The effects of reduced bandwidth on HF surface wave radar performance in ship detection

Bandwidth reduction not only degrades the range resolution of a radar, but may also reduce the maximum detection range. In the clutter-dominated region, the target signal-to-clutter-plus-interference-and-noise power ratio (SCINR) is reduced by the same factor as the bandwidth, but in the external-interference-and-noise-dominated region, the SCINR is unchanged. A dataset from a monostatic pulse HF surface wave radar (HFSWR) operating between 3 and 5 MHz is used to illustrate the effects of a 3-dB bandwidth reduction on the radar performance. The results show that in the detection of large ships, the maximum detection range is essentially unchanged, but in the detection of small ships, the maximum detection range is reduced.