MULTI-CHANNEL MOVING TARGET RADAR DETECTION AND IMAGING APPARATUS AND METHOD

A radar detection and imaging system provides for the simultaneous imaging of the stationary objects on the earth's surface and the detection and imaging of moving targets. The radar system includes at least one transmitting aperture and a plurality of receiving apertures that are simultaneously operated in a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode caused by the motion of the satellite or airborne platform on which they are mounted. Each receiving aperture is connected to its own coherent receiver and the digitized signals from all receivers are processed to image both stationary clutter and moving targets. The system employs space-time adaptive processing (STAP) algorithms to better compensate for channel mismatches, better suppress stationary clutter, and to suppress mainbeam jamming. Moving target detection and estimation modules are also included and are their performance is improved as a result of the STAP algorithms. The system also employs SAR processing algorithms to create high-resolution images of stationary objects, and to image moving targets. The SAR and STAP algorithms are uniquely integrated in the radar signal processor (RSP) to provide improved performance while reducing the computational requirements, facilitating real-time implementation.