Along track interferometry for foliage penetration Moving Target Indication

Moving target indication radars for detection and tracking ground vehicles has received significant interest in the radar literature. However, when the vehicles are moving slowly and in foliage, microwave frequency radars such as X-band are not effective. Foliage penetration (FOPEN) radars using ultra high frequency (UHF) synthetic aperture waveforms have demonstrated consistent detection of stationary ground vehicles. In most applications, the vehicles are stationary to support wide angle, high resolution SAR processing. Along track interferometry (ATI) has been proposed for space based radars to detect moving targets due to the high velocity of the radar. This study will examine the target and processing requirements to detect slowly moving ground vehicles using ATI approaches. A detailed simulation of the target and clutter phenomenology is carried out to illustrate the effects of internal clutter motion and signal decorrelation effects on minimum discernable velocity.