Range-spread target detection based on the matched ambiguity function

In this study, the authors deal with the problem of detecting a range-spread target with a high velocity. First, they prove that the mixer output consists of several sinusoidal signals. Then, the matched signal of a noisy mixer output is defined in terms of the energy concentration of the noisy high-resolution range profile (HRRP). Consequently, the matched ambiguity function (MAF) of a noisy mixer output is obtained. Based on the MAF, a range-spread target detector, referred to as MAF-detector (MAF-D), is proposed. The MAF-D uses a single noisy HRRP and thus can detect the target with a high translational velocity and a high rotational velocity. Experimental results, conducted by the recorded radar data, show that the proposed detector outperforms the conventional detectors.