On the applicability of source localization techniques to passive multistatic radar

The source localization problem concerns the detection and localization of an emitter whose transmission is observed by geographically separated receivers. The passive multistatic radar (PMR) problem concerns the detection and localization of a target that scatters an illumination signal to geographically separated receivers. By modeling the scattering target as an emitter, the techniques of source localization can be applied to the PMR problem. Indeed, this approach has recently been introduced in the literature. However, the exact relationship between the two problems has not been made explicit. In this work, we derive a centralized generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detector that performs the processing characteristic of both source localization and PMR. This detector is used to assess the relative detection benefit provided by source localization in PMR. We show that source localization techniques are of limited utility in PMR due to the SNR regimes of the target-scattered and direct-path signals typical of the PMR signal environment.