Non-searching coherent integration method for maneuvering target detection by using non-uniformly resampling technique

Abstract It is well known that, long-time integration improves the detection performance of radar system, which is however limited by the range migration (RM) and Doppler frequency migration (DFM) caused by target's high velocity and acceleration. To solve this problem, this paper proposed a three-dimensional modified cross correlation function (3DMCCF) method for maneuvering radar targets. In this method, we define a new cross correlation function under a designing frame based on non-uniformly resampling technique. By using the new function, the target's RM and DFM can be eliminated at the same time. The resulting signal is a three-dimensional complex sinusoid. Finally the integration is achieved efficiently by performing inverse fast Fourier transforms (IFFTs) and fast Fourier transforms (FFTs). The proposed method can work in low signal to noise ratio (SNR) environment and is applicable for multi-target scene. Compared with the generalized Radon Fourier transform (GRFT) and the Radon Lv's distribution (RLVD) algorithms, the proposed method is free from searching approach and has lower computational complexity. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by simulations and real-data processing.