Rank detectors in correlated K-distributed clutter

The paper deals with the performances of the first and second order rank detectors in presence of correlated K-distributed clutter. First, assuming a perfect knowledge of both clutter shape factor and texture correlation, the detection probability of the rankers is compared to the ideal performance and to that of a cell-averaging detector. Then, an on-line estimator of the shape factor in the correlated environment is introduced, and the corresponding detection losses are analyzed.