Performance prediction of the incoherent radar detector for Generalized Swerling-Chi fluctuating targets

In this paper we deal with the performance prediction of the incoherent radar receiver in the presence of arbitrary correlated, possibly non-identically distributed target backscattered echoes. The problem is of interest in some common scenarios accounting for frequency agility, polarization as well as spatial diversity. We develop analytic expressions for the detection probability in terms of power series, assuming that a Generalized Swerling-Chi distribution models the first order probability density function (pdf) of the target amplitude. We also provide an interesting interpretation of the derived formulas. Finally, we assess the impact on the detection performance of both the correlation and the non-identical distribution of the target returns.