A Computationally Efficient Multi-Channel Multi-Pulse Coherent Fusion Algorithm for High-Speed Target Detection

Compared with the monostatic radar which only performs signal fusion in the multi-pulse dimension, the bistatic multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar can also fuse multi-channel signals to improve the detection ability of high-speed moving targets. However, how to tackle the range migration (RM) caused by high-speed motion and compensate the signal difference between channels are the key problems in bistatic MIMO radar. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a computationally efficient multi-channel multi-pulse fusion algorithm. Firstly, we establish the echo model of bistatic MIMO radar with high-speed moving targets and utilize the Radon Fourier transform (RFT) algorithm to overcome the RM and complete the multi-pulse fusion. Then, the output characteristics of RFT, including peak and phase differences, are analyzed in detail. On this basis, a multi-channel coherent fusion method based on geometric information is proposed, which can eliminate the phase differences among channels and complete coherent fusion. Finally, numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm can effectively detect the target under a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Compared with the existing methods, the proposed algorithm can achieve a balance between computational complexity and detection performance.