Holographic 3D ISAR Imaging for Improved Discrimination of Ballistic Targets

The goal of this project is to define and pursue novel ISAR-based coherent processing techniques to advance discrimination techniques and improve the performance of NMD radars against the emerging C2 and C3 threats. Essex plans to augment traditional ISARprocessing capabilities by extending the resolution and bandwidth via coherent combination of ISAR multi-band, multi-platform, and multi-static phase history data. The coherent combination of multiple radar transmitters and receivers is ideally suited toa cooperative use of radar assets within the NMD system. These techniques have the potential to improve image resolution, image quality, enable three-dimensional (3-D) target rendering and significantly mitigate undesirable clutter such as chaff, decoys,and penetration aids. At the same time, the algorithms presented here could have profound impact for reducing the size of phase array antenna, reducing the instantaneous radar bandwidth without sacrificing resolution, offering improved anti-jammingimmunity, and ultimately reducing cost without sacrificing capability. It potentially reduces ambiguities and provides greater sensitivity and it directly leads to a formulation for 3-D ISAR rendering. All of these benefits are enabled by leveraging thegeometry of the radar assets to extend the spatial resolution by collecting data as a unified sensor array.The algorithms extended and validated under this program directly advances ISAR image quality, image resolution, and provide new ISAR image products.The techniques developed also propose to reduce costs for current air traffic control systems and future systems by enabling ISAR imagery improvements without additional of complex RF hardware to extend bandwidth, resolution, clutter mitigation, and imagefidelity.