Search radar detection and track with the Hough transform. III.Detection performance with binary integration

For pt.II see ibid., vol. 30, no 1, (Jan. 1994). This paper considers how well a Hough transform detector with binary integration improves the performance of a typical surveillance radar. For Hough transform detection, binary integration offers some advantages over noncoherent integration when multiple targets appear in range-time space or when the detector receives signals with a wide range of power. We derive expressions for P_F and P_D for a Hough transform binary integrator and apply the expressions to a typical surveillance radar. The results show that for the case considered, the binary Hough integrator improves the power budget of the radar by about 3 dB for a nonfluctuating target and 1 dB for a highly fluctuating target     

Adaptive polarimetric target detection with coherent radar. I.Detection against Gaussian background

The derivation of a completely adaptive polarimetric coherent scheme to detect a radar target against a Gaussian background is presented. A previously proposed Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) polarimetric detector is extended to the case of a general number of channels; this exploits the polarimetric characteristics of the received radar echoes to improve the detection performance. Together with the fully adaptive scheme, a model-based detector is derived that has a lower estimation loss. A complete theoretical expression is derived for the detection performance of both proposed polarimetric detectors. They are shown to have Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) when operating against Gaussian clutter, but to be sensitive to deviations from the Gaussian statistic. The application to recorded radar data demonstrates the performance improvement achievable in practice     

Adaptive Radar Detection in Doubly Nonstationary Autoregressive Doppler Spread Clutter

The problem of adaptive radar detection in clutter which is nonstationary both in slow and fast time is addressed. Nonstationarity within a coherent processing interval (CPI) often precludes target detection because of the masking induced by Doppler spreading of the clutter. Across range bins (i.e., fast time), nonstationarity severely limits the amount of training data available to estimate the noise covariance matrix required for adaptive detection. Such difficult clutter conditions are not uncommon in complex multipath propagation conditions where path lengths can change abruptly in dynamic scenarios. To mitigate nonstationary Doppler spread clutter, an approximation to the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detector is presented wherein the CPI from the hypothesized target range is used for both clutter estimation and target detection. To overcome the lack of training data, a modified time-varying autoregressive (TVAR) model is assumed for the clutter return. In particular, maximum likelihood (ML) estimates of the TVAR parameters, computed from a single snapshot of data, are used in a GLRT for detecting stationary targets in possibly abruptly nonstationary clutter. The GLRT is compared with three alternative methods including a conceptually simpler ad hoc approach based on extrapolation of quasi-stationary data segments. Detection performance is assessed using simulated targets in both synthetically-generated and real radar clutter. Results suggest the proposed GLRT with TVAR clutter modeling can provide between 5–8 dB improvement in signal-to-clutter plus noise ratio (SCNR) when compared with the conventional methods.     

基于导航雷达实测数据的CFAR检测算法分析

为提高导航雷达在复杂环境中的目标检测能力,研究了修正中值(MMD)检测器在导航雷达中的应用,并与经典非参量广义符号(GS)检测器和参量最小选择(SO)检测器的检测结果进行对比。仿真结果表明:GS检测器对海上单一目标有较好的检测性能,但是在多目标环境下的检测性能严重下降;SO检测器虽然对上述环境有较好的检测性能,但是由于杂波包络分布类型难以准确已知,杂波抑制能力较差;MMD检测器在多目标环境下有较好的检测性能和杂波抑制能力。     

先验失配条件下的知识辅助检测器稳健性分析

充分利用探测环境的先验信息是提高雷达探测能力的有效途径之一。先验信息必须在雷达检测算法设计阶段确定下来,因此先验信息与当前探测环境之间可能存在不一致性。以复合高斯杂波中的、利用纹理分量先验信息的知识辅助(KA)检测器作为研究对象,首先建立了该检测器检测性能与先验分布参数失配之间的量化关系,然后根据给定的杂波探测环境模型参数,分析了先验模型失配对检测性能的影响。分析结果表明:知识辅助检测器的稳健性与当前探测环境模型参数有关。进一步给出了先验模型失配的容许区间,当先验模型参数在这个区间内,知识辅助检测器性能优于不使用先验信息的检测器性能。     

Performance of a Two-Sample Mann-Whitney Nonparametric Detector in a Radar Application

The detection of signals in an unknown, typically non-Gaussian noise environment, while attempting to maintain a constant false-alarm rate, is a common problem in radar and sonar. The raw receiver data is commonly processed initially by a bank of frequency filters. The further processing of the outputs from the filter bank by a two-sample Mann-Whitney detector is considered. When the noise statistics in all filters are identical, the Mann-Whitney detector is distribution free, i. e., the false-alarm probability may be prescribed in advance regardless of the precise form of the noise statistics. The primary purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential advantage of nonparametric detectors over conventional detectors. The signal detection performance of the Mann-Whitney detector is compared to that of an ordinary linear envelope detector plus integrator in the presence of Gaussian and several hypothetical forms of non-Gaussian noise. This comparison is made for both uniform and nonuniform distributions of noise power across the filter bank. Besides providing a much more constant false-alarm rate than the conventional detector, the Mann-Whitney detector's signal detection performance is found also to be much less sensitive to the form of the noise statistics. In one case, its detection sensitivity is found to be 11 dB better than that of the conventional detector. Even when the noise power density is made moderately nonuniform across the filter bank, the detection performance of the Mann-Whitney detector is found not to be significantly affected.     

Adaptive polarimetric target detection with coherent radar. II.Detection against non-Gaussian background

For pt. I see ibid., vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 1194-1206 (2001).This paper presents the derivation of a polarimetric coherent adaptive scheme to detect a radar target against a non-Gaussian background. This completes the results presented in Part I for the Gaussian background. A Texture Free-Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (TF-GLRT) detector is derived that exploits the polarimetric characteristics of the received radar echoes to improve the detection performance. The proposed polarimetric detector is shown to have Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) when operating against compound-Gaussian clutter with unknown parameters. Its performance is fully characterized by both theoretical analysis and simulation. Moreover, the application to recorded radar data demonstrates the performance improvement achievable in practice     

Simple Procedures for Radar Detection Calculations

The literature of radar contains results of Rice, Marcum, Swerling, and Schwartz in several families of curves, which permit radar engineersto estimate the signal energy ratio required for a given level of detectionperformance. The variety of radar problems, however, makes itimpractical to construct curves for all combinations of radar and targetparameters. The concept of detector loss is used here to evaluate lossesattributable to integration and collapsing, with an accuracy of ±0.3 dBon steady targets. This is added to a separate fluctuation loss, modifiedfor diversity effects, to obtain results on all Swerling target modelsand also on partially correlated targets. The accuracy of the combinedlosses is ±0.5 dB for a wide range of detection and false-alarm probabilities.Starting from the basic single-sample detection curves, onlythree additional graphs are needed to find the energy ratio for givendetection performance in any of these cases. Examples are given whichshow the ease with which different radar options may be compared asto performance on an arbitrary type of target.     

箔条云对飞机隐身特性的影响分析与计算

建立了箔条云对飞机隐身特性的影响分析与计算方法。考虑的对抗情况是突防方用一架飞机播撒箔条偶极子云,作战飞机以该箔条云带为掩护进行突防或调动。通过算例计算了箔条干扰及目标 RCS对飞行器隐身性能的影响。结论是:在每千米突防路径上抛撒6000根数量的箔条就可以极大地提高飞行器的隐身能力,使得 RCS小于100m2 的目标难于被一般雷达探测到。即使雷达对于箔条杂波中可见度有30d B的改善,在箔条干扰下对目标的检测性能仍然不如在杂波和噪声条件下。应当指出,虽然计算结果表明箔条具有很好的干扰效果,但其应用应考虑到战场战术环境、天气条件等外界因素的限制和影响。     

Multiband coherent radar detection against compound-Gaussianclutter

A Multiband GLRT-LQ (Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test-Linear Quadratic), MBGLRT-LQ, detector is derived for the coherent radar target detection against a compound-Gaussian clutter background. This scheme is an extension to the multiband case of the Asymptotically Optimum Detector (AOD), also derived under the name of GLRT-LQ in. The proposed multiband version of the algorithm shows two main advantages with respect to the original single-band algorithm. 1) For the adaptive implementation, it requires a much smaller area of homogeneous clutter echoes to estimate the covariance matrix of the interference; 2) it provides an optimum processing of the radar echoes when the radar operates in frequency agility, as electronic counter-countermeasure (ECCM) strategy. A closed form performance analysis is provided for the MBGLRT-LQ detector, which is used to compare it with the single-band version. An application to live recorded data is also presented to validate the obtained results     

Growler detection in sea clutter with coherent radars

Ship navigation through ice-infested waters is a problem of deep concern to the Canadian shipping and exploration industry. Conventional marine radars have difficulty detecting small pieces of glacial ice called growlers which are very hazardous to vessels if struck. In an effort to improve detection performance, X-band radar measurements were collected and analyzed to determine the characteristics of clutter and growler returns that could lead to their separability. These analyses suggested that coherent medium dwell-time processing (i.e., integration times of a fraction of a second) could provide improvement In growler detectability over conventional methods; and long dwell-time processing (i.e., integration times on the order of seconds) could provide even further improvement. We report on the performance of two new coherent, medium dwell-time detectors. A third detector which is representative of conventional marine radar serves as a basis for comparison Although significant improvement in growler detectability is achieved, the two coherent detectors still fall short of operational requirements. This leads to the development of a long dwell-time detector which provides considerably better performance. Empirical results indicate that this new detector could well satisfy stringent operational requirements     

Optimum detection and location estimation of target lines in the range-time space of a search radar

The average likelihood ratio detector is derived as the optimum detector for detecting a target line with unknown normal parameters in the range-time data space of a search radar, which is corrupted by Gaussian noise. The receiver operation characteristics of this optimum detector is derived to evaluate its performance improvement in comparison with the Hough detector, which uses the return signal of several successive scans to achieve a non-coherent integration improvement and get a better performance than the conventional detector. This comparison, which is done through analytic derivations and also through simulation results, shows that the average likelihood ratio detector has a better performance for different SNR values. This result is justified by showing the disadvantages of the Hough method, which are eliminated by the optimum detector. To have an estimate for the location of the detected target line in the optimum detection method as the Hough method, which detects and localizes the target lines simultaneously, we present the maximum a posteriori probability estimator. The estimation performance of the two methods is then compared and it is shown that the maximum a posteriori probability estimator localizes the detected target lines with a better performance in comparison with the Hough method.     

The DFTSD: A Sequential Suboptimum Processor for Multiple-Range-Bin Radar Systems

A class of simple and efficient digital sequential detectors is presented, which are particularly suitable for application to radar systems where the antenna dwell time is easily varied. A methematical method, based on the random walk model, is developed to evaluate the DFTSD (digital fixed-thresholds sequential detector) performance. The DFTSD has a loss of 0.2 to 0.3 dB with respect to the digital SPRT (sequential probability ratio test) in the case of a single-range-bin system. Finally, results for the multiple-range-bin case are presented and compared with the performance of a moving-window detector.     

单脉冲双极化天线阵列设计

文章研究了单脉冲双极化天线阵列。天线阵混合馈电微带单元由共面微带线馈电和缝隙耦合微带线馈电两者结合形成,"十"字形微带单脉冲比较器与天线阵同面,具有结构紧凑、加工方便和成本低的优点。经仿真验证,在工作频带内其辐射单元双端口隔离度高于34dB;并且2个极化端口在其对应主平面方向的副瓣电平均低于-20dB。天线可适用于新一代多极化雷达系统。     

Design and analysis of a knowledge-aided radar detector for doppler processing

In this paper we discuss the combined use of a priori information and adaptive signal processing techniques for the design and the analysis of a knowledge-aided (KA) radar receiver for Doppler processing. To this end, resorting to the generalized likelihood function (GLF) criterion (both one-step and two-step), we design and assess data-adaptive procedures for the selection of training data. Then we introduce a KA radar detector composed of three elements: a geographic-map-based data selector, which exploits some a priori information concerning the topography of the observed scene, a data-adaptive training selector which removes dynamic outliers from the training data, and an adaptive radar detector which performs the final decision about the target presence. The performance of the KA algorithm is analyzed both on simulated as well as on real radar data collected by the McMaster University IPIX radar. The results show that the new KA system achieves a satisfactory performance level and can outperform some previously proposed adaptive detection schemes     

WARLOC: A High-Power Coherent 94 GHz Radar

This paper describes the development of a high-power, coherent radar system at W-band and discusses potential applications of radars with this new capability. Previous radars in this frequency band were limited by available power-amplifier technology to about 500 W of average power; WARLOC radar represents an increase in power, by 20 times, over previous coherent radars at 94 GHz. This performance improvement is possible due to the development of a gyroklystron amplifier specifically for this and future radars in this frequency band. The gyroklystron amplifier tubes deliver 100 kW peak power and 10 kW of average power at a center frequency of approximately 94 GHz. Other novel features of this radar include the use of highly overmoded waveguides and rotary joints for the transmission of power from the final power amplifier (FPA) to the antenna, and a high-power quasi-optical duplexer. The system uses a relatively large 1.8 m diameter (580-wavelength) Cassegrain antenna, which required the development of an antenna with an rms surface accuracy of 0.0025 in, to obtain long-range detection and identification of small objects. Test data show an antenna gain of 62.5 dB, confirming that the needed surface accuracy was achieved. Two mobile shelters house the radar system, permitting relocation to various test sites. WARLOC is presently operational at the Naval Research Laboratory's Chesapeake Bay Detachment facility, Maryland. It is being employed in radar imaging of airborne and surface objects, and in the scientific study of propagation effects and atmospheric physics phenomena.     

Postdetection Integration Loss for Logarithmic Detectors

The effect of a logarithmic receiver on the detection performance of a radar has been determined by Green by numerical computations for up to 100 pulses integrated. It was further suggested that the loss in decibels as compared to a square-law detector would appear to be proportional to the logarithm of the number of pulses integrated. In this correspondence we show that this ?conjecture? is false, and that the additional loss when N becomes very large approaches a constant value of 2.2 dB.     

Studies of target detection algorithms that use polarimetric radardata

Algorithms are described which make use of polarimetric radar information in the detection and discrimination of targets in a ground clutter background. The optimal polarimetric detector (OPD) is derived. This algorithm processes the complete polarization scattering matrix (PSM) and provides the best possible detection performance from polarimetric radar data. Also derived is the best linear polarimetric detector, the polarimetric matched filter (PMF), and the structure of this detector is related to simple polarimetric target types. New polarimetric target and clutter models are described and used to predict the performance of the OPD and the PME. The performance of these algorithms is compared with that of simpler detectors that use only amplitude information to detect targets. The ability to discriminate between target types by exploring differences in polarimetric properties is discussed     

Space-time adaptive radar performance in heterogeneous clutter

Traditional analysis of space-time adaptive radar generally assumes the ideal condition of statistically independent and identically distributed (IID) secondary data. To the contrary, measured data suggests realistic clutter environments appear heterogeneous and so the secondary data is no longer IID. Heterogeneity leads to mismatch between actual and estimated covariance matrices, thereby magnifying the loss between the adaptive implementation and optimum condition. Concerns regarding the impact of clutter heterogeneity on space-time adaptive processing (STAP) warrant further study. To this end, we propose space-time models of amplitude and spectral clutter heterogeneity, with operational airborne radar in mind, and then characterize expected STAP performance loss under such heterogeneous scenarios. Simulation results reveal loss in signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) ranging between a few tenths of a decibel to greater than 16 dB for specific cases