A Generalized Clutter Computation Procedure for Airborne Pulse Doppler Radars

A general procedure for analyzing ground clutter effects in airborne pulse Doppler radars is described. The quantity computed is the expected clutter power at the output of any specified range gate/ Doppler filter processing cell. The procedure has been computerized and is quite general with respect to antenna gain pattern, clutter cross section variation, PRF, pulse and range gate shapes, and the various receiver processing functions. It is applicable only to distributed ground clutter and linear processing, and excludes the dynamic effects of continuous antenna scanning. To exemplify the use of the procedure, two studies conducted for a postulated high PRF radar are described, and the results are presented.