Webinar: Engineering Resilience into Passive Geolocation Systems

From consumer quadcopters with Wi-Fi links to military UAS with sophisticated control and payload channels, the modern RF environment is saturated with signatures that can be exploited for detection and tracking. In this landscape, passive techniques are no longer optional; they are becoming essential for counter-UAS and broader spectrum operations.

This webinar will examine the application of Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA) techniques for geolocation of emerging threats. We will review the mathematical foundations of multilateration using time and frequency offsets, with attention to geometry, baseline design, and error sources such as clock stability. The discussion will highlight system-level considerations, including wideband versus narrowband collection, phase-coherent receivers, and precision time distribution across distributed sensor networks.

Attendees will also gain insight into the hardware and processing architectures required to execute these methods, from synchronized RF front ends and GPS-disciplined oscillators to high-speed digital signal processing chains. Practical examples will illustrate how TDOA and FDOA can be combined to improve geolocation accuracy and resilience against emerging UAS threats.

By leveraging these passive techniques, operators can achieve accurate, covert, and resilient situational awareness in increasingly congested and contested electromagnetic environments.