TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Sensors, Battlespace

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems II, ACAT I

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: Analyze, model, develop, and evaluate algorithms that register and correlate monostatic and bi-static high resolution radar returns to generate image signatures of ship targets that can be used to detect features and attributes for identification and evaluation of maritime traffic.

DESCRIPTION: Protection of Naval ships and facilities against hostile maritime traffic remains a Navy priority. All-weather day-night surveillance depends heavily upon radar sensors to detect and locate potential hostile maritime traffic. The Navy is interested in developing a capability whereby two or more geographically dispersed high resolution radars can be used to generate integrated monostatic and bistatic radar signals that can be simultaneously processed to provide image-like signatures of targeted ships from which identification features can be extracted. Adaptive waveforms implemented in high range resolution radar (HRR) and/or inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) systems are potential sources of monostatic and bistatic radar signals that could be processed to correlate and derive a common image with potentially greater image fidelity than that obtained from single surveillance radars. In addition, multi-aspect data and calibrated range/azimuth measurements can be associated with bistatic radar image generation. Research should evaluate the potentials of bistatic image processing by developing algorithms that can process multi-source radar waveforms and generate images that can be used for identification of maritime radar contacts. Research is needed to define the requirements for synchronization of timing and establishing phase references of bistatic radar waveforms to enable processing algorithms to register bistatic received waveforms, provide coordinate alignment of bistatic image data with monostatic image data, correlate image data from radar contacts in a common coordinate system, and locate signatures and features that characterize the radar contact under surveillance. While the primary interest of the research is monostatic/bistatic radar image processing, consideration should be given to determining the image fidelity improvements that may be obtained if multi-static radar sources can be used to generate images for target identification.

PHASE I: Analyze and develop processing concepts and techniques that combine and process monostatic and bistatic high resolution radar signals. Examine the registration issues, timing issues and waveform compatibility issues essential to structuring processing algorithms that provide high fidelity imagery useful for ship target identification. Documentation, assumptions, calculations and results will be presented in the form of a feasibility report at the conclusion of the Phase I effort.

PHASE II: Develop bistatic processing algorithms and target models. Simulate processing of combined monostatic and bistatic high resolution radar signals from fixed-site surface surveillance radars conducting surveillance of maritime traffic. Generate image data and evaluate the value-added performance provided by the bistatic image processing versus monostatic-only image processing. A report will be presented at the conclusion of the efforts including simulation plans, results, techniques and methods used in the bistatic image processing development.

PHASE III: Apply the bistatic image processing algorithm suite to a real-time radar test program that includes multiple radar sites capable of supporting bi-static operations. Conduct test and evaluation of bistatic radar image generation. A technical report and users manual detailing the algorithm design and implementation along with a test report highlighting the operating characteristics and performance of the algorithm suite will be generated at the conclusion of the test program.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The US Coast Guard and other Department of Homeland Security organizations have needs for harbor surveillance and quality imaging of maritime traffic addressed by this research. If highly cost effective, may contribute to congested harbor traffic control through improved ID and awareness.

REFERENCES:
1. B. Rigling, "Signal Processing Strategies for Bistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar", Ohio State University, 2003.

2. A. Hone and G. Yates, "Bistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar", IEE Radar, 2002.

KEYWORDS: Bistatic Radar, Data Registration, Image Focusing, High Range Resolution (HRR), Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), Data Correlation

TPOC: Mike Pollock
Phone: (703)696-0242
Fax: (703)696-3098
Email: Michael.A.Pollock@Navy.Mil
2nd TPOC: Ron Stapleton
Phone: (540)653-2895
Fax:
Email: ronnie.stapleton@navy.mil