iFURTHER, financed by the European Defense Fund with approximately 11 million euros, provides for the collaboration of 18 public and private partners from 10 European Union countries, including the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
In order to strengthen the protection of the European territory, he was born the project iFURTHER (high FreqUency over The Horizon sensor' cognitivE netwoRk, Grant Agreement No. 101103607) to define a radar network high-frequency cognition dedicated to airspace and maritime monitoring.
It is evident that the technological challenges associated with territorial surveillance are increasingly complex and the commitment of the European Union requires an effort to integrate new and existing resources. The diversity of dangers to be faced withIn fact, needs of availability of rapid and effective warning systems while being aware that, given the wide range of potential threats, to date no available technology is capable, on its own, of managing all possible scenarios.
iFURTHER, therefore, aims to:
- detect and track air and sea targets at long range (over the horizon), going far beyond existing systems and using reflections of signals from the ionosphere and the earth's surface;
- extend the current air and sea radar coverage of the EU by filling existing gaps and introducing highly efficient and synchronized sensors;
- optimize cognitive radars also according to environmental conditions (for example, the state of the ionosphere);
- improve trans-horizon detection and track performance and target tracking capabilities, through advanced signal processing techniques;
- apply new strategies for optimizing airspace and maritime monitoring.
For the implementation of the iFURTHER project, a consortium lasting three years among 18 public and private bodies of the European Union. All partners represent excellence in their respective fields and provide the services and know-how for the pursuit of the project objectives.
The contribution of the group of Physics of the Upper Atmosphere and Radiopropagation of INGV, led by Dr. Claudio Cesaroni, will consist in providing real-time data and models coming from the Institute's observational infrastructures and necessary to define the characteristics of signal propagation through the earth's ionosphere.
iFURTHER Partners:
- Hellenic Aerospace Industry SA (HAI) - Greece
- Office National d'Etudes et de Recherche Aérospatiales (ONERA) - France
- National Observatory of Athens (NOA) - Greece
- i-Matik Ltd (IMTK) - Greece
- National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications (CNIT) - Italy
- National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) - Italy
- Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) - Poland
- Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung eV (FHG) - Germany
- HELZEL Messtechnik GmbH (HZM) - Germany
- tms technisch-mathematische Studiengesellschaft mbH - Germany
- INDRA Sistemas SA (INDRA) - Spain
- University of Alcalà (UAH) - Spain
- BHE Bonn Hungary Electronics Ltd. (BHE) - Hungary
- Signal GeneriX Ltd (SG) - Cyprus
- Patria Aviation Oy (PATRIA) - Finland
- ERA as (ERA) - Czech Republic
- Ministry of National Defense (HMOD) - Greece
- L-up SAS (LUP) – France
The opinions and views expressed in this text are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the funding agency can be held responsible for the reported information.
