A Kalman Filter-Based Tracking Loop Design for Real-Time Aerospace GNSS Applications with Minimum Pull-Out Probability

Abstract

Kalman filter-based (KF-based) tracking loops are a powerful alternative to traditional phase-locked loops (PLLs) for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signal tracking. The primary advantage of the KF is its ability to incorporate high-fidelity models for receiver dynamics and clock errors, allowing the loop to adapt optimally to signal conditions. However, this theoretical optimality is often compromised in practice by the processing delays inherent in real-time systems with hardware correlators, which existing KF formulations typically neglect. This paper introduces a Modified Kalman filter (mKF) that overcomes this limitation specifically for hardware-based architectures. By reformulating the measurement update to be consistent with the processing delays, the proposed mKF maintains optimality in a practical implementation. We further present a systematic method for tuning both the process noise covariance matrix and the correlation time, based on an analytical expression for the pull-out probability (POP), which is validated through Monte Carlo simulation. The mKF is then validated with a GNSS signal simulator, both by post-processing baseband samples and on a real-time GPS receiver with hardware correlators. A direct equivalence between the mKF and a one-delay Digital PLL (DPLL) is established entirely in the digital domain. At equal noise bandwidth, the mKF matches the DPLL's phase error variance while achieving lower error in the higher-order states. Moreover, the mKF sustains lock at bandwidths inaccessible to the optimal one-delay DPLL under the same dynamic stress, positioning the proposed architecture as a robust and noise-efficient solution for high-dynamic aerospace GNSS applications.