Adaptive spatial processing applied to a prototype passive covert radar: Test with real data

This paper describes an upgrade of the design of a passive covert radar (PCR) [1] to add the capability of adaptively cancel the co-channel interference in the spatial domain. The PCR exploits a single non co-operative frequency modulated (FM) commercial radio station as its transmitter of opportunity. The system has been conceived in order to detect low flying and low radar cross section (RCS) targets even in disturbed and hostile electromagnetic environments. In the first phase of the PCR design, the co-channel interference has been removed via an adaptive algorithm operating in the time domain. In the second phase of the PCR development, it has been decided to improve the adaptive cancellation performance operating in two domains separately; first the adaptive spatial cancellation is applied to reduce the co-channel power which is definitely removed in a second stage via an adaptive temporal processing. Future step will be the contemporaneously process of data in a 2D domain via a STAP (space time adaptive processing) algorithm.