Higher order clutter mitigation in bistatic space-based radar systems using a knowledge-aided STAP approach

Bistatic space-based radar (SBR) systems offer several advantages for performing wide area ground moving target indication (GMTI) surveillance. However, in bistatic systems there is inherent non-stationarity of the clutter covariance matrix due to the bistatic geometry. This non-stationarity presents challenges for performing space-time adaptive processing (STAP) to separate ground targets from the clutter returns. Various approaches for mitigating the clutter non-stationarity in bistatic systems have been presented in the literature by different authors. In realistic bistatic SBR GMTI scenarios, there are higher order effects, in addition to the first order effect of ground clutter non-stationarity, that can present significant additional challenges for performing STAP.

[1]  M. P. Hartnett,et al.  Operations of an airborne bistatic adjunct to space based radar , 2003, Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE Radar Conference (Cat. No. 03CH37474).

[2]  B. Himed,et al.  Improving STAP performance in bistatic space-based radar systems using an efficient expectation-maximization technique , 2005, IEEE International Radar Conference, 2005..

[3]  F. Pearson,et al.  Simulation and Analysis of Adaptive Interference Suppression for Bistatic Surveillance Radars , 2001 .

[4]  Douglas A. Page.  A STAP Approach for Bistatic Space-Based GMTI Radar , 2005 .

[5]  William L. Melvin,et al.  Doubly adaptive bistatic clutter filtering , 2003, Proceedings of the 2003 IEEE Radar Conference (Cat. No. 03CH37474).

[6]  M.E. Davis,et al.  Space based radar technology challenges , 2005, 2005 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[7]  W.L. Melvin,et al.  Comparison of bistatic clutter mitigation algorithms for varying geometries , 2005, IEEE International Radar Conference, 2005..

[8]  William L. Melvin,et al.  Bistatic STAP: application to airborne radar , 2002, Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE Radar Conference (IEEE Cat. No.02CH37322).

[9]  Braham Himed,et al.  Bistatic STAP performance analysis in radar applications , 2001, Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE Radar Conference (Cat. No.01CH37200).

[10]  Daniel R. Fuhrmann.  Covariance estimation in non-stationary interference , 1993, Proceedings of 27th Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers.

[11]  James Ward,et al.  Space-time adaptive processing for airborne radar , 1998 .

[12]  D. Page,et al.  Improving knowledge-aided STAP performance using past CPI data [radar signal processing] , 2004, Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE Radar Conference (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37509).

[13]  Braham Himed,et al.  STAP with angle-Doppler compensation for bistatic airborne radars , 2002, Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE Radar Conference (IEEE Cat. No.02CH37322).

[14]  G. L. Guttrich,et al.  Wide area surveillance concepts based on geosynchronous illumination and bistatic unmanned airborne vehicles or satellite reception , 1997, Proceedings of the 1997 IEEE National Radar Conference.

[15]  I. Reed,et al.  Rapid Convergence Rate in Adaptive Arrays , 1974, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.

[16]  M. P. Hartnett,et al.  Bistatic surveillance concept of operations , 2001, Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE Radar Conference (Cat. No.01CH37200).

[17]  S.U. Pillai,et al.  Effect of Earth's rotation and range foldover on space based performance , 2005, IEEE International Radar Conference, 2005..