PD） technology. In target tracking, the blind zone can cause target tracking breakage easily. In order to solve this problem, a parallel particle filter （PF） algorithm based on multi-hypothesis motion models （MHMMs） is proposed. The algorithm produces multiple possible target motion models according to the DBZ constraint. Particles are updated with the constraint in each motion model. Once the first measurement from the target which reappears from DBZ falls into the particle cloud formed by any model, the measurementtrack association succeeds and track breakage is avoided. The simulation results show that on the condition of different DBZ ranges, a high association ratio can be got for targets with different maneuverability levels, which accordingly improves the tracking quality.     

Codebook design for uplink of densely small cells

The shrinking of cell-size brings significant changes to the wireless uplink of densely small cells （DSCs）. A codebook design is proposed that utilizes the strong line of sight （LOS） chan- nel component existing in a DSC system for uplink of the DSC system. To further improve the uplink performance, the high-rank codebook is designed based on singular value decomposition （SVD） due to the unnecessary preservation of strict constant modulus in the DSC system. And according to the simulation result, the proposed codebook leads to significant sum-rate gain and appreciable block error rate （BLER） performance improvement in the DSC system.