Detection and parameter estimation in an amplitude-comparison monopulse radar

Abstract

This paper considers the problem of detecting and estimating the unknown angular location of a radar target that is observed simultaneously by a number of antennas. The amplitude of the signal received by a particular antenna is assumed to depend on the angular location of the target, but the time of arrival of the signal is assumed to be the same at all of the antennas. The generalized likelihood ratio test is used to derive the detection and parameter-estimation strategy for the radar receiver. Explicit expressions for the detector and the angle estimates are derived in a number of important special cases, and the performance of the detector is evaluated. Accuracy formulas for the angle estimates, valid for high signal-to-noise ratios, are derived for the general problem and used to compare the performance of an optimum four-beam monopulse system with a type of monopulse system commonly in use.