The practicality and benefit of a 3-D wide-area persistent surveillance micro-Doppler radar

Ground-to-air surveillance systems typically comprise of scanning radar that provide good Doppler detection over a wide angular sector. However, since such systems tend to have a limited Doppler resolution, their detection performance can be significantly impacted by unwanted Doppler echoes that are co-located with genuine target returns. These issues can be overcome by switching to an entirely fixed beam staring system. This paper will describe how using a 2-D antenna array and advanced signal processing it is possible to devise a multibeam wide-area staring surveillance system that is capable of achieving highly sophisticated Doppler discrimination. Trials results of non-cooperative air surveillance in the presence of wind turbine clutter will be presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system. The paper will conclude by outlining a range of enhanced air target surveillance capabilities that would be possible as a result of the hyperfine Doppler resolution that this system is able to generate over its entire search volume.