Target Detection and Imaging Using a Stepped-Frequency Ultra-Wideband Radar

Interest in ultra-wideband radar systems for target detection, identification and imaging arises from both the clutter suppression capability of the radar and its potentially high resolution. Several time-domain radar systems have been tested1,2 but difficulties in the generation, radiation and reception of high-energy pulses, and the potential for interference with existing communications systems, make the construction of a time-domain system problematic. The Naval Ocean Systems Center is developing an alternative radar system, which will have several hundred narrow band channels within a 1 GHz bandwidth centered in C or X-band. The data gathered by this system can be used to synthesize equivalent time-domain target responses for detection or identification.