In RF communications with a rotorcraft such as a helicopter, the rotor blades can impart a modulation onto the received signal called Rotor Blade Modulation (RBM). This modulation is caused by the reflection of a signal off the rotating blades. The reflected signal is Doppler shifted based on where the signal is reflected along the length of the blade as well as the angle between the axis of rotation and the emitter. RBM is known to degrade the performance of RF communications on rotorcraft and can be used in radar applications to detect and classify aircraft, but there is little on its usefulness in other areas. This thesis looks at the ability to utilize the RBM phenomenon on the rotorcraft itself to geo-locate and track a signal emitter on the ground. To do this a 3D RF ray tracing program was developed in C++ to produce simulations of RBM signals. The developed program is based on optical ray tracing algorithms with modified physical propagation effects for RF signals, and swapping lights and cameras for RF transmitters and receivers respectively. The ray tracer was then run over a realistic set of physical parameters to determine their effects on the received signal; this includes transmitter azimuth and elevation angle, receiver position, blade pitch, etc. along with their combinations. The simulations of the azimuth and elevation angle produce predictable modulations on the received signal. Based on the trends in the signal's modulation, a DSP algorithm was distilled down that accurately determines the azimuth and elevation angle of the transmitter from simulated signal data.

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En environnements hostiles, les signaux GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System)peuvent être soumis à des risques de brouillages intentionnels. Basées sur un réseau d'antennes adaptatif, les solutions spatio-temporelles (STAP) ont déjà montré de bonnes performances de réjection des interférences. Toutefois, lorsque le module GNSS est placé sous les pales d'un hélicoptère, des effets non-stationnaires, appelés Rotor Blade Modulation (RBM), créés par les multiples réflexions du signal sur les pales du rotor, peuvent dégrader les techniques usuelles d’antibrouillage. Le signal utile GNSS n’est alors plus accessible. Le travail de la thèse consiste donc à élaborer un système de protection des signaux GNSS adapté à la RBM. Pour cela, un modèle innovant de multitrajets, adapté à ce type de phénomène, a été développé. La comparaison de simulations électromagnétiques représentatives et de mesures expérimentales sur hélicoptère EC-120 a permis de valider ce modèle. Celui-ci permet d'estimer, par maximum de vraisemblance, les paramètres de la contribution non-stationnaire du signal reçu. Enfin, l'association d'un algorithme de filtrage des multitrajets par projection oblique et d'un traitement STAP permet d'éliminer la contribution dynamique puis statique de l'interférence. Les simulations montrent que le signal utile GNSS est alors de nouveau exploitable. / In hostile environments, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) can be disturbed by intentional jamming. Using antenna arrays, space-time adaptive algorithm (STAP) isone of the most efficient methods to deal with these threats. However, when a GNSS receiver is placed near rotating bodies, non-stationary effects called Rotor Blade Modulation (RBM) are created by the multipaths on the blades of the helicopter. They can degrade significantly the anti-jamming system and the signal of interest could belost. The work of the thesis is, consequently, to develop a GNSS protection system adapted to the RBM. In this way, an innovative multipath model, adapted to this phenomenon, has been developed. The model is then confirmed by comparison with a symptotic electromagnetic simulations and experiments conducted on an EC-120helicopter. Using a Maximum Likelihood algorithm, the parameters of the non-stationary part of the received signal have been estimated. And finally, the RBM anti-jamming solution, combining oblique projection algorithm and academic STAP, can mitigate dynamic and static contributions of interferences. In the end, the navigation information is available again.