Persistent Maritime Target Tracking Using Automated Target Fingerprinting and Discrimination

The proposed Phase 2 technical effort will leverage the success of the Phase 1 effort and develop and extensively test robust signal processing techniques that consistently extract target features over a large range of operating conditions using recently collected radar data from a Navy field test. The measurement of target length, number of masts, and mast position are among the most basic and desirable target discriminating attributes identified in Phase 1, and the preliminary analysis performed in the Phase 1 effort has shown that the measurement of these discriminating attributes can be very challenging. The proposed Phase 2 technical effort will produce the signal processing underpinnings that will enable the fielding of an operationally useful Feature Aided Tracking and Discrimination (FAT-D) capability in conjunction with a sensor suite resource manager (RM) that interleaves high range resolution (HRR) pulses within the sensor’s primary search mode, while maintaining and managing information about the surface contact picture on much larger timescales.