Surveillance of Critical Infrastructure using the LTE450 Network as Passive Radar Illuminator: Feasibility Study and Range Assessment

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) pose an increasing risk for critical infrastructure as well as other civil and military sites. To detect and track potential UAVs in the proximity of said locations, passive coherent location (PCL, passive radar) systems are of high interest as single sensor solution or as part of a network with fusion of heterogeneous sensor data. To protect critical infrastructure from such threats, the LTE network in the 450 MHz band seems very promising. It is currently being deployed in Germany, already rolled out or planned in other European countries. In this paper, we analyze and discuss the requirements for a successful operational use of an LTE450-based PCL system. We give estimates of detection ranges based on theoretical analysis and experimental results with other PCL illuminators.