A hybrid harmony search algorithm for the spread spectrum radar polyphase codes design problem

In this paper we present the application of a hybrid harmony search (HS) algorithm to the Spread-Spectrum Radar Polyphase (SSRP) codes design. Such a design can be formulated as a non-linear max–min optimization problem, hard to be solved using classical numerical techniques. Soft-computing approaches have then been successfully applied to solve the SSRP in the past, such as evolutionary computation techniques, variable neighborhood approaches or tabu search algorithms. In this paper we elaborate on the proposed hybrid HS approach, which consists of a naive implementation of the HS algorithm along with an adaptive-step gradient-guided local search procedure. Intensive computer simulations show that the proposed hybrid HS algorithm is able to outperform existing algorithms for the SSRP design problem (including the best reported so far), with significant differences in large-size SSRP instances.