Asymptotically Optimal Detection of Low Probability of Intercept Signals using Distributed Sensors

An asymptotically optimal technique for detection of low probability of intercept (LPI) signals using multiple platform receivers is proposed. This is a centralized detector unlike the commonly used decentralized decision fusion techniques and is an extension of Stein´s [1] results from two sensors to multiple sensors. The derived detector is the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) detector. It is shown that simpler detectors can be obtained from the GLRT by making various assumptions. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves for currently used detectors are computed and compared with the ROC curves for the GLRT detector.