INNOVATIVE DETECTION AND TRACKING TECHNIQUES FOR MISSILE SEEKERS ENGAGING LOW FLYING AND HOVERING AIRCRAFT IN CLUTTER

TWO OF THE OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS IN RADAR ARE THE DETECTION OF HOVERING HELICOPTERS AND THE DETECTION OF CRUISE MISSILES FLYING NEARLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE RADAR LINE OF SIGHT. THE PROBLEM IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME IN BOTH CASES: THE RETURNS ARE WEAK (EXCEPT FOR THE FLASHES FROM THE ROTATING BLADE, WHICH OCCUR TOO INFREQUENTLY FOR RELIABLE DETECTION), AND THEY APPEAR WITHIN THE GROUND CLUTTER SPECTRUM, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY CANNOT BE ENHANCED BY DOPPLER FILTERING. THE PROPOSED SOLUTION IS BASED ON A NEW TYPE OF RADAR SIGNAL PROCESSING THAT WAS DEVELOPED AT MARK RESOURCES FOR IDENTIFYING AIRBORNE TARGETS. BASICALLY, WITH THIS NEW SIGNAL PROCESSING IT IS POSSIBLE TO EXTRACT VERY DETAILED INFORMATION FROM THE RETURNS THAT CAN BE USED TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN LEGITIMATE TARGETS AND CLUTTER. THE VIABILITY OF THE CONCEPT WILL BE DEMONSTRATED DURING PHASE I BY PROCESSING REAL DATA. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS - THE PRIMARY BENEFIT WILL BE THAT THE DETECTION OF HOVERING HELICOPTERS AND LOW-FLYING CRUISE MISSILES WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED PURELY BY RADAR, WHICH SHOULD PROVE TO BE MUCH MORE RELIABLE THAN THE FUSION OF DATA FROM SEVERAL SENSORS.