A new CFAR processor based on guard cells information

Radar detection procedures involve the comparison of the received signal amplitude to a threshold. In order to obtain a constant false-alarm rate (CFAR), an adaptive threshold must be applied reflecting the local clutter situation. This paper presents an intelligent CFAR technique based on comparing the performance of five existing CFAR processors at different target and clutter situations. The proposed intelligent CFAR processor selects the adaptive threshold which is calculated by the best CFAR processor for certain environmental condition. The selection criterion based on comparing the information contained in the guard cells to those contained in test and window cells. This comparison is done to differentiate between single target, multiple targets, and clutter transition situations. Performance comparison through the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) is carried out to validate the superiority of the proposed CFAR technique at different target and clutter situations.