RECURSIVE METHOD FOR TARGET MOTION ANALYSIS

The present invention relates to a method for estimating the motion of a get relative to an observer station and a system for performing the method. The method includes the steps of: generating data representative of the motion of the target relative to the observer station during first, second, and subsequent measurement legs; processing the data to yield smoothed estimate of the bearing, bearing rate, and bearing acceleration of the target during each measurement leg; and processing the smoothed estimates of the bearing, bearing rate, and bearing acceleration of the target to provide an estimate of the position of the target relative to the observer station and the velocity of the target. The system for performing the method includes a data preprocessing subsystem for generating the smoothed estimate of the bearing rate, bearing and bearing acceleration, a passive localization and target motion analysis subsystem, and a trajectory modelling subsystem having a first module for creating a model of the observer station motion and a second module for creating a model of the motion of the target.