Helicopter parameter extraction using joint time-frequency and tomographic techniques

Abstract

A technique based on time-frequency and tomographic analysis to extract helicopter blade parameters for the purposes of radar non-cooperative target recognition (NCTR) is investigated. The proposed algorithm shows that (under certain conditions) it is feasible to extract the number, blade length, blade tip velocity and angular velocity of a helicopterpsilas main rotor. Simulation results from a point scatterer model is validated through results on measured data from several different commercial helicopters. The developed technique is most suited to pulse-Doppler tracking radar and is shown to be feasible at a range of 11 km with a radar not specifically designed for this purpose.