Performance comparison of high resolution bearing estimation algorithms using simulated and sea test data

The performance of both the Capon and the MUSIC high resolution bearing estimation algorithms is investigated using both simulated data and sea test data collected with an experimental planar array. The major problem with these estimators is their sensitivity to both system errors and deviations from the assumed noise model. To alleviate this problem, two methods for preprocessing the data before they are input into the high-resolution algorithm are investigated: beam space and sector focused stability. The performance of both high-resolution estimators is examined, using both types of preprocessing, and the results are compared with those for the standard element-space (ES) techniques, assuming both finite cross-spectral-matrix (CSM) averaging errors and weakening target strengths. For the Capon estimator the performance is only superior to the standard element space technique when the CSM is calculated using a small number of averages. For the MUSIC estimator, both preprocessing techniques give clearly superior results over standard space techniques, with the SFS preprocessor performing the best