Utilization of a Shooting and Bouncing Ray Method to Estimate the VOR Systems Bearing Error

Abstract

When man-made or natural obstacles are located close to radio-navigation systems, it becomes imperative to assess their electromagnetic impacts on pre-existing radio-navigation installations. This paper introduces a shooting and bouncing ray (SBR) method scheme for computing electromagnetic scattering from electrically large, lossy and complex objects when excited by near-field sources such as infinitesimal dipole sources. Example scattering scenarios for validation are explained, and bearing error estimation results are presented for a very high-frequency omnidirectional radio (VOR) system which is one of the most common radio-navigation aids. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.