Four-platform distributed MIMO radar measurements and imagery

This paper presents the results of a distributed multiple-input/multiple-output radar system which emulates four transmitters and four receivers. This experimental multistatic X-band system is employed for synthetic aperture radar imaging of both simple and complex scattering structures, and comparisons are made with the corresponding monostatic imagery. The required cross-platform coherency is maintained through a calibration technique which ensures accurate multistatic image registration and formation over ultra-wide frequency bands and large azimuthal collection angles. The collected high resolution imagery facilitates detailed analysis of multistatic scattering phenomenology and demonstrates the feasibility of coherent distributed sensor imaging. This demonstration is foundational to the structure of multi-platform radio frequency imaging architectures and provides a basis for further development of coherent distributed sensing.