Measuring time between peaks in helicopter classification using Continuous Wavelet Transform

Helicopter classification capability is a desirable feature on air defense radars, as a way of distinguishing friends of foes. However, it is still a challenging task for any radar system. The classical method for helicopter classification is the L/N-quotient method, where two signal features are measured: time between peaks and blade tip velocity. Unfortunately, these features are difficult to measure on actual target echoes with high noise levels. This paper shows the difficulties for measuring these features and presents a way of measuring time between peaks using continuous wavelet transform (CWT).