Joint Aperture and Transmit Resource Allocation Strategy for Multitarget Localization in the Phased Array Radar Network

In practical application, the resources related to infrastructure and electromagnetic radiation are often limited for the phased array radar network (PARN). To more effectively exploit these limited resources, a joint aperture and transmit resource allocation (JATRA) strategy is built for the application of multitarget localization. The principle of the JATRA strategy is to minimize the total transmit power of the PARN by optimally allocating the aperture, power, and effective bandwidth under the constraints of the system resources, while achieving the predefined localization accuracy for each target. To begin with, the expressions of Cramér–Rao lower bound of target localization are derived for time of arrival (TOA), direction of arrival (DOA), as well as joint TOA and DOA, and adopted as localization metric. Subsequently, the JATRA strategy is constructed as a mixed-integer, nonlinear, and nonconvex optimization problem involving three adaptable vectors. In view of the characteristics presented in the construction model, a fast convergent two-step iterative optimization algorithm is designed to distribute three kinds of resources, together with its convergence and complexity well analyzed. Finally, the convergence of the two-step iterative algorithm is verified by simulation results, providing insights into underlying superiority of the JATRA strategy in comparison with other existing resource allocation schemes.