Array design in a linear phased-subarray MIMO radar

Much attention has been given to multiple input multiple output radar systems due to their potential for better performance in detection and angular resolution and measurement accuracy. However, MIMO radar's capabilities come with serious costs. These costs come in the overall system implementation and in considerations for real world applications. A hybrid system, where not all radiating elements transmit orthogonal waveforms and all elements are steerable in terms of phase shift, may be able to provide some of the advantages of a MIMO radar system while mitigating costs. One application where a hybrid system may make sense is in a target tracking radar, where the application demands a high signal to noise ratio. This paper examines one application of this hybrid architecture to the problem of main beam discrimination of targets.