This project will investigate sensing strategies, advanced algorithms and modelling to counter future airborne threats.  The main objectives will be: 

• develop a digital twin environment combining airborne threats and sensor models to predict sensor configuration performance for different threats’ capabilities
• investigate innovative sensing strategies that provide enhanced air situational awareness and increase spatial and temporal coverage.
• develop algorithms to boost sensor performance. 

To assess the capabilities of radar sensing solutions and of algorithms, a digital twin environment integrating advanced aerodynamics modelling capabilities from the MAE department with the radar sensing expertise in EEE will be developed. In the digital twin model, the different features and capabilities of the threat could be modelled, allowing the characterisation of the threat from a radar perspective and allowing the assessment of traditional and novel radar sensing solutions.

The simulation environment will allow the investigation of system level solutions, such as long-range active radars, as well as hitchhiker passive radars that could extend detection range with covertness, for example by using the RF illumination of the Over The Horizon (OTH) radar located in Cyprus to perform passive radar sensing over Europe and Middle-East, or spaceborne communication systems (e.g. OneWeb/Starlink), to perform persistent surveillance. 

The digital twin environment will then be used to develop advanced detection, localisation, tracking and classification algorithms. Additionally, potential countermeasures deployable by the threats will be investigated and characterised in the digital twin environment, and the impact on the developed algorithms assessed and potential solutions developed.