TABLE OF CONTENTS Richard Klemm
In this chapter we deal with the problem of tracking moving objects on or close to the ground by means of an airborne or space-based radar. A typical airborne radar geometry is assumed in the numerical examples. However, the results and insights apply as well to spaceborne geometries. Specifically, we focus on the sensor aspects, i.e. we discuss what kind of information a suitable radar can contribute to the tracking function. The material contained in this chapter has been presented at a RTO SET symposium [11].
Ground targets have to compete with strong ground clutter returns. Therefore, clutter rejection is an indispensable feature of the tracking radar. If the radar is carried by a moving platform (e.g. airplane, satellite) the clutter Doppler spectrum is spread out proportional to the radar velocity. Therefore, low Doppler targets may fall into the clutter band which makes them difficult to detect by conventional (temporal only) MTI techniques. As is well known from the existing literature (see for instance the list of references given in Reference 6) space-time adaptive processing (STAP) techniques can solve the problem of detecting slow moving targets within the clutter Doppler band. STAP processors implicitly compensate for the radar platform motion. The principle of STAP including a comparison with conventional (temporal or spatial only) techniques is illustrated in Reference 6, p. 111.
For the subsequent...
