To a radar, a fighter jet can appear very different depending on how it moves across the sky. It may resemble an insect from the front, but it is more likely to be identified as an aircraft from the side.
Each time the radar sees the aircraft from a new angle, it must perform a new calculation to assess what it sees, which takes time and demands significant computing power.
In his industrial PhD project at DTU, Martin Haulund Gæde has developed a special algorithm that allows the radar to 'see' the entire aircraft at once. This means it only needs to perform a single calculation to make the correct identification – and also detect whether the aircraft is, for example, equipped with missiles or cannons.
500 times faster
Martin Haulund Gæde carried out the project at TICRA, a company that develops software for modelling antennas and radars used in everything from drones to aircraft and satellites.
The algorithm makes simulations run much faster without consuming excessive computing power. Where TICRA previously needed 250 hours to perform a specific simulation, Martin Haulund Gæde's algorithm can now complete it in half an hour.
"It is 500 times faster than TICRA's current algorithms, without requiring additional memory. So that's several working days saved," says Martin Haulund Gæde, who completed his PhD in the spring and is now permanently employed at TICRA.
Can make aircraft and drones invisible
For TICRA, this means their customers will be able to design better radars. But it also becomes possible to design better aircraft, drones, ships, or armoured vehicles, explains Simon Barchard, CEO of TICRA:
"If you take the tip of a jet fighter, it needs to be optimized to be as invisible as possible to radar. Martin's algorithm can be used to test different designs – if we make it from another material, does it become less visible, or what if we make the tip longer or flatter? You can simply examine multiple design alternatives and investigate how radar would detect them."
TICRA plans to use the algorithm in a product for designing radars for the defence industry, which is expected to be launched next year.
