Pulse transmission scheduling for a distributed system of cooperative radars

We introduce a simultaneous pulse transmission scheduling scheme for a distributed wireless network of cooperative tracking radars. Rather than treat each of the radars as an independent system, we model the individual radars as part of a system-of-systems and coordinate simultaneous transmissions across the network to produce constructive pulse collisions at the target. It is shown that this scheduling algorithm couples improved target discrimination due to spatial diversity with a reduced per node power requirement due to increased signal-to-noise ratios at the receivers. This simultaneous scheduling strategy is combined with a detection and localization multistatic time-scheduled strategy in a two-phase hybrid approach. Algorithms are developed for both phases that minimize inter-pulse interference and communication overhead while maximizing pulse repetition rate. Potential error sources are identified and studied for both the radar transmissions as well as the underlying communication network