The Eritrean and Ethiopian Conflict and the Impact on United States National Security Interests in the Horn of Africa

Software Defined Radios have been an important part of the communications industry for many years since they provide great flexibility and adaptation. One particular Software Defined Radio system, called GNU Radio, is an open source application that, combined with specifically designed hardware, is used to implement efficient software defined applications. In this thesis, we report our experience on how GNU Radio, in combination with the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) hardware, can be used to perform a GNU GPS Radio Advanced Acquisition algorithm. However, to realize this goal, the Global Positioning System (GPS) acquisition must be clearly understood and then the acquisition algorithm implemented in combination with the two technologies previously mentioned: the open source GNU Radio and the open specification USRP projects. The GNU Radio and the USRP are introduced followed by a discussion of the expected Global Positioning System (GPS) signal acquisition performance and procedures. Then, software and hardware setup and issues are discussed. Finally, to represent simulation and experimental results, a case study of GPS signal acquisition involving the combination of the GNU Radio with the USRP is implemented. The thesis concludes with the development and analysis of advanced acquisition algorithm that is able to identify all satellites visible to the user using these advanced technologies.