A nulling algorithm for multi-aperture multiple beam antennas

Several multi-aperture multiple beam antenna (MA-MBA) designs have been proposed for future military communications satellites to satisfy demands for increased nulling resolution against jammers. However, overall network performance can be severely degraded because of spurious nulls that are associated with MA-MBA antennas. In this paper, we propose and analyze a nulling algorithm that improves overall network performance by reducing potential performance degradation caused by MA-MBA antenna spurious nulls while providing high jamming resolution. This algorithm also provides wide area coverage for network users near a jammer in support of tactical scenarios. We show that optimized beam weights are a function of individual user optimum beam weights along with proper phase rotation for each beam. Computer simulated results are then provided illustrating performance of this proposed technique versus another nulling algorithm developed for defense satellite communication system (DSCS) super high frequency (SHF) satellites