Behavior Subtraction applied to radar Det ection of small maritime surface targets

An algorithm developed for optical images has been applied to radar data. The algorithm, Behavior Subtraction, is based on capturing the dynamics of a scene and detecting anomalous behavior. The radar application is the detection of small surface targets at sea. The sea surface yields the expected stable background dynamics, while a surface target will change the local dynamics due to its own motion. The results of the new algorithm have been compared with the more traditional STAP algorithm. Keywords—Behavior Subtraction, STAP, CFAR, maritime targets