Overview of radar detection methods for low altitude targets in marine environments

In this paper,a comprehensive overview of radar detection methods for low-altitude targets in maritime environments is presented,focusing on the challenges posed by sea clutter and multipath scattering.The performance of the radar detection methods under sea clutter,multipath,and combined conditions is categorized and summarized,and future research directions are outlined to enhance radar detection performance for low-altitude targets in maritime environments.

Short-time maritime target detection based on polarization scattering characteristics

In this paper,a detection method combining Cameron decomposition based on polarization scattering characteristics in sea clutter background is proposed.Firstly,the Cameron decomposition is exploited to fuse the radar echoes of full polarization channels at the data level.Due to the artificial material structure on the surface of the target,it can be shown that the non-reciprocity of the target cell is stronger than that of the clutter cell.Then,based on the analysis of the decomposition results,a new feature with scattering geometry characteristics in polarization domain,denoted as Cameron polarization decomposition scattering weight(CPD-SW),is extracted as the test statistic,which can achieve more detailed descriptions of the clutter scattering characteristics utilizing the difference between their scattering types.Finally,the superiority of the proposed CPD-SW detector over traditional detectors in improving detection performance is verified by the IPIX measured dataset,which has strong stability under short-time observation in threshold detection and can also improve the separability of feature space zin anomaly detection.

Persymmetric adaptive polarimetric detection of subspace range-spread targets in compound Gaussian sea clutter

This paper focuses on the adaptive detection of range and Doppler dual-spread targets in non-homogeneous and nonGaussian sea clutter.The sea clutter from two polarimetric channels is modeled as a compound-Gaussian model with different parameters,and the target is modeled as a subspace rangespread target model.The persymmetric structure is used to model the clutter covariance matrix,in order to reduce the reliance on secondary data of the designed detectors.Three adaptive polarimetric persymmetric detectors are designed based on the generalized likelihood ratio test(GLRT),Rao test,and Wald test.All the proposed detectors have constant falsealarm rate property with respect to the clutter texture,the speckle covariance matrix.Experimental results on simulated and measured data show that three adaptive detectors outperform the competitors in different clutter environments,and the proposed GLRT detector has the best detection performance under different parameters.

Improved Algorithms for Removing Isolated Non-Meteorological Echoes and Ground Clutters in CINRAD

Using China New Generation Weather Radar （CINRAD） level-Ⅱ data, the original algorithms for removing isol-ated non-meteorological echoes and ground clutters in radar data, which have been applied to Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler （WSR-88D） in the USA and Severe Weather Automatic Nowcast （SWAN） system in China, are modified and improved. To remove isolated non-meteorological echoes, the new algorithm introduces a constraint parameter （Po） to distinguish whether a window of 5 x 5 points is isolated as external echoes. A statistical analysis of 150 radar scans （5 cases, with each case comprising 30 scans） under three different echo types （small-scale convec-tion, typhoon, and large-scale synoptic system） shows that the constraint parameter Po ≤ 0.167 is suitable for remov- ing isolated non-meteorological echoes while preserving the edge of meteorological echoes. A new parameter, NDZ, which promotes the ability of the algorithm to identify the ground clutters appearing at two adjacent elevation angles, is constructed based on the vertical continuity of reflectivity. These improved algorithms are tested for four cases （three cases of isolated non-meteorological echoes and one case of ground clutters）. Based on the statistics of 232 volume scans of radar data （on a temporal resolution of 1 h） measured at Nanchang station from 0000 UTC 5 to 1600 UTC 14 March 2015, it is found that the improved algorithms not only eliminate most （over 95% under clear-sky conditions） of the isolated non-meteorological echoes and ground clutters （including those appearing at two adjacent elevation angles）, but also well preserve the structure of meteorological echoes （storms）.

On Generalization of Cycles and Chordality to Clutters from an Algebraic Viewpoint

In this paper, we study the notion of chordality and cycles in clutters from a commutative algebraic point of view. The corresponding concept of chordality in commutative algebra is having a linear resolution. We mainly consider the generalization of chordality proposed by Bigdeli et al. in 2017 and the concept of cycles introduced by Can- non and Faridi in 2013, and study their interrelations and algebraic interpretations. In particular, we investigate the relationship between chordality and having linear quotients in some classes of clutters. Also, we show that if e is a clutter such that （ ） is a vertex decomposable simplicial complex or I（ ） is squarefree stable, then is chordal.

Deep convolutional neural network for meteorology target detection in airborne weather radar images

Considering the problem that the scattering echo images of airborne Doppler weather radar are often reduced by ground clutters,the accuracy and confidence of meteorology target detection are reduced.In this paper,a deep convolutional neural network(DCNN)is proposed for meteorology target detection and ground clutter suppression with a large collection of airborne weather radar images as network input.For each weather radar image,the corresponding digital elevation model(DEM)image is extracted on basis of the radar antenna scan-ning parameters and plane position,and is further fed to the net-work as a supplement for ground clutter suppression.The fea-tures of actual meteorology targets are learned in each bottle-neck module of the proposed network and convolved into deeper iterations in the forward propagation process.Then the network parameters are updated by the back propagation itera-tion of the training error.Experimental results on the real mea-sured images show that our proposed DCNN outperforms the counterparts in terms of six evaluation factors.Meanwhile,the network outputs are in good agreement with the expected mete-orology detection results(labels).It is demonstrated that the pro-posed network would have a promising meteorology observa-tion application with minimal effort on network variables or parameter changes.

Modeling Target Detection and Performance Analysis of Electronic Countermeasures for Phased Radar

Interference is a key factor in radar return misdetection.Strong interference might make it difficult to detect the signal or targets.When interference occurs in the sidelobes of the antenna pattern,Sidelobe Cancellation(SLC)and Sidelobe Blanking are two unique solutions to solve this problem(SLB).Aside from this approach,the probability of false alert and likelihood of detection are the most essential parameters in radar.The chance of a false alarm for any radar system should be minimal,and as a result,the probability of detection should be high.There are several interference cancellation strategies in the literature that are used to sustain consistent false alarms regardless of the clutter environment.With the necessity for interference cancellation methods and the constant false alarm rate(CFAR),the Maisel SLC algorithm has been modified to create a new algorithm for recognizing targets in the presence of severe interference.The received radar returns and interference are simulated as non-stationary in this approach,and side-lobe interference is cancelled using an adaptive algorithm.By comparing the performance of adaptive algorithms,simulation results are shown.In a severe clutter situation,the simulation results demonstrate a considerable increase in target recognition and signal to noise ratio when compared to the previous technique.

A general evaluation system for optimal selection performance of radar clutter model

The optimal selection of radar clutter model is the premise of target detection,tracking,recognition,and cognitive waveform design in clutter background.Clutter characterization models are usually derived by mathematical simplification or empirical data fitting.However,the lack of standard model labels is a challenge in the optimal selection process.To solve this problem,a general three-level evaluation system for the model selection performance is proposed,including model selection accuracy index based on simulation data,fit goodness indexs based on the optimally selected model,and evaluation index based on the supporting performance to its third-party.The three-level evaluation system can more comprehensively and accurately describe the selection performance of the radar clutter model in different ways,and can be popularized and applied to the evaluation of other similar characterization model selection.

Wind turbine clutter mitigation using morphological component analysis with group sparsity

To address the problem that dynamic wind turbine clutter(WTC)significantly degrades the performance of weather radar,a WTC mitigation algorithm using morphological component analysis(MCA)with group sparsity is studied in this paper.The ground clutter is suppressed firstly to reduce the morphological compositions of radar echo.After that,the MCA algorithm is applied and the window used in the short-time Fourier transform(STFT)is optimized to lessen the spectrum leakage of WTC.Finally,the group sparsity structure of WTC in the STFT domain can be utilized to decrease the degrees of freedom in the solution,thus contributing to better estimation performance of weather signals.The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method are demonstrated by numerical simulations.

Radar fast long-time coherent integration via TR-SKT and robust sparse FRFT

Long-time coherent integration(LTCI)is an effective way for radar maneuvering target detection,but it faces the problem of a large number of search parameters and large amount of calculation.Realizing the simultaneous compensation of the range and Doppler migrations in complex clutter back-ground,and at the same time improving the calculation efficiency has become an urgent problem to be solved.The sparse transformation theory is introduced to LTCI in this paper,and a non-parametric searching sparse LTCI(SLTCI)based maneuvering target detection method is proposed.This method performs time reversal(TR)and second-order Keystone transform(SKT)in the range frequency&slow-time data to complete high-order range walk compensation,and achieves the coherent integra-tion of maneuvering target across range and Doppler units via the robust sparse fractional Fourier transform(RSFRFT).It can compensate for the nonlinear range migration caused by high-order motion.S-band and X-band radar data measured in sea clutter background are used to verify the detection performance of the proposed method,which can achieve better detection performance of maneuvering targets with less computational burden compared with several popular integration methods.

FRFT域混合天地波雷达扩展多普勒杂波抑制方法

采用一维线阵天线的混合天地波雷达(hybrid sky-surface-wave radar,HSSWR)系统不能利用仰角信息抑制多径扩展多普勒杂波(spread Doppler clutter,SDC),这制约了HSSWR系统在船舶目标探测方面的实际应用。针对这一问题,根据SDC与稳定海杂波在分数阶傅里叶变换(fractional Fourier transform,FRFT)域的不同聚集特性,提出一种基于FRFT的多径SDC抑制方法。理论分析和仿真实验验证了该方法的有效性。

Maneuvering Multi-target Tracking Algorithm Based on Modified Generalized Probabilistic Data Association

Aiming at the problem of strong nonlinear and effective echo confirm of multi-target tracking system in clutters environment, a novel maneuvering multitarget tracking algorithm based on modified generalized probabilistic data association is proposed in this paper. In view of the advantage of particle filter which can deal with the nonlinear and non-Gaussian system, it is introduced into the framework of generalized probabilistic data association to calculate the residual and residual covariance matrices, and the interconnection probability is further optimized. On that basis, the dynamic combination of particle filter and generalized probabilistic data association method is realized in the new algorithm. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show the filtering precision is obviously improved with respect to the tradition method using suboptimal filter.

High resolution radar target adaptive detector and performance assessment

The high resolution radar target detection is addressed in the non-Gaussian clutter. An adaptive detector is derived for range-spread target based on a novel covariance matrix estimator. It is proved that the new detector is constant false alarm rate （CFAR） to both of the clutter covariance matrix structure and power level theoretically for match cases. The simulation results show that the new detector is almost CFAR for mismatch cases, and it outperforms the existing adaptive detector based on the sample covariance matrix. It also shows that the detection performance improves, as the number of pulses, the number of secondary data or the clutter spike increases. In addition, the derived detector is robust to different subsets, estimated clutter group sizes and correlations of clutter. Importantly, the number of iterations for practical application is just one.

Robust detector for range-spread targets in non-Gaussian background

Based on the target scatterer density, the range-spread target detection of high-resolution radar is addressed in additive non-Gaussian clutter, which is modeled as a spherically invariant random vector. Firstly, for sparse scatterer density, the detection of target scatterer in each range cell is derived, and then an M/K detector is proposed to detect the whole range-spread target. Se- condly, an integrating detector is devised to detect a range-spread target with dense scatterer density. Finally, to make the best of the advantages of M/K detector and integrating detector, a robust detector based on scatterer density （DBSD） is designed, which can reduce the probable collapsing loss or quantization error ef- fectively. Moreover, the density decision factor of DBSD is also determined. The formula of the false alarm probability is derived for DBSD. It is proved that the DBSD ensures a constant false alarm rate property. Furthermore, the computational results indi- cate that the DBSD is robust to different clutter one-lag correlations and target scatterer densities. It is also shown that the DBSD out- performs the existing scatterer-density-dependent detector.

Improved pruning algorithm for Gaussian mixture probability hypothesis density filter

With the increment of the number of Gaussian components, the computation cost increases in the Gaussian mixture probability hypothesis density(GM-PHD) filter. Based on the theory of Chen et al, we propose an improved pruning algorithm for the GM-PHD filter, which utilizes not only the Gaussian components’ means and covariance, but their weights as a new criterion to improve the estimate accuracy of the conventional pruning algorithm for tracking very closely proximity targets. Moreover, it solves the end-less while-loop problem without the need of a second merging step. Simulation results show that this improved algorithm is easier to implement and more robust than the formal ones.

Krylov subspace method based on data preprocessing technology

The performance of adaptive beamforming techniques is limited by the nonhomogeneous clutter scenario. An augmented Krylov subspace method is proposed, which utilizes only a single snapshot of the data for adaptive processing. The novel algorithm puts together a data preprocessor and adaptive Krylov subspace algorithm, where the data preprocessor suppresses discrete interference and the adaptive Krylov subspace algorithm suppresses homogeneous clutter. The novel method uses a single snapshot of the data received by the array antenna to generate a cancellation matrix that does not contain the signal of interest （SOI） component, thus, it mitigates the problem of highly nonstationary clutter environment and it helps to operate in real-time. The benefit of not requiring the training data comes at the cost of a reduced degree of freedom （DOF） of the system. Simulation illustrates the effectiveness in clutter suppression and adaptive beamforming. The numeric results show good agreement with the proposed theorem.

Space-time clutter model for airborne bistatic radar with non-Gaussian statistics

To validate the potential space-time adaptive processing （STAP） algorithms for airborne bistatic radar clutter suppression under nonstationary and non-Gaussian clutter environments, a statistically non-Gaussian, space-time clutter model in varying bistatic geometrical scenarios is presented. The inclusive effects of the model contain the range dependency of bistatic clutter spectrum and clutter power variation in range-angle cells. To capture them, a new approach to coordinate system conversion is initiated into formulating bistatic geometrical model, and the bistatic non-Gaussian amplitude clutter representation method based on a compound model is introduced. The veracity of the geometrical model is validated by using the bistatic configuration parameters of multi-channel airborne radar measurement （MCARM） experiment. And simulation results manifest that the proposed model can accurately shape the space-time clutter spectrum tied up with specific airborne bistatic radar scenario and can characterize the heterogeneity of clutter amplitude distribution in practical clutter environments.

Study on Dim Target Detection and Discrimination from Sea Clutter

Dim target detection from sea clutter is one of the difficult topics in ocean remote sensing application. By aiming at the shortcoming of false alarms when using track before detect （TBD） based on dynamic programming, a new discrimination method called statistics of direction histogram （SDH） is proposed, which is based on different features of trajectories between the true target and false one. Moreover, a new series of discrimination schemes of SDH and Local Extreme Value method （LEV） are studied and applied to simulate the actually measured radar data. The results show that the given discrimination is effective to reduce false alarms during dim targets detection.

Estimation of sea clutter inherent Doppler spectrum from shipborne S-band radar sea echo

Measurement of shipborne radar sea echo is instrumental in collecting the sea clutter data in open sea areas.However,the ship movement would introduce an extra Doppler component into the spectrum of the sea clutter,so the sea clutter inherent spectrum must be estimated prior to investigating the sea clutter Doppler characteristics from the shipborne radar sea echo.In this paper we show some results about a shipborne sea clutter measurement experiment that was conducted in the South China Sea in a period between 2017 and 2018;abundant clutter data have been collected by using a shipborne S-band clutter measurement radar.To obtain the sea clutter inherent Doppler spectrum from these data,an estimation method,based on the mapping relationship between the shipborne clutter spectrum and the inherent clutter spectrum,is proposed.This method is validated by shipborne clutter data sets under the same measuring conditions except for the ship speed.Using this method,the characteristics of the Doppler spectrum lineshapes in the South China Sea are calculated and analyzed according to different sea states,wave directions,and radar resolutions,which can be instrumental in designing the radar target detection algorithms.

Modified GIT model for predicting wind-speed behavior of low-grazing-angle radar sea clutter

A modified GIT model for describing the variational trend of mean clutter reflectivity as a function of wind speed is proposed. It uses two slope adjustment factors and two critical wind-speed factors to define and adjust the increasing slope of reflectivity with respect to wind speed. In addition, it uses a constant factor to compensate the overall amplitude of clutter reflectivity. The performance of the modified GIT model has been verified on the basis of the L-band low-grazing-angle radar sea clutter data. The results are in good agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the model is more effective in predicting the wind-speed behavior of clutter reflectivity than the conventional GIT model, especially for lower and higher wind speeds. We believe that the proposed model can provide deeper insights into the relationship between radar sea clutter reflectivity and sea state conditions.