Conference Paper – Radio Lab

IEEE ICMCIS: How do you localize simultaneously dozens of 5G users with a few element passive array in a multipath-rich indoor environment?

radiolab — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:35:58 +0000

Our research investigates a filter-bank framework combined with a sparse-subspace method for Direction- of-Arrival (DoA) estimation in 5G indoor localization. We propose Filter-Bank Signal Subspace Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (FB-SS-OMP), a method tailored to DFT-s-OFDM, the uplink technique employed in multi-user 5G networks. Using ray-tracing simulations in a virtual indoor environment and composed of multiple transmitters. We empirically show that conventional DoA estimators, 2D-MUSIC and 2D-ESPRIT, degrade severely in coherent multipath conditions typical of indoor channels. In contrast, their filter-bank counterparts maintain substantial high accuracy and can resolve more DoAs than the spatial degree of freedom of such conventional methods. FB-SS-OMP achieves the best performance, improving angular accuracy by approximately 0.3° to 1.1° compared with filter-bank 2D-MUSIC and filter-bank 2D-ESPRIT.

Researcher

Tiago Troccoli

Project

BeyVAR

IEEE MILCOM: Implementation of Multi-Access Connectivity over 5G and Tactical Networks on COTS Smartphones

radiolab — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 21:28:02 +0000

Multi-Access (MA) connectivity is a native 5G
feature that enables a User Equipment (UE) to simultaneously
access the 5G Core (5GC) through multiple heterogeneous
access networks. For military applications, this capability can
improve resilience to communication disruption and eavesdropping by leveraging additional access networks such as tactical
radios. This paper presents, to the best of our knowledge,
the first open-source standard-compliant implementation of
Multi-Access (MA) connectivity on Commercial Off-The-Shelf
(COTS) Android smartphones. Unlike previous laboratory-based
implementations, the proposed implementation addresses key
deployment challenges associated with smartphone platforms,
including Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM)-based
authentication and secure-element access from the application
processor. Experimental results demonstrate successful simultaneous connectivity to the 5GC through both over-the-air 5G
New Radio (NR) and L3Harris AN/PRC-163 tactical radios. The
results demonstrate the potential of MA connectivity for resilient
communications on COTS smartphones.

Researcher

Pouyan Ebrahimbabaie

Project

ASTRA

2026296873 Download

IEEE ICMCIS: Seamless Integration of Tactical Radios into Multi-Access 5G Systems

radiolab — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 21:13:18 +0000

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)
Release 15 introduced 5G technology, offering significant operational advantages for military communications. However, its
radio access technology, 5G New Radio (NR), remains vulnerable
to a range of threats. The Multi-Access (MA) connectivity feature
enables 5G services over both 5G NR and non-3GPP access
networks. In Release 16, MA connectivity is enhanced through
Access Traffic Steering, Switching, and Splitting (ATSSS), ensuring seamless service continuity across heterogeneous networks.
Recognizing MA connectivity as a mitigation measure, this paper
presents a standards-compliant, open-source implementation of
ATSSS using Multipath TCP (MPTCP) in an MA 5G system
integrating tactical radios as non-3GPP access alongside 5G NR.
Validation using over-the-air 5G NR and L3Harris AN/PRC152A tactical radios demonstrates seamless failover and load
balancing, confirming the operational relevance of MPTCP-based
ATSSS for military applications.
This paper was originally presented at the International Conference on Military Communication and Information Systems
(ICMCIS), organized by the Information Systems Technology
(IST) Scientific and Technical Committee, IST-224-RSY – the
ICMCIS, held in Bath, United Kingdom, 12-13 May 2026.

Researcher

Pouyan Ebrahimbabaie

Project

ASTRA

ICMCIS2026_Pouyan_Ebrahimbabaie_20260305 Download

IEEE MILCOM: Soft Hopset Learning for Coexistence of Uncoordinated FHSS Communication Networks

radiolab — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 20:02:15 +0000

This paper investigates the decentralized coexistence of Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) networks operating in contested environments where coordination, synchronization, and explicit ACKs are unavailable. Under these constraints, nodes rely solely on local and ambiguous binary observations, and collisions result in irreversible packet loss. We propose a lightweight distributed learning mechanism based on soft hopsets, where channels are progressively reinforced or discarded through reward-penalty updates. This induces a stochastic drift that drives networks toward implicit spectrum partitioning without any coordination or signaling. We derive an interpretable stability condition linking channel reliability to the reward–penalty ratio, providing insight into the emergence of stable hopsets under minimal observability. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the proposed approach reduces collision probability by up to a factor of nine compared to fully random FHSS, even in high-load regimes with strong temporal overlap. These results show that coexistence and near-orthogonal spectrum usage can emerge from local interactions, making the approach particularly suitable for low-probability-of-intercept/detection (LPI/LPD) and denied environments.

Researcher

Adrien Blondeel

Project

SHABAM

IEEE MILCOM: Digital Cancellation of Self and Co-Site Interference for Full-Duplex NATO Narrowband Waveform

radiolab — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:58:46 +0000

Full-duplex communication enables simultaneous transmission and reception on the same frequency channel, though its performance is severely constrained by self and co-site interference. This issue is particularly critical in tactical narrowband systems, such as those employing the NATO Narrowband Waveform (NBWF). This paper investigates digital self- and co-site interference cancellation techniques for NATO NBWF full-duplex operation. Both time-domain and frequency-domain approaches are analyzed through simulation, with complementary validation using SDR experiments. Simulation shows improved BER robustness down to -50 dB SIR, with limited variation over the investigated range. On SDR hardware, the system achieves up to 40 dB of interference rejection in structured self-interference scenarios, while wideband noise-like jamming conditions result in 10–15 dB of suppression due to their non-coherent nature. Compared to the conventional low-complexity time-domain approach, the proposed method provides improved robustness to wideband interference while retaining the ability to represent frequency-selective interference channels. Finally, the practical integration of an electronic warfare (EW) jammer within the NATO NBWF software demonstrates interference-resilient packet reception under co-channel jamming conditions, enhancing physical layer robustness in contested tactical environments.

Researcher

Vincent Le Nir

Project

DAP/25-01

An Enhanced End-to-End Framework for Drone RF Signal Classification

eguffens — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 14:14:00 +0000

Smart RF jamming relies on long-term spectrum prediction, which requires accurate, high-resolution RF detection and classification over extended observation periods. Detecting and classifying drone RF signals is particularly challenging due to short dwell times, high hopping rates, and narrow instantaneous bandwidths. This paper presents an enhanced end-to-end framework designed to meet these requirements for smart RF jamming, delivering high-resolution and precise detection and classification. We demonstrate that our Residual Neural Network (ResNet)-based You Only Look Once (YOLO) model effectively detects and extracts RF features from previously unseen drone signals with high accuracy, even when trained solely on a synthetic RF dataset. Furthermore, our ResNet classifier outperforms existing models, achieving 99.29% accuracy at 0 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for drone RF signals.

Link to the paper

Researcher

Sanjoy Basak

Project

AIRFORC

UAVs as Relay Nodes: Positioning Method for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

eguffens — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:53:00 +0000

In scenarios where Relay Nodes (RNs) need to be deployed to restore the connectivity of a partitioned wireless network, a positioning method limiting the number of RNs required is necessary. Optimally, the method must take into account the differences of transmission ranges between the different nodes – or the heterogeneity in range of the network. In particular, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are considered to be great candidates as RNs with their high mobility and ability to be quickly deployed. However, their radio parameters will be different from the Initial Nodes (INs) of the network and there will be a diversity in propagation channel. Plus, even the network might be heterogeneous. With a mobile initial network, the placement method also have to be stable in terms of RN positions and number with respect to IN displacements. This paper introduces an approach to modify an effective RN placement algorithm for homogeneous networks to create a new algorithm capable of managing heterogeneity in the networks. The new algorithm is the Barycenter-focused Relay Positioning for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks (BRHEN) algorithm. In addition to lower the number of RNs compared to the initial algorithm, it also enhances its stability with respect to small IN displacements.

Link to the paper

Researcher

Eliott Guffens

Project

DAP21-06

Distributed Cooperative Jamming with Multi-Reference Known-Interference Cancellation

eguffens — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:09:00 +0000

Secure and reliable tactical communications within allied defense forces across a battlefield are often fundamental for achieving the forces’ operational targets against an adversary. Likewise, limiting the adversary’s capability to communicate securely and reliably promotes the host forces’ chances for operational success. As such, armed conflicts typically involve an underlying battle in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum to facilitate one’s own communications and limit the opposition’s. In this work, we propose the use of distributed cooperative jamming for augmenting tactical communications and gaining a technological advantage in that underlying battle. Specifically, we propose a multi-reference known-interference cancellation (KIC) method that allows the host force tactical communication nodes to cancel known interference (KI) from multiple cooperative jammers simultaneously. Relying on simulations, we then study how cooperative jamming affects the opposing forces’ capabilities to use the EM spectrum in a simplified battlefield. Results show that cooperative jamming gives an advantage to those controlling the jammers, as the opposition’s use of the EM spectrum is obstructed for both communications and signals intelligence.

Link to the paper

Researcher

Vincent Le Nir

Projects

DAP21-01, IST-175

Assessment of the Antenna Mounting Location on a Military Vehicle for Jamming Applications Based on Computational Electromagnetics

eguffens — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:31:00 +0000

The placement of an antenna on the roof of a military vehicle-mounted jamming system presents many challenges. For that, further approaches are needed to study the effectiveness of placing antennas on these vehicles. Besides, due to the cost, time, and technical difficulties in measuring the suitable antenna locations on large tactical vehicles, there is a demand for methods to compute the optimal position for antennas before installation and for jamming coverage of 360° around the vehicle. In this paper, we analyze a simulation model based on an UWB (Ultra-Wideband) discone antenna placed on the roof of a MPP (Multi-Purpose Protected) military vehicle. The proposed discone antenna shows good UWB characteristics, and operates in the frequency band from 0.81 GHz to 6 GHz for a VSWR below 2:1 over the whole bandwidth. It displays a good radiation pattern behavior with a good average radiation efficiency of around 71 % when mounted on a military vehicle. In addition, the radiation pattern was compared for the stand-alone antenna in free space taking as a reference and at four locations on the roof of the military vehicles, at five frequencies. The antenna at the back of the roof of the vehicle has the most optimal results, with adequate far-field behaviors for jamming applications. The results confirm the significant advantage of an UWB discone antenna that could be installed on a military vehicle-mounted jamming system platform as an alternative potential candidate to conventional antennas. ‘This paper was originally presented at the NATO Science and Technology Organization Symposium (ICMCIS) organized by the Information Systems Technology (IST) Panel, IST-200RSY – the ICMCIS, held in Skopje, North Macedonia, 16-17 May 2023’.

Link to the paper

Researchers

Radouane Karli

Mathias Beacquaert

Project

DAP22-07