Gregory D. Rash
Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWPNS)/China Lake
BIOGRAPHY and remote operations, and how to attain high accuracy and
repeatability during the generation and measurement of
Greg Rash received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical jamming.
Engineering from Fresno State University in 1991.
Employed by the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons INTRODUCTION
Division (NAWCWPNS), China Lake, California, he has
worked on the development of phased-array antennas and The Global Positioning System (GPS) has effectively been
has performed simulation, analysis, modeling, and testing operational since the early nineties and has been available
for various missile programs. His first exposure to the to users for over a decade. In recent years, jamming of
Global Positioning System (GPS) occurred when he was GPS has arisen as a major concern for users. Safety
tasked as the GPS system engineer for Tomahawk Cruise concerns for civilian applications, and operational concerns
Missile in mid 1993. In late 1995 he started developing a for the military continue to escalate. However, the
remotely controllable GPS jamming system for laboratory vulnerability of the GPS downlink to jamming is not a new
use. Greg is currently part of the design team tasked with issue and has existed since the system's inception. In fact,
integrating an EGI for use in a real-time simulation papers discussing vulnerability date back over twenty
application at the NAWCWPNS Navigation Laboratory. years.1
All discussions of J/S will be related to dBm. J/S ratios are Another example relating measurement error to range
with respect to L1 or L2 P(Y) code only, where L1 = -133 follows. Suppose we wish to determine the range at which
dBm, L2 = -136 dBm. Three dB are added for C/A-code a given receiver loses lock for a fixed jammer power.
J/S comparisons. Since power decreases as the reciprocal of the distance
from the emitter, we have
JAMMING DESIGN ISSUES
2
JM / JT = (RT /RM)
Accuracy
where
When testing GPS receivers/navigation systems, the most RT = range calculated using JT
important jamming specification is the amplitude accuracy, RM = range calculated using JM
because overall J/S is calculated using jamming signal
amplitude. When measuring the GPS jamming signals, it is
This equation can be rewritten as
also important to note that the complete 20.46 MHz of
signal bandwidth for L1 or L2 P(Y) code should be 10 Log JM – 10 Log JT = 20 Log RT /RM
measured to ensure that all the jamming energy is
accounted for when performing the J/S calculations.
If we assume a +1.0 dB error in measuring JM, we have
GPS simulator signals must also have correct signal power -1/20
levels. Adjusting the power output to correct for the RM = RT * 10 or RM = 0.89 RT
testing system's losses or gains usually attains this.
Incorrect GPS simulator output levels will cause J/S to be This represents an 11% error in our range estimate to jam-
artificially high or low, nullifying test results, even if the out, possibly a critical parameter of the system's
GPS jamming levels are correct. operational design. This error may translate into an
operational concern for certain customers.
In order to validate the performance of the GPS component
of any given platform in the Navigation Laboratory, we Based upon these brief calculations, it appears that the
need to be able to determine J/S as accurately as possible. maximum amplitude measurement error we should allow
Any error in determining this parameter can have a large for when performing GPS jamming is ±1.0 dB. For
impact on system performance. For example, suppose we reference, the Interstate Electronics Corporation (IEC)3
wish to determine how a +1.0 dB error in measuring the GPS constellation simulator specifies an amplitude
amplitude of jamming would affect the overall accuracy of accuracy of ±0.7 dB root sum squared when generating
our J/S calculation. Assume there is no amplitude error in satellite signals, on par with the previously stated accuracy
S, the GPS signal level, and that it is a constant value. requirement for jamming signals.
Given
The total amplitude error of J/S that exists when
1 dB = 10 Log JM / JT performing jamming testing will be made up of errors in
both J and S. Amplitude errors in the simulator output S
cannot be easily calibrated and reflect the performance
specification of the GPS simulator. Amplitude errors in
jamming or J can be minimized but not completely Pulse
eliminated. To produce GPS jamming signals that have
accuracy values similar to the simulator means generating For pulse jamming (turning CW, NB, and WB jamming on
jamming signals with less than ±0.7 dB of amplitude error. and off at some rate), care should be taken to limit the two
pulse description parameters, pulse repetition frequency
GPS receiver/system testing can be performed with or (PRF) and duty cycle (DC). Large values for both PRF
without the antenna or antenna subsystem. When testing and DC will make the jamming look continuous, and very
with single-element or multi-element antennas, the small values for both will not affect the GPS receiver
requirement that all jamming be measured to within ±1.0 noticeably. Also, the ability of the test equipment to
dB is still valid. If jamming an actual antenna system in an accurately emulate any given pulse characteristics should
anechoic chamber, a calibrated radio frequency (RF) horn be taken into account. Usually the rise and fall times of
or some other measurement device should be used to test equipment controlling the RF output of pulses is
determine the actual power levels present at the antenna sufficiently fast enough (msec to nsec) that the pulse
elements. appears instantaneous to the GPS receiver(s) RF input.
Realistic values found through experimentation are:
When testing GPS receivers without the antenna, the signal
specification for power at the input to the receiver must be Minimum PRF: 1 Hz, Maximum PRF: 20 kHz
accounted for. This signal level can be above or below Minimum DC: 10%, Maximum DC: 90%
ICD-GPS-200 levels. All system gains or losses must be
accounted for to ensure the signal feeding the input to the These values should only be considered as a starting point
receiver under test is correct in amplitude. If jamming a and are tailorable for specific requirements.
multi-element GPS receiver system without the antenna,
then each RF input (one per antenna element) should be Modulation/Mixing
measured to within the previously mentioned ±1.0 dB
value to ensure jamming levels are correct. The overriding goal of any GPS jamming
modulation/mixing scheme is to completely fill a given
Frequency bandwidth of frequency with energy that will cause the
GPS receiver to lose lock or never attain lock.
There are other important jamming parameters besides
amplitude tolerances. Frequency is also an important There are many types of modulation options available.
issue. CW jammer or NB jammer center frequency Some standard modulation types are amplitude modulation
location relative to the GPS signal is important, especially (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and biphase shift
if testing a GPS receiver that can notch-out4 CW and NB keying (BPSK). Mixing of noise with a carrier frequency
jammers in the frequency domain. Too much drift from the to produce WB jamming is another common practice.
commanded center frequency of the signal generators Other options are as follows: sweeping the center
could nullify test results. frequency, summing two different kinds of modulation
together (AM and FM, for instance), RF summation of
From test experience, we have found that knowing the multiple signal generator jamming signals, and others. The
center frequency of any jamming to within ±500 Hz over possibilities are almost endless.
the 20.46 MHz GPS bandwidth is accurate enough for
laboratory testing. If needed, more accuracy could easily When generating NB or WB signals in a testing
be obtained by feeding a highly accurate frequency environment, care must be taken to ensure harmonics from
standard into the laboratory signal generators. L1 do not enter the L2 bandwidth. The inverse case is also
true. This occurs because the L1 and L2 jamming signals
When generating jamming signals that can be moved about are usually summed together and summed again with the
the entire bandwidth of GPS, care should be taken to limit GPS simulator's output. This problem was first observed
the absolute frequency offset allowed to ensure that signals during experimentation with double sideband mixers
stay within the bandwidth. The front-end bandwidth of the generating WB noise. While generating a WB jammer on
GPS receiver under test and the accuracy of the signal L1 and L2, it was noticed that both 20.46 MHz bandwidths
generators usually determine the maximum allowable measured slightly high. When L2 jamming was turned off,
frequency offset. We chose to limit the frequency offset to L1 measured correctly; when L1 jamming was turned off,
±9.0 MHz to avoid generating jamming outside the band, L2 measured correctly. The harmonics from the two
and to ensure that all the jamming energy enters the GPS frequencies were bleeding into each other and causing
receiver under test. more than one dB of measurement error. In certain cases,
as much as three dB of additional energy was being fed
into the adjacent frequency band, even though it was more bandwidth to ensure our J/S calculations are correct, we
than 300 MHz away. must find another way. There is simply not enough signal
present.
J/S Range
Minimum Signal Level
Another design parameter not already addressed is the
absolute limits placed upon the J/S values of the GPS The minimum signal level that can be measured with a
jamming system. Low values of J/S will have little effect spectrum analyzer over the 20.46 MHz bandwidth of GPS
on receiver performance, and very high values provide is a critical parameter to be considered. Experimentation
little useful information because the GPS receiver has long with WB noise-like signals showed that the minimum
since lost lock. Values chosen for the jamming system measurement level was a signal of at least -70 dBm. For
located inside the Navigation Laboratory were 20 to 80 dB safety, a bottom limit of -65 dBm was set. This meant
J/S in 0.50 dB increments of precision. The minimum that, for NB or WB jamming measurements, a J/S of over
value of 20 dB J/S was chosen because C/A acquisition at 50 dB would be needed before accurate measurements
24 dB J/S is a common military requirement. The could be taken, a useless value. Figure 1 shows a
maximum value was chosen because no GPS receivers can simplified diagram of the jamming system we used to
track at 80 dB J/S against a WB jammer without overcome the inability to measure NB and WB low level
employing beamsteering,*nulling, or some other multi- signals in the frequency domain.
element antenna technique. There is simply not enough
processing gain available. No current Navigation
Laboratory customers need a higher J/S level; however,
scaling the power level up does not pose any technical
problems, if requirements change in the future.
MEASUREMENT ISSUES
Bandwidth of Measurement
It can be argued that the most important characteristic in a The first step in designing the jamming system was to
test environment is repeatability. Accuracy is very define some of the critical parameters, while satisfying the
important, but one accurate measurement out of many is QC objectives. We have already discussed how jamming
usually worthless. Repeatable and accurate measurements amplitude errors greater than ±1.0 dB can impact GPS
minimize test confusion and become invaluable when testing, and considering that the IEC simulator has an
performing troubleshooting of test setups. Even if the accuracy specification of ±0.7 dB when generating satellite
measurement data is wrong, as long as it is repeatably signals, we felt that any jamming signal generated should
wrong, the cause for the test inaccuracy can usually be meet or exceed this value. We chose ±0.5 dB as an
found quickly. acceptable error value. As previously explained, the entire
GPS bandwidth of 20.46 MHz per frequency was to be
To ensure valid test results when performing GPS measured. The calculated J/S would be based upon the
jamming, we should set limits on the accuracy and total summation of jamming energy contained inside this
repeatability of our jamming. Should every single bandwidth.
measurement be within our stated accuracy, or maybe
every other? From test experience we have found that Repeatability was the next parameter to be addressed. To
when components fail or cables become disconnected, they ensure a robust, repeatable system, we chose for every
rarely do it intermittently. Because of this, we chose to set jamming measurement to be within the stated accuracy.
limits on how many failed measurements are allowed in a Five bad measurements in a row would cause the jamming
row. Too many failed measurements cause the jamming system to error-out. This statement leads to other
system to error-out and quit, notifying the user of the error questions. At what rate should the jamming measurements
and probable causes. be taken? At what rate should system parameters
(amplitude, frequency, etc.) be allowed to change?
How many failed measurements before an error occurs and
other issues associated with implementing GPS jamming It was decided to run the system at a 1 Hz rate. All the
will be presented in the next section. jamming parameters for L1 and L2 can be changed once
every second, and both frequencies jamming signals are
EXAMPLE: NAVIGATION LABORATORY measured once a second. Most military GPS receivers
JAMMING SYSTEM output many data blocks—for example, the timemark
block, once a second. Changes in jamming levels at the RF
This example details many of the jamming systems input to the receiver should take longer than one second
capabilities and provides a brief introduction to a system before being reflected in the GPS data blocks, so it was felt
that satisfies our quality control criteria. that this was an acceptable rate which provided good
fidelity. Faster update rates are possible, but limited by the
capability of the test equipment to respond to GPIB
commands.
Quality Control
To ensure ease of troubleshooting and to be able to defend
any claims to performance, all important jamming
parameters, including the commanded J/S and the actual written in LabVIEW 4.0™. Figure 2 shows how the
measured J/S, are saved once per second. Each piece of jamming equipment is interconnected.
data is time-tagged to within ±5 msec of universal time
coordinated (UTC). The system offers the following GPS jamming types:
• CW—Successive oscillations that are identical under
Accurately generating and measuring GPS jamming, while steady-state conditions.
saving all jamming parameters at a one-second rate, • NB—Generated from a pseudorandom gaussian
ensures that QC is maintained while testing. Saving all distributed noise sequence. A 2 MHz bandwidth contained
data for review allows for defense of test results, and within a 20.46 MHz band usually centered about the L1 or
stopping jamming system operation in the event of an error L2 frequency.
(five jamming measurements outside the ±0.5 dB • WB—Generated from a pseudorandom gaussian
tolerance) provides quick termination for non-valid testing. distributed noise sequence. A 20.46 MHz bandwidth
An overview of the system capabilities will be presented centered on the L1 or L2 frequency.
next.
Characteristics common to all types of jamming are as
Jamming System Specifications follows:
• Pulsed NB, WB, and CW—Each of the previously
The jamming system consists of five GPIB controlled mentioned jamming types can be pulsed at a maximum
pieces of test equipment, various cabling and interconnects, pulse repetition frequency of 20 kHz. The minimum PRF
RF summers/dividers, RF switches, and RF high pass is 10 Hz. Duty cycle can range from 10 to 90%.
filters. A personal computer called the Jamming Controller • Jamming levels—Variable from 20 to 80 dB J/S with an
(JamCtrl) coordinates and controls the system. The accuracy of ±0.5 dB in 0.5 dB increments of precision.
JamCtrl utilizes Windows NT version 3.51™ software to • Frequency offset—Allowable frequency offset of ±9
control all test equipment. The controlling software is MHz in 1 kHz increments for CW and NB jamming types.
Only wideband noise may not be offset in frequency.
Six user modes of operation are currently available during RF Signal Flow
remote operation. Mode control is established by an
internet message. Mode 0 turns off all jamming. Mode 1 Five distinct RF signal paths can be created within the
allows the user to specify the desired J/S ratio at the jamming system by commanding the switch driver to
receiver, and the JamCtrl performs the necessary control four RF switch settings. One of the five signal
calculations to maintain the J/S ratio at that level. The J/S paths is used for normal operation of the system. The
level can be changed at a 1 Hz rate, along with all the other four signal paths are used exclusively for BIT to
other jamming parameters. verify RF system integrity. As previously mentioned, the
RF switches are only used during BIT.
In Modes 2-5, the user can create a jamming scenario
involving multiple jammers along the trajectory route. Normal Operation
Mode 2 indicates one jammer, Mode 3 two jammers,
Mode 4 three jammers, and Mode 5 four jammers. Up to The normal RF signal path is used when generating and
four jammers per L1 or L2 may be specified. The measuring GPS jamming in both the local and remote
location of each jammer is given in earth-centered, earth- operating modes and will be discussed next. This is the
fixed (ECEF) coordinates and the maximum output power default signal path. Figure 3 shows the normal flow of
is 100 kW per jamming source. Unlike Mode 1 where the signals through the system. Both signal generator inputs
J/S ratio at the receiver can remain constant (if the user so feed into the left side of the diagram, along with the
desires), in Modes 2-5 the J/S ratio will vary depending on simulator inputs GPS IN 1/GPS IN 2. Live GPS from a
parameters selected by the user. Modes 2-5 are only surveyed location outside of the laboratory is also fed into
available during remote control operations, because the RF patch panel. This signal is split and is available on
dynamics information is needed from the client to two outputs, LIVE OUT 1/LIVE OUT 2. LIVE OUT 1 or
calculate range to each jamming source, and hence overall LIVE OUT 2 could also be used as one of the GPS IN
J/S from each signal generator. inputs, if desired. All RF outputs (except the spectrum
analyzer) run through 0-50 dB variable attenuators
(symbol VA), giving independent control of each output.
Error Checking and Handling Output levels are adjustable in 1.0 dB
Figure 3. Jamming System Normal Signal Flow.
increments. GPS OUT 1/GPS OUT 2 are available to GPS simulator(s) and GPS jamming signal paths. Use of
drive GPS receivers. A calibration receiver output is also standard grounding and power techniques for the test
available. Approximately 45 dB more jamming signal equipment is highly recommended. Power all test
level is fed to the spectrum analyzer to allow for accurate equipment from an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) to
measurements. As discussed previously, VA 1 sets the prevent any power fluctuation problems.
relationship between how much signal is measured by the
spectrum analyzer and how much signal is sent to the SUMMARY
receiver(s) under test. VA 1 is not normally adjusted
during testing, only during overall system calibration. This paper has presented the major issues and problems
associated with generating GPS jamming. The
Fabrication Issues importance of maintaining QC was discussed, and a brief
example was given detailing one approach to designing
Due to the very low signal levels involved with GPS, care and fabricating a GPS jamming system suitable for
must be taken to avoid corrupting signals. It is desirable laboratory use.
to use cable with greater than 100 dB of isolation to
prevent coupling of unwanted signals. Use of high-quality ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
RF summers, dividers, mixers, and connectors is
warranted. Any RF switching should be done using The author would like to thank Mr. Daniel Crabtree and
electromechanical relays due to their high isolation Mr. Sherryl Stovall of the Navigation and Data Link
specifications (greater than 100 dB). If possible, specify Section for their assistance and guidance in preparing this
components capable of handling frequencies that range paper. Special thanks to Mr. David Ferrucci and Mr. Bo
from DC to 18 GHz, as this ensures that the gains/losses Shaw of the F/A-18 Weapons System Support Activity for
for all L1 and L2 signal paths will be virtually identical. their sponsorship of this work.