OFDM radar signals for both surveillance and navigation aids to landing aircrafts

In the Air Traffic Control domain, currently the airport primary radar performs surveillance function, while dedicated radio channels in the VHF band allow ground-air voice communications, which notify information about ground conditions. It is believed of interest in increasing security in the most sensitive phases of landing, to explore the possibility to combine the traditional tracking function performed by airport primary radar (radar function) with a broadcast communication function. This function simultaneously and automatically provides aircrafts, monitored near real-time, with a series of particularly useful data, such as local air-meteorological conditions and management of airport runways. This information is integrated in the waveform emitted by the radar, thus implementing a broadcast transmission channel, whose content can be automatically decoded by the aircraft equipped with an appropriate receiving system. This paper illustrates a preliminary feasibility analysis of using radar&communication techniques in this particular application, and consequent parameters setting.