ARCTIC: Advanced Radar Classification of Targets In Cluster

Current ship-based radars encounter complex target scenes involving various types of clutter (e.g. debris, chuff, chaff, PID), challenging the ability of these radars to identify lethal targets and complete their critical mission. nou Systems, Inc (nSI) proposes a suite of physics-based algorithms integrated into a machine learning (ML) framework to mitigate the impact of the clutter and enable the radar to discriminate lethal objects in challenging clutter scenes. nSI has developed the primary components of this technology through multiple DoD contracts (including but not limited to a Phase I SBIR) and through internal research and development efforts. Because each of the individual physics-based algorithms and features are selected to be robust in the presence of clutter, the proposed solution inherently provides improved capability in these complex target scenes. nSI will prove the applicability of the developed technology to the SPY-1 and SPY-6 radars by training and testing the algorithms with government-provided radar data augmented with data developed through nSI's comprehensive radar modeling and scene generation toolset. By partnering with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and SEG, we will ensure the algorithms are suitable for insertion into the tactical radars. Because the ML framework intelligently fuses data from diverse algorithms involving various RF features, the proposed solution will improve capability when using existing waveforms and resource allocation, as well as when using planned or upgraded waveforms. Approved for Public Release | 22-MDA-11102 (22 Mar 22)