Electromagnetic Diversity and EMI Implications for Multiple Co-sited Radars and Targeting Applications

Real-time fusion of data collected from a variety of co-located radars that acquire information in a cooperative manner from multiple perspectives and/or different frequencies, is being shown to provide a more accurate and effective way of tracking complex targets in a multi-target scenario. This is more advantageous than employing a single radar or a group of radars operating independently. This paper describes a cooperative multi-sensor approach in which multiple radars operate together in a non-interference limited manner. A three-fold approach is presented: (i) applying multiobjective joint optimization algorithms to set limits on the operational parameters of the radars to preclude electromagnetic interference; (ii) measuring and processing radar returns in a shared manner for target feature extraction based on electromagnetic diversity principles in conjunction with target scattering cross sections; and (iii) employing feature-aided track/fusion algorithms to detect, discriminate, and follow real targets from clutter noise. The results of computer simulations are provided that demonstrate the advantages of this approach.