The use of track-before-detect in pulse-Doppler radar

This paper describes the theory and a new method for using the track-before-detect (TBD) process in a pulse-Doppler radar. The approach uses dynamic processing techniques via a modified Viterbi algorithm. The process has been applied to a number of real and modelled scenarios using a variety of radars, threats and environmental conditions. The process has been shown to give an increase in detection range equivalent to a signal-to-noise (S/N) gain of up to 10 dB. The process has also been shown to vastly reduce the workload of a tracker, and therefore increase its effectiveness, by reducing the occurrence of false alarms caused by clutter breakthrough.