Space-Time Adaptive Processing for TBM Detection by Ship-Based Phased Array Radars

"Detecting tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs) in boost phase presents a significant technical challenge for a Navy ship-based radar operating in a littoral environment. In addition to mitigating land clutter, the radar will have to cope with terrainscattered interference or hot clutter generated by jamming signals. Traditional sidelobe blankers and sidelobe cancellation techniques provide some immunity to sidelobe jammers; however, they are ineffective against mainlobe interference. Since hot cluttercan potentially provide mainlobe interference over a wide range of angles, alternate techniques are needed to address this question. Space-time adaptive processing (STAP) offers a high potential to mitigate both cold and hot clutter; however more effortsare needed to implement practical STAP in a Navy ship-based radar.The objective of this program is to develop a practical STAP algorithms for a Navy ship-based radar operating in littoral environment to detect TBMs in boost phase by combining the high potential of STAP algorithms in mitigating cold and hot clutter, andthe efficiency and computational simplicity of traditional algorithms. The approach and attendant algorithms/software developed under this SBIR have obvious application to U.S. Navy ship-based electronically steered radars in environments of significantinterference due to clutter/jamming. ISL?s initial commercialization strategy will be to obtain BMDO/Navy sponsorship for the