Awareness, Mitigation, Exploitation of the Ionosphere - A perspective on ionospheric effects from across the pond.

Paul S Cannon
Centre for Propagation and Atmospheric Research
QinetiQ, Malvern, Worcs, WR14 3PS, UK

The ionosphere remains a critical element in the design and operation of many military and civilian RF systems. 
In many ways the US and European experiences and needs are similar, but there are also a number of interesting 
differences which can be traced back to a different geopolitical perspective. 

Through examples this paper will first describe the benefits and problems associated with the ionospheric medium 
The paper will then provide a number of examples of ionospheric R&D which have been undertaken in support of military 
RF systems. The perspective and examples given will be UK centric but where possible these will be placed in a global 
context. Consideration will be given to HF communications and radar systems, space radars and navigation systems. A 
particular emphasis will be placed on the need to understand the engineering details of those systems if the ionospheric 
R&D is to provide full benefit.

Whilst judicious engineering choices, such as transmission frequency, can mitigate many ionospheric effects, the 
research scientist and engineer is being asked to meet ever more demanding operational requirements. These, in turn, 
require ever more sophisticated situational awareness, mitigation and exploitation techniques. These are variously 
being realized, but an important consideration is the evolving set of ground and space based instruments. These, in 
combination with improved modeling and assimilative techniques, promise a new generation of more capable real-time 
ionospheric models. The benefits of such models will be described from a UK perspective.