RASS®

CNS measurement tools and services

Intersoft Services offers CNS measurement solutions at different levels.

  • System design teams require complex signal generation and simulation tools to assess the limits of their systems under test
  • Site personnel, ANSPs and military, need CNS measurement services to assess the performance of their fielded systems
  • CNS data analysis and sensor monitoring are done in-factory, on-site and at remote locations

CNS measurements are offered as a service by Intersoft Services’ ATSEP certified personnel. Organizations who want to internalize the specific CNS measurement expertise and know-how, can buy RASS® products and get trained by IE Academy experts.

Environment simulation and target generation for factory acceptance and performance testing
Radar Environment Simulator RES
Ground and drone measurements for certification, calibration and site acceptance
RASS measurement equipment
CNS data analysis and sensor monitoring
Sensor Monitoring System

Performance testing

Intersoft Electronics offers a range of services and products for airspace environment generation and target injection. Those dedicated generation tools allow to assess systems under test in lab and factory settings and can be used on-site for verification of system performance under any operational scenario. The radar environment simulators and target generators can create a very realistic and repeatable environment for primary and secondary radar systems.

RES – Radar environment simulation

The Radar Environment Simulator (RES) simulates the radar’s environment on RF level (up to 2000 SSR or Mode-S targets, reflectors and LVA antenna behavior). This is done by injecting all the required RF signals that would occur in real life situations into the antenna connectors of the radar, hereby reacting correctly to the radar’s interrogations as real transponders would do. The aim is to present a known reference environment to the radar and compare the radar output data to the input scenario.

The performance of an ADS-B ground station can be assessed in the same way.

  • Full simulation of horizontal and vertical Mono-pulse SSR antenna diagram
  • Detect and decode Mode 5 interrogations and generate Mode 5 replies and reports
  • Path loss simulation
  • RES operates in master or slaved mode to radar rotation
  • Up to 1750 ADS-B targets on top of radar target

RTG – Radar target generation

The Radar Target Generator (RTG) is designed to generate primary radar returns. It can be placed in the field (Remote Test Target) or connected to a radar or system under test (on-site / in-factory target injection).

The RTG will detect and preserve the radar pulse, apply a fixed and highly precise delay and retransmit the pulse with the appropriate power, pulse-width, frequency and Doppler shift. This is a high fidelity simulation of real targets and allows for precise scenarios for testing. For optimal operation, an accurate test system should allow constant and extensive monitoring. For this the RTG is equipped with several monitoring timestamping and recording functions.

  • Correct Doppler on all frequencies even in agile mode
  • Adaptive beam modulation, even in frequency agility operation
  • Inject multiple targets on top of the existing radar environment and clutter situation
  • For Remote Test Target usage the RTG is deployed in the field, testing the complete radar system including the antenna

With the Towertrack option for RTG, counter battery and missile defense radar operators can test their systems comprehensively, in a controlled environment and at a fraction of the cost of live ammunition and test flights.

CNS measurements

Services and products to assess the operational performance of Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems are available from the RASS portfolio. Ground measurement solutions allow to asses complete PSR and SSR/IFF systems on-site. SkyRF drone measurements can be used to assess a wide range of CNS systems, including radar, ILS, DME, VOR, TACAN and many other. CNS measurements are offered as a service and can be purchased as equipment with training for site technicians.

Ground measurements

The RASS® ground measurement solutions offer a system for evaluating the different elements of a radar, independent of the radar manufacturer.

The scientific approach of the RASS® ground measurements produces a top down analysis of all the elements in the radar chain, verifying the performance of each element separately in the operational environment of the radar: from the RF signals at the antenna down to the serial radar data output.

The evaluation of the radar system will be completed quickly and with little interference to the controllers since the RASS system can be connected to signals which are already available and this under operational conditions. This advantage combined with the simple connections and easy-to-use user-interface make RASS® ground measurement the all-round radar maintenance solution.

  • analysis of PSR and MSSR/IFF radar systems
  • near field and far field measurements
  • evaluate mechanical and structural design of the antenna pedestal and tower under wind-loads etc.
  • testing waveguides and RF components
  • analysis of transmitter and receiver characteristics

Drone measurements (SkyRF®)

SkyRF® is the drone platform delivering radio frequency (RF) measurement services for performance analysis on Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) installations. The dedicated equipment onboard SkyRF® and the software platform were specifically built for measuring CNS performance in the field. Measuring and analyzing signals at elevation was never before so easy, accurate and reliable. SkyRF® complements ground measurements and reduces the need for flight checks by up to 50%.

  • repeatable measurements, compliant to mandated standards
  • save tangible and intangible costs thanks to reduced downtime and less logistics overhead compared to flight tests
  • reduce flight test by up to 50% and minimise carbon emissions and noise polution

Analysis and monitoring

The RASS® CNS Data Analysis and Monitoring tools were designed to operate in versatile Air Traffic Management (ATM) environments like Air Traffic Control Centers (ATCC) and at the radar site. It supports the users in keeping track of system status and performance parameters of one or a fleet of sensors. RASS® CNS Data Analysis and Monitoring tools provide a high efficiency rate to solve unexpected system behavior and performance issues in difficult circumstances without affecting system availability.

CNS data analysis

The reliability and accuracy of surveillance data is critically important for safe and efficient Air Traffic Management (ATM) and is the first step in creation of a reliable Air Picture. Therefore Intersoft Electronics developed the CNS data analysis tools.

CNS performance analysis is based on operational data from one or several sensor sources and is executed according the proper EUROCONTROL and ICAO standards.

RASS CNS data analysis tools are used worldwide as a reference analysis and evaluation tool by civil and military ANSP, flight calibration companies, radar manufacturers and engineers.

Sensor monitoring

Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) operate various different systems, often across multiple locations. Intersoft Electronics provides standardised solutions to integrate the control and monitoring of ATM sensor systems to achieve continuous performance monitoring, verification, simplified maintenance scheduling and reducing operations costs.

The entire Intersoft Electronics solution portfolio features highly flexible user interfaces and exceptional scalability. To enable fast deployment and low-cost management, the control and monitoring solutions are designed to run on common, off-the-shelf hardware and software. Modular architecture makes the solutions easy to integrate with existing technologies and scalable to new requirements.

The Intersoft Electronics Sensor Monitoring System (SMS) is a scalable surveillance monitoring system that provides real-time analysis on multiple surveillance sensors.

The SMS greatly improves safety through the early provision of a warning of sensor degradation. Intersoft Electronics’ SMS is the most cost-effective solution to ensure that all sensors remain operationally compliant against the ICAO and EUROCONTROL mandated standards.