Radar Signal Processing in Clutter

This chapter examines the impact of clutter on radar performance and introduces techniques in which to mitigate these impacts. For this chapter, clutter can be defined as unwanted energy that has returned to the radar from the surface of the earth or airborne objects, such as precipitation, birds or chaff. The unwanted energy can change both the amplitude and spectra of the received signal. Moving target may be extracted from clutter by taking advantage of the difference between target and clutter spectrum. This is due to the usually larger doppler effects of the moving target. Moving target detection can be enhanced by two common methods, Moving Target Indicator (MTI) filters and using Pulse Doppler waveforms. The former is simple to implement, however, these filters must be designed to avoid blind speeds. They also do not provide additional information about the target, they simply enhance detectability. The use of Pulse Doppler waveforms is more complicated, but provides additional information, such as the radial velocity of the target and an indication if the target is approaching or receding.