GNSS based passive bistatic radar for micro-Doppler based classification of helicopters: Experimental validation

The capability of using illuminators of opportunity for target classification is of great interest to the radar community. In particular the alternative use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) has recently initiated a number of studies that aim to exploit this source of illumination for passive radar. We recently introduced the concept of a GNSS based passive radar for extraction of micro-Doppler signatures from helicopter rotor blades with the aim of identify these kind of targets. In this paper we present the experimental validation of our concept with real data from two different models of helicopter.