A space-time adaptive processing approach for improved performance and affordability

Abstract

A space-time adaptive processing (STAP) method is described which uses only the mainbeam or sum (/spl Sigma/) and difference (/spl Delta/) channels of a airborne radar for adaptive suppression of clutter in the joint angle-Doppler domain. This method, called /spl Sigma//spl Delta/-STAP, dramatically reduces system implementation cost, as it requires only two digitized channels, and is applicable as an upgrade to both phased array and continuous aperture airborne radar systems. It is shown that /spl Sigma//spl Delta/-STAP offers near optimal performance and requires much smaller sample support than other approaches, which is critical for successful operation in severely nonhomogeneous clutter.