A key assumption in monopulse based angle-of-arrival (AOA) estimators is that at most one return from a single object is present in each range cell, or equivalently in each sample of the matched filter output. These algorithms break down if the data consists of merged measurements-multiple target returns contained in the same range cell. The proposed technique makes use of data from a three channel monopulse radar to estimate the AOA of two targets from merged measurements. Specifically, the technique capitalizes on the structure of squint beams in conjunction with multiple range samples to resolve the multiple targets. The paper focuses on the development of the new algorithm along with results from computer simulations that demonstrate its viability. To illustrate the utility of this technique to target tracking problems, comparative Monte Carlo results of performance of a tracker with the new technique and conventional monopulse AOA estimates are provided.

Date Published: 5 January 2004
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 5204, Signal and Data Processing of Small Targets 2003, (5 January 2004); doi: 10.1117/12.513633

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5204:
Signal and Data Processing of Small Targets 2003
Oliver E. Drummond, Editor(s)