FPGA implementation of a software-defined radar processor

A unified digital pulse compression processor is introduced as a radar-application-specific-processor (RASP) architecture for the next generation of adaptive radar. Based on traditional pulse compression matched filter and correlation receiver, the processor integrates specific designs to handle waveform diversities, which includes random noise waveforms, as well as digital transceiver self-reconfiguration for adaptive radars. Initial prototype of this processor is implemented with the latest Xilinx FPGA device and tested with an RF spaceborne radar transceiver testbed. Initial validation results show the effectiveness of real-time processing and engineering concepts.