Coherent track-before-detection processing in a ship-based multifunction radar

In simple radar environments the human operator is notably successful at initiating and updating tracks. However, manual tracking performance deteriorates in complex target environments and is hastened by the onset of operator fatigue. Automatic detection and tracking (ADT) schemes aim to address this problem and provide reliable performance under all conditions. Multiple tasks may be performed concurrently in a single resource known as a multifunction array radar (MFAR), and performance may be optimised independently. The problem of track initiation and evolution in a ship-based environment is addressed by jointly considering MFAR waveforms which are good or optimal for ADT in conjunction with a data association technique termed, track-before-detection (TBD). The paper discusses a new application of TBD processing to ADT in microwave MFAR, and in particular a coherent TBD scheme for constant false track rate processing is described