Design considerations for an adaptive phased array radar

The author discusses the implications of alternative adaptive nulling architectures for the design of a space-based radar, taking into account typical practical constraints. Two different classes of adaptive processing architecture are considered: the sidelobe canceler and the fully adaptive array. These are shown to achieve different tradeoffs between inherent complexity, requirements upon the system specification, flexibility, and performance. The design of the `front-end´ signal processing (from antenna design through ADC (analog-to-digital converter) design and clutter processing) has an impact on the use of an adaptive algorithm. Conversely, adaptivity places constraints and performance criteria on other parts of the system