Analysis of distortion in the high range resolution profile from a perturbed target

Experimental results have demonstrated that even when a target possesses very small perturbed rotational motion, its high range resolution (HRR) radar image profile can be severely distorted. A numerical model has been developed and is able to accurately simulate the observed distorting effects. The well known range-Doppler coupling effect offers a partial explanation for the distortion of a target´s HRR profile when the perturbing rotational motion is constant in time during radar interrogation. A more interesting and much more dramatic situation arises when the perturbing motion is time-varying; severe distortion in the target´s HRR profile can occur due to the excitation of higher-order sidebands in the phase of the target echo