A multiband GLRT-LQ algorithm for the coherent radar detection against compound-Gaussian clutter

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) of Conte et al. (see IEEE Trans. on AES, vol.31, no.2, p.617-24, 1995), also derived under the name of GLRT-LQ by Gini (see IEE Proc. RSN, vol.144, no.1, p.39-48). The proposed multiband version of the algorithm shows two main advantages with respect to the original single band algorithm: (i) for the adaptive implementation, it requires a much smaller area of homogeneous clutter echoes to estimate the covariance matrix of the interference; (ii) it provides an optimum processing of the radar echoes when the radar operates in frequency agility, as the ECCM strategy. A closed form performance analysis is provided for the MBGLRT-LQ detector, which is used to compare it to the single band version.