Manoeuvring target motion parameter estimation for ISAR image fusion

Abstract

In inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging applications, generating an image of a manoeuvring target is a challenge due to the tradeoff between the fine image resolution requirements and the temporal variability of the Doppler response. The time frequency transform (TFT) is a common method to solve this problem. Prior TFT-based research assumes that the ISAR observes the target from a single fixed aspect. Because of its manoeuvring characteristics, the target motion features are sometimes not extractable from the observing aspect, but become much more distinct from other aspects. ISAR image fusion is thus able to provide significant advantages, since multiple looks of the same target from different aspects will increase the available knowledge. After constructing the common projection plane and building up the physical connection between radars and the manoeuvring target, the parameters that describe the target motion are estimated for very short time duration within which the Doppler response can be assumed to be a constant. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the estimation procedure and thus the fusion method. The authors conclude that the ISAR system must be carefully configured in order to realise the full benefits of their image fusion technique for manoeuvring targets.