A Hybrid Tracking Algorithm for Multistatic Passive Radar

In multistatic passive radars (MPR), multiple measurements from different bistatic pairs are usually used to locate the target due to the inaccurate direction of arrival estimation. In the real-world scenarios, the available bistatic pairs may be not enough and the probability of detection for each bistatic pair may be relatively low. It cannot be guaranteed that multiple simultaneous measurements will be available. In this case, the existing tracking algorithms face problems in the fast track confirmation, track continuity, and accuracy. In this article, we propose a novel hybrid tracking algorithm for the MPR. To handle the above-mentioned problems, we construct two classes of tracks, namely the high-precision track and low-precision track, for both the track initialization and track maintenance stages. The low-precision track can be converted into the high-precision track under certain conditions. This design facilitates the fast confirmation of high-precision tracks. Combined with the independent management of the high-precision tracks, the track continuity and accuracy metrics will be enhanced as well. The superiority of the proposed algorithm is validated via theoretical analyses and Monte Carlo simulations. Moreover, the experimental results using real data also demonstrate the practical effectiveness.