Asymptotically optimum radar detection in compound-Gaussian clutter

Abstract

An asymptotically optimum receiver designed for detecting coherent pulse trains in compound-Gaussian clutter is introduced and assessed. The proposed receiver assumes knowledge of the structure of the clutter covariance matrix, but does not require that of its amplitude probability density function (apdf). Performance is analytically evaluated, showing that the loss, as measured with respect to the corresponding optimum structure, is kept within a few dBs even for a relatively small number of integrated pulses and that it largely outperforms the matched-filter detector under all instances of practical interest. Interestingly, the proposed detector achieves constant false alarm rate (CFAR), regardless of the clutter envelope distribution and, consequently, its power.