Maneuvering target detection in over-the-horizon radar based on genetic algorithm

In OTHR systems, the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) used for moving targets detection is very low. The Doppler frequency maneuvering targets, such as aircraft and missiles, is time-varying and spreading with long integration time (CIT). In this situation, the Fourier transform based target detection and tracking techniques may fail to work well with a long CIT, because there is a trade-off between the CIT length and Doppler resolution. A new method to detect maneuvering weak targets in the OTHR systems is proposed here. Time-frequency distribution techniques have been used to estimate the range of parameters of targets firstly, then, genetic algorithm (GA) is used to estimate the parameters accurately. The significance of time-frequency distribution is to narrow the search range of GA, and this operation can improve the processing efficiency.