Noise Covariance Matrix Estimation in Block-Correlated Noise Field for Direction Finding

A noise covariance matrix estimation approach in unknown noise field for direction finding applicable for the practically important cases of nonuniform and block-diagonal sensor noise is proposed. It is based on an alternating procedure that can be adjusted for a specific noise type. Numerical simulations are conducted in order to establish the generality and superiority of the proposed approach over the existing state-of-the-art methods, especially in challenging scenarios.