Detecting High-Speed Maneuvering Targets by Exploiting Range-Doppler Relationship for LFM Radar

This paper considers the problem of high-speed maneuvering target detection, which involves the processing of complex range migration (RM) and Doppler frequency migration (DFM) within the coherent processing interval (CPI). By exploiting the coupling relationship between the range frequency and the Doppler frequency, a detection algorithm is proposed for high-speed maneuvering targets. After the range compression, approximate 2-D range-frequency and Doppler-frequency expressions are derived according to the principle of stationary phase (POSP) and series inversion extension. The mathematical range-Doppler frequency relationships are then exploited to search the target's first-order motion parameters and Doppler ambiguity numbers within a predetermined parameter range, and formulate the corresponding new data from the original 2-D data matrix. Finally, Fourier transform and constant false-alarm rate (CFAR) detector are further applied to detect the targets. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has low complexity requirements and is suitable for low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scenarios. Moreover, it is not sensitive to the motion order of targets.