Advanced Bistatic Signal Processing and Exploitation

Bistatic radar processing by airborne signals intelligence (SIGINT) and other intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) platforms affords covert, passive exploitation of adversary or own-force radar systems to improve tactical situational awareness and fused intelligence products. Traditionally these bistatic signals have been ignored or unexploited by existing SIGINT/ELINT. The bistatic signals, however, contain a rich set of radar returns from both targets and cultural and natural features (i.e., clutter) that can be used to improve emitter geolocation as well as provide covert surveillance of enemy aircraft. Exploiting the bistatic signals, however, requires both novel signal processing algorithms and advanced processing architectures that can meet the challenging computing requirements for extracting the information contained in the bistatic returns. Under a successful Phase I effort, ISL established feasibility of the bistatic processing concept by showing that advanced intelligence products can be extracted from the bistatic clutter returns in a computer with a form factor that is appropriate for integration on an airborne SIGINT collection platform. The proposed Phase II program will refine the processing concept developed in Phase I and show that it can be implemented in low-cost hardware.