Analysis of the Effect of Clutter Range Migration on Target Detection Performance in a Spaceborne Radar System

The acquisition of ground clutter data plays an important role in validating the feasibility of a spaceborne radar (SBR) system. Different from the airborne radar, the high production and maintenance costs of SBR systems make simulation a significant source for obtaining clutter data. However, high-precision clutter simulation typically demands significant computational resources and processing time. Moreover, the clutter range migration caused by high-speed motion of satellite platforms will make the clutter simulation and suppression problems more complicated. In this letter, we analyze the influence of clutter range migration on clutter-to-noise ratio (CNR) in an SBR system and conclude that whether or not the clutter range migration is considered does not affect the final CNR gain of the SBR system. The analytical results of this letter will significantly simplify the simulation process and provide a good reference for the engineering applications in the SBR system design.