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VERA passive sensor
The VERA passive surveillance ESM system (known as Věra in Czech) is an electronic support measures (ESM) system that uses measurements of the time difference of arrival (TDOA) of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters. The system is manufactured by ERA a.s., based in Pardubice.
VERA is the latest in a long history of Czech ESM TDOA systems. The first system developed by the Czech army in 1963 was known as PRP-1 Kopáč which could track 6 targets.
This was followed by KRTP-81 Ramona (NATO reporting name Soft Ball) in 1979, which could track 20 targets, and KRTP-86 Tamara (NATO reporting name Trash Can) in 1987, which could simultaneously track 23 radar targets and 48 IFF targets.
These were widely exported to the former Soviet Union and beyond. These predecessors were manufactured by the state company Tesla, which collapsed after the Velvet Revolution (1989). Lead engineers from the former Tesla company formed the ERA Company in Pardubice which produces the current generation VERA family of sensors.
The deployed system typically comprises a central site (containing the signal processing equipment and an ESM receiver) and two or three side sites containing only an ESM receiver. The side sites relay the signals received to the central site over a point-to-point microwave link. The central site uses the known propagation delay from the side sites to estimate the TDOA of the pulses at each site.
The TDOA of a pulse between one side site and the central site locates the target on a hyperboloid. A second side site provides a second TDOA and hence a second hyperboloid. The intersection of these two hyperboloids places the target on a line, providing a 2D measurement of the target's location (no height).
A third side-site provides a third hyperboloid, which, when intersected with the line provided by the other two side sites, provides a full 3D location of the target. This process is known as multilateration.
The height of a target with an SSR Mode C or Mode S transponder can also be provided by decoding the Mode C or Mode S response directly, which is the normal mode of operation for the civilian VERA-AP system.
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VERA passive sensor AI simulator
(@VERA passive sensor_simulator)
VERA passive sensor
The VERA passive surveillance ESM system (known as Věra in Czech) is an electronic support measures (ESM) system that uses measurements of the time difference of arrival (TDOA) of pulses at three or four sites to accurately detect and track airborne emitters. The system is manufactured by ERA a.s., based in Pardubice.
VERA is the latest in a long history of Czech ESM TDOA systems. The first system developed by the Czech army in 1963 was known as PRP-1 Kopáč which could track 6 targets.
This was followed by KRTP-81 Ramona (NATO reporting name Soft Ball) in 1979, which could track 20 targets, and KRTP-86 Tamara (NATO reporting name Trash Can) in 1987, which could simultaneously track 23 radar targets and 48 IFF targets.
These were widely exported to the former Soviet Union and beyond. These predecessors were manufactured by the state company Tesla, which collapsed after the Velvet Revolution (1989). Lead engineers from the former Tesla company formed the ERA Company in Pardubice which produces the current generation VERA family of sensors.
The deployed system typically comprises a central site (containing the signal processing equipment and an ESM receiver) and two or three side sites containing only an ESM receiver. The side sites relay the signals received to the central site over a point-to-point microwave link. The central site uses the known propagation delay from the side sites to estimate the TDOA of the pulses at each site.
The TDOA of a pulse between one side site and the central site locates the target on a hyperboloid. A second side site provides a second TDOA and hence a second hyperboloid. The intersection of these two hyperboloids places the target on a line, providing a 2D measurement of the target's location (no height).
A third side-site provides a third hyperboloid, which, when intersected with the line provided by the other two side sites, provides a full 3D location of the target. This process is known as multilateration.
The height of a target with an SSR Mode C or Mode S transponder can also be provided by decoding the Mode C or Mode S response directly, which is the normal mode of operation for the civilian VERA-AP system.