Are you a student eager to apply your theoretical knowledge and fresh perspectives to real-world challenges? At Saab, we believe that innovation thrives on new ideas, and your master thesis project could be the spark that ignites our next technological breakthrough.

Your role

We recognize the immense value that students bring to our company. Your academic rigor, combined with your enthusiasm for cutting-edge technology, allows you to approach problems with a unique and insightful lens. At Saab, you'll have the opportunity to collaborate with experienced engineers and specialists, gaining invaluable practical experience while making a tangible contribution to our growth and development.

Background

Active radars detect moving objects such as drones, boats, and planes by transmitting radio frequency pulses and measuring the time for the echoes to return. Passive radars don’t transmit anything themselves; they instead rely on other transmissions such as FM radio and broadcast TV, and detect echoes from those transmissions.

Passive radar is a technology from the second world war that is increasing in relevance and potential as warfare and computing power evolves. Anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) can home in on and destroy radars that transmit radio waves, making these radar systems risky to operate during military conflicts, as seen in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Passive radars are also attractive because they use less power, can’t interfere with other friendly sensors, have anti-stealth properties, and can also multi-function as electronic support measures (ESM).

Description of the master thesis

Passive radar normally uses known and predictable illuminators (sources of radio frequency transmissions), such as commercial broadcast towers and custom transmitters set up for that purpose. While commercial broadcast illuminators offer predictable performance, their coverage can be limited at sea, and their frequency and waveforms are not ideal for use as radar signals. Custom transmitters can give great performance, but require more setup, and are susceptible to ARMs.

Using radars on nearby ships as illuminators offers an interesting alternative – the waveforms are optimized for radar use, and with the illuminators on ships farther from shore the coverage area can potentially be greater than what’s possible with an illuminator on shore. The downside is uncertainty of radar coverage and significant technical challenges.

Your task is to take on these challenges and bring this technology closer to reality. The challenges start with:

• Detecting radars
• Estimating operating parameters of radars, such as frequency, pulse repetition interval (PRI), and rotation scan time
• Determining which radars are powerful and predictable enough to use as illuminators

Once you have a method for detecting and choosing radars for illumination, you can look for echoes of those radar pulses, and determine the location and movement of the objects causing those echoes. This involves:

• Recreating the transmitted radar signal using the estimated parameters
• Finding echoes of the signal using correlation
• Localizing the echoes by estimating the position of the detected radar and using triangulation or trilateration

You are joining a small team focusing on forward looking technology for radio frequency sensing. The team includes both industry veterans and recent graduates and will give you insight into work at Saab.

Your profile

You are studying engineering physics, electrical engineering or similar, and are approaching the end of your education and will start your thesis job during spring 2026.

The project is suitable for a student who has taken courses in signal processing. Courses in microwave propagation is beneficial, but not necessary.

We provide the support and guidance you need to translate your theoretical knowledge into practical solutions. Join us and become a driving force behind Saab's technological advancements!

This position requires that you pass a security vetting based on the current regulations around/of security protection. For positions requiring security clearance additional obligations on citizenship may apply.

What you will be a part of

Explore a wealth of possibilities. Take on challenges, create smart inventions, and grow beyond. This is a place for curious minds, brave pioneers, and everyone in between. Together, we achieve the extraordinary, each bringing our unique perspectives. Your part matters.

Saab is a leading defence and security company with an enduring mission, to help nations keep their people and society safe. Empowered by its 25,500 talented people, Saab constantly pushes the boundaries of technology to create a safer and more sustainable world.

Saab designs, manufactures and maintains advanced systems in aeronautics, weapons, command and control, sensors and underwater systems. Saab is headquartered in Sweden. It has major operations all over the world and is part of the domestic defence capability of several nations. Read more about us here

Last application day

2025-11-30

Contact information

Neda Tooloutalaie, Head of Future Technologies

neda.tooloutalaie@saabgroup.com

+46 73-446 0055

Karl-Johan Hällgren, Master Thesis Supervisor

karl-johan.hallgren@saabgroup.com

+46 73-437 4607